Insomnia is probably one of the big things that makes me who I am. I cannot remember the last time I didn't stay up past eleven o clock. It's just my nature, really, I can't make myself get to sleep early. There's just so much to do before I go to sleep. Things like feeding pets, making my bed, preparing coffee for tomorrow, tidying my room... All get blown off until at least eleven o' clock, when I begin to think about going to bed. Another good example is writing blog posts. You can be assured that I'm not writing this in broad daylight!
Keep in mind that by insomnia, I don't mean the actual condition. If I wanted to, I could lay my head on a pillow at 9 p.m. and be asleep without any trouble. What I mean by insomnia is that I choose not to sleep early, or very long. It's not even out of necessity, either! On nights where I've done everything I need to do before getting to sleep, I still find myself lingering awake, occupying myself with random things for no apparent reason.
One thing that makes me different from some people, I suppose, is which end I cut into my sleep on. Most people, when confronted with a lot of homework to do, or any task that needs doing before they begin their regular day in the morning, will probably just go to sleep at their usual time and wake up early. I, however, am the opposite. I will frequently stay up until past midnight just to get a homework assignment done, or anything along those lines. I guess that this has a lot to do with how my energy changes throughout the day. I don't know if most people are morning people, but I am definitely not. When I first roll out of bed, I am exhausted, half asleep, and utterly useless. By 10 o clock, though, no matter how tired I was all day, I am suddenly alive with energy. I find myself motivated to take on any task, and I am never at a loss for the energy to stay awake. Sure, I get tired by around 2, but I'm never collapsing. My mind is also never too wiped-out to do things properly, even if it does get sluggish by 1 or 2 a.m.
For those of you fellow insomniacs out there, here is a brief guide to losing sleep. I hope that you find it useful!
1. Know your limit. If you are the type of person who only feels truly rested after 10 hours of sleep, then you probably shouldn't get any less than 8. Just make sure that you know exactly how much sleep you are going to need at a bare minimum.
2. Keep track of time. When you're staying up late, and have given up on getting an ideal amount of sleep, it's very easy to disregard the time, and lose more sleep than you intended.
3. Don't waste your time. If you're going to stay up, do something productive. You don't have to do homework, or work on a personal project or anything, just get something done. As long as you have something to show for the time you spent that is in some way helpful to you, then that's all you need. The point is to not use the time drooling onto your lap and doing nothing.
4. Wake up! Some people, like myself, are deep sleepers, and it's easy for them to get carried away and sleep in on accident. If you know that you'll have trouble with this, take every possible precaution to ensure that you won't be late for anything in the morning.
5. Coffee is good. Although it won't propel everybody through the entire day, coffee is good for a jump-start. I'm only a mild coffee drinker, so I only have one cup a day. For those of you out there who also only drink coffee in small amounts, here's my recommendation: Make yourself 1-2 cups in the morning. Drink half of whatever you made before you leave the house, if possible, and take the other half with you. Drink this next half over at least an hour or 2, (I recommend using a thermos to keep it hot) so that you might prolong the buzz you'll get. If you aren't very tolerant of caffeine yet, then a little goes a long way. If you only drink a large amount at once to wake up, and then spread the rest out over time, you should be pretty energetic for at least first few hours of your day. Personally, it keeps me going until 5 o'clock, on a good day.
6. Try to avoid all-nighters. Those of you who can pull all-nighters without breaking a sweat, respect. But for the human beings in my audience I would advise against it. While getting only 6 hours of sleep can make one really drowsy, getting no sleep can be hell. Picture getting a car up a hill by blowing on it through a straw. You'll be sluggish, get tired easily, be unable to maintain focus, get hot very easily, and feel like crap all day. If you have to pull an all-nighter, or if you can handle them better than I can, then go on... But just please be prepared to deal with some pretty sever consequences the next day. Oh, and also: If you pull an all-nighter, be sure to go outside and watch the sunrise. It's a sight that we don't get to see very often, and it can be very beautiful and relaxing, so don't pass up the opportunity!
So that's my take on insomnia and sleep-loss. Keep in mind that I'm talking from experience, not from expertise, or years of study in the field. I hope you found this a helpful (or at least entertaining) post, and if you didn't, feel free to keep that to yourself.
Sincerely,
The Ellipsis
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Quotes
"An eye for an eye, makes the whole world blind." - Mahatma Gandhi
How many of you just believed every word of that? Probably most of you, right? I'd be willing to bet that at least 90% of you just though "Hey, an eye for and eye really does make the whole world blind!" Now what if I were to say: "An eye for an eye , and you've just taken away some asshole's depth perception.", or "If to take an eye is to lose one, then all our eyes are safer." Both of these make sense too, in a different way, right? So why the hell didn't you think that when you read the first one? How many of you didn't even pause to check the logic? As human beings, we have a lot of cognitive errors, but this one is by far my least favorite.
Just because something is worded somewhat cleverly, wrapped up in a pair of quotation marks, and followed by the signature of someone famous does not make it true!!!!! It's so easy, though, to just fall for whatever we read! In some cases, takes a blatant contradiction of one's beliefs for them to not revere the wisdom of whoever said it. For some, fancy words and an elegant style can make people consider things that, in a real-life context, they'd never even consider believing! Personally, here's my mental checklist for quotes:
1. What is the idea behind it?
2. Do I agree with this idea?
3. If yes, is it insightful, have I learned from it? Maybe I'll use it in the future, because I think it's a very wise point.
4. If no, is it at least well-worded? Does it at least make sense? Did someone famous say it? If so, I can use it in an argument to keep myself from losing, and make some stupid person change their mind just because I used a quote.
Please, people, don't let yourselves be the poor idiots I mentioned in step 4. I know, a well-worded quote can appeal to one's sense of sentimentality. This happens all the time, with speeches, songs, with good books... Anything that sounds good, and strikes a certain note in our brains ---though different things might do it for different people--- can potentially appeal to our emotions. When this happens, it is no longer reason with which we are thinking, we've begun to think with our feelings. We believe things, if only temporarily, that common sense will tell us aren't true! Though many points made and expressed in quotes are wise, valid, and insightful, none of them are the absolute truth, 100% of the time. So the next time you read a quote that gives you anything to believe, don't be foolish. Find the point, and use reasoning to decide if the point is true. Then, you can decide to agree with the quote, make references to the quote, use the quote to argue, set the quote as your facebook status, or whatever you want.
Here's a quote for you.
"With the sole exception of this statement, just because something is inside quotations, doesn't mean it's true."
I hope you all found this post helpful, or at the very least enjoyable. Until the next one, though, au revoire!
-The Ellipsis
-The Ellipsis
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
In Defense of Coffee
Okay, I like coffee a lot. I think most people do, right? But am I the only one who has actually taken criticism for it? I'm not saying I get a lot, or that it's like the kind that people who do other drugs will get, but I am frankly kind of shocked that I get it... It's kind of ridiculous. Here are a few examples of the crap I've put up with, and why it can only be defined as complete idiocy.
I was at a family reunion of sorts, to celebrate my grandma's birthday. Everyone is having coffee with their dessert and I ask for a cup. My aunt threw a friggin tizzy over the very notion, and said something to the effect of: "Your parents let you drink coffee!?!? This is madness, mine would never have let me do such a thing! What an awful habit for a young man to have, surely the caffeine will eat at your eternal soul like spiritual acid! Repent now, heretic!"
Now tell me, what is so wrong with drinking coffee? And only a few times a week I might add. It's not like the stuff actually stunts your growth, but from the way she described them, I suppose that her parents never revealed this to her. I'll bet they also didn't tell her that Santa wasn't real until her first year of college. Any way, what really bothers me is her nerve to criticize my parents on their ability to raise me. Coffee has so far proven almost entirely harmless to me, in the amounts I've been drinking it. I'd probably be able to drink it now and then even if they didn't want me to, as well. It's not like they let me do anything insane, or like it's even their fault if any harm becomes of it. I introduced myself to coffee, I took the initiative to get into it, and they only consented because they accurately acknowledged that it was harmless. So what?
This next story is even better. So I was at my health class, which I had first period at the time. I brought a thermos of coffee to class, but I wasn't allowed to drink it in class. We were given a break, about halfway through, so I stood in the hallway, leaned my tired ass on a wall, and started drinking the coffee I hadn't finished before class started that day. So I was there, enjoying my precious few ounces of delicious French roast, when this kid from my class, Henry, (I'll call him that) walked up to me. Now what's important here is the tome of what he said, the first thing was said in much the same way that my aunt spoke. "Hey, what are you drinking? Is that coffee???" As realization started to dawn over him, so did annoyance and disapproval. So I said, trying to sound passive and reasonable: "Well yeah, why?" What he did next puts him at about a 6 on the asshole scale, because he was clearly trying to be a prick, but didn't have the method down just right. Nonetheless, I was annoyed when he said "[heavy over-pronounced sigh] That's just sad."
Now what bothers me about this isn't his obvious ignorance, but rather his condescending tone. He acted like my goddam disappointed parent, not like someone with conflicting interests. It was clear that he was either trying to look like, or actually thought he was looking down on me. Now let me inform you that this guy does not only have the good sense of an eggplant, but he also is a total douchebag, and one of those spoiled rich kids who likes to act like he's a gangster. So needless to say, I was pretty annoyed that he, of all people, was looking down on me for the fact that I enjoy coffee. He's the type of person who you would expect to either already be doing drugs, or to be doing them very soon. So before I could even tell him how much of an idiot he was for a: trying to tell me my business, and b: criticizing something he clearly knew very little about; I was beaten to it. This junior in my class, one of those kind of short but really buff, walked up to him and said something like "You got a problem with coffee? Shut up man, coffee is the shit, you've got nothing on coffee." he turned to me and said "Shove it up his ass, man." I felt like Optimus Prime had just swooped down from the sky and beat the crap out of Voldemort for me, it was definitely a triumphant moment. Sure I'd have liked to handle it myself also, but I admit, I loved the feeling of being backed up by a fellow coffee-lover.
Before I move onto the last story, here's my take on the actual effect of coffee: Caffeine, the drug in coffee, blocks adenosine receptors in the brain, preventing drowsiness. This causes the brain to make adrenaline, giving you energy. Dopamine is also released due to coffee, which makes you happy. This can cause health complications, if one drinks excessive amounts of coffee, but tell me: Does this reaction really seem that bad? Caffeine essentially just gives you an adrenaline rush and a slight dopamine increase, things which occur naturally anyway. The difference is that you control when this is caused. And though too much caffeine can cause noticeable problems with the adenosine receptors I mentioned, I am currently not concerned by this, because I'm not a huge coffee drinker. And even if the energy you get is unnatural, isn't it better than being tired? A mistake people commonly make is to think I'm in withdrawal, because I'm tired when I don't drink coffee. But I don't get a lot of sleep in general. I'm writing this as it is a few minutes from turning midnight. So if I'm tired, it's because of sleep loss. Caffeine only prevented my sleep loss from being apparent. It's like if an ugly person wears makeup to look average, and then stops wearing it... They're going to look ugly, but not because they became dependent on the makeup! It's just because there is no longer any makeup to mask a pre-existing condition! So do you critics see why I can't find a good reason to quit drinking coffee, and why I think it harmless?
Now this last story is the only exception to my rule against caring what others think. My girlfriend of one month, and best friend of nearing a year... Well, she doesn't like that I drink coffee. She's sweet, though, and one of the things I like about her is that she wouldn't try to change me. I couldn't help but notice, though, that my coffee drinking did bother her. She didn't ask me to stop, or give me an ultimatum, or anything like that. I just decided to because it would make her happy. As of now it's been two weeks, and I'm going for six before I pick it up again. When and if I do, I plan to do so in a way that will bother her as little as possible... Because that's what being in a relationship is about, right? Or at least one of the things... I want to make her happy, and that's the most important thing in the world to me. Now that is a reason to not drink coffee.
So, just to sum up this fist entry of mine, here's what we've covered. Coffee is good, and I love to drink it. People who try to tell me not to are self-assured pricks who think they're way more important than they are. As far as a good reason to stop drinking coffee, I see none. There are no serious consequences, as of yet, to the level of coffee-drinking that I do, and therefore I won't stop just because someone says some vague, general statement about how the stuff's supposed to be bad for you. However, I would stop drinking it to make someone I care about happy, especially someone who doesn't try to force me to.
Well, has been my first official post, and your first taste of my estranged head. I'll see you guys whenever I get around to making another one. Until then, take it easy!
-The Ellipsis
I was at a family reunion of sorts, to celebrate my grandma's birthday. Everyone is having coffee with their dessert and I ask for a cup. My aunt threw a friggin tizzy over the very notion, and said something to the effect of: "Your parents let you drink coffee!?!? This is madness, mine would never have let me do such a thing! What an awful habit for a young man to have, surely the caffeine will eat at your eternal soul like spiritual acid! Repent now, heretic!"
Now tell me, what is so wrong with drinking coffee? And only a few times a week I might add. It's not like the stuff actually stunts your growth, but from the way she described them, I suppose that her parents never revealed this to her. I'll bet they also didn't tell her that Santa wasn't real until her first year of college. Any way, what really bothers me is her nerve to criticize my parents on their ability to raise me. Coffee has so far proven almost entirely harmless to me, in the amounts I've been drinking it. I'd probably be able to drink it now and then even if they didn't want me to, as well. It's not like they let me do anything insane, or like it's even their fault if any harm becomes of it. I introduced myself to coffee, I took the initiative to get into it, and they only consented because they accurately acknowledged that it was harmless. So what?
This next story is even better. So I was at my health class, which I had first period at the time. I brought a thermos of coffee to class, but I wasn't allowed to drink it in class. We were given a break, about halfway through, so I stood in the hallway, leaned my tired ass on a wall, and started drinking the coffee I hadn't finished before class started that day. So I was there, enjoying my precious few ounces of delicious French roast, when this kid from my class, Henry, (I'll call him that) walked up to me. Now what's important here is the tome of what he said, the first thing was said in much the same way that my aunt spoke. "Hey, what are you drinking? Is that coffee???" As realization started to dawn over him, so did annoyance and disapproval. So I said, trying to sound passive and reasonable: "Well yeah, why?" What he did next puts him at about a 6 on the asshole scale, because he was clearly trying to be a prick, but didn't have the method down just right. Nonetheless, I was annoyed when he said "[heavy over-pronounced sigh] That's just sad."
Now what bothers me about this isn't his obvious ignorance, but rather his condescending tone. He acted like my goddam disappointed parent, not like someone with conflicting interests. It was clear that he was either trying to look like, or actually thought he was looking down on me. Now let me inform you that this guy does not only have the good sense of an eggplant, but he also is a total douchebag, and one of those spoiled rich kids who likes to act like he's a gangster. So needless to say, I was pretty annoyed that he, of all people, was looking down on me for the fact that I enjoy coffee. He's the type of person who you would expect to either already be doing drugs, or to be doing them very soon. So before I could even tell him how much of an idiot he was for a: trying to tell me my business, and b: criticizing something he clearly knew very little about; I was beaten to it. This junior in my class, one of those kind of short but really buff, walked up to him and said something like "You got a problem with coffee? Shut up man, coffee is the shit, you've got nothing on coffee." he turned to me and said "Shove it up his ass, man." I felt like Optimus Prime had just swooped down from the sky and beat the crap out of Voldemort for me, it was definitely a triumphant moment. Sure I'd have liked to handle it myself also, but I admit, I loved the feeling of being backed up by a fellow coffee-lover.
Before I move onto the last story, here's my take on the actual effect of coffee: Caffeine, the drug in coffee, blocks adenosine receptors in the brain, preventing drowsiness. This causes the brain to make adrenaline, giving you energy. Dopamine is also released due to coffee, which makes you happy. This can cause health complications, if one drinks excessive amounts of coffee, but tell me: Does this reaction really seem that bad? Caffeine essentially just gives you an adrenaline rush and a slight dopamine increase, things which occur naturally anyway. The difference is that you control when this is caused. And though too much caffeine can cause noticeable problems with the adenosine receptors I mentioned, I am currently not concerned by this, because I'm not a huge coffee drinker. And even if the energy you get is unnatural, isn't it better than being tired? A mistake people commonly make is to think I'm in withdrawal, because I'm tired when I don't drink coffee. But I don't get a lot of sleep in general. I'm writing this as it is a few minutes from turning midnight. So if I'm tired, it's because of sleep loss. Caffeine only prevented my sleep loss from being apparent. It's like if an ugly person wears makeup to look average, and then stops wearing it... They're going to look ugly, but not because they became dependent on the makeup! It's just because there is no longer any makeup to mask a pre-existing condition! So do you critics see why I can't find a good reason to quit drinking coffee, and why I think it harmless?
Now this last story is the only exception to my rule against caring what others think. My girlfriend of one month, and best friend of nearing a year... Well, she doesn't like that I drink coffee. She's sweet, though, and one of the things I like about her is that she wouldn't try to change me. I couldn't help but notice, though, that my coffee drinking did bother her. She didn't ask me to stop, or give me an ultimatum, or anything like that. I just decided to because it would make her happy. As of now it's been two weeks, and I'm going for six before I pick it up again. When and if I do, I plan to do so in a way that will bother her as little as possible... Because that's what being in a relationship is about, right? Or at least one of the things... I want to make her happy, and that's the most important thing in the world to me. Now that is a reason to not drink coffee.
So, just to sum up this fist entry of mine, here's what we've covered. Coffee is good, and I love to drink it. People who try to tell me not to are self-assured pricks who think they're way more important than they are. As far as a good reason to stop drinking coffee, I see none. There are no serious consequences, as of yet, to the level of coffee-drinking that I do, and therefore I won't stop just because someone says some vague, general statement about how the stuff's supposed to be bad for you. However, I would stop drinking it to make someone I care about happy, especially someone who doesn't try to force me to.
Well, has been my first official post, and your first taste of my estranged head. I'll see you guys whenever I get around to making another one. Until then, take it easy!
-The Ellipsis
An Introduction
Alright, this is my blog... I'm honestly very new to blogging, and to be frank, I never saw myself starting a blog before now. In fact, I was under the impression that blogging was for lifeless, reclusive teens who have no life and just need someone to whine to about issues of little importance.Yep, sounds about right. Well, I could introduce myself here, but it won't be necessary. This blog is going to be about the world as I view it. Whether this involves me speculating, philosophizing, complaining, explaining, or just babbling, if you follow this then you are bound to get to know me. So, for those precious few of you who care for some reason, here you go: Enjoy your glimpse into my life and my thoughts.
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