Things That I Have Read at Ungodly Hours While up with the Bairn

We have a very, very small child now.  This is going to be a cumulative, ongoing list of things that I have read to try to keep myself entertained while the kid does not sleep.

• A Challenge to Lepton Universality in B Meson Decays - throwback to my dreams of being a particle physicist.  I even have a copy of this somewhere, for goodness' sake.  I actually understood some of the paper, too.  (Can't wait for the little one to read this beautiful book, too - and the author's whole series of books.)
• When should you take a child from his parents? That one was as fun as the title suggests. I knew acorn this article because I vaguely know the attorney who represents the main subject of this profile, and life working there is as important and rough as it sounds.  Although not as terrible as having your children taken from you, clearly. 
• A paper on neutrino scattering!
• An old book review discussing the friendship between Einstein and Gödel. 
• An amazing ACLU amicus brief responding to a coal magnate's desire to shut up John Oliver.  
• Bees and the concept of zero. 
• A dinosaur mummy!
• This astonishing interview with James Baldwin from 1968.  It's frightening how much still applies. 
• How to escape from quicksand!
• Aptly, in the wake of the horrors in Charlottesville, the myth of the kindly General Lee. 
• A wonderful interview with the editor of two extremely exciting books - Exit West and Home Fire. 
• A celebration of BBC 1Xtra.
• A recognition of the legacy of the sculptor Augusta Savage. 

The Month of Living Abstemiously: The 2010 Edition

Tomorrow starts my annual giving up booze, given that it's the start of February. Last year I gave myself four passes - PLUS the Super Bowl. Ridiculous. This year, not so much. This year I plan to take it a bit more seriously. I was originally planning to give myself three passes plus SB, but have abandoned that and decided that this February I can have light beer while watching the Super Bowl, wine on Valentine's Day, and that's it.*

Because there are no passes, I'm attracting a little more attention this year - no Wine Club, for example, which makes me very sad as I've not been in ages. So I've had to explain my reasons. I think they are, essentially:

1. Just to see if I can. Alcohol is, for better or worse, an integral part of my life. There are the worse things (like my head this morning after last night) and the better things (a solitary glass of great, earthy red wine as I enjoyed with an unbelievable duck dish at Dovetail this week, or a small but lovely glass of nutty, earth bourbon after a meal). It's partly, therefore, a test of resolve and also partly a way to recognise how lovely it can be, and not to take it for granted by drinking for the sake of it.
   
2. Calorie consumption. Not just the alcohol itself, but I often eat far more than I need to both during and the next day. So a month of reduced consumption and more mindful eating is always good.
3. Change of lifestyle. It's nice to find alternate things to do - going to the cinema, museums, having a nice quiet night in with cocoa and a book. Just to shake things up a bit and try something different. Of course, it's nice to do those things with a good glass of wine, or a refreshing cold beer, but that's not the point. Early nights are much more likely, and given that I've not been sleeping brilliantly of late, this may help.
   

So here we go, like a sales force into the night. See you on the other side!



* Unless my very dear friend's divorce comes through, and then we're going for spirits. Because, really, what else is there to do?

Shifting Gears

Work has been, to put it mildly, manic the past few weeks. I have also managed to get sworn in (officially a lawyer now - yikes) and sign my first ever lease, which is also the first joint lease for me and TOH. So I've barely had time to think sufficiently to vent - not that there's necessarily much thinking before the venting, but I normally get wound up sufficiently to put a few words up. Not this time round.

It always takes me a while to shift back into "normal," and undoubtedly I will get poorly. Sleeping 8 hours last night made me almost feel worse because now my body is apparently punishing me for lack of sleep in the past three weeks. Nonetheless, I'm sure as I recuperate the rage will return. Sotomayor's confirmation hearings and the circus around them will doubtlessly help. But for now it's concentrating on the Ashes and getting back into a routine of gym, healthier eating, and sleeping, as well as spending time with those I love.

Oh, and planning a holiday. Hooray!

It Shall Not Stand

My dad researches and instructs other teachers on methodology and school effectiveness, including work in far-flung places, with it regularly taking him to Brazil, Pakistan, and Tonbridge Wells.* Because he is now such a seasoned traveller, he has got used to odd hours and his body clock being awry. One of my favourite ever conversations with him involved him announcing that he'd found a way to get over jetlag. Ever eager to get over it, as I suffer terribly when I don't sleep (as I may have mentioned), I asked him what it was. "Just don't give in to it. I've decided" came the response.

Would that I had the willpower. Waking up at 5 two mornings in a row seems to indicate otherwise.

* I always want to ask him if he ever comes across "angry of..." the aforementioned TW.

Adaptation

The last week has been a little hellish, workwise. I'm really not a morning person, and I've had to be here earlier almost every day, and have stayed late, too. The morning thing has been horrid - I have had to set the alarm 45 minutes earlier every day, and have left the house about 1 hour earlier every day.

This is not to say I've been getting up early, by any stretch of the imagination. The secretary who sits by me gets up around 5.15 to exercise before leaving the house at 7 - a time at which I've usually been asleep, although this week I've been indulging my final snooze for the morning. But for me, it's been really rather early and horrible. People always bisect the population into morning and evening, and I'm neither type. I'm sleepy in the mornings, and sleepy at night - it just depends on what I've been doing for the past few days as to whether I'm zonked by 7 or sprightly and up at 9 on the weekends. I don't need to sleep until 11, but I like sleeping until 9. My brain really cannot handle working past 11 at night, but it can sit up until 3 watching tv, playing guitar hero, reading, or being out and about dancing. It's all... contextual.

I've often read those articles that state that you should get up at the same time every day, and I've understood that they're probably a good idea. Nonetheless, I have always ignored them as being really not applicable or desirable for my lifestyle. This morning, however, I noticed that getting up that early was unpleasant but not as bad as usual. I'm still a bit sluggish and resentful, but it's not as bad. Usually I struggle to get myself to the pool before work, but this morning, I was there, swam, got breakfast and then to my desk by 9.30 without too much pain. That's not bad, for me.

Am I turning over a new leaf? Fat chance. But it really has been remarkable to feel a transformation this week. Me and the alarm clock shall venture forth into next week and see what happens.

What has Derek ever done for you?

I go on about how great my neighbours are, but I don't actually know many of them outside my stairwell. Which is why I don't know who this "Derek" guy is, but when I find out, I may have to have a word about his lothario ways and effects on women. Because for the last two nights, we've been woken up in the middle of the night by a woman coming to scream "Derek... you got your ho up there? You got her there?" Last night she did it on three separate occasions.

That must be some loving from Derek. Or Mookey, if Mark's right about what she's yelling.

Unfortunately, I'm not interested in that. I'd just like an uninterrupted night's sleep.