h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ah, Jeff, you have touched a tender memory that has been asleep for many years. I spent a fair amount of time in the area: Tacoma, Seattle, and in particuliar Raft Island, Gig Harbor. Camped on the shores of Squaksome (sp?) Island and saw colonies of phosphorescent plankton. I tried to water ski but the water is too cold for me. I went down once and got out fast before I turned blue. Life everywhere: stand too long in one spot and the crabs will be picking the skin off your feet. But you know that. From there I headed up to Bellingham where I helped my (ex) girlfriend enroll in University. Went back several times to visit my girl until I was made unwelcome. I hope to visit again sometime soon, girl or no.

Amy the Ant is the Guru who inducted me into h2g2 about 3 years ago and Archangle Galaxy Babe was my Guardian. Now, imagine,I am an ACE. Hope the PTB don't regret this.

I greeted Raika when she returned to h2g2. She already is gaining ground on me fast. "Youth is a gift wasted on the young." Naw, I don't mean that. I'm young at heart, been teaching history for 20 years. Anyway, I had some difficulty explaining the moderators to her. I told her I was just as outraged (I, too, had been gone a while) and guided her as best I could. I wish I had left my Felix Derzhinski journal entry for her to read. We Americans have a lot of bad feelings when it comes to someone telling us what we can and cannot read or write. I asked her to be patient. All things must change.

Stop in and say "Hello" sometime!
Micheal Jay Mole, Minister for Subterranean Lifeforms and ACE

Well, hello Michael.....I seem to see your postings everywhere! Gaining ground, am I? Hmmmm....too many hours on the computer perhaps? Bored with my schoolwork this semester and interested in anything but the work? Sigh.....

Reika

Believe it or not Reika I am discovering as I post more often, there are many, many h2g2 members I have not met. I was advised to keep a little note book to keep track of whom I have greeted and visited. I think its a good idea.

The reason I am poping up so often is I lost my primary job. I teach part-time but its not enough to live on. Also, I have horrid insomnia and visiting h2g2 helps pass the time.

Hope you make keeper (you will).
I must sleep!

G'night. MJM ACE

Hi!

I've just fairly recently moved up to the Puget Sound area (not that I lived far from it in the first place, admittedly). I am still amazed at the great natural beauty of the area. There is, as you say, 'life everywhere.' So are you still in the Pacific Northwest, or have you migrated to different part of the country?

I hadn't heard of that idea of keeping notes of people you meet on h2g2, but I'm glad you mentioned it here. Its a great idea, and one I'll probably use.

Thanks for dropping by!

Jeff

(P.S. Welcome to the ACE team! )

My time in the North West was much too brief. I had several friends there and spent a lot of time traveling between Nebraska and Washington. It has been a long time since I have been there since all the folks I knew no longer live there. I'm originally from St. Louis, but Dad moved to Omaha to teach medicine and conduct researce. I was never really happy about the move. Somehow, I put roots down in Omaha though I plan to resume my traveling someday.

Darn Jeff, know any sure cures for insomnia? I have had a months of severe sleeping problems, and have always had sleeping troubles. I know how I would cure it if I were the MD, but it would probably make things worse. I'll just have to ride it out I guess.

Thanks for the congrats on my ACEdom, but gosh there seems to be a lot of bickering amongst the ACEs. I hope I have the stamina for it. I will try.

Kindly stay in touch. Wish I was there; I sleep better when I can hear the ocean.

MJM ACE

I'd love to travel that much. For the most part, I haven't left my little corner of the state, aside from a few trips into Eastern Washington and a trip Los Angeles. That's something I hope to do more of sometime after I get out of college (though I'm confident I'll always end up back home in Western Washington).

Sorry, but I don't have any ideas about curing insomnia. When I have trouble sleeping, I usually try reading, but that doesn't always work. Hope you find something that helps.

We ACEs generally are opinionated people . Heated discussion in the off-site forum often comes and goes. Try and hang in there.

Jeff

Michael....I've had difficulty sleeping lately myself (for reasons too long to get into for the moment). My solution is in my CD player and....routine. The experts aren't kidding when they recommend you go to bed at the same time every night! What works best for me is to pick midnight as the "lights out" time. I must finish any work I am doing by 11 p.m., no later than 11:30. Why? Because the brain requires a bit of time to switch to the new, slower mode. I put on my ocean waves CD--obtained from Target in the section with other nature sounds and/or new age stuff, and this stuff is not actually found in the music section. Anyway, I put the CD on, turn off all lights except the reading light by the bed, and pick up a book. For me, anything will do. I have found that I have become "programmed" for the sound of the ocean waves and sleepiness soon follows. I cannot fall asleep to anything else.

Jeff.....sorry for having taken over the conversation here on your own site!

Don't worry, I believe travel is definitely in your future, especially if you make out-of-state friends while at school, or have siblings! My first trip was to take my sister to school in another state (my folks were divorcing and she was left without a way to her school to begin her freshman year). That was.....ahem....15 years ago and I haven't looked back since. What works best is if you know someone who lives in the area of your destination and is willing to put you up for a bit. Lots of cheap (and fun) vacations and explorations can be had that way. I've traveled all over the United States and have had quite a bit of fun. I also have an advantage because my immediate family lives in spots all over the map.

Take care,
Reika

Reika, I have tried everything. I have those cd's and continous play tapes will all sorts of sleep inducing sounds: no go. I have a routine that had worked for years. I believe my routine is upset now because I am underemployed and dealing with early onset arthritus (ouch!). I cannot sleep in bed. I do not have a telly in the bedroom. I have read studies that say the bedroom is for sleep and sex. If you are not doing either then leave the room. So it follows, if I can't sleep, I leave the bedroom to keep it from becomming source of my sleepless anxiety. I have tried warm milk, valerian, cocoa, even visiting friends who stay up late but just no luck, I think when I get a second job my routine will be more steady, my worries less, my illness addressed, and so will sleep better. Gosh I hope so or I am moving to Puget Sound and go back to Gig Harbor, Raft Island and sleep in a boat. What do you think Jeff?

MJM ACE

So sorry, Michael....it really sounds like you have tried everything. But if you are worried and have tenuous sleep patterns to begin with, everything can and will be thrown out of sync. Hang in there, this too shall pass.....

Goethe: "Where there is a great deal of light, the shadows are deeper."

Reika

Sleeping on a boat? That sounds to be very relaxing.
(that is, assuming its not the sort of thing that would make you seasick .)

I hope you're finding something that helps.

Jeff

Jeff, you would only get seasick if there were deep water. Shalow water, like a slip, doesn't cause enough motion to cause seasickness.
(I hope)

"I burn my candle at both ends.
It will not last the night.
But, oh my foes, and oh my friends
what a lovely light."

Edna St. Vincent Milet

That describes me Reika.

I got some (hope that emoticon takes) last night, but only 3 hours. I am to call my doctor today. I can no longer stand it.

Thanks for the sleepy wishes all, I greatly appreciate it. I have thought of one thing. For most of my life I have slept with my head to the east. Recently I have moved my bed so my head is to the north. Maybe its time to move it back? Or is that too mystic or wicca?

MJM ACE

Changing head position? Naw, not mystical at all. I find that my sleep patterns change for a bit when I change my bed. It has to do with the light coming in the windows and how it changes as the angles change. There is still an awareness of the light through your lids, you know. Who knows? Maybe changing back will help.

Namaste,
Reika

Then I must change my bedroom around because most of my life I have slept with my head to the east. This is the first place I have lived where I did not face east and have suffered the worst insomnia. I shall try tonight!

Slan leat,
MJM ACE