Sleepwalking

I finished reading "The Algebraist" a few days ago, but haven't made it to the library yet to pick up something new. Last night, desperation drove me to pull "A Tale Of Two Cities" from my bookshelf (we read it in 11th grade English class; i saved my copy). After the first page i realized that i was too tired and distracted to be able to focus on Dickins, so i gave up; set the book on my nightstand, and turned on NPR to let the BBC News lull me to sleep instead.

Overslept this morning; finally dragged myself out of bed around 9:30 (been watching the Olympics every night; my body isn't used to staying up so consistently late anymore) and started my morning routine. When i logged in to check my email and facebook, i noticed "A Tale Of Two Cities" sitting on my coffee table. The book which i know i left on my nightstand is now in the living room, and i have no memory of moving it.

I vaguely remember other instances of sleepwalking over the years - waking up and finding my pillow in the hallway, for example, or other objects moved.

One time in particular (when i was living in Urbana) i was having an intense dream in which i was being chased through a forest by something big & scary. I realized that i couldn't outrun it, so i finally decided to turn and face the creature. I crouched behind a tree, hoping to take it by surprise. Right as it approached, i woke up...crouched behind the chair in my living room, soaked in sweat, heart pounding, gasping for breath. It took me several minutes to realize what was going on as the eerily-lit woods faded and my dark living room materialized.

On a related note, this seems to be happening more and more of late: I'll half-wake up in the morning, realize that i need to get going, fall asleep again, and then dream my attempts to get out of bed. My physical body's inability to move is translated into the dream where i'll struggle to move (and fail). It'll feel like i'm trying to swim through molasses, or suffocating under an invisible force. Not very pleasant; usually i'll give up on trying to move and finally wake up a few minutes later. But occasionally i'll be able to wrench myself awake - into a nice bit of sleep paralysis :-/

...

I've watched more tv in a week and a half than i have in the past year combined. And since my ReplayTV is dead, i have to actually sit here and *watch* live (which i haven't done at all in a good 4-5 years).

But i really have been enjoying the Olympics. All of the events have been fun to watch (or at least the ones that NBC is airing), but gymnastics have been my favorite summer game for a long time - ever since Barcelona in 1992 when i first discovered the sport (and developed a bit of a crush on Kim Zmeskal, heh). Even in the complicated world of start values, age controversy, etc, the strength, agility, and pure skill of these young athletes is just spectacular.

...

As a final note, i realized this afternoon that i don't know what day it is today. I didn't bother checking, as it doesn't really matter right now, and i'm getting an odd bit of satisfiction out of not knowing.