good times, bad times, you know I've had my share

Disclaimers: I am PMSing. I also have way too much melatonin floating around in my system. These conditions could tend to skew my feelings on any subject.

Insomnia. I've spent the last couple of weeks sleeping so much and so randomly that my circadian rhythm has quit in protest and my sleep/wake cycle is in full hamster mode. I wasn't sleepy until almost 7:00 am. I woke at 3:00 pm. This is not normal, unless I'm being paid to follow my nocturnal instincts and work nights. Meanwhile, I can't sleep until the world wakes and it's hard to get things done if I'm asleep during business hours.

My brain is pickling in melatonin. Melatonin is the stuff your body makes to get you ready for sleep. It slows down body functions and thought processes and so on. Melatonin production is shut off by sunlight hitting the retina. Not only have I been sleeping, I've been sleeping in the world's darkest apartment. This place gets no natural light. (I can't wait to move.)

But meanwhile, I'm feeling really... slow. Like short-bus slow. My mind is struggling along on three cylinders. Which is why I've been, well, boring.

Yeah, I know about the light bulbs. The full-spectrum ones. I always mean to order them, but I keep forgetting. Besides, I have my enormous car-insurance payments to make and the sun bulbs are expensive.

I don't wanna work out. I need to go to the gym. Seriously. Lord, just get me up in time. And don't let me fall asleep when I'm there.

I want my DSL. Earthlink wrote tonight to warn me that I'd gone over the time limit on free dial-up access for DSL subscribers. I forwarded their note to the DSL service guy. Of course I'm not paying for dial-up access and DSL since January 7 when I haven't gotten the DSL modem from them yet. I was trained in consumer advocacy by two of the best; I've already taken on Verizon Wireless and Hewlett-Packard and won. Earthlink doesn't stand a chance.

(Five bucks says they end up giving me this month, and maybe next month, free. These things happen when you send registered letters to CEOs cc: the state attorney General.)

Nirvana - "Polly." I caught this song on FNX the other night in my car. I hadn't heard it in years. I downloaded it off LimeWire and have been listening to it since. I love the song, but it's a downer, and it's stuck in my head.

I have flowers. I love having flowers in the house. I've been too sick or too busy to buy them these days. The whole apartment is scented.

I got my hair cut. Never fails to pick me up. I fed my Bumble & Bumble addiction, told my life story to my longtime hairstylist/friend/shrink, and left with my hair looking fabulous.

I got to check out an iPod. My hairstylist is even more of a gadget freak than I am, and he had a new one, which he handed to me and suggested I play with it. I did. I am in love. I am green with envy. I must own an iPod.

On a side note, we talked about how important portable personal music is to us. Everyone who lives in a city has a Walkman or a Discman or a Rio (or an iPod). My suburban friends, close and long-distance, never think about them, often don't own them. It's like you can pick out the urbanites by who's wearing headphones. Interesting cultural split. Did I mention I must own an iPod?

I found my favorite lip balm online. Bloom's Aromatherapy Lip Balm in Cool Lips (peppermint) at sephora.com. And it should be here soon.

Jessamyn linked to me. I'm stoked. I love her journal. By some chance, I started reading her right about the time she started writing; I must have followed her signature from a forum. I kept reading and she kept getting better, and then somewhere she brought tears to my eyes, which puts her in the must-read section. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Jessie.

Jessamyn is also to blame for my current affair with digital photography (I promise better photos soon. I need daylight.) Her pictures are so good I bought the same camera (insert creepy Single White Female music here). It turned out that her pictures are good because she has a good eye, but I heart my camera anyway.