Insomni-aaaack!

Once again, I'm wide awake late at night. I should be and want to be sleeping. Well, I guess if I wanted to be sleeping that badly, I'd be trying to instead of writing in ye olde blogge. But after years of chronic, sporadic insomnia, you get to know the signs and just kind of submit to it. This is somewhat inherited. My mom has been an insomniac for years. As my dad used to say, "How can you sleep with a problem like that?"

In all these years of stolen awake time, I could have learned a language or written a novel or cleaned every drawer and closet in my place numerous times. But instead I've read whatever mystery or thriller I'm reading (currently Edna Buchanan's Shadows). I read until I realize I've read the same paragraph 4 times and don't have any idea what it says, or until the book crashes onto my nose.

Or I've watched tv -- everything from the reshowing of the day's Oprah (which starts at 1:30 a.m. where I am) to middle-of-the-night news to Celebrity Justice to Elimidate (AWFUL!!! but it has its own morbid fascination) but rarely a movie because I usually see it through to the end even if it's 3:00 a.m. I can tell you pretty much what's on every major channel all night long. Usually I know I'm in trouble early on in the late night if I see the end of Craig Ferguson. I love his take on the U.S. and American quirks from the point of view of a Scotsman -- we are a funny bunch, aren't we?

So tonight I actually did sort out my books and video tapes (DVDs take up so much less space!) and then succumbed to part of the Michael Clarke Duncan interview on Jay Leno, which at least wasn't a repeat as Letterman was. Then I flipped over to take in the first few minutes of Jimmy Kimmel (Gary Busey, his first guest, is just sooooo strange....and/or high on something), but the moment Ferguson came on, I was there, even though it was a repeat (with Dr. Phil).

Now Ferguson's over (Ringside, his musical guest, was good! I'm a new fan) and Elimidate is just starting. I can't handle it -- I think I will try again to sleep. Wait, first I have to see which catty bitch will be dumped in round one....