In sleepier times

It is Sunday and a bit past my bedtime.

Oh yeah, I have a bedtime now, apparently.

This entire week, Monday to Friday, I have arrived at work not at 9:00am when I am due to start, not at 10:00, not 9:30, not 9:45 and certainly not 9:23.

But 8:23.

Or thereabouts.

I honestly, after a whole year, do not know how I did it. As I have said in numerous blog posts before, it has been a permanent effect of jet lag from last year’s trip to Indonesia that has left my sleeping patterns messed up. I don’t have insomnia and have never had insomnia — I have never had trouble falling asleep, I get enough sleep at night, but there was a perpetual grogginess to my state of mind that left me completely drained. I don’t actually know what happened, but I still had the occasional weight gain and digestion issue, and it was getting up in the morning that killed me. I wasn’t sleepy; I didn’t need more sleep. I was just physically dead. My body was exceptionally weak and I felt exhausted all the time.

But something happened this week. Something very odd. And I’m not even sure what. I woke up early on Monday morning, and found that my dad hadn’t taken Brandon to school yet, so I thought, okay let’s roll. Brandon seemed to be taking a while to get ready. And I happened to be awake earlier than usual, a bit before 7:00am. I don’t really recall what time I slept, but it was certainly before midnight, and I had just gotten back from spending the day at James’s — and already felt exhausted, so went to bed earlier than usual.

So my dad took me to the train station the same time as Brandon. I ended up getting off the train to walk to work at 8:10am. I felt so weird. I was holding my camera mug. By the way, camera mug!

Camera lens mug
Camera lens mug

My mum gave it to me last week and said that my dad bought it for me. “Your dad bought you a lens!” She took it out of the box with all its wrapping and handed it to me. I was excited. Then my face dropped as soon as she handed it to me, because the mass of the lens made it obvious that it wasn’t a lens at all. Needless to say, this has been one of those “quiet” objects on my wishlist, and I am glad I finally have one! The finish isn’t fantastic and the details haven’t been painted on fantastically, but I like it for what it is.

So I had taken my mug with me, full of coffee.

That is another thing. This week I seem to have taken a liking to coffee again. It started last week when my mum gave me some instant coffee she had lying around. We’ve had the box on the shelf, but no one seemed to be having any. Anyway, my camera lens mug has been my friend this week.

Could it be that I actually need coffee to get me going, instead of tea?

I refuse to admit it. I’m not a coffee girl, I’m certainly a tea girl. That said, I like my coffee black, with pretty much no sugar. I’m weird like that.

But all coffee aside, I am still drinking tea. And every day this week, I was early, even on the day when Brandon had to leave early for a morning class and had already left by the time I woke up. Of course, I wasn’t going to bother my dad and ask for a ride to the station, so I walked to the bus stop. I even walked to the more frequent, but more erratic, almost-always-late or too-full-to-carry-more-passengers service, of which the bus stop is much further away. And I was still at work by 8:30.

My colleagues have found it peculiar; Cal is pleased, of course, and Dominik even suspected I had been sleeping in the office because I was getting there before everyone else (and sometimes being the last person to leave at the end of the day). But it feels awesome. And I do sleep relatively earlier, say, by 11:00pm.

Not to mention yes, I actually do still spend most of the evening not doing work or preparing for uni (ewwwwww, uni), and just surfing the internet on my iPad. And I do still get very tired in the evenings, but it doesn’t seem to bother me to a great degree — not like it did before.

I even cleaned my desk today!

My desk, with a photo of me and James
My desk, with a photo of me and James
Desk with CD rack and other things
Desk with CD rack and other things

I have a lot of stuff, and not many storage spaces, so it may look messy, but everything has its place, and my desk has been a lot messier than this.

I went to see Greta Mob on Friday, who asked me to photograph and review the show for them (see photos). I hated the lighting for the first band, it gave me a headache because it was just continuous flashing. But Greta Mob were pretty impressive. I didn’t get home until 1am, and I slept straight away, and last night I slept at 3:00am. But I’m determined to make such sleeping times only a weekend deal.

Time for bed so I can beat everyone to the office again. Snoooooooze. /zzz

Comments on this post

That is so wonderful that you have been feeling much more awake and have been getting to work early and just generally doing things without trouble. Maybe the coffee really does help you. I guess the test could be if you cut it out again and see how you feel.

That lens mug is so awesome! :D ♥

How wonderful that things are going your way, and for the better! You’re getting to work on time, and nothing has been stopping you! Drinking just straight coffee can actually ruin your stomach lining, so please be careful with that! If I drink coffee, I no longer drink it at night — due to the fact that it makes me crash (since I used to be a diabetic). But I still like coffee in the mornings!

I noticed lately that you’ve been going to a lot of gigs; that’s not bad at all. But I’m glad that you’re getting to go somewhere, and have fun while doing so. That mug that your dad/mom bought you is awesome! I made up my own wish list just this month, since now I’ll be saving money by helping out my boyfriend’s Grandparents.

I would kill for a desk like you have, unfortunately I have a desk that I bought off of overstock.com. It’s kind of a odd shape but it actually does the job. I’m using my boyfriend’s Great Grandmothers antique desk. It is so pretty! I’m literally drooling over it. I had a nice lamp that would’ve gone with it, however I gave it to one of my neighbors — now I regret it ever doing so. It was a Victorian looking lamp that I got from my dear friend and neighbor, but thought it would break the ice with another neighbor that I was having trouble with. Again I regret ever letting it go to her. I keep telling Tristan that and he tells me “If I where to have been there, I would’ve said HELL NO you’re not giving that away!” I thought I was doing the right thing. I kept the ugly looking lamp. Maybe I could con my dad into getting me a pretty lamp since my birthday passed and he has yet to visit me and get me anything. Or I can simply buy one off of him. Hmm….

Bahh, I’ve been trying to get to work earlier but I’ve been doing the exact opposite of you..I keep getting there later and later. I’m never actually late, I just like to be there a little early. I should probably go to bed sooner but it’s summer! :(

The coffee lens mug is so cute! It looks so real – you can’t tell from the picture that the detailing isn’t perfect.

I’m certainly not a coffee girl, and I’m really not a tea girl either. I usually only drink coffee when I’m in college and am up late studying for a test or didn’t sleep well the night before. And when I do drink it, I add a lot of milk and sugar. I CAN drink it black, but I much prefer all the sweets added to it. :)

I’m nervous to hear that jet lag can last a year – it’s been a couple of months for me, and I still feel groggy and disorientated some of the time! Glad it’s getting better for you though, and I say coffee all the way – especially in an awesome mug like that!!

I’ve been constantly shattered for months now, no idea what’s causing it. Maybe I need coffee XD

I haven’t even been needing to get up early recently though(I’m a 10-20 minute commute from work, which feels like nothing, since I travel about 1.5 hours each way for uni every day). I’m dreading being back at uni in September for that. Waking up at 6:30am is just not good for me. :P

Have to say though, I love your lens mug!

Good to know you don’t have insomnia. I have it and ugh sometimes it messes my diet up because late night snacking /snort although the snack i go tend to be a glass of skim milk.. still.. O_O my weight’s messed up, my calorie intake plan’s messed up. sigh.

That camera mug was soo famous in here! haha Indonesians who follow trends so fast.. 😒 my mother was nagging me to buy that camera mug but I was like NO because it’s so overrated..a lot of people tend to worship things that are currently in trend pssh.. sometimes I dislike how Indonesians react to certain things. The “camera mug” trend is no longer on the hot seat now though but yeah it’s still available somewhere..

I had thought you bought a new camera lens! ..until I read it’s a mug, haha

Nah, it’s not weird. Black coffee without sugar is good anyway; I enjoy the bitter taste… people around me, adults or teens, tend to drink starbucks with lots of whipped cream and whatnot..they like it sweet so when they see me ordering my cafe misto with extra shot of espresso and stuff, they think I behave like an old man because i like my coffee more towards the bitter side.. starbucks baristas tend to get shocked too at me. i don’t understand lol

I’m pretty much a coffee-tea girl, a caffeine girl perhaps? I like TWG and I can sense you do too,yeah? Lately I’m in love with Roonefeldt tea, especially their rooibos vanilla and rose hip ♥

I hope that this continues! I’m proud of you, even though this event may be random. Whatever you do, don’t start sleeping in your office. It’s not comfortable at all and messes up your sleep schedule. I’ve seen people do it, and it wasn’t very pretty in most cases.

The pictures of you and James on your desk are so adorable!

The coffee lens mug is awesome! It looks almost real XD had to take another look to be sure, hahaha! :D I just love your mug!

I don’t think it’s a big deal how you like to drink your coffee, or that you also love it besides tea. It might even help with staying awake ;)

Oh gosh, I’ve been doing the exact opposite of you. :( I don’t get to bed until 3am and I don’t wake up until 11 am, sometimes 12 pm, the next day. I feel like I waste my whole day but I’ve been doing this for the past month and half (thank you summertime). My sleeping schedule is monumentally ruined. It’s great you’re getting up earlier, though; makes you feel a little more productive.

Your camera lens mug is so cute. /faw I’m not one for coffee but if it’s helping you get started in the morning maybe it’s worth it to make the switch from coffee to tea, at least just in the mornings. Hopefully this early streak continues!

haha, that’s a mean trick with the lens mug! I want one of those too, though I wish there was more selection. I don’t think I’ve found one of a lens I actually own yet.

That’s good that you’ve been able to get up earlier! I’ve been trying to do the same thing, but I just feel so tired every morning, even if I get enough sleep. I wish I was more of a morning person, so I could get more work done earlier in the day.

Your desk looks nice! I like the little things you have here and there on it :)

Sleepy is my middle name.

Seeing as I have hypothyroidism, it’s pretty common for me to feel sleepy on a regular basis, especially if my hormone levels are low. It’s always a constant battle to keep them on the right level.

I have nights where I can sleep fine, but I still wake up as if I had never slept.

Then of course, those nights where I have insomnia, and no matter what I cannot fall asleep.

Needless to say, in my eyes, a world without coffee would be blind. However, I prefer iced coffee. Especially with a burst of caramel flavoring. My absolute favorite.

Absolutely love the desk makeover.