Winter in Dreams pt.1

Samuel's eyes opened with the immediate recognition that his alarm clock had not yet gone off. His clock, purchased at the sharper image on sale during some holiday season, contained within its plastic guts a small projector that displayed the current time on whatever surface Samuel pointed it towards. His eyes adjusted in the early morning light and he saw that he had ten more minutes before he knew he must be out of his bed. Some men will take that time and add a few more minutes, discarding the morning actions that they perceive to be unneccesary at times, but Samuel diligently peeled his covers back at exactly 7:00 in the morning. It did not matter if the day was cold or hot - whether in the summer or winter, he woke and peeled the covers back, sliding his feet into slippers placed perfectly perpendicular to his bed the night before on the hardwood floor. Today he had woken up a bit early, and, feeling no desire to remain within the sheets, he pulled the covers away and stepped into his slippers. The cold shock of the floor was only slightly numbed by the fabric of his soles, and Samuel shuffled his feet a bit as he turned the alarm off on his clock. No need for it now, he was already awake.

Samuel's morning routine was a simple one - his father had always made it clear that simplicity was the mark of an organized mind. Samuel walks into the bathroom and turns on the light. His eyes peer at themselves in the sudden orange glow of the dim watt bulbs...he did not change his bulbs to fluorescent lighting because the color irritated his eyes and the article in Consumer Reports said that fluorescent bulbs were not completely cost efficient except over extended periods of time. His right hand pulled a tube of toothpaste out from the cup he used to rinse his mouth. The tube of toothpaste was rolled up from the bottom, using the crimped bottome edge of the tube as the center. He spread the toothpaste on the tip of his brush and then closed and placed the tube on the sink edge. Samuel spread the toothpaste with his finger over the bristles of the brush and began to brush with the kind of technique shown to him by a family dentist some time in his youth. Up, down, thirty times on each side of each jaw. Thirty times up, thirty down, right, left, front, back, top, bottom. Thirty times sixteen. Samuel did the math in his head, seeing the teeth being brushed as he did so. Four hundred and eighty. He spit into the sink, ran the water a little, and rinsed his mouth out. The toothpaste went back into the cup with the toothbrush, and Samuel continued with his daily ablutions.

-Rich
one of the great single tamed oh yeah