I never tire of lauding construction workers for their impeccable timing with deafening activities, but the one who woke us up this morning was without any doubt a real pro at it. He started with a hammer and a drill a few minutes before eight o’clock. The noise that suddenly blasted from an apartment in the adjacent building was spectacular, but it vanished a few minutes later. The silence that followed lasted long enough for us to start falling asleep again. Just as we were about to doze off, the hammer returned. And in earnest. The second time he gave us a bit more time to adjust to the silence before he picked up his hammer once again. This time he went softly, softly. Just perfect! This particular construction worker is a real professional, no doubt whatsoever. An hour or so later, everything is quiet in the adjacent building, but he is sure to return tomorrow, the first day of the weekend. A few minutes before eight o’clock, it goes without saying.

Addendum (December 13, 2008)

Sure enough, the construction worker woke us up this morning, too. He started with the hammer a few minutes after eight. As we expected him this time, and as he did not use the drill, which is much more annoying than the hammer, we managed to fall asleep soon afterwards. Chances are he is a good Catholic, which means that tomorrow morning is entirely ours. And the first day of next week is still so far it is not yet worth worrying about.