oh elusive sleep

for the first time since probably last year during hurricane season, i've watched local news three times today-- early am, 5:30pm, and now the beginning of the late news. i know this is no good for me, and i have no idea why i did it. (possibly because during those hours, there's nothing else on, and tv helps me keep time when i'm awake too long. i just saved myself from the bulk of the 11pm when i remembered that jon stewart inexplicably has the president of pakistan on tonight. thanks, jon.) apparently, there were three break-ins in the western suburbs, and now it's a crisis. tips on how to protect yourself, live at 6! put motion lights on your house! if you find a man in your kitchen at 1am, give him what he wants! funny, i don't remember the crime wave in my *building* last summer making the news or becoming a crisis. this is a predominantly white neighborhood, near monuments and museums, but apparently the stuff we have to steal isn't worth news coverage. (the most expensive thing i own is probably this laptop.) hmph. i'm sure the fact that i watched all four acts of 'when the levees broke' in the early hours this morning has nothing to do with my grumpiness on this matter. though that might explain the dream i had during my hour-long nap (HOW is it that after staying awake for 24 hours, i nearly always wake back up right away?!?) in which i'd won the lottery or some other giant lump of money and was torn between sending a certain new orleans resident an anonymous check or a signed one, wondering whether it mattered where the money came from, whether it would influence whether she spent it on herself or spread it out to NOLA charities. i don't remember what i did with the rest of the money, only that it was incredibly stressful trying to decide how best to distribute it, rather than the fun, spending-spree lottery dream one is supposed to have. i don't buy lottery tickets, though, so i suppose i'll never have to worry about that particular brain drain. HA! i need to watch jon stewart more often. the twinkie just lifted my mood 100% percent.