Insomnia = persistence

I always go IN to work thinking positively, hoping it will be a good day. Every day I go OUT of there short of breath (due to air), tired, and angry and/or frustrated. I sometimes don't like going home because I don't want to leave in the middle of a bad situation -- I'd rather sort things out before quitting. Kind of like how they say, "Don't go to bed angry!" I don't go to bed angry...to my chagrin sometimes because it means I often have endless patience for staying up and talking about things until they are resolved. Most people don't have that tolerance so it usually doesn't work out in my favor...they usually either fall asleep while I'm talking or they become so tired that it's worthless talking to them.

Why do I have such a tolerance for sleep avoidance? I have often wondered what is the physiological mechanism that causes someone to be a better sleeper or to be more of an insomniac. Is it a certain gene? What is happening at the cellular level to cause me to wake up at every sound when other people sleep like bricks? Why do I hate sleep when others love sleeping? I have been putting a concerted effort forth to increase my sleep, especially considering I'm sleeping WAY less and WAY worse than when I was working on my PhD!! That is a problem. I should be sleeping better!

Here's the graph from the sleep app I've been using to monitor my sleep since December 2012. My sleep quality was up near 90% and then it dropped to 70% right after I finished my PhD, and also when I switched my diet to be allergy free. I'm working on this. If you want a good idea of what this graph means, take a look at just before October 2013 -- that little dip there is when I was in the crazy, sleep-deprived, caffeinated, nervous breakdown final stages of defending my PhD. And now compare that to what has happened since October...that's insane!!

I really like Scramble with Friends, the app. I am heavily entrenched. So far my top word count is 137 words out of 180 seconds (180 seconds is the time of each round), meaning I find one word every 3/4 of a second. They also calculate your average words per minute...my average translates to 44 words per 60 seconds right now, but the wpm it's still continuing to climb daily because I just recently started playing and the average is slow to move upward.

***Update on 8/1/2014: My record is now 150 words in a 180-second game.

I really don't know how good my scores are because the app only ranks you against people you have played against, not the entire population of Scramble players. I just won 90 games in a row without losing so I assume I'm doing okay...I just wish you could see percentiles and statistics and stuff :). I like that sort of thing. I often get ~110-130 words out of the 180-second round, so it would be nice to see a chart of all my rounds to see my averages and stuff. Anyway, I'm really into the game.

I am looking forward to this interview. It will go really well. I am going to sell myself well and convince them that I'm their best choice. Then I will move out of here :). That is my plan. My other plan is to write in this journal at least once a day no matter what happens. I NEED to get back to regular writing. It helps me focus my energies, find direction and meaning in life, and organize my thoughts and priorities. It also motivates me to see my goals and accomplishments written down on e-paper. Going to bed so I can get up early to study...