I don't have to be a good samaritan on less than five hours sleep, right? I finally get to sleep around midnight. At 4:30 A.M. my dogs are going apeshit by the front door. I jump up out of a sound sleep to see what's going on.

Some woman is standing on my porch knocking on my door. She looked sheepish and I just tell her she's going to wake up my kids. Her story, car broken down. I didn't let her get any further--I just pointed her down the street to the OPEN Dairy Mart. There is a phone down there and an AWAKE person who can help you.

WTF? I do not live on the end of a deserted, country road. This is a major metropolitan area. I'm half a block away from an open, around the clock convenience store with a functioning payphone outside. It's not raining or snowing.

Of course I'm torn now between worrying whether this woman really needed more help and how I'm going to make it through the day on so little fucking sleep.

Cash, if she'd been that desperate (i.e. needed *your* help), she would have stuck around and been more demanding.

Cash, if she'd been that desperate (i.e. needed *your* help), she would have stuck around and been more demanding.

She asked me where she was. Which may mean she was lost--we're a quiet, residential part of town and she may have gotten turned around. I didn't give her enough time to ask for anything (money?). I told her where she was and where the quickie mart was. I dunno. The more I think about it the more pissed off I get because really, what idiot does that? The adrenline rush that woke me up prevented me from going back to sleep.

Now I'm tired and the kids are awake and having breakfast and I'm looking at the long day ahead.

Cash, when help was so close by, I don't blame you. The woman may not have been thinking clearly... and it may sound really paranoid/suspicious of me, but also it sounds like the opening scenario of a scam where someone tries to invade your house.

(This is the third time in a few days when I've jumped to the worst possible scenario interpretation of a situation. I wonder if I'm going through a paranoid phase or something.)

In other news, the first workday of the new year is starting up here and I'd better get dressed and out the door before it's too late!

I'm just naturally more suspicious now for some reason. Maybe I'm just more protective of my kids. The dogs both got a half a can of cat food as a treat this morning. Things like this remind me why I love having them around. I do think they are great at warning people away and I know for certain, nobody could break into our house without us knowing about it. It's sort of comforting.

Timelies all!

G didn't get today off, though I did. Therefore I woke briefly when the alarm went off, then snoozed some more. I'll probably make a trip to the mall for a few things after I shower and dress.

I got to work, chatted for a few minutes with flea, and ran downstairs to the lab, only to realize after I got here that everyone else in my group is still on the vay-cay today. I could be useful, but instead am rather magnificently bored.

I am so tired today that I want to die. After not being able to sleep last night, I also forgot to set my alarm for this morning. So I woke up at 8:35. (I'm supposed to start work at 8:30.) I really wanted to call in sick, but I didn't. The whites of my eyes are red and my eyelids are all puffy. I think some of my co-workers think I've been crying.

Sue, maybe you can use this to your advantage and get people to leave you alone.

I miraculously remembered to turn my alarm clock back on for this morning. I have a new one that has a Monday-Friday setting and turns itself off after an hour, which is awesome, since in general I never have to touch it, but it did wake me up on the Friday I had off a couple of weeks ago.

Sleeplessness all around sucks.

Cash, I had something like that happen when I lived in Palo Alto, in a gated building. I gave the woman money so she'd go away. Which of course meant she showed up again a week later. Ugh.

I've been up since ~4:30. As usual.