Saturday, June 16, 2007

*yawn*

The feeling of sleepiness when you are not in bed, and can't get there, is the meanest feeling in the world. ~ Edgar Watson Howe

This will not be an awe-inspiring post (because they are so frequently, aren't they? LOL). I am flat out exhausted from not getting enough sleep. Doubly frustrating is, despite my exhaustion, I'm unable to stay in bed and get some zzzzzzz's. I'm awake, tired and can't snooze. Very frustrating.

The largest part of this problem are the Neighbors From Hell. We actually have three sets of them, but one in particular is truly awful. They ride their ATVs up and down the road late at night (well, and during the day, too, but night is the worst). They shoot off fireworks and shotguns at all hours of the night (we know shotguns are occasionally involved because we mowed their lawn for them in the spring a found piles of shotgun shells in their fire pit). They let their dog (who is obviously beaten because he slithers on the ground if you put a hand out and winces if you raise your voice) run loose -- which is bad enough in and of itself BUT the dog is a pit bull. I don't have a prejudice against pits, some of them are sweethearts, but this one is an unknown because of his upbringing.

Last night, I tried desperately to fall asleep despite the ATVs and the fireworks. I even went as far as pulling out my earplugs... but DH wasn't home and I always figure the moment I put in ear plugs something awful will happen and I won't hear it: fire, burglars, DD falls down the stairs, insert disaster here.

I only hope I can make it through the day with my eyes open. I don't think there will be a chance for a nap.

Napping during the day makes me groggy anyway. It's as though my body expects a full eight hours when I lie down. I try not to nap unless I'm sick, but today may be an exception.

What about you? How do you feel about mid-day naps?

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I've seen this before, and you may have, too -- but who can resist something this cute?

7 comments:

Ceri Hebert said...

OMG that was the cutest thing!!! Otters are one of my favorite animals.

As for your neighbors....if it were me, I'd be on the phone to the police. There has to be laws against the late night atv riding. And there MUST be leash laws for the dog. Or better yet, if the dog looks abused a call to the humane society.

I love afternoon naps, though I always feel abit guilty and a lot decadent taking them.

Heather said...

Wow, Marrianne — your neighbors sound absolutely awful. I don't even know what to say about dealing with them (but now your previous posts about wanting to relocate make a whole lot more sense).

Oops ... I think I just outed myself as a long-time lurker. :-)

As for afternoon naps, the only time they did anything for me was when I was pregnant. Any other time before or since, naps just make me feel worse. I'm groggy and grumpy, and by the time I can shake myself out of my funk it it's bedtime (and I'm wide awake).

Have a great weekend, and do what you can to sleep!

Dru said...

I would definitely call the police. I'm dealing with my own set of neighbors from hell and so far they are more or less sticking to the rules that were resolved. Or do you think the other neighbors could rally and approach them?

I love afternoon naps. Becauase I'm an early riser (get up every single day at 5am), those naps help me throughout the day and I still get my 6 hours of sleep at night.

Marianne Arkins said...

Sadly, this ATV/dirt bike problem has been ongoing for three years now. We have contacted the police about the dogs AND the on road use of off road vehicles (especially at such unbelievable hours). The cops have come, but since it takes them 15 - 20 minutes to respond, they seldom catch them in the act and the police say they have to actually catch them to do anything.

The tire marks, the dirt trails, the huge piles of gravel kicked up onto the road, pictures, and testimony from most everyone on the street apparently isn't good enough.

Grrr...

I tried to nap. First try -- a registered letter arrived about 10 minutes in. Second try -- next door neighbor mowed his lawn. Third try -- neighbors two houses down started their graduation party complete with loud music. Yay.

The good news is I got some gardening done! That doesn't require a functional brain, just strong hands.

Ceri Hebert said...

My parents had neighbors who used to come onto their land with their atvs. They even had the nerve to cut down saplings on my parents land to accomodate their machines. But I guess for people who had an ancient school bus on the edge of the property that actually fell down a hill onto my parents land, they're not too concerned.

MJFredrick said...

I LURVVVE naps. Best thing about summer vacation. Then I can stay up late and write!

Alice said...

Hi Marianne, lacking sleep is not funny. I understand that, especially when I was up most of the time finishing my study assignment into the wee hours of the morning and then there is the exams. It's the 24 hours type, and I'm a near-perfectionist, so everything must be good (and I mean good) before I even consider submitting it.

I don't take naps, but occasionally when I do. Like you, I need to sleep straight out and one or two hours or nap usually turns out to be more than that. I just keep silencing the alarm, ending up more 'disturbed' than rested. SIGH.

Now that I quitted studying for my MBA -- just not my cup of tea (even though I did get good grades of CPA 3.5 to 4.0) -- I decided to read more of the stuff I wanted to read; thus, the mounting TBR and rest more. I try sleeping before 12 AM every night...