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Friday, October 9, 2009

Silent Night

by Bonacci

Hmmm… Carol says she’s out of blogs. The only better thing I have to do right now is sleep. Since I know that’s highly unlikely, I’ll write this. A better use of time as opposed to laying in a bed and just getting frustrated because I’m in a bed, doing nothing and not liking it.

I am an insomniac. Not the “Gee, I’m having trouble sleeping, give me a pill” insomniac; I’m the real deal. I sleep 3-4 times a week, and for maybe 2-4 hours on a good night. It’s a major lifestyle choice. More of a commitment than kids – that’s only 18 years. I’ve been at this for over 25 years.

I’ve laid down certain rules for me, like not sleeping during the day. There are still those who are convinced that I sneak sleep. WTF? Sneak sleep? Do people do that? Is it a crime? I don’t sleep during the day because I don’t want to screw myself up even more. If I wanted to, then I damn well would.

Pills work at putting me to sleep, but then I’d be popping them all the time and not doing anything to solve the real problem. Maybe it’s not really a problem? I have a lot of energy. Who says we should get 8 hours of sleep every night? Why? I’ve not turned into a pumpkin or anything. I think I’m okay.

Once in a while I catch up on my sleep somewhat. It usually involves getting hit in the head. Man, you don’t even have to try when that happens! It doesn’t even hurt until you wake up. Just, THUNK. You’re out. I don’t recommend this, but if it happens, there’s your half-full glass right there.

People get angry with me for not sleeping. I don’t know why. I ask nothing of anyone. I don’t complain and I’m quiet when others are asleep. That’s mostly true. I’ve been guilty of a sleep prank now and again. There is nothing so entertaining as setting off fireworks in someone’s bedroom whilst they’re buried in restful slumber.

Forget success, discovery and fame. My goal is to one day learn the ancient art of closing one’s eyes and going to sleep. It’s a whopper, I know. My quest continues.

81 comments:

  1. Woot! Tina...Are you feeling all right?

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  2. Morning Glories!

    Woot Scrishy you are fast on the draw of late! Congrats on first!

    Bon I have had insomnia problems over the years but nothing like yours. My insomnia hits at different times but I have deduced a pattern for me. Stress and worry can trigger insomina and hormones play a huge starring role.

    I can usually figure out a hormone shift is afoot when my sleep patterns go south.

    I have read that some people are just hard wired to need less sleep than others. They are more reved metabolism wise.

    Me if I go down this path it is not good. I have memory problems and emotional out bursts. Then I hit the zombie stage where I don't care about anything and that triggers depression. Not fun at all.

    Don't have any answers for you. If it does not bother you then I would guess it is your natural state.

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  3. Bonacci...I'll join you on your quest! I'd like to be able to not only fall asleep when I'm supposed to but stay that way as well. I love it when people say "You need to get some sleep." Well, duh! What clued you in? The black circles under my eyes? Or the fact that I will bite your head off at the least provocation? Pills will only work for me a night or two and then somehow my body adjusts to them and...nothing. My latest "trick" is to read a really old, boring technical manual. Unfortunately, I seem to be learning how the inside of a camera works.

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  4. Good morning to Scrish & LynnD! We've finally made it to Friday. What a week it's been. A nice, relaxing weekend is just around the corner for all of us. Except Carol. She's got that smell.

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  5. Bonchichi....No relaxing weekend here. I hope to "declutter" my house and am making the SO help, which ought to be interesting as he is a pack rat!

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  6. Lynndeeeee...Hope things are going better for you and Mr Lynn D. Sounds like a very difficult situation.

    Off to get a shower and get moving..

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  7. Good Morning Hooters!

    Congrats on 1st Scrishy!!!

    Bon- I feel your pain (so to speak). I haven't had a full night's sleep in years and years and years. Either I can't fall asleep or I wake up every few hours. Some nights I only get a couple of hours total and some more. I NEVER sleep in the day (nap) because then I am totally screwed. NO caffeine after 12 noon and it better be dark and quiet in the room.

    Hi Lynn!!!

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  8. Good morning!

    Wow I made top 10! Congrats again on 1st Scirishy!

    I feel for ya Bona, I can't imagine that little sleep.

    I love to sleep, no problem getting there luckily. I get an average of 7 hours per night, and once in a while 8 or more.

    I know people who get by on 3-4 hours per night, I have never met anyone who sleeps only a few nights a week. As long as you feel ok!

    Hi Lynn!

    Have a nice day everyone!

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  9. Good morning, Scrishy, Lynn D, Bon, Goldie, and Judy!

    Bon: As Judy said, you're lack of need for sleep is really unusual! Make the most of it!

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  10. morning everyone.....gosh I have the opposite problem.....my head hits the pillow and I am gone....I even sleep well on planes and in cars.....

    Since Tina...facebook...farmville and Island paradise have come into my life I am usually up until 2 or 3am but sleep for 5 or 6 hours like a rock and nap late in the day for 3 to 4 hours so I CAN stay up late...lol...

    Those extra hours that i spend sleeping would sure come in handy......

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  11. Hi Goldie, Whabby and EBJ!

    Scrishy could you come declutter my house? Maybe I would sleep better.

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  12. Scirish~ congrats on first! I'm feeling fine...It's friday....my day off...it's the day I catch up on my sleep.....I am usually asleep until 3pm~

    Bonachichi~ If that's what ur body needs....then so be it~ Mine is the exact opposite! I could sleep my life away! Waking me up is a chore! I have always had two alarms and I have to trick myself into waking up! The blaring alarm that is next to my head doesn't work anymore....I've mastered the art of staying asleep while my hand hits snooze! I have to put the alarm on the floor out of reach....and now I also use my cell phone alarm and that's in the bathroom set on fog horn!!! A couple of times I've managed to get up, hit snooze, and stay asleep while I crawl back into bed! This week I've slept only 4 hours each night.....friday is the day I make up for it~

    lol....scrishy....could you pick up a manual on how to hem pants with a sewing machine...i need to learn that! ...just let me know~

    DeeDee~ You can totally blame me for your lack of sleep! I do believe tho that I gave you a schedule of when to be up and when to sleep~ :)~

    and a gracious good morning to you, LynnD, Goldie, EBJ, and Bear~

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  13. Good Morning!

    BONACHI: I am not much of a sleeper either. All these years of bopping back and forth from day shift to night shift to swing shift have left my internal clock with an overwound spring. I'll be talking to someone on the phone and suddenly realize I've been up 26 hours..this usually happens after I've asked the same question for the 6th time. ;) When I do finally go to bed, I usually only sleep 4 or 5 hours and then I'm up and at 'em again. Because of the heat, it's harder to sleep here in the summer..I'm finding that I fall asleep faster now that the nights are cooling down..and the dreams..wowzer..don't wake me up! ;)

    Good luck on your quest BONACHI..I hope you find that perfect night of slumber soon..without the headknock.. :)

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  14. SCIRISH: FIRST! Woohoo! :D I don't get grrrry when I don't sleep, I get silly...very, very silly...

    LYNND: I find I worry a lot less when I get a reasonable amount of sleep..I actually think it's because I AM asleep though.. ;)

    GOLDIE: Idontseemtohaveaproblemwithcaffeine:D

    DEEDEE: You gotta keep an eye on those exotic birds..ijs.. ;)

    TINA: I seem to be able to turn off the alarm between the click and the music..sometimes I even get to it a second before the 'click'..I really do think you can train yourself to do this somehow. Mr Z could sleep through a brass band marching across the bedroom.. ;)

    G'morning BEAR and EBJ!

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  15. OMG!!! Bonachichi...i just remembered something.....one morning at 6am my husband grabbed me...and yes....i mean grabbed me up off the bed and got in my face and said, "The police were just here....we have to evacuate..they think there's a bomb across the street!" I've never woken up so damn fast! I slept thru the doorbell, hubby yelling at the kids to get up...but not being yelled at in the face and the word bomb! At least I have my priorities~ :)~

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  16. Scirish, numero uno!!

    What a good topic Bonacci. It appears a lot of us are not "normal" sleepers except EBJ LOL!
    I have read & heard that 8hrs and more are needed for a good healthy mind & body. I can understand it for the very young as they need rest to grow in mind and body, but at my age I find sleeping time consuming. I sleep about 5hrs sometimes an hr more or less depending on Mr Mary's snoring pitch lol!! I do allow myself some "catch-up time" once or twice a month. Being retired makes it easy to do that.
    In my 21-30 yrs, I look back now and wonder how I slept at all raising 2 boys while working, sometimes 2 jobs at a time and still had time to party after hrs!!
    Tina, don't forget to take lots of pics of the pre prom outfits hopefully with your kids in them lol! I miss buying my Nieces their prom dresses.

    Scirish~ are there a few "headless" members in you family ;0

    Zona, I like that you get silly.

    Lynnd, I will stay clear when you are "sleepless-in-Washington"

    Waving at my sleep depraved er deprived owls and those who sleep well on their perches
    I am off to buy gross-er-ies.

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  17. Ahhh. It seems everyone has sleep issues. We are very hung up on that 8 hours. That 8 hour rule has caused some very frustrating times for me.

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  18. Hi! My name is Shirley and I suffer from sleep apnea. Five years ago I was sleeping in a chair because I couldn't breathe when I slept in my bed. Now thanks to my CPAP machine that is no longer the case. I can get 8 hours of restfull sleep every night.

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  19. CPAP! ANOTHER ONE OF OUR FINE SPONSORS!

    Shirley that sounded just like a commercial! lol.....but thats marvelous.....I have a friend that uses one and what a difference it has made.......

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  20. Congrats on 1st Scirish!

    Good afternoon Scirish, Lynn D, Bonachichi, Goldie, EBJ, Whabbear, DeeDee, Tina, Zona and Mary.

    Great blog Bonachichi! Sleep is different for everyone because no two bodies are alike (well, except me and Pink...I've been told we could be twins). For me I know what lack of sleep does, it makes me really really cranky.

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  21. DeeDee I wanted it to sound like a commercial, but wasn't sure if anyone would get it. But you got it! Thanks!

    They are a great machine. Best $1800.00 I ever spent!

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  22. Hi, Shirley! Welcome to the Owl's Nest!

    LOL!

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  23. Scirish..

    Happy 1 :O)

    Shirley..

    Nice to meet ya! :O)

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  24. Happy Friday Owls.

    I am in the majority group here. I used to stay up at least until Leno was over and usually until after Craig Ferguson was over. Now that Leno is on at 10 I can usually be found farming until Craig is on. (I can't stand Conan.)

    Then I sleep for a couple of hours and wake up. I can't get back to sleep right away, so I put the TV on. That's how I get into trouble ordering stuff from QVC that seems like a good idea at 3am.

    Dr. Oz had a segment today about the affects of sleep deprivation on memory and driving. Not good! But at least now I have something to blame it on.

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  25. Zona..

    That is very strange that your address is now on the tax records, somehow it was def changed.. hope you get a resolution.. keep me posted

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  26. Sacbarb..

    Howdy!! waving @ you above me..

    :O)

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  27. I need a sleep aid, so I take a 1/2 ambien each nite, I still am up till around 12:30a ish, but once I go to sleep I don't wake up till the alarm goes off in the morning.. If I did not take the sleep aid, I would def never sleep.. which would be a bummmer cause I am cranky when I don't sleep..

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  28. And when I was younger sleep was never a issue.. I would be out for the count.. as I got older sleep was hard to come by.. so I am very glad I have something that helps..

    Shirley..
    I have heard those machines work wonders.. and I guess its true

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  29. Skunk in the Trunk Update....

    Tomato Juice really, really, really works.. I recommend it to anyone who gets a skunk in their trunk.. :O)

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  30. EBJ..

    Sorry I missed the march.. I switched over to youtube and then went to bed..

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  31. Ok.. off and running..

    Hope all is having a good day!

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  32. Scirish, Congrats on #1.

    Tina, So did the cops find a bomb or did you all get up for nothing?

    Shirley, The resemblance is uncanny.
    can you sing like Pink too? :)

    I finally have sound on my computer so now I have to go back and listen to all the blog videos.

    Waving to all the Owls. I hope you are all having a good day.

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  33. Howdy Carol. I am going to go listen to all your blog vids now. I love listening to your NJ axent.

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  34. BONACHICHI: I like my sleep but I just do it at a different time than people I know. My schedule has really changed with my husband working from home. He works all night and sleep part of the day and I have found myself in this same situation. We end up going to bed sometimes at 4-5AM and then sleep unless I have something going during the day. I actually don't care for this sleep pattern but it really seems to bother my friends and family. They can't understand how they are getting off work or school and I am waking up. I don't know why it bothers them so much and then I feel like I am always defending why we do it AND then it makes me mad at me wondering why I feel the need to do that defending. I can sleep a lot and like to sleep a lot but that's why I joined the Night Owls a couple of years ago!! Øur phone rings at midnight and we think nothing of it but let it ring at 8AM and we think someone died!!

    I have to tell you all a funny story. I was reading the FB comments to me last night and one was from Mary and I was reading something to MRD and she had asked if he was out of the doghouse. You should have seen the look on his face and then asked me when he was and why. He had no idea...and he even brought me beautiful flowers last night BEFORE I told him about being mad at him on Tuesday. His comment about taking that player, "you snooze you lose".

    Well, I am off to my oldest granddaughters bday parry. She turned 11 today.I can't believe my baby is growing up so fast. She is having a Pampering Party for some girls and then a sleepover. I am in charge of the face masks for the kids. I feel honored because I am the only grandparent included in this party. I am not doing the sleepover :)

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  35. Diane, that was funny about Mr D! How nice that he got you flowers!
    Have fun tonight!

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  36. I think it's funny Mr. D didn't even know he was in the doghouse!

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  37. CHI CHI...interesting blog. It seems that even if we are not hanging in the nest, there seem to be a lot of us with sleep deprivation in common! I average about 4 - 5 hrs a night...and now I know I need more. By the time Sunday rolls around, I can sleep all day! I am trying to stop the caffeine in the afternoon.

    SCIRISH...woo hoo...3 in a row! You go girl!

    SHIRLEY...it seems you got a good nights sleep last night!

    TINA...I wish I could sleep till 3 on my days off! I still end up waking up early.

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  38. Hello and good evening ladies.

    Scirish..congrats on first!

    Carol: Sounds like a crazy week for you from yesterday's blog. I hvne't even had a chance to go back and read the comments to that one.


    Bonacci: Wow, that is an insomniac. I am sorry people give you such a hard time for it. I never realized that people could be like that. I hope things are better with your daughter.

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  39. Mo~ it's so nice to sleep late....as long as there's nothing going on...I get to do it~

    Di~ sounds like a fun night~

    Tonight was the Homecoming game....thank God we won~ It was fun....all the Freshman parents volunteered in some way....hubby and I manned/womanned the hamburger stand....i sold and hubby cooked...it was fun~ And I got to meet the freshman kids' date...I apologized to her in advance~ The senior painted himself again....and this time HE had a bulge himself! THAT I didn't need to see~ The original bulge guy.....cute! and tall...and dark...and handsome....and painted! I love hanging out with all the parents and watching the kids....they are so hilarious~

    Well....I'm off to watch Grey's on abc.com....somehow...lacrosse and mtv are trumping my shows and they aren't getting taped....I think I'll lock the tv this week~ :D

    Happy weekend everyone~

    oh....and 73! DeeDee's age...but just for a little over a month! :)~

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  40. scirish Congrats on being first today! I guess Tina was sleeping. :)

    Bonach Great blog today! Wow, you really are an insomniac. I can't imagine continuing to function on so little sleep. I guess there are those rare individuals that can do it. You may be running on Mountain Dew.

    I, on the other hand, love to sleep. I usually wake up several times a night because of my back or hips aching but I go right back to sleep when I change positions. I probably get about 7 hrs a night most of the time and sometimes 8. If I let myself, I could sleep for 10 hrs or more. When I worked full time, I got about 6 hrs a night and then made up for it by sleeping extra long on the weekends. At least that's what I told myself. I think, technically, you can't make up for it.

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  41. Goldie I'm like you in that I need silence and absolute darkness. If I have that, though, I go to sleep within a minute or two.

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  42. I'm 1st on Saturday cause there is no where to post on Saturday's blog.

    I'm 1st!!!
    I'm 1st!!!
    I'm 1st!!!
    I'm 1st!!!
    I'm 1st!!!
    I'm 1st!!!

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  43. SHIRLEY...I can't post on the Saturday blog either. ;(

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  44. No posting for Bonacci as well. I thought it was just my laptop, but I've tried 4 so far. Same thing.

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  45. Mo and Bonachichi I just posted a comment on Saturday's blog. I went to the side of the main page and clicked on the name of the blog. The blog came up and all the comments did too. At the end was the comment link and I clicked that and was in! But the comment link still isn't showing for me on the main page. But I got in.

    Lynn was 1st today.
    DeeDee is going to prison.
    Carol has a busy day.
    EBJ has a hangover.
    Jennifer is writing in code...305?

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  46. Thanks, Shirley! Will give it a whirl!

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