Insomnia is in!

So we've sprung forward! Yaay! More light! Less dark!

And ultimately (at least for a few weeks) that means less sleep for me. But I'm not alone. The National Sleep foundation released a study saying that about 60% of Americans suffer from symptoms of sleep disorders at least one day a week.

I've been an insomniac for about 15 years. As a kid I apparently slept like a log and had no problems sleeping long and hard all through the night. I slept in the car, at school, at home, in the living room, at my desk -- everywhere. Now I sleep lightly for a few hours each night. If I can get 4 hours without interruption I'm thrilled.

Insomnia, at least for me, is something I have learned to live with. I can manage it pretty well most of the time, but every once in a while I fall off the wagon and go through a prolonged spell of sleeplessness. It's not good. The fastest way to break a human being is to deprive her of sleep.

Anyway, about this time of year I get a little turned around for a few weeks. Daylight savings does that to me.

I blame Indiana for this phenomenon. We never had to change the clocks. The state decided to abstain from participating in Daylight savings and so half the year we were in the Eastern Time zone and the other half in Central.

I never had to change my clock until I went to college.

And so with a heavy heart I spring forward this year. In a week I'll be fine. But at least for this week, as my alarm sounds each morning I'll wish I could hit snooze for a few minutes more.

Movies, movies, movies!
Over the weekend we rented a fine little film called Session 9. It's creepy and atmospheric without being overly gorey or contrived. I think you can see where it's heading, but the journey is enjoyable.

This was clearly a very low budget movie, but I really liked the creative use of camera and lighting by the director. I strongly encourage people who enjoy a suspenseful, psychological thrillers to check out this film.

We also went to the movies which is really becoming a challenge. The movie we wanted to see was sold out at 9:30 last night so we went to see it at 11:45 this morning. The jury is still out on my opinion of the movie. More on that later...

Queenie
I’m not the only one voicing a little sadness over the loss of the Queen Mum. Now I’m disappointed she’s passed on because I’ll miss those lemon chiffon duds of hers. I think others might be taking it a bit more seriously.

The last entry about my eyeballs
Many people wrote in to voice their concern over my pending blindness. Happily I can report after a weird experience in dilated eyes – the peepers are healthy and happy. No worries and my prescription probably won’t change much until I’m about 40. Good news!

Snark on 11

All right, I said others who were smarter and wiser and more educated than me would surely write smart and reflective things about a ceremony I couldn't be bothered to watch.

I was wrong.

Cintra Wilson wrote a nasty little bitch piece about the Oscars which even one who is a snark-lover such as myself found a bit disturbing. Seriously, dial it back and if you hate the damn thing then just switch over the Food Network or the Cartoon Network like I did.

She is right about one thing -- her assessment of Tom Cruise is dead on. He's the stuff of nightmares, despite whatever Rosie O'Donnell may say.

Good snark
So Salon isn't totally a bust because Heather Havrilesky wrote a great piece about the Oscars -- kinda the average Jane's view of the extravaganza. She had much better snark going and plus Heather is very clever and has a very lovely little site called the rabbit blog.

Pooper wars
Dana kitty was a cat that I kinda inherited from my roommates in college. We all agreed to get a cat, but I didn't think I'd end up with her after graduation. A few days after graduation my other roommates moved out and I realized that Dana was still in the house.

She was like, "What the hell are you still doing here?"

"What the hell are you still doing here?" I asked.

"You know...hanging," she replied in our mythical conversation.

"Dammit. I'm going to have to take you with me." So I packed her in the car with my other crap and moved across town to a horrible apartment on the corner of Crack Avenue.

And that imaginary exchange sums up most of my relationship with Dana Kitty - or Pooper, as she's known around the homestead. Anyway, I thought of this today because I bothered to re-visit My Cat Hates You.

It's weird.

The Eyes Have it
I've got a floater. Nope, not a floating kneecap, but a floater on "the jelly part of your eye that helps to keep the shape of the eye" as my optometrist said. I was just relieved to hear that I wasn't going blind. Apparently this is a totally normal thing that everyone has I'm just overly aware of it because it's in my right eye and I'm right eye dominant. Weird huh? I'm right eyed!

She also encouraged me to dump my beloved Daily Wear contact lenses and switch to disposable. She basically shamed me into it -- she said I was practically the last person in North America not using disposable lenses.

God, I'm such an early adopter of technology -- it's like she just found out I'm using a Wang or something. Anyway, I'm getting on horribly with the disposables. No wonder people want to throw them away! I swear that one of them has ruined my left eye. You know I use that eye.

I go back next week to see "how I'm doing" and to find out what the hell I've done to my eyeball.

Spring fling

Today was one of those Spring days in Chicago that gives you a taste of the future -- a taste of the warmth and sunshine to come. Just, not right now. I think these days happen so that in February and March you don't just stick your head in your oven.

So I've enjoyed my little taste of Spring while I'm ever mindful that it will go away any second. Seriously, that' s how it is around here. One day, 61 degrees -- the next it's freezing rain and sleet and damaging gale-force winds.

Roger who?
And what does this all have to do with Roger Ebert? Nothing. I'm done worrying about him. I still hate that Roeper guy.

Ugh.

What has he ever done to me? Nothing personally but he's smarmy, stupid and vile and takes every chance he can to plug that nauseating film "Notting Hill" as a fine and smart romantic comedy. It was dreadful and it's the only film that I can recall ever heckling openly with my parents. My parents -- that's really saying something if they don't like a big-budget star vehicle for Julia Roberts.

Sheesh.