All-nighters

When I was a little kid, my parents had to turn the lock around on my bedroom door and lock me in b/c I would wander around the house after everyone went to bed. They also got me a night-light so I could play with my toys in near-dark after they went to bed.

Little did they know I was taking the light bulb out of the night-light and sticking my finger in there.

I just didn't like going to sleep, and I still don't. I don't know if I think I'm going to miss something or what, but sometimes I get in bed and as soon as I lay down I'm wide awake, thinking about something that's not that important.

In college the all-nighter was kind of a badge of courage. If you stayed up all night drinking, you were probably having a great time and the 2-day hangover was your trophy. If you stayed up all night studying, you were fully dedicated to school, and willing to pay the price for slacking off for an entire quarter.

Once you're out of college, though, the all-nighter loses some luster. Especially when you just can't sleep. It happens to me sometimes, but pretty rarely. Sunday nights are usually the worst, though, and this past Sunday was a bad one. After tossing and turning until 3:30, I got up, read a book for an hour, tried to go back to sleep, and finally got up a little after 5 and went to work.

And it sucked. I've been paying for it all week. The only bonuses were that I got to leave work at 2 (having worked 8 hours already) and got this sweet photo of Dupont Circle area at 5:30. I'd always wondered what it looked like that early.

The answer, of course, is that it's dark as hell and empty.