7 Reasons

Tag: morning

  • 7 Reasons That a Dream Bath is Better Than an Actual Bath

    7 Reasons That a Dream Bath is Better Than an Actual Bath

    Hello 7 Reasons readers!  I have a confession to make.  I love baths, but it turns out that for years I’ve been bathing wrong.  I know this because this morning I had an epiphany (or should that be a baptism as I’m writing about baths).  I woke up, having dreamt that I’d had a bath, and that dream bath was better than an actual bath.  Here are seven reasons why.

    Fortunately not my bath.

    1.  It Saved Time. The major problem with taking a bath – and the reason that most people end up settling for showers – is the amount of time it takes.  It takes time to fill them up and you tend to spend a lot of time in them.  This takes a substantial chunk out of the day.  Dream baths, however, are different.  You can spend hours in a dream bath and it’ll only take seconds out of your life.  That’s time that you would have been using to sleep anyway.  It’s like being given the gift of time but there’s no wrapping paper to recycle, which saves further time.  It probably makes time.

    2.  It Was The Right Temperature.  My dream bath was the correct temperature, which is approximately halfway between “Ooh!  Ooh!  Ooh!  Ooh!  Ooh!” and “Gah!”  Actual baths are always intemperate and usually end up turning that initial cautious toe either red or blue.  Or brown, if the bath hasn’t been cleaned.

    3.  I Was Able To Share It.  Sharing an actual bath is seldom the dreamy, romantic pastime it is popularly portrayed as.  When sharing a dream bath though, your eyes will already be closed so you can share it with absolutely anyone.  I shared mine with my wife who was a reluctant and water-shy cat named Marmalade.  Eventually she settled down and enjoyed the bath, right up until the moment that she morphed into a roof-tile and sank without trace at the tap-end, forcing me to eat the rest of the yoghurt alone.

    4.  Finding The Soap.  In your actual bath, you’ll probably find that you spend approximately 8.4% of your time trying to find the soap that you’ve just dropped (which is not as surprising an experience as trying to find it when in prison, but it is still rather an irksome chore).  In the dream bath, however, there’s always soap, probably from Lush.  And you can bathe safe in the knowledge that it will never, ever have a pubic hair stuck to it.  Unless, of course, that’s what you dream about, in which case you’re making my dreams seem positively conventional.  And you should never sleep again.

    5.  No Interruption.  My dream bath – unlike my actual baths – wasn’t interrupted by anyone knocking on the bathroom door asking to use the toilet.  It was interrupted by a pelican asking for directions to Mr Bobble’s House of Wobbles, but I got rid of him simply by clapping my hands together and shouting “Muffins!”  He was far easier to deal with than the desperate and persistent aspiring toilet-users that blight actual baths.  Sometimes it seems that pregnant women want to pee just to spite you, and during a long bath, when you’re sharing a house with a pregnant lady, you can find yourself being spited several times.  Then that finishes and for the next eighteen years you’ll have a child that will interrupt you in the bath.  In my dream bath that did not happen.  Obviously, my sleep was interrupted by the child, but that’s a slightly different thing.  Probably.

    6.  No Cleaning.  Unlike your actual bath, you’ll never have to clean your dream bath – unless you actually dream about cleaning baths, in which case, thank you, mine was spotless when I got in and I really enjoyed the scented candles and the petals floating on the surface.  The meticulously constructed wigwam of bath-towels might have been a step too far though, but you won’t find me complaining.  Not least because I can hide in the wigwam while I’m doing so.  For other people that don’t clean baths in their sleep, the good news is you won’t have to clean the bath in your sleep.  That’s good news.

    7.  Wake Refreshed And Ready.  Nothing prepares you for your day like a dream bath because – like nothing – having a dream bath is not actually having a bath.  You will, however, wake feeling refreshed, invigorated and ready for your day; I know I did.  You’ll have to spend a large part of that day dodging mirrors and people with a sense of smell, but surely that’s a small price to pay for the amazing time saving and great start to the day.  And how close do you really want people to stand to you anyway?  With a dream bath, you can keep them at armpit’s length.  It’s all win.

  • 7 Reasons That You Shouldn’t do Bicycle Maintenance at 3am

    7 Reasons That You Shouldn’t do Bicycle Maintenance at 3am

    3am:  A time when almost everyone is in bed, sleeping.  But you may not be.  You may be lying in bed, unable to sleep.  You may be pontificating on weighty and important matters such as: What is the best wine to serve with SPAM?  Why does my local supermarket always run out of crumpets on Monday?  What would win in a fight; a pangolin or a labrador?  Usually these thoughts are inconclusive but, as you lay thinking important things, you may have a eureka moment and suddenly – and rather excitingly – the cause of the strange noise that your bicycle has been making all week will become apparent to you.  But under no circumstance, no matter how enthused you are, should you take any action at this time.  Here are seven reasons you shouldn’t do bicycle maintenance at 3am.

    a poster prohibiting a cycles being fixed at 3am with a spanner.

    1.  It’s Cold.  Not in bed, it’s nice and warm there.  But it will be cold in the kitchen.  Very cold.  But that’s where the bicycle and tools are.  So, as you’ve arrived downstairs wearing a t-shirt and pyjama bottoms, you’ll grab whatever clothes you can find from the cupboard under the stairs.  And fairly soon, outfitted in green flip-flops, a pink and brown striped scarf, a beige trenchcoat,  a blue bobble hat and a pair of grey fingerless gloves, you’ll think to yourself, never mind, it’s not like anyone will see me. Then you’ll head into the kitchen where it will be…

    2.  Dark.  So you’ll put the kitchen lights on, and the kitchen will become very bright indeed.  So bright, in fact, that you’ll hurt your eyes and be caused to squint.  But you’ll set to work anyway; squinting, with spanner in hand and then, out of the corner of your squinty eye, you’ll notice a light, shining through your window (because no one covers their kitchen windows).  Yes, it’s…

    3.  The Neighbours.  Or more specifically, the neighbours whose bedroom overlooks your kitchen.  And you’ll do what anyone would do in this circumstance.  You’ll stand up, squinting, smile and wave at them.  Mostly to reassure them that it’s you and not a brainsick, colour-blind tramp who has broken in to steal the pasta from your kitchen.  Or the lemons.  And eventually, after the initial shock at seeing your outfit has worn off, they’ll realise that you’re not a burglar.  And the spanner that you’re waving in your right-hand will probably mirror their opinion of you.  Anyway, the neighbours will soon go back to sleep and you’ll return to the bike and work slowly and deliberately, in order to be…

    4.  Quiet.  Shh.  Very Quiet.  As quiet as a timid dormouse breaking wind next to a hungry lion.  Because your bedroom’s above the kitchen.  And making a noise would be inconsiderate/very very dangerous.  So you’ll work quietly, and that will go well.  Until you drop the spanner onto the quarry tiles.  And you will drop the spanner onto the quarry tiles.  Then – suddenly – and without warning, you will be face to face with…

    5.  Angry Woman.   And Angry Woman is…angry.  Furious, in fact.  Angry Woman is…shouting.  She’s shouting things like:

    “What the hell are you doing?” In this circumstance – even though you have a spanner in your hand and a partly disassembled bicycle in front of you, you shouldn’t resort to sarcasm.  That will make Angry Woman turn red and growl.  You don’t want that.  And then she may shout…

    “You love that bicycle more than you love me.” Now,  the last time she said something, you spoke, and that didn’t go at all well.  But that doesn’t mean that pausing and considering your words carefully is a good idea this time; it certainly isn’t.  Because then it will appear that you’re actually considering whether you love the bicycle more.  And even though your bicycle isn’t the one yelling and shouting at you, and it does have red handlebars and a nice…no, no you don’t love the bicycle more.  Really.  Anyway, the pause is a bad thing.  Because then she’ll shout…

    “You’re supposed to be in bed.   WITH ME!” Okay, so sarcasm and thinking haven’t gone well for you.  What’s left?  Humour?  No.    “I didn’t think you’d want your bottom bracket lubricating at 3am, darling” is the wrong reply.  And after she’s shouted,

    “And what the hell are you wearing?!” (it’s rhetorical this time) before storming upstairs, you’ll probably come to the conclusion that it’s time to go…

    6.  Back To Bed.  Stepping out of your Beach-Boy-hobo-Humprey-Bogart-on-acid-costume, you’ll return to the nice warm bed where you’ll discover by touching legs with your wife that your body temperature is at least ten centigrade lower than hers.  And then she will kick you.  Very hard.  This will hurt, and in two days time you’ll have a large blue and purple bruise on your left shin.  At this point though, when the pain subsides, you’ll fall into a deep, satisfying, refreshing sleep and the next morning you’ll wake up and feel amazing.  And you’ll feel that way right up until the moment you open your eyes and see the…

    7.  Oily Fingerprints All Over The Sheets And Pillows.  Ooops.  And later, on your cycle ride, you may feel inclined to visit both the florist and the chocolatier.