Snow Insomnia

Last night was a perfect storm of insomnia.

I didn't get to sleep until after 5:30, and at one point, even thought, "why bother?" Ultimately, it was knowing that Sunday would completely suck if I didn't get some sleep and a sudden crash around 5:15 that sent me to bed.

Why the insomnia? For someone who can sleep almost anytime, I think there were a few contributing factors:

1. Tea - Tea never usually keeps me awake. I like to say at work that it helps me stay alert, but that I could still fall asleep if I want. This is still mostly true, I think, but it seems to be having more of an effect on me lately, especially tea from Japanese restaurants. Had all of the other factors not contributed, I probably would have slept earlier, and had I just forced myself to go to bed earlier, I probably would have slept earlier... but I didn't.

2. Sleeping in - I end up so exhausted on Fridays that I usually take advantage of Saturdays for sleeping in (and it feels so, so good). Unfortunately this Friday night I stayed up even later than usual (despite being completely exhausted) because I had to finish writing more Christmas cards so we could get them in the mail by my self-imposed deadline of Saturday. Needless to say, we woke up late, and then just relaxed for a few more hours, so by the time the day started, it was already late!

3. Late day shift - Continuing from #2, we woke up late, so we got out of the apartment late, so we ate late, so we shopped late, so we got home late, so we took showers late, so we went to sleep late. Unfortunately, it's an endless cycle, which means that last night, we went to sleep late... so we got up late... repeat.

4. TV - I was supposed to take a shower, but then the repeat of Lost that was on was "The Variable" - the Faraday episode and one of my favorites - and being part of the end of season crescendo of last season's Lost, I couldn't tear myself away until it was over. And I think it started late because of the snow reports. Oops.

5. Naps - Naps usually set me back a bit, and yesterday was no different. I fell asleep on the train ride from Queens to the East Village, and then again from the Upper East Side to home. Oops. (We were smart and didn't do any of our Christmas shopping (other than online shopping) until yesterday, the day that just happened to be the "blizzard." Shopping and trudging through the blowing snow is exhausting!)

6. Electronic clutter - My gmail inbox went back over 3000 because I have been so busy lately with work, Christmas cards and thank you cards that I haven't been taking care of it. I really wanted to get it below 2000 for the new year. So, I had to fix that. I got it under 2850, and right now, it's under 2800, so my goal for tonight is to be under 2700. I was pretty good about it for awhile, and then it got a little too busy.

7. Sick - I'm not feeling all that well today, and am wondering if the beginnings of it were last night and if that also kept me from sleeping.

8. Pictures - I had to upload my pictures of the snow that we trudged through all day and also the snow that confronted us when we got to our apartment, among others. I usually don't upload until the weekends these days and have a lot of catching up to do!

So now I'm sitting at home, not feeling so great, and it's already after 3 pm. I guess it's a good time to start working (is there ever a good time on a Sunday?). I would rather be outside since I love when blue skies and sunlight meet snow piles and think it makes for nice pictures. But since I'm not, here's a picture of our apartment hallway yesterday:

The window was open when we got home. Indoor snowstorm!

Strange

It's been SO strange watching "Wake Up With Al" on the Weather Channel when going to sleep everyday. People on the East Coast are waking up and the sun is rising and I'm going to bed. So strange.

Also strange that it's snowing at home and we spent part of the afternoon going on water slides and hanging out in the pool. I don't know how we're going to adjust to time or weather when we get home.

Danny

Dear Tropical Storm Danny,

Is there any chance you can do something unexpected and veer way off into the Atlantic earlier than expected?

Every weather forecast for this weekend says it's a washout. Friday: showers, Saturday: showers, you get the idea. I have outdoor plans this weekend! I really don't want it to pour! Don't you want everyone to have a nice weekend?

Please, can you go far away from the East Coast? Please?

Love,

Crayon

Hmm

WTF is going on?

 

Typhoon drops 9.5 feet of rain on Taiwan and there is massive flooding.  Earthquake in the Indian Ocean and a tsunami warning in Southeast Asia.  And now, an earthquake in Tokyo and a tsunami warning?

 

What did we do to anger the earth so much??

 

And a tropical storm heading for Maui and Oahu?  This just feels so bizarre.

Late Night List

(Warning: Potential TV spoilers ahead! Although SYTYCD should be done airing everywhere - including Hawaii...)

A few random thoughts instead of sleeping:

1. I have no idea why someone would want a denial of service attack on Facebook and Twitter. I was reading an article this evening asking what the point of such attacks would be (and how that may be the point - not having one). (Sorry, I can't remember which article or I would link it.) All it meant was obsessive reloading of Twitter to try to make it work, and annoyance at feeling disconnected from the world! I finally gave in to Twitter, mostly to aggregate my web surfing, and so far, it had worked - I visit many less sites just to check their updates, because I don't need to check as often. But today, I was disconnected again! And today was the day of the Psych and Burn Notice Twitter contests...

2. On to Burn Notice... I can't wait to watch the summer finale again. That was really, really good. I was worried that with all the hype about how good it was, and all the expectations being built up, that it wouldn't live up to the higher expectations, but it did. I really love that show.

3. I've been talking about it a lot over the past couple of weeks, but I really think that USA Network just gets it right now. They are pretty good at reaching people (Twitter and Facebook contests, updates, etc. just an example), making their people accessible to fans and, perhaps most importantly, they deliver on good content. It is at the point where I will watch whatever new show they put out (can't wait for White Collar) because I have faith in their brand. (I will at least check it out. I don't stick with everything. See: Starter Wife.) They find something that works, they give it a chance to develop, and I wish more networks operated that way. Outside of SYTYCD, I think the majority of the DVR right now is USA shows. I have Psych to thank for all of this (and possibly a trip to DC which first alerted me to Psych).

4. On to SYTYCD... congrats to Jeanine! I voted a few times for Jeanine, more for Brandon, but I would be satisfied with either of them winning. I would not have been happy with a Kayla win (she's technically good but I have never felt a connection with her) and even less happy with an Evan win (he's very good at what he does, but just looked out of place when not in his element with the other dancers). I think Brandon was the best dancer this season and would have loved to see him win, but I knew they wanted a girl to win. I think next season they'll want the winner to be an "unusual" or "underrepresented" specialty, or something like that. Or maybe ballroom...

5. I really do like tacos (from the last post). I could have eaten tacos again for dinner today despite having them for lunch. Yum. I really should do one of those favorite foods posts. But it's so hard! So much good food!

6. I'm excited for the fall TV season (Glee!!!!!) and the press tours only make it more exciting. Although I had to scan quickly through anything related to Fringe today (but still managed to see some of it) since we still aren't finished with last season. Yes, I know it's been a few months. But now we have to watch it online because the DVR failed. I hope it's still on Hulu. I love Hulu.

7. We're going to a wedding in Chicago this weekend. Should be fun, even if it's 90 degrees with scattered storms. Classic Chicago summer, right? Although it feels like this trip should still be weeks from now. It hasn't hit me yet that it's August and there's only like 60 days yet to go. Wasn't I supposed to be in shape by now?

8. I haven't done EA in over a week. Part of it is work - late nights, little sleep - and also my knees and ankles were bothering me for a few days. But it's not good to stop doing it! Bad! The past few days I have been using that Slendertone/flex belt thing. I wonder if it works. I feel some tightness in my abs afterwards but does it really do anything? I guess we'll see?

9. I could go for a taco right now. Or a samosa.

10. I need to get into a better sleep routine. Every day around 3 pm, I just can't keep my eyes open no matter what I do and it's really frustrating. Nothing really works either. What foods can I eat to stay awake? I know the answer is more sleep, but I would like to preemptively combat the fatigue by eating things at lunch that don't give me food coma. Suggestions?

Off to get ready for bed and read some more Harry Potter 1 (yes, I am re-reading all the books to make myself feel better after the butchering of movie 6's story).

Storm

Wow, this is some thunderstorm. The thunder isn't stopping, it's pouring and you can barely see across the street... and now, the sun is out. I am so glad we rescheduled our engagement pictures since they were supposed to be in less than an hour!

Late List

A short post, since it is very late, and I should be sleeping!

1. My gmail inbox is now down to 5780 messages. Considering that it was over 6000 messages earlier today, that's progress. But it doesn't feel like it. It feels so slow. How could I have so many thousands of messages still left? What are they?!

2. We finally finished watching last season's episodes of Chuck and I loved it. I was a little spoiled about the finale since it's been awhile since it aired, but I was excited to see it, and it definitely lived up to expectations. Thank goodness there's going to be a next season.

3. I have decided I'm not going to use up DVR space on Mental. It will be Lie to Me-treatment where I watch it on Hulu when I have time. It's interesting but I don't care enough about it to want to give it a spot on the DVR when it's available on Hulu.

4. Yet again it rained today. They said we have had over 5 inches of rain this month already, and the monthly average is only around 2 inches. Sounds about right. It's been gloomy, cloudy and/or rainy almost every day, with some cold thrown in too. This is not June weather! I feel so bad for all the June brides who planned outdoor weddings here in NYC and have been getting hit with this weather.

5. I went on a shoe shopping spree this weekend. I don't usually like to go shoe shopping, and haven't really bought shoes in a long time (other than work shoes), so it was surprising how many pairs I came home with. But it's good - I discovered a style I like for the wedding and now it's on order (they didn't have my size in that color)! Yay! Another thing (almost) done!

Off to sleep. Will never lose weight if I don't get more sleep. They have done studies about that, I think -- how sleep is necessary if you're trying to lose weight and get in shape. Good night!

Nevermind

Nevermind that last post. That was thunder.

I saw a bright flash inbetween our window blinds, and then the room shook and it sounded like garbage cans had hit the wall. We're in the middle of a thunderstorm! I didn't even know it was supposed to rain!

But the thunder's not stopping. It's actually pretty amazing.

So, what am I not doing? Sleeping. What am I doing? Listening to the booming thunder. Ha.

Hmm. If I saw the lightning through the window blinds, where did it strike? In our courtyard? We're on a low floor and our window faces a courtyard and is blocked by a building on the other side... so in order to see it that brightly... the lightning would have to be pretty close...

This thunder is super intense. Haven't heard one of these storms in quite awhile!

Raining

I couldn't decide if that was loud booming thunder or a truck driving down the street... but now it sounds like it's pouring on the living room windowsill! Either that or someone is spraying my window with buckets of water...

Tornado

How could the Red Cross tornado guidelines change so much?

I'm watching the Weather Channel and they are talking about how the new guidelines say you should stay in your car and try to drive away from the tornado, instead of getting out of the car and getting into a ditch.

How could they have been so wrong about that before? It's the exact opposite!

Seeker

Why am I still awake after 3?! I should just go to sleep so I can get up early, go to work, and leave by noon(ish)!

Anyway, it sounds like it's going to be a rough New Years Eve for the people sticking it out in Times Square tomorrow night. They predict a wind chill of 8. And it's supposed to be snowy and rainy all day. I was thinking I might have worked up my running ability to be able to do the Central Park run this new year, but I haven't, and now I'm kind of thankful since it's going to be so cold and disgusting out!

In other news, I have gotten sucked into Legend of the Seeker and am now up to episode 5. I seem to watch any TV shows that deal with magic. I watched Charmed all the time on TNT during law school (every day?) and even watched Valentine on Hulu this season (which was like Charmed but worse). I love magic. Harry Potter magic, Charmed magic, any magic. So even if the show isn't great, I'll watch it. But I really liked Legend of the Seeker!

I really need to go to sleep. This is ridiculous...

Frostbite

That poor man on the Weather Channel!

He's in Fargo, ND in the middle of the blizzard, and before they cut to him, the person in the weather center was like, "How are you holding up against frostbite?"

Sure, while you're toasty and warm in your studio, you're making the man do a report from outside in the blizzard and white-out where the wind chills are more than 20 below zero... and you're joking with him about how his face is doing with frostbite? He can't even zip his coat all the way up or wear a scarf or face mask because he has to do the TV report! Don't make him talk anymore! Let him go inside to warm up before his face falls off! The "cold" advisories we used to get in Chicago said you could get frostbite if you were outside for minutes with exposed skin. Poor man.

He's finally done talking. "Try to stay inside as much as possible." Then stop making him report on the blizzard!

Annoyed

Today has been, for lack of a better word to describe it, "annoying."

Maybe it was a reflection of the weather, but everything was annoying today! To illustrate, today I was annoyed:

- when I woke up and read the emails waiting for me on my blackberry

- that it was dark, cold, damp and/or rainy all day long

- that I have felt sick and/or weak and/or weary day after day, causing me not to go to the gym for over a week

- by all the work I have to do and all the work that just doesn't seem to get done

- that I had to go to Europa for lunch to avoid the rain (but luckily it's in our building) instead of someplace more exciting

- that when I went to Europa for lunch, some girl slapped her umbrella around getting my entire suit jacket wet, since I deliberately went to Europa so that I wouldn't get wet

etc, etc, etc. There's more where that came from.

The bright spots were no line at the bank when I went to deposit a check in the morning and the serenity at an odd moment of the day when I sat alone in a conference room waiting for a meeting that ended up not happening but where it was quiet and peaceful and I got a lot of work done (despite an active movie shoot on that floor).

Hopefully tomorrow is a better day. I'm feeling a little less annoyed now after watching Eli Stone...

Getaway

I love that it's Sunday night (technically Monday morning, 1:39 am) and the Weather Channel is showing the "getaway forecast" for the Hamptons, Atlantic City and the Catskill Mountains. I always joke about looking forward to the weekend on Monday at work, but posting a getaway forecast on TV before the work week even gets started? Fantastic.

In other news, while walking past Bread Factory Cafe near our apartment this evening, I saw my horoscope on the TV screen. It said to research travel destinations. It's trying to tempt me, knowing I am not going on vacation for the rest of 2008. It doesn't mean I won't research travel destinations though! I read some of my travel magazine tonight, and also uploaded photos from my 2006 Puerto Rico trip, including some things that I totally forgot I saw.

And since we're discussing travel, I love when The Amazing Race goes to New Zealand. This was one of my favorite mat greeters - hi Phil's dad! That was great!

Heat Wave

It's just wrong that it's 89 degrees, with a heat index over 90 degrees, at midnight.

Very, very unpleasant.

Ice Follow-up

If you're wondering - the sedan spinning was in St. Louis.

Ice

That was scary to watch.

The Weather Channel just showed a blue sedan driving on a very icy road. It spun out of control, slid diagonally across three lanes, spun around, slid in reverse (in the direction of traffic), spun around again and seemed to stabilize. It is amazing that there was no crash (at least they didn't show one). But it was absolutely frightening to watch.

It reminds me of the time when Alvin drove us from Champaign to Pittsburgh. We were in Ohio, it was torrential downpours (and we were still on the road). An SUV not far in front of us literally spun off the road in a circle. It was like watching in slow motion and quite scary.

To everyone in this wintry mix, snow and ice - drive carefully!

Snow

Wow, it's snowing like crazy outside.

When they show the snow and icy mix colors on the Weather Channel map, it reminds me of ice cream for some reason.

From ice cream, I get to yogurt. From yogurt, I get to Red Mango. (Since Pinkberry's not really yogurt, and we don't really know what it is, right?)

The new Red Mango opened on 8th today. They gave out free yogurt from 3-10 pm. Free yogurt! Yet when I got there around 8:30, it was fairly empty. There was no line. I wonder if it was busier earlier and it just got slow. I worry though, since the location is hidden under this scaffolding that has been up for like over a year (without much visible purpose) and I don't think anyone knew it was opening and giving out free yogurt until today.

So... as much as I hate lines ... I love Red Mango yogurt (especially topped with fruit and mochi, yum). For that reason, I am telling everyone that they are open and you should all go. It's healthy and delicious. Yum.

I wish they were open for breakfast. Although maybe I should be glad they're not. It could get really expensive stopping there every morning.

Spring

This afternoon, it felt like springtime outside. It was exhilarating. Not so exhilarating was my 30 minute errand to the post office to buy stamps. At least I picked up some pretty stamps - the 90 cent air mail stamps have pictures from Guam, and I also got a book of pretty flower stamps and the American favorites - Louis Comfort Tiffany ones. I always end up spending a lot of money on stamps when I go to the post office. I need to send more mail. :)

Cold

Apparently it's 24 degrees, but it feels like 8. I believe it. My skin hurts. I think I was more accustomed to this in Chicago but I've gotten weak. Thank goodness for the heavy sweatpants I bought on the Alaska trip. They have been quite helpful this winter.