He had a hard time listening to people whose voices sounded as if they knew they were likable.

 “I have a Russian soul” = code for “I drink a lot”

Your waking mindset has gradually destabilized your dreams, and now your dreams have returned the favor. Each morning you wake up wondering if this is the day you begin to find your way back.

The inbred entitlement of the once-attractive.

Not really a grid, but grid-signifying ornamentation.

Everything is of its time. How glorious; what a pity.

End Times, or Beginning?

Cocktails on the lawn, alone.