Wednesday, October 31, 2007

The problem with night-time

So I'm a self-induced insomniac. I HATE going to bed. I'm like that little kid that says, "Just 5 more minutes, mom..." (and ironically, I say the same thing when I wake up.) I think it's because I think I'm going to miss something. So I have this constant urge to just stay awake. And I hate myself for it in the morning. But it just won't stop. And now you'll get to see some of the fruits of staying up late. This may not be entirely coherent.

The other problem with night-time is that I get these fits of creativity (perhaps fits of pseudo creativity). I think my muse finds it funny to keep me up at night. Since I've wasted the night away flipping between episodes of Scrubs, South Park, and Mythbusters, she thinks it'd be great to give me a couple creative one liners that could spark some kind of creative writing. Or an idea about what to do about a Halloween costume. Or some dish that would be quite palatable with edamame. And if I don't write it down, she gets mad and stops visiting me. I've found the best way to materialize these ideas is to write text message drafts on my phone addressed to no one. I shared one of these fits of creativity with Brooke once, and she demanded who I wrote it about. It was about no one, just a thought I had in the wee hours of the morning that I needed to write down or face the wrath, nay, the neglect of my muse. Fickle things, muses...

And finally, every night when I got to bed, I turn the light off and stare in wonder at all the lights that are still on in my room. The optic mouse glows red, the cable modem has four green lights and one flashing orange, the router has three more-or-less solid green lights with two or three flashing ones, my printer has a green light, the monitor has a faint orange light when the computer is off, the powerstrip has a red light under the on/off switch, and if I leave my computer in standby mode, it flashes green, too. Then my cell phone sits right next to my bed. Am I being affected (or effected, for that matter) in some way by all these bits of radio waves, etc.? Makes me wonder.

And now I've given even myself reason to say to myself, "Go to freakin' bed, Garrett." And so I shall.

(P.S. Post on all things Halloween coming soon... Maybe after Saturday.)

9 comments:

Haley said...

Sorry you have such a hard time sleeping. My body is very kind to me... I think, "go to sleep" and it will, I think, "stay awake" and it will (though the eyes might get droopy.) I used to be hesitant to go to bed when I was in Logan just because I was afraid I was going to miss some fun, but now that my everyday life is college-free (and, consequently, fun-free) I don't have to worry about that.

garrett said...

Oh, I can sure fall asleep just fine. I'm out in less than 5 minutes when I actually get in bed, I just have this stuborn streak that doesn't want to sleep! It's really stupid of me, but I can't seem to stop the bad habit!

caron said...

I have a similar problem, so I can empathize. I keep falling asleep with the light on doing something or other, and mommy isn't there to turn it off for me. So it stays on. All night long.
But my favorite Garret/sleep story is when you punched your roommate because he was being noisy. That was hil-arious.

garrett said...

Oh deary, Caron, I forgot I told you about that one... I might have to write another bloggy blog to explain myself there... But to keep everyone's minds at ease, I'm not prone to violent tendancies. That was the only time since 6th grade that I'd punched someone with any real intent.

musicgirljen said...

Do you often cook with edamame? I always see it sitting there on the shelf in the produce section, gazing at me as I walk by, but I'm never quite sure what I would do with it.

Our muses must know each other. Mine likes to visit just as I'm trying to fall asleep, and finds it entertaining to feed me just bits at a time so that I have to keep getting back up, because if I don't write it down then, she'll totally shun me in the morning.

caron said...

Sorry, I didn't mean to reveal all your secrets. For the record, he deserved it. And it was really funny.

garrett said...

Jen - No, I don't cook with edamame so much as think of different meals that it might be good as a side. And maybe we need to have an intervention with our muses to tell them to stop being so mean and coming to visit in the middle of the night!

Caron - don't worry, I think everyone I know already knows the story. I'm pretty much an open book. And yes, he did deserve it, and yes, it was funny. :)

Bonny said...

I also have great blog thoughts at inopportune times...on the bus, in the dentist chair, driving, at work (even though i blog at work), on an airplane.

I'm a total sleeper. I love going to bed early and getting up early (or whenever I feel like it, which is usually early).

Katey said...

Garrett, I can relate 100% to this problem. I have had some major issues with this as of late. I don't know what it is that draws me to remain awake. You would think tired morning after tired morning I would stop but I can't.

I don't often think of creative things late at night but my mind seems to conjure up some crazy things while I am sleeping. Funny how the mind works, isn't it?