Memoirs Of An Insomniac...

Thursday night. My home. 26 Hours and still counting....

11:15 PM: 26 hours. That's how long it's been since I had my last nap. I haven't had anything close to sleep for much longer than that....four and a half days to be exact. Since then all I've had can only be termed as naps. The last I slept soundly was on saturday night. That was probably because I drank like a fish that night.Drank like a fish....I wonder who came up with that?? Just because fishes live in water doesn't necessarily mean they drink it all day, does it? What happens if they have to take a leak? Do they go in the water they live in or do they mark out any areas or anything?? Maybe there's something on the net about that. That's the trouble when you don't get enough sleep....you lose all clarity in thoughts. Or you dish out some real pearls of wisdom, like Al Pacino or Christian Bale did in their representations of insomniacs on the celluloid. But they both also did die in the end...i'd rather spout nonsense than die. Chad Kroeger's crooning to Santana's guitar. Love the song. "Into the night"..that's my latest ringtone. And that's my mum calling. And she asks me to go to sleep early. Parent's can be eerily psychic at a lot of times. I tell her I will....I tell myself i'm lying. I go back to the movie i'm watching. It's "Knocked Up"...I can't believe it made it to all time top 250 on IMDB. It's about a guy who's scared of commitment and having responsibilty of a kid. What's new in that? Hey! That dude with the long beard reminds of someone....
12:30 AM: It's a new day. The movie credits are rolling and no sign of drowsiness. I think of calling up Nipun. He'll be up all night too, just like me. For the records he's not into insomnia...it's his job timings that've turned him nocturnal. Otherwise I think he could sleep anytime you'd ask him to. I think i'll call him later, save it until i'm really bored. I take the Blogthings quizzes instead. They're amusing for a while, and I find out that if I was one of the X-men i'd be Mystique, which is cool except it's a girl...I was hoping more like Wolverine or something. And that i have lived 32% of my life, am marriage material, have medium commitment issues and other nonsense like that. I leave when the quiz titled "What fruit would you be?? " pops up...
1:45 AM: Nipun calls up. He's just as doggoned bored as I am, as we've been the last few months. Our conversations probably sum it up. Here's a sample...
"Nipun: Hey..what's happening??
Me: Nothing much. Just sitting around, doing nothing..."
This is followed by idle talk about what's on tv or some movie or songs., followed by thirty seconds of silence. And then,
"Me: So..what's happening?
Nipun: Nothing much. Just sitting around, doing nothing.."
Two bored souls trying to kill time..and failing miserably. Nipun took the X-men quiz too. Turns out he'd be Shadow-Cat. So we both'd be girls...neither one of us is happy. There's something wrong with the site....
2:30 AM: I switch on the TV to see what's on. Tele-marketing infomercials, re-runs of evening shows and B-grade Hollywood movies. So much for late night viewership. Seems like only people who watch television this late are either going bald or are overweight or need to learn english from a guy who reminds me of Santa Claus. HBO's showing Friday the 13th Part 9. It would've scared the crap out of me if I was 8, after that i'd find it funny..now I just feel sorry. I really feel sorry for Jason. Its not enough that he died in High School and has to wear a goalie mask for a face..Wes Craven had to inflict more pain on him and on us by making him re-appear in 8 sequels...
3:15 AM: I'm craving for a smoke right now. But it's been a month since my last ciggie and i'm not going back now. So I settle for a coffee instead. Caffeine for nicotine...a bad choice considering my situation, but i've always been a sucker for rhymes. And if any kids are reading this, Don't do drugs and don't smoke...that'll be my social service for the day. It's funny, but a mug of coffee seems to be a symbol of a man about to get into action, it gets you in that groove. It's like a guy walking with a full mug of hot coffee is saying "Yes!! I'm getting on with a lot of work...and this magical connoction will guide me through it." Batman probably has a coffee thermos tucked in somewhere in his utility belt. The bad guys would take Superman even more seriously if he took a large swig from a cup of black coffee before going "UP,UP AND AWAY"...cause then they'd know he's really serious about kicking their ass, he just had a cup of coffee loaded with caffeine. I need to get some sleep...
4:10 AM: The caffeine's kicked in. And i'm still bored. Bored and wide awake. I try listening to some songs which helps for a while until the fourth track starts. Strange how a song can stifle your breath and stab you through the heart. Ok, maybe i'm exaggerating...what I mean is bring back memories. Songs do that. Arch says i'm too nice a person, I wonder how good a thing that is. Am I really nice?? Am I too nice? Su' says that I try too hard to show i'm tough but inside i'm a softie. That's another way of saying I put up a tough exterior because i'm an emotional wreck inside. Maybe that's why I don't sleep...
5:30 AM: I've just spent the last hour and a half staring at the ceiling...thinking about stuff ranging from god, religion, girls, love, music and scrambled eggs ( that's what I plan on having for breakfast and the hunger pains are kind of setting in!!). The sunlight's started to creep in. Another night gone...
8:00 AM: I've been really early to work all week long for obvious reasons. Insomnia brings a hallucinatory quality to your days. Everything happens in slow motion, like in a dream...and the line between reality and dreams gets thinner than ever. Still an hour before work starts. I could catch up on the blog. It's been a while now. I've got my mug of coffee, I'm a man ready for action....

Friday morning. My cubicle. 35 Hours and counting....