It's been a while
Oct 15, 07:12 AM
Nothing like a whole lot of nothing to fill your time.
I got a little nostalgic today and looked back at this blog I wrote back in 2002… you know, before they were cool. Of course it never got published to the internet, and my readership was one particular person who I emailed it to. Pointless…yes.
However it was interesting to look at my life as it was four years ago. A shit load has changed since then… life always seems to have been much simpler in the past. I’ll take this opportunity to finally give the blog the audience it deserves (4 people).
13th August 2002
Sleep.
Simple enough? You would think so wouldn’t you? You get into bed close you eyes – something happens – then you drift in and out of interwoven storylines, and you wake refreshed and revitalised for the day ahead.
Life is never simple.
Falling asleep was difficult. That “something” that occurs to shift you from the waking world to the realm of sleep was running late. My mind was focused on my heartbeat and the apparent irregularity of it and my innate ability to control the rate at which it beats. I soon began to have thoughts of accidentally killing myself by invariably slowing my heart until it stops…. Maybe I’m a hypochondriac. Sometime between these thoughts and about 1am “something” happened.
“This is the captain speaking, we are currently cruising at an altitude of deep sleep, estimated awaking time is 9:30am, where it’s forecasted to be a chilly morning. Sit back, relax, and enjoy your trip”
Having to get up at 9:30 was hardly enough sleep, but still more than what I actually got. Why? Well I could blame society and its strict timetable, I could blame human behaviour and the differences between individuals based on a combination of genetics and environment… but mostly I blame my sister. Her day stars at 6am and it would seem that she wants to share this fact with the household by being as loud as possible in undertaking certain, normally quiet activities, such as having a shower and closing the front door. This reduced my sleep by about 30 min or so.
“There may be some turbulence ahead, so please remain seated when ever possible”
The next interruption occurred at about 7:30, it was like someone was just watching and waiting for me to get comfortable and sink back into a deep sleep and then BAMM! Or in this case beep-beep beep-beep, my mobile phone was alerting me to the fact that someone else besides my sister had nothing better to do than to impose the waking world onto me. It was my cousin. An insignificant fact. A further 20min lost.
A beep echoes, the seatbelt sign flashes on
So with only a short while until my expected time of waking I thought it would be a smooth landing. I was wrong. With about an hour to go, my dog decides that it wants go outside, and pointed this out by barking at the door. Now unlike the brief patches of turbulence before, this was major engine failure and a rapid loss of altitude. I had to get out of bed. I had to walk downstairs. I had to open the backdoor. While all this was occurring my body and the associated clothing was being covered with a layer of cold. And the bed, which I had spent hours warming, lost its comfort in a few minutes.
Back in the cockpit, big red signs flashing “PULL UP” “PULL UP” go unnoticed. The attention is on the failing engines. Altitude is at restless sleep
Back in bed. I’m awake, but I don’t want to be, I try to convince myself that if I tried hard enough I will be able to get those few extra precious seconds. My alarm goes off. The day has officially begun.
“We will be coming into land momentarily. Please return your seats to their upright position, and make sure your seatbelts are secured. We hope you have enjoyed your sleep and you chose to travel with us again. Arrival time in the waking world is 9:30, and the temperature outside is a chilly 3 degrees.”
My day was rather enjoyable, consisting of few events. A single lecture during which I wrote this. A trip to the gym with Dave. A tutoring session with one of my students. Then a nice casual stroll along the coast accompanied by the girl with whom my heart currently resides. The sky was tinged with an orange incandescence and the ocean breathed a sigh of fresh air clearing the mind. Dinner then some entertainment from the television before a visit to the internet and a small proportion of the uni work that is required of me. I’m too tired to do much more.
“This is the first boarding call for passengers to the realm of sleep, your flight is now boarding at the bed”
Filed under: Blog