Nearly Awake (7:40am)

These near-winter mornings are spectral things, heavy with December in the grey half light. Sat in my room, nearly cold, with the lamp on, the i-pod charging, ready for the walk to work where I can only nearly decide what to play.
The lamp casts a huge shadow of my head onto the blackout curtain. There is some kind of sound from outside. A large container, sounding empty, echoes and clatters. All silent again now, or drowned beneath the humming of the laptop.
Don't remember dreaming last night. Woke up at some point by the noise of what seemed to be some kind of heavy industrial machinery on the landing. I woke up fully -well, nearly- and realised it was the sound of toilet flushing.
7:30am.
Nearly time to leave.