Sleepnessness and the Muse

So here it is - Saturday night at nearly 3am and I'm wide awake. Not really unusual, just really annoying. The sleepnessness, similar to insomnia, has worked its way in.

At 8 or 9 this evening, I was ready to keel over from exhaustion. I got very little sleep last night, and it looks like there's another night of that coming tonight. Why? Because about 10pm I started getting my second wind. My brain turned on, and when that happens, I'm toast. It's like I don't need soleep.

I had started doing some research online, and M sent me a text message commenting that she wished I did as much homework on everything as I did on this particular topic. It struck a chord. The topic was interesting, but I did have more energy. Got me to thinking - most of my writing and creative work is done in the wee hours. I just seem to hit my muse about midnight. And once I get going, I just seem to keep going.

Why is it my creative juices don't start flowing until after midnight? There's probably some new-agey stuff out there about it being related to the time I was born or the cycles of the moon, but I don't buy it. There's gotta be something else.

I've always been this way. When I did a lot of theater, I could pull all-nighters hanging lights or painting sets without hesitation. In my theme park employment days, Happy Hour started at midnight. I can remember being up to watch the Tonight show when I was 10 or 11 on a regular basis.

But now, I have a "real" job, with 8a-4p hours, weekends off. For most folks, that's heaven. For me, the hours are killing me. By mid-afternoon, I want a nap in a bad way. Even now, at just after 3am, I've got three or four blog posts running around in my head, I've been installing software on my laptop and mobile phone, and I feel like I want to snack in a big bad way. Meanwhile, I'm supposed to get up at about 6-6:30 so C and I can go hiking. Yeesh.

A lot of research has been done on circadian rhythms. Of course, when you see these symptoms, it gets a little worrisome:

- Difficulty initiating sleep
- Difficulty maintaining sleep
- Nonrestorative sleep
- Daytime sleepiness
- Poor concentration
- Impaired performance, including a decrease in cognitive skills
- Poor psychomotor coordination
- Headaches
- Gastrointestinal distress

Of these, I can tick off at least 6, maybe 7 as symptoms for me. Great.

And if course, as I write this, I'm starting to quickly fade. My eyes are tired, which helps. But by this point, I only have about three hours to sleep.

I know I'm not the only person who has these issues. My writing/blogging is an important creative outlet for me, and keeps the creative side of me happy. So how do I balance my late night muse with my early morning responsibilities?

Do you run into this problem? Is it just insomnia 0 or something more? How do you cope with it? Do you have a favorite way to get your body and mind to synchronize? What do you do? Enter it in the comments below.

Some People Have Odd Weddings...

Every bride wants their special day to be unique, and that's great. Sometimes, however, unique goes a bit beyond that point to "HUH?"

DJMick has a collection of 100 pictures of brides in either strange attire, or pictures that are just plain wrong. For example, there's the picture of the bride with an out-of-focus groom zipping his fly in the background. Or the shot of the bridal party taking a ride in the bucket of a skip-loader. Or these two at left.

Bizarre Brides And Weird Weddings (100 Pics)

Just In Case You're Having A Bad Day...

Came across this site via Mashable, and realized some people have worse days than I do. Lots worse.

Badhap : House of Hell

Until I discovered to my abject horror that the landlord had a spare key to the house and would routinely let himself in whenever he wanted...and sleep on the living room sofa! No notice was ever given - it was totally random. Sometimes he'd be there on the sofa when I got up, other times he wasn't. I found this a bit strange and enquired if it was a regular thing and one of my housemates (who we'll meet later) said he'd been doing it for as long as she'd lived there.

Badhap is a site where you can share your lousy days, your ugly roommate stories, and general miserable experiences. Just 'cause you're not laughing doesn't mean the rest of us can't!

Categories on this site include:

• I've never been so embarassed
• I had the worst day at work
• Housemates from hell
• I can't believe how drunk I was

...among others. You can even rate the "badhaps" from "not so bad" to "glad I'm not you". You'll find all kinds of stories here, like the guy who was so drunk he did a cannonball - into an empty pool.

So - if you're having a bad day, just check badhap. You're bound to find someone who had a worse one!

Little Spacecraft Falling Down, Go Boom

Kaguya Will Impact the Moon on June 10 | Universe Today

Kaguya Will Impact the Moon on June 10

The Japanese lunar orbiter Kaguya will end its two-year mission with a controlled impact on the Moon’s surface on June 10th at 18:30 Universal Time. The impact location is near the southeast limb at 80ºE, 63ºS. If you live in Asia and Australia, you may have the opportunity to observe the impact event, and the Japanese Space Agency –JAXA – wants to hear from you if you plan on watching for the impact. The event may be visible with a bright flash or plume.

Those of us in the in the northern hemisphere won't get to see this event, but it will likely be tracked and filmed by multiple agencies.

It's not often there's an opportunity to witness such an event, but I do kind of feel like this is our way of dumping trash on the moon. Isn't dumping it down here bad enough?

As we continue to explore the realms of space, moving away from our own planet, we should be making sure we don't abuse the resources of other terrestrial bodies. Yeah, that's a bit melodramatic, but we've done such a great job of fouling things up down here that we really shouldn't be exporting it.

How Long Has THAT Been In There?

StillTasty: Your Ultimate Shelf Life Guide - Save Money, Eat Better, Help The Environment

George Carlin had an old bit about stuff in the fridge. Could be meat...could be cake. Maybe it's meat cake.

And how many times have you heard the old "smell it and see if it's still good" line - which invariably leads to a strong whiff of something that's bound to test your gag reflex.

Well fret no more, good reader! Now you can get a good idea whether it's even worth peeling back the aluminum foil at StillTasty.com. Just type the "food" in question into the search box, and you'll get info as to how long it will last in the fridge, the freezer, and some tips on making if last.

For example, I entered "pizza" and was given the choice between frozen pizza and take-out. I chose take-out, as there's a foil package with week old (give or take a few days) pepperoni in the fridge. StillTasty says it's only good for a day or two in the fridge (should have put it in the freezer - 1-2 months there!). In addition, they recommend that it should be refrigerated within 2 hours of purchase. So much for that pizza box that was left on the coffee table all night.

So, check your fridge, then check StillTasty.com. You may end up with a lot more room in there...

Related

Skittles and Booze

Shark Fin Drink

My Kid Would Never Get To Play With This

EyeClops Toys Change the Way Children See the World

These are some serious cool toys. And as the original poster says, they're even better when the kids are leaning and don't know it.

The toy line features video microscopes, including a version with its own LCD screen. They are also devices to capture and examine bugs, and even a set of night vision goggles that are kid priced.

Kids will love playing with this gear. It looks fun, and they'll never know that there's an actual educational element to it.

Then again, they may have a hard time wrenching them away from the grownups...

Related:

I Want One Of These Little Guys
Shark Fin... Drink?

When The Sign Says "Don't Feed The Bears"...