Sleep deprivation

There was a short lecture about sleep deprivation yesterday. Frankly, it wasn’t amusing or surprising but something stuck with me until today. It’s how people believe in supernatural despite all their logic and common sense: “Yes, I know that you can’t predict someone’s future over a dream, but how can you explain to me that I saw things before they’ve happened?”

I love sleeping. Since my teenage when I’ve had problems sleeping during high school final exams, I’ve created a schedule for myself and whenever I stay too late I’m almost passing out. I sleep 7-9 hours per day regularly and this schedule feels the best. My dreams are colorful, regular, very prolonged and intense: I see dramatic scenes, can smell perfume and food, hear beautiful music and noises. My best dreams have plots with climax and epilogue, and I like them despite being scary or sad, and remember them, long after they pass. thanks to my dreams I feel like I’ve been to a volcano eruption, in an abandoned theatre, in a moving building and flying on a huge air balloon. I desperately write all the best plots down hoping one day to get a use of them, but they only worth for telling anecdotes, which’s no different from describing an old movie to someone who can never watch it.

The lecture has started with a question about sleep paralysis, when you already awake, but can’t move. It’s even hard to breathe and some people may feel like someone is choking them during sleep paralysis. Of course, you start to panic and sweat, but it usually is not a sign of any problems in your body. So if you ever have it, just try to get back to sleep, don’t stay too late, and stay away from oily and fat food in the evening.

Good night.

Christmas stories

Regardless of the title, this story is not about Christmas.

It’s all about going out when you’re supposed to sit home, in other words, I’ve never traveled on a New Year’s Eve.

The New Year as a celebration in my family is closer to Christmas. I have to spend it in my family circle, surrounded by food, festive movies, and very simple games. Years later I’ve met people who celebrated it as a fun party: clubbing with friends, drinking, staying ridiculously late for a regular party any other time. But at that moment I was staying home, cooking, watching movies and eating popcorn.

When I was 11 or 12, my grandfather fell down on a street and wasn’t feeling that well. He and my grandmother were living in a small village 3 to 4 hours drive from our city, and we’ve had a car. The plan was to get my grandfather to the nearest hospital and check if he was okay, do him a Xray or something. The nearest hospital is still 40 minutes from their home. I couldn’t be left home alone and it was December 30th.

My grandfather was alright, he wasn’t injured, the next day, December 31st, he was let home. My dad drove him to the village, my mom was with him all the time, while I was kind of hanging around with my grandmother.

We were driving home on the New Years Eve, and it was exciting and new. The roads were empty, people were trying to party home, it was freezing cold to be drunk outside and although supermarkets were supposed to work at the time we’ve arrived, everything was closed from the inside and I could hear laughing and swearing behind the closed doors. I was standing outside on a frozen stairs bubbled with dirty ice trying to figure out if I could just knock.

My mom wanted to buy some fresh bread and anything special, but we’ve ended up having the regular meal. And you know what? That wasn’t even feeling like something special happening, that the new year is coming. I’m still having a strong feeling, that with no food there is no mood for a New Year (or Christmas, whatever you consider a family event).

Good luck and happy holidays ♥