It was hard to sit still tonight and stay in the moment. Being present was difficult. My mind kept wandering back inside to the new Nintendo Wii that had arrived earlier in the day. I felt so distracted, I thought about taking a rain check and trying again tomorrow, but I wanted to save my "free pass" for later in the challenge, when I truly needed it. Instead, I scolded myself and focused on what was around me.

It was actually comfortable outside. The usual night breeze was suspiciously absent, which was a good thing considering I had ventured out only in a t-shirt and shorts.

Also absent were the familiar strains of the cricket orchestra. They must have been scared off by the noise of the kids practicing their skateboarding on the street behind me. From the sound of it, they needed the practice. I assume the better one is at tricks, the less one has to swear.

The moon had moved a few more feet to the left and was hovering over the right end of the house (the western end, to be more accurate). It will be full in another two nights (I have to be sure I don't miss that.)

Of course, after a few minutes, my mind drifted back to the Wii and I suddenly found myself holding a remote in my hand. I tightened the strap and started playing with it. Nothing happened until I turned the power on. Once I did, I tried different moves and combinations.

Holding the B button while sweeping the remote down caused the streetlights to dim. Aiming at the sky and pressing the A button would make a star appear (twisting the remote at the same time made the star brighter). If I held the button down while swinging my arm, a star would shoot across the heavens. If I aimed the remote at the moon and pressed the A and B buttons at the same time, I could position the silver orb wherever I wanted.

After a few minutes of experimenting, I discovered how to draw lines between the stars and form my own bizarre constellations. Since they were all imaginary, they tended to fade quickly, but it was an amusing exercise while it lasted.

Before I knew it, the alarm went off, signifying the end of my twenty minutes for the day. I held the power button down for a few seconds and the night sky returned to its previous state of reality. I loosened the remote and set it on the ground. Then I bolted inside to try my hand at bowling and baseball on the real Wii.