Awake Late

I was just telling a friend earlier that I think my resistance to caffeine is waning. We were chatting over coffee--I had my last sip of the stuff around 10:30 p.m.--and here I am, nearly 3 a.m., and I'm just beginning to feel tired. Caffeine, exercise, big meal late, I used to think of myself as one of those people who has no trouble falling asleep. Lately, however, sleep has been hard to grab, what with the heat, mosquitoes, and lack of a proper sleep system.

Summer began yesterday, which means I'll have a few more months of extreme heat and mosquitoes to look forward to. I don't know where the 'lil buggers are coming from, but I dread lying down at night. I've considered wrapping myself in mosquito netting, mummy style, for protection. But I'm planning on getting a replacement screen instead--and what my friend describes as a slow-release citronella gizmo, if I can find one.

What I've noticed lately:
-Standing outside my building late at night, the only sound I hear being that of humming air conditioners up and down my block.
-...Standing at an empty intersection late at night, the only sound being that of the pedestrian signal alternately clicking between walk and halt.
-Sparrow perched on a short, thin-limbed tree, singing loudly above the din of Midtown.
-A baby bird out back screeching every time one of its parents approaches the nest. This bird is a bad neighbor--it has woken me up a few times. (I believe it's a northern mockingbird based on glimpses I've had of the parents, but I'm not certain.)
-Men and women toting brown paper shopping bags in the Garment District. Specifically brown paper shopping bags without any logos or text on the sides.
-Waiting passengers interacting with the musical instrument sculpture in the 34th St./Herald Square train station.

The world looks beautiful once you notice it.

Filed in: Miscellaneous