bluesilverkdg | (no subject)

I haven't written much about my sleep disorder in a while, but something happened last night that prompted me to want to talk about it. For those of you who haven't been around that long, just a brief overview: I have a sleep disorder called REM Sleep Behavior (sometimes called REM Sleep Disturbance.) I stay in REM sleep pretty much the whole time I'm sleeping, which means I dream constantly, never really getting much, if any deep, restful sleep. Not only that, but I get up and act out my dreams sometimes. So, technically I am a sleepwalker, but not in the classic sense. I basically know what I'm doing, because I'm sort of on the verge of being asleep and being awake, and what I'm doing makes sense to me at the time, even though it's usually pretty stupid and when I do totally wake up and realize what I'm doing (taking pictures off the wall, chasing the cats, etc.), I feel like a total idiot. So, I've had this disorder since I was four years old. Both of my parents are sleepwalkers, although my dad's disorder is much closer to my own, and I inherited the tendency.

For those of you who HAVE been around for a while, you may remember that the TV is a big trigger (or a trig bigger?) for my sleep disorder. If I fall asleep with the TV on, I generally believe that the people on it are talking either to or about me. I once wanted to hunt Matthew Broderick down and kill him because I thought he was airing my dirty laundry on Conan O'Brien. Then there was the time I almost called the drug and alcohol helpline in a rage to tell them that I DID NOT have a problem with drugs, thankyouverymuch, and I was insulted when I apparently thought their infomercial said that I did. (I get a wee bit testy when I'm sleeping.)

So, last night, I fell asleep with the TV on. I normally set my timer on the TV so that it goes off 30 minutes or an hour after I go to bed, because I do usually go to sleep more easily with it on. That way I get the benefit of dozing off with the TV on, without the hassle of thinking that the people on there are talking to me. But last night I couldn't find the remote for the actual TV...the one that controls the timer. So, it stayed on all night. At about 5 am, there was a show about Ancient Rome (or something like that) on Investigation Discovery. And evidently there was something in it about statues. I was under the impression that I was going to be turned into a statue, but if I could figure out what was making this happen, I could prevent it. And what was making us all turn into statues? Herculineum.

Yes, you heard right. I got up in the middle of the night, found a notebook (that I'm pretty sure was downstairs) and wrote the word "Herculineum" in the margin. I even recognized that there was already writing on the page, and that I should not write over it, so I had the presence of mind to go over to the margin.

This would be strange enough if it was the first time it had ever happened. However, it's happened before.

Back in 2004, I was relentlessly searching for The Code in my sleep. It apparently had something to do with either the TV remote or my phone, because I'd wake up each night punching numbers furiously into both of them. And I dreamed about The Code almost every night. I have no idea what it meant or what it was for, and I still don't know what it was, but for almost a year, I had this recurring dream of searching for The Code. One night I did actually dream that I figured it out, and boy was I proud of myself. I got up to go to the bathroom, so happy that I finally had The Code, and while I was sitting there on the potty, I realized I'd already forgotten it. So much for that.

But back in August of 2004, "Rescue Me" was a new show coming on, and I saw a commercial for it one night when I was sleeping. Evidently I thought that it had something to do with The Code, because I got up and wrote this:

What's crazy (OK, crazier) is that neither one of these look anything like my regular handwriting. Or my handwriting when I'm awake, I should say. And what's even crazier than THAT, is the fact that I can (kind of) type when I'm asleep. Who remembers The Infamous Sleepwalking LJ Post? http://bluesilverkdg.livejournal.com/2006/05/30/

Yeah, goodtimes.

So I don't have the foggiest idea what Herculineum or Dennis Leary have to do with anything, but I have them both now immortalized in sleepwriting. Maybe I should start a sleep journal. That could be interesting...