Pleased to meet you. I'm a partial insomniac. I say partial for a number of reasons. One is that no matter what, I will eventually fall asleep. I don't spend days on end staying up because I can't get to sleep -- I will get there, even if it's not until 3 or 4 or 5 in the morning. Another is that there are nights when I just can't keep my eyes open and I'll end up crashing at 11pm or so. Yet another is that it comes and goes, I'm not up that late every night and there are long stretches where I have no problems getting to sleep. And I've always been able to cover it well -- caffeine has become a useful tool when I need it, and I can make up good excuses with the best of them. "Well, 'Office Space' was on last night and I just got wrapped up in it..." I'm a worrier by nature. I don't like it when things are out of my control. Not that I'm a control freak, but I'm one of those people who, for some unknown reason, tends to hope for the best but prepares for the worst... and then all those what-ifs come into play and I think to myself, Well, you wouldn't be preparing for the worst unless there's a possibility that the worst might actually come to pass, you dork. For that reason, I need something playing in the background at all times. I think that's one reason why I'm so addicted to music: it lets me concentrate on the music and let it flow through me, cleansing my mind. I don't have to think about all the things running through my head, and all the questions and discussions I have with myself don't pile up. It's why I need music playing whenever I'm in the car by myself or when I'm walking by myself -- in fact, whenever I get frustrated or upset and need a break from things as they stand, I pack up my portable CD player and go for a walk. It's my own form of escapism. I don't have to deal with all the crap going on in my head. And if there's nothing to distract me, the questions and discussions and all the little what-ifs come flooding back into my head. It's a thin line I tread: I need something there to slow my mind down and empty it so I can actually get to sleep, but I can't sleep if the sound changes at all because it'll jar me awake out of that half-asleep reverie/state -- so I can't play CDs or the radio to lull me to sleep. But without those things like a CD or the radio, I won't be distracted enough to be able to let my mind wander to the point where I know I'm in the process of falling asleep. So here I am. It's 1am, and the prospect of sleep is very appealing because I am very tired and I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow. But every time I close my eyes, my mind jumps to warp speed, I start thinking about things and I lose all hope of falling asleep at a quasi-reasonable hour. There are times when all the world's asleep, The questions run too deep For such a simple man... -- Supertramp, "The Logical Song"