crash sleeping

I have a lot of trouble sleeping really. It's a combination of having a lot on my mind, and having a weird sleep cycle. Most of the time however, once I have fallen asleep, I stay asleep till morning. However, sometimes I have a problem that I refer to as "crash sleeping". That's what happened tonight.

Basically what happens, is that I get really tired around 10 or 11 at night, and so I get ready for bed, read a few pages of whatever novel I am working on, then turn out the lights. As you may guess, I "crash", and fall asleep right away. I then have several vivid and sometimes frightening dreams, and I wake up with a start. I look at the clock, and usually, I've been asleep for about 20-30 minutes. Tonight it was about twenty minutes. After I have woken from my crash, I think to myself, "dang it, I crash slept!" (I like using terms that I make up). I am then wide awake, and can't fall asleep for hours usually. It's 2:30 right now, and I woke up from my crash at about 11:30. I still don't feel tired at all. Going off past experiences, it could be as late as 4 or 5 before I find sleep again. Not a great thing when the phone could be ringing as early as 6 to tell me if I have job substituting for the day.

I guess I'll read a little more of my book...

question

Alright...so here's a question for you:

If a group of aliens came down to earth, and asked you to come with them right away to their planet for five years without being able to tell anyone that you were going...would you go?

Before you answer...here are some specific details about the opportunity:

1. They are taking around 10,000 people from all over the world with them, so you wouldn't be alone on their planet.
2. The aliens are strange looking, but for the most part, resemble a person in that they have a head, two arms and two legs...eyes and a mouth...etc. But we'll say they are blue, have really big eyes, and don't have any hair.
3. The aliens are peaceful, and very friendly. They have to take your blood once a month, but it is only to study it. There are not any ulterior motives.
4. You will be well taken care of- a place to stay, food, etc.
5. Their civilization is very advanced technologically, and they show you some pictures of their planet, and it looks really beautiful, with crazy, modern looking buildings, gigantic trees, mountains, and waterfalls, etc...
6. They will return you punctually in five years.


If you think you would do it, would you do it for ten years? or fifteen years??


My answer to five years would be yes. I would only be 28 when I came home, and I would have had a crazy experience where I probly would learn so much.

I would maybe do 10. I don't know about 15 years though.

a turkey sausage

I was driving home from downtown Raleigh earlier tonight, and I passed a Denny's. Normally, I wouldn't have been phased by a Denny's....passing one is a fairly unimportant, uninteresting event. However, the sign outside the Denny's was advertising something I found quite unusual. It read... "We have a turkey sausage." Now, I guess the type of person who likes a turkey burger, would also be interested in eating a turkey sausage. However, I didn't realize that turkey sausages were such a sought after item, that one would advertise specifically for them. Did the restaurant get busier once people knew that they had turkey sausages??

I would stop here, but I also have to point out that the sign specifically read, that they had a turkey sausage. I can't imagine the swarms of people who must be turning hard into the Denny's parking lot to take a crack at getting that last turkey sausage. I mean, people are probably calling their loved ones proclaiming the gravity of this event...

"There's only one left!"
"One what???"
"One Turkey Sausage!!"
"NOOOO! Do you think you have a chance at it????"
"I don't know! I'm pulling a u-turn at the next light and getting there as soon as I can!"
"Hurry honey!! HURRY!!!"....

(calls back 5 minutes later)

"Hey! False alarm....turns out it was a typo....they don't only have one left."
"Oh my gosh...they really need to get that fixed! Did you complain??"
"Oh don't worry, I gave them a piece of my mind.....a real piece of my mind!!!.....well, do you need anything from harris teeter?? I'm gonna stop by on the way home."
"No, I think I'm good.....oh actually, could you get a little more cheese??? extra sharp cheddar would be great."
"No problem."

first picture

I realized recently that my blog doesn't have a lot of spunk. What I mean by that, is that I don't have any pictures posted. So I thought I would post this really cool picture for ya'll.
"Julian, why did you choose a picture of a duck?"
..what do you mean?
"I'm just curious as to why you chose a picture of a duck, because it doesn't seem to have any relevance to your blog."
..you don't like it?
"I mean, it's fine...it's a nice looking duck. But I just feel like it's kind of random."
..oh. Do you not see the illusion?
"Umm.......no, I just see a duck. Is there one?"
..Nope....but that's the illusion.
"I'm confused...the illusion is that there isn't an illusion?"
..Yep!
"That actually doesn't make sense."
..It does make sense...you think that there's an illusion, but then when you look for it, there isn't one.
"Well I didn't think there was an illusion until you told me there was."
..But there isn't one.
"Well....I know that now.......you're an idiot."
..hey, you win some you lose some................so do you like the picture?
"Yes, it's a very nice duck."
..thanks.

my recent attempt at a medical study

So yesterday, I checked into a medical study where I would be taking a Morphine pill, and then they would take my blood a bunch of times. In total I would be staying at the lab for 2 nights and 2 days this week, then 2 nights and 2 days next week. Then, when it's all over, they give me a check for $1000. I wasn't too excited about the confinement periods, but could I could use the money, so I was excited about that aspect of it.

Everything started out well. I checked in, and switched the number on my bed with a different number, so I had a better bunk (a bottom bunk next to a power outlet). We then took a pill that was going to lessen the effects of the morphine for the following day. This pill had effects of its own though, and I found it extremely difficult to sleep. However, this could also be partly because I was sleeping in a strange place, and in the same room as twenty men who use these medical studies as their primary source of income.

One of the men decided that it would be normal to speak to his girlfriend long into the night on topics that were fairly personal, and sexual in nature. I remembered from earlier, that he looked around 35, and that he had attended university, at the highly acclaimed institution, SCU. From reading the back of his shirt...I learned that this stood for, Stone Cold University, which is referring to Stone Cold Steve Austin, a professional wrestler. One tidbit I remember from the conversation was a bit strange. The GF was obviously unhappy that he was attending this study, and somehow, the conversation shifted to her bra (sorry about this...). Anyways, he explains that part of the reason he is doing the study is so he can buy her new bras. I'm not really sure how to address this part of the conversation. But this gives you an indication of what I was hearing most of the night.

Theoretically, I should still be there right now, listening to the strange man talking to his girlfriend at a bunk nearby. However, I had a bad response to the Morphine this morning, and threw up. They were therefore forced to send me home, cuz my data wouldn't be valid.....So there you go. No $1000 for me. I think I'll get a check for like $150 or something. Oh well.

looking forward to fall

I really want fall to go ahead and get here. I can sense it approaching, even though the weather hadn't cooled off much until recently. I want the leaves to go ahead and start changing, and I want to sit outside in jeans and a hooded sweatshirt.

Fall also puts me in much more of a reflective state, and I always find myself listening to a lot of indy rock, going for long walks, reading a lot, and basically being extra pensive.

I guess it's also interesting to me that in a few months, fall will be over, and I will be thinking about Christmas time, and hoping for a ski trip into a snowy part of the country. This may not seem like that big a deal, but I guess because of where I am in life right now, a lot could change in the next few months. Maybe I'll look back at this fall and think, "wow....fall 2008, that's where a lot of stuff went down." I think maybe I'm hoping that that's the case.

I guess it's cool to know that God knows fully what's going to go down this fall, whether its circumstantially dramatic for me or not...

And I guess I kind of like not knowing. This way I can hope, guess, and ponder on where my life might go.