"Bouts of Insomnia"

12/21/01 2:38am When people say "I¡¯m going to bed," you can safely assume that they are about to crash for the night, get some rest, receive some shut-eye, or let the bed bugs bite. Call it whatever you want, but when I `go to bed,` that¡¯s about all I end up doing. Its the most frustrating feeling in the world trying to lose consciousness when all I can do is conjure up some deep-thoughts that will keep me up for a few hours. Isn¡¯t it ironic how I¡¯m a first class dreamer, yet it¡¯s hard to attain a dream-like state? Ever since my return to Houston, any given evening would be spent as such...
7:00 - 7:30pm: Eat Dinner
7:30 - 11:00pm: Watch T.V., chill
11:00pm - 1:00am: Read Harry Potter
1:00 - 2:00am: Get online
2:00am: First attempt to sleep
2:30am: Get back online
3:00am: Get hungry (drink a Coke)
3:30am: Get bored, update my AA page
4:00am: Second attempt to sleep
5:00am: Start listening to morning radio programs
6:00am: Sleep
As you can see, my frequent updates on my AA page are a direct result of my bout with insomnia. Drinking caffeine at 3am in the morning ends up keeping me wired for a few more hours. After that, it¡¯s a battle with the morning radio stations and those annoying chirping birds. What irks me even more is the fact that all day, I fight to stay awake so I¡¯ll have a fighting chance at getting some sleep that night. I nod off to sleep sometimes while watching T.V., but I fight through it. Then, when it hits around the 2am mark, I become completely awake. You can call it `the peak hours` of my day. Thank goodness for AIM; otherwise, I¡¯d probably die of loneliness and boredom.
On September 11th of 2001, terrorists linked to the Al Qaeda network hijacked several commercial airplanes, using them as weapons of mass destructions. Several months later, I go to the airport to pick up my dad and sister (on separate occasions) at Bush Intercontinental Airport. Security has obviously tightened up, slowing down the process of routine pick-ups. We Houstonians don¡¯t have the luxury of an organized transit system like DFW; hence adding to the chaos and turmoil associated with airport traffic. Thanks Terrorists, you¡¯ve made my year (note the sarcasm)...