Droši vien katram ir savas asociācijas ar skaitli “23“, nu, piemēram, Maikla Džordana numurs, filma “The Number 23“, Līgosvētki 23. jūnijā, vai arī ar teroraktiem Amerikā: 11.09.2001 (9+11+2+0+0+1) = 23.

Es gan par ko citu. Šodien izlasīju kaut ko tik nereālu, ka nu to ir visai nereāli aprakstīt. Tieši 23 gadus kāds beļģis nodzīvojis komas stāvoklī, kuras patiesībā nemaz nebija. 20 gadu vecumā viņš cietis autoavārijā, un ārsti viņa stāvokli raksturojuši visai pasmagi un atzinuši, ka tā laika jaunietis atrodas ļoti dziļā bezsamaņas stāvoklī. Bet kā izrādās, čalis visu šo laiku bijis pie pilnas saprašanas, visu dzirdējis un redzējis, tikai nespējis pakustēties. Špbrīd gan viņa dzīve nav diez ko spožā, bet šis notikums ir diez gan dramatisks un pieminēšanas vērts. Šeit var izlasīt ko vairāk.

Divdesmit trīs! Ko lai saka… Diez gan ietekmīgs skaitlis. Ā un starp citu, šitais viss man atgādināja par vienu tīri interesantu filmu.

“Awake“

This story is totally amazing… and a bit terrifying. I applaud his “optimism”.  It is really incredible.

********

“A Belgian man who doctors thought was in a coma for 23 years was conscious all along, it has been revealed.

Medical staff believed Rom Houben had sunk irretrievably into a coma after he was injured in a car crash in 1983.

The University of Liege doctor who discovered in 2006 that, although Mr Houben was paralysed, his brain was working, said the case was not unique.

Mr Houben said that at first he felt angry at his powerlessness, but eventually learned to live with it.

“Other people had an opinion of me,” Mr Houben, now 46, told the BBC.

“I knew what I could do and what I was capable of but other people had a rather pathetic image of me. I had to learn to be patient and now finally we are on an equal footing.”

“He was an optimist”

via BBC News – Paralysed Belgian misdiagnosed as in coma for 23 years.

Be well,

Scott K Smith

Que vamos a decir de Julian Marley, uno de los hijos del gran Bob. Pues que el próximo 16 de Diciembre estará tocando en Madrid en la sala Joy Eslava, presentando su nuevo disco “Awake”. Si teneis la oportunidad de ir no la desaprovecheis.

Las entradas valen 23€ y se pueden comprar a través de ticketmaster aquí. Como muestra os dejo con un videoclip de un tema del disco con la colaboración de su hermano Damian “Jr.Gong” Marley.

Dupre´Logistics monitors it’s drivers.

Statistics suggest that a significant percentage of accidents are caused by human error. A major contributing factor in a number of these cases is fatigue. It is important to understand what fatigue is and how to deal with it. Dupre´Logistics hold their team accountable by measuring fatigue through Circadian Technologies’ CAS System.

Fatigue is more than just a general feeling of tiredness. It is a loss of our ability to remain vigilant, to perform a task, to maintain situational awareness, to think clearly and logically, to react appropriately and to maintain motor coordination skills. Very simply, when a person is fatigued, he is more prone to making mistakes. Fatigue affects everyone, even the most professional and dedicated people. It is not a question of mind over matter. Rather, it’s the body’s natural physiological response to working too much or getting too little sleep or rest.

Fatigue is monitored by examining the following 9 variables:

• Average sleep length per day
• Percentage of time below red and yellow thresholds on duty
• Average duration of episodes below red on duty
• Average alertness score while awake
• Number of recovery breaks per week
• Hours of work per week
• Hours of work per shift
• Biological limitations for sleep recovery
• Time of day activity occurs

Source:  Circadian 24/7 Workforce Solutions and Dupre´ Logistics

I can not get up this morning. Getting out of bed was bad enough, I don’t see how I’m getting myself out the front door. For now I’ll down large quantities of espresso and hope for the best. Slept pretty well last night, in little patches though. Phone call woke me up, but it was alright. I didn’t mind.

With any luck I’ll be able to get a haircut today. I’m feeling shaggy. It’s not that my hair is particularly long, I’m just used to it being much shorter. Also have a ton of errands to run, but those shouldn’t take too long.

Yesterday was a good day. Met up with a good friend of mine, had breakfast, went bowling (which I’m still good at, it turns out), and went roaming around the mall. It was a good day.

Two more cups of espresso later, I’m feeling like a human being. Time for me to be moving along. Later, internet.

Dear J-

“She calmed down, like, five minutes after you left.”  It was the most reassuring thing I’d heard all day, this weird long day.  The story starts yesterday; as we’re sitting there watching television (a prerecorded episode of Glee, pleasing as always) figgy came trotting up hesitantly — hand to mouth, as though to shush her way past the ever-vigilant cats guarding the long hallway from bedroom to television.  Though she’s been able to escape the bed for at least a month, she had, until then, reserved that ability solely for early morning snuggles.  theVet turned around, hearing me greet her, and we shared a quick double-take as we realized that there was a third person in our midst — after 7:30 it always seems like we’re back to two.

She followed up that late-night preview with an early show this morning, crawling into bed somewhere in the dark between the “do you know what time this is” hour and the “go back to sleep already” hour.  After putting up with various thrashings and gnashings, I got up to let theVet sleep, knowing that she had to work and I’d have a chance to nap later; we shared some cereal in that dark center of the day before light.  Then on to the main attraction — doctor’s appointments, one for me (hepatitis vaccinations) and one for her (allergist and then flu shots; she is as allergic to peanuts as ever) and then the trauma of dropping off at day care.

I remember when my sister-in-law was dropping off my nephew at day care; I’d never seen the little guy get quite so weepy and sad and I silently, foolishly resolved to not be that person.  Forty minutes later, as I held her for what felt like the umpteenth time I called theVet out of desperation:  what do I do, she’s gotten to the spasmy-diaphragm breathing that comes after a long solid crying jag — and the answer — to just leave her — seemed so heartless, especially when it wasn’t to go off to do something productive.  I spent the next few hours wandering around various thrift shops feeling hollow inside — the man who just wanted an afternoon to himself, and who would abandon his child to an uncertain fate; was that truly who I’d become?  I’ve learned to never say never, but am I learning fast enough?

Mike

Meet Eric.  Otherwise known as ZibZib, Oy You, and the Ginger Git.

When we bought our house in Napier, the first question I asked of a neighbour before viewing it was, ‘Is this a quiet neighbourhood?’ She assured me it was, as did some other neighbours. And, once we had moved in, it was true.  No yelling, screaming, parties, boy racers, or loud music. There was a real sense of safety.

And then ‘the others’ moved in.

A teenage mother with a three year old son and a penchant for boys wearing hoodies and baggy jeans down to their knees. Boys who talk rough, and hang out with older boys who drive souped up cars with very large exhaust pipes. A penchant for people who like to stay up partying until 3.00 am and who sleep until 1.00 pm.

We didn’t mind the first time. After all, they had just moved in, and a little party was in order. We could cope.  Then, the parties started coming twice a week, and car doors started slamming.  Tires squealed, fights broke out in the street, and hooded boys in slouchy pants shuffled up and down the street yelling obscenities at one another.

The third time one of the parties woke me, I was angry. My rights to an uninterrupted night’s sleep had been violated. I lay in bed listening to the pulsating of the music and thought, ‘We have to get them out of the neighbourhood.’ I also thought about dark things. The elderly couple living closest to the girl’s house knows the landlord’s telephone number. Turns out she is also the mother of the girl who lives in the house. I fantasized about calling her at 3.00 am to let her know what was going on at her property, and every half hour until it stopped.

Instead, we called noise patrol. They went out, but that didn’t stop a new party the next week.

 For one week there was total silence. Turns out their stereo equipment was stolen, but the boys still came. At 2.00 pm, 5.00 pm, midnight, 2.00 am, 3.00 am, 4.00 am. They sat on the deck talking and laughing, and the sound of their voices carried better than the music. Cars came and went as if a parking mall was in operation. Our other next door neighbours added to the noise by screaming obscenities at the partiers. They came over by day and bitched and moaned.

Finally, after a particularly bad night in which none of us slept, causing Michelle to have to leave for work in a sleep deprived daze, I decided to call the girl’s landlord / mother. Enough is enough.

I asked myself what my response as a Christian should be, and how I should handle it. I’m the mother of an adult, and I know that after some point, we are not responsible for our children’s behaviour, and I wasn’t going to abuse her for the sins of her daughter, nor did I intend to vilify the girl.

 I decided to phone the mother in the light of day and talk sensibly with her. She listened. Finally, she called her daughter who asked, ‘Why didn’t she come to me first?’ Her attempt at diverting anger, or a real complaint about the way things got done? I thought about it. I thought about the scriptures that tell us to approach our brother first if we have a grievance. Well, I had a grievance. I decided to text the girl and ask if we could meet. I didn’t want to come on as some self-righteous fuddy duddy, or as a parent, or as a judge. I wanted to meet with her as an adult, and in a way that would build a bridge and encourage communication. I wanted to come at the situation in the opposite spirit of some of the neighbours, and in an opposite spirit to the behaviour of this girl’s guests.

We met on her deck. I took over a couple of beers and laid it out straight for her. She laid it out straight for me. We agreed that if the noise was loud, I’d text her first and give her the chance to set it right. It was a civil conversation.

Two nights later, all hell broke loose. Drunken boys staggering down the road, cars slamming doors, and the next door neighbours calling noise patrol and the girl’s mother at 1.30 and 2.30 am. The girl’s friends decided they should avenge her, so they backed their high performance cars up to our driveway and revved and revved. They barked at the neighbour’s house, either a sign that they were part of the Mongrel Mob, a gang in New Zealand, or that they thought the nieighbour was a bitch. It could have been either.

I was awakened at 7.30 the next morning by an angry phone call. The neighbour was bitter. The cars revving were the only things I had heard. I’d missed the other stuff. I texted the girl saying that I hadn’t heard much the night before, but would she please tell her friends not to back up to my driveway and rev their car engines? She apologised. Said she didn’t know. I’m sure she didn’t. Which is the issue. She can’t control the people who come to her home.

When this started, I told my husband and daughter that I am determined to treat this girl with respect, honesty and love, because I believe she deserves it. I want her to see how adults do it, and, maybe, model for her social responsibility.

Today I got a text from her asking if we would come to dinner with her and her roomate. I can’t, but I know Michelle and Brian will. It’s a beginning. Brian and Mich will make sure our house is locked so we aren’t burgled by her friends when they’re over having dinner, and I do hope ‘the gang’ doesn’t come in when they’re over there eating, but I’m trusting that this is an attempt by this girl at making a relationship, or at least trying to do something right.

Where will this lead? I have no idea. We’ll still do what we have to do, but we’re going to do it with as much integrity as we can muster.

Watch this space.

I’ll talk to you later, when it’s later

To escape the prison is sexy extreme,
freedom the one lust,
our orgy a liberation,
and the way out a stark naked truth,
simply our seduction to love.

The prison is well built,
few notice the walls,
and many fall prey to demons,
possession in their sleep–
may all hear good news,
may all taste sweet ambrosia,
may all be drunk on heaven’s love.

Together shining ones slip out the gate,
for one by one we lucidly see doors open already,
and only need stay awake long enough to step free–
blissfully we perceive,
ecstasy we love:
glory,
glory,
glory we live free.

www.zaytuna.org

I don’t know if it is a different attitude that makes this schedule easier, but something definately has. I mean, I still get badly fatigued, and crave sleep at different points, but I can comfortably say that I am adjusting. It was foolish of me to have a half hearted attempt at staying up, with no consequences for oversleeping. Now that I am not oversleeping (or not badly during the night) I am feeling like I am adapting, no matter how tired I am.

This morning was rather comfortable. I was very tired for the majority of the time, and getting progressively worse until 4.30, when I had my nap. I decided beforehand that it was not wise to have extra naps in the morning, and the reasoning being that I will likely oversleep, and doesn’t help getting me over the effects of melatonin. To keep myself awake, I found myself doing push ups and other physical exercises. When 6 am hit, I decided to go for a run, which helped at keeping me awake, and had a cold shower afterwards. Even after getting my 8.00 nap at school I still felt quite tired, and couldn’t seem to do any work until I squeezed an extra nap in my free around 10.30 am. After that I could work at a very average pace through the whole day, until the last lesson, where I really felt the need to sleep (the mid afternoon sag).

Despite this sleep deprivation, I am pleased and highly motivated at the fact that I am not depending on core sleeping anymore, and now am simply struggling with the naps themselves. I know that I should be good to go as long as I can keep this up for the whole week. I realise however that my 31 days to adjust is really not feasable. At my current state, I doubt I would pass any exam, even with a heap of revision. Consequently, I must adjust in the rest of this week to ensure that I can do well. It would be a huge waste if I spent all this time adjusting just to need to fall back into the normal routine for my exams, so that is a little extra motivation to keep going.

My persuits were almost cut short today after school though. I was feeling the need for a nap, and I had one at 5. Being extra conscious of the fact that I really need to get up, I set an alarm on my computer to wake me up. Turns out my computer alarm is better at waking me up than my mobile phone alarm, and so I only set one alarm on my phone. Big mistake. I was woken up by mum at 8, telling me to come out and eat some dinner. I was very unhappy about my oversleeping, and I wondered what had actually caused it. Turns out my laptop was on powersaver mode.

My school is not laptop friendly, and subsequently finding a powerpoint is hard. I use my laptop on a day to day basis at school, so I put it on powersaver mode so that it lasts. When I get home, I plug it into power. My laptop starts charging, but (stupidly) doesn’t turn back to high performance or balanced settings. So, after 15 mins of disuse, my laptop goes into hibernation, and doesnt play its alarms. Additionally, I slept ontop of my bed, which definately helped me in oversleeping.

Despite this, I feel that I can keep going with this schedule, as the oversleep was not very long. I just need to be careful. One massive oversleep and it’s all over. If this happens, I will quickly change back into monophasic for the exams, and restart in the holidays.

Let’s just hope that isn’t going to happen,

Jimmi

Today I love…

1. Knocking out my history paper in a day. Hells yes.

2. Discovering how to stay awake during my 2-hour Tuesday ENV classes–grab an outtake during the half-class break and make myself eat the bagel to stay awake.

Here I am, still alive on day 17 of the uberman schedule. But today feels dramamtically different from all the others. The main reason is that I did not oversleep.

I promised myself today that I would not oversleep, and by using extreme measures of keeping awake (4 alarms, all lights on in room, sleep on floor with only a pillow and no blankets in clothes, get friend to call me if not responding on Facebook after 40 mins of naptime). Oh, please note that the only other thing that I haven’t tried in getting me up, apart from the ridiculous ideas involving cold water and caffeine, is drinking lots so as to have to wake up after a while to go to the toilet. While this sounds like a good idea, the chance of lucid dreaming is far too high, and I don’t want to accidentally wet myself =P .

So, in the early morning I actually didn’t find it that hard to stay up. I suspect that is probably due to having as many lights on as possible to counteract the melatonin production in my body, and due to my slow adaptation to the uberman schedule. Waking up from my 5am nap was a bit of a struggle, but I found that it was alright after I did a few push-ups (physical excersice does wonders in keeping people awake).

The rest of the day was alright, although I still felt a bit of a slump nearing my 1 pm nap and at the end of the school day. As I am writing this, I can feel that my body craves sleep. The second night is always worse than the first, as I have found out when I was younger, trying not to sleep (got halfway through day 2 and slept irregularly for days and days after) for as long as humanly possible.

I know I keep putting off the writing of the introduction to polyphasic sleep and how to get started blog posts, and I feel the constant need to apologize for this. Half the time I really just don’t have the mental power to start writing about it, and the other half I am too busy and stressed by work to get around to it. Nevertheless, I will start it sometime soon, and judging by the amount of people talking to me about my sleeping schedule and their interest in it, I’d better get writing soon =)

So, that was pretty much the whole day. My mental power wasn’t quite as good, but my motivation is soaring right now. As long as my willpower manages to overcome my lazy subconscious tomorrow, I should be all in the clear.

Well, time to do some work.

Jimmi

I cannot fall asleep. I finally have a period of time where I am not up late doing homework until all hours of the night and I lay here completely awake, I have done 1 set of 40 crunchs, 2 sets of crunches to the side, and now I have resolved to blogging. I need to have physical a tivity during the day. This is just sad I have way too much energy, too bad my stupid ankle is falling apart. And I cannot do any sports for 2 more weeks. Ugh. Kill me now.

11.16.09

Do you know where your children are? #NYC. AH I remember seeing that as a kid on Fox5 then watching X-files. I used to think I would get abducted. I always had trouble sleeping. Some of my earliest memories are of being up at night, I don’t know what it is. I’m awake. I was born that way. My last post it was 4:07AM and that was oh about 18 hours ago. I had planned to stay up but then fell asleep around 5:15 and woke up at 6. 45 minutes of sleep to start a Monday. I left my apartment at 6:30 and from Brooklyn off I was into Manhattan L to the 5 and I got off at 86 street still really in a daze not quite tired not quite awake not quite morning really unfeeling of day or night, just me being and I felt good.

First thing I saw – and this always helps – and is always a blessing because it’s always hard for me to get up early – the sunrise.

And of course I lucked out with the weather running on no sleep isn’t easy when it’s freezing cold or raining. It was nice. But I knew that the night before when I decided ‘it’s gonna be one of those nights’. 7 AM I reach my destination and the crew is all there and we do our thing, now I will explain more about shooting crew / rigging crew as pertains to film set in a more informative blog but I’ll say I am on the rigging crew and we are not necessarily tied to the camera while it is rolling. So today while I started with the shooting crew in the afternoon I was off to Queens via a crew van to prepare the stages for tomorrows shoot. (We the rigging crew are in first – last out – on-call) It was easy, and I got to go home relatively early. It all worked out for me. I even took at an hour nap at lunch. So now 10:25 PM I’ve been up from Sunday Noon-ish that makes 36 hours a awake with a couple of seperate hour naps and I’m good. I wonder how this will read to me tomorrow being not in the not quite debilitating but definitely felt feeling of sleep dimentia. It’s all good. I’m gonna get some rest I’m off tomorrow.

love&Peace

t

I wanted to name this blog ‘finding light’ at some point. But I decided to go with well..what it is now. I am inspired by two things.

One- the title of this blog is from my mentor ,who has unknowningly touched my life in many levels. Initially, I sought for her professional guidance. Today, I am beyond grateful for not only her insights but most especially her good energy. She brings great vibes and lives by good karma.

Secondly, the Happiness Project. A blog out there that I stumbled upon and am now truly awaken to life by it. The writer is seriously brilliant. I am forever touched by her words. These two reasons alone have moved me to write and strive for my personal happiness.

What I want? To find my light. To keep my light. And to strive to share my light.

I believe in good karma. I believe in the universe and all it’s subtle and mysterious signs. I believe in wakeful living and being open to the wind that blows, the stars and the moon. I believe in the in-between. And hope to find my light in that space.

But for now, as the song #41 goes, I am only this far and only tomorrow leads my way. Dave Matthew’s Band is awesome in that way.

Hello, world.