A few weeks ago, Bethel Utilities Corporation (BUC) announced a scheduled power outage beginning on Friday at midnight (which technically would make the outage on Saturday, but nobody seemed to care or to point this out to BUC) until 6:00am. BUC claimed that they had to do this now to not have to do it later. This reasoning sounds suspiciously like the logic I sometimes have to use with my kids!
I was as prepared as I could be for the outage until I managed to forget about it altogether. That is, until I was abruptly reminded of it at exactly 12:00am Saturday! When everything clicked off at midnight, I just sat for a few minutes, realized I was not anywhere near being ready for bed and now I had no electricity powering my TV, the satellite dish, the modem. Nothing.
The thing is, until I moved to Alaska, I almost never stayed up until midnight. Okay, okay...I did every night until I had a wife, kids, and a job that required me to be there in the a.m., but for the better part of the last decade (save for getting up with babies!) I couldn't even stay up until 11, let alone well past midnight like I have been doing here in Bethel! On far too many occasions, I've watched the sunset and sunrise without having shut my eyes between. Granted that's only a couple of hours difference and it never really gets dark, but still...most people can't say they watch both sun phases on even a semi-regular basis!
The problem is the light. It completely messes with my brain. I look at the clock and know that I should be fast asleep, but my body is not even remotely ready to consider the prospect. People have suggested tin foil on the windows, blackout curtains, sleeping pills and other drugs, making a routine, blah, blah, blah, blah. None of it works. Period. There's something freaky about it being light outside that forbids my body from relaxing to where I could even consider trying to sleep. Honestly, it's maddening.
I wonder if I'll have the same problem during the winter months when it barely gets light out? I doubt it...knowing me, I'll relish every chance I can to take a nap or go to bed early! Of course, I'm going to need it in order to catch up for all the sleep that is evading me now!
2 comments:
I live in Fairbanks and I love this time of year because I actually sleep like a baby. The sun can shine in my eyes and I still get a good night's sleep. However, in the winter, I have horrible insomnia. Despite all the darkness, I find myself up all night long more often than not. I've read that it's a rare side effect to S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder). Most folks are tired all the time. Me? I can't sleep.
I love having 24 hours of daylight. I stay much more busy!
Enjoy your summer,
Susan
http://www.susanstevenson.com/blog
I sleep well when it's light out too! But it doesnt really matter the time of year...I'm always up past midnight. I'm a terrible night owl.
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