Tag!

Oooooh! It seems I have been tagged for a fun game of getting-to-know-you-blogwise, otherwise known as 4 Meme, by the illustrious Dolyn. It's like a cyber handshake of sorts, I suppose. So here goes...

4 Jobs: Publicity Intern at Houghton Mifflin Publishers {a job mainly as dull as the proverbial dishwater, but made wonderful by a) cool co-interns b) lame co-interns to make fun of and c) exciting run-ins with literary superstars, like Toni Morrison, Jonathan Safran Foer, and Jhumpa Lahiri}; kitchen drone at my once-favorite restaurant Angelica Kitchen, at which the free vegan food was a perk but whose coldhearted management turned me off Dragon Bowls forever; Receptionist in the Physiology and Biophysics department at Cornell Medical College--i.e. get paid more than any job you've ever had to read and work on writing your novel all day; and, lastly, the Client Services Assistantship at DBM that we've all grown to know and hate (refer to the "A Day in the Life..." posts below).

4 Movies I Could Watch Over and Over: Oh man, hard to choose. I watch lots of movies over and over. But I'll say Almost Famous, Back to the Future(s), Edward Scissorhands, and The Big Lebowski.

4 Places I've Lived: Idyllwild CA, Manhattan NY, Brooklyn NY, and London UK (twice).

4 TV Shows I Love to Watch: Six Feet Under, The Office, Peep Show, Lost.

4 Websites I visit daily: Overheard In New York, because it's awesome, Facebook, because I need to obsessively check on updates of my friends' lives, The stupid AM NY crossword puzzle page, because I can always finish it and that makes me feel I have accomplished something worth crossing my arms and nodding contentedly about, and Best Of Craigslist, cuz it's funny, innit.

4 of My Favorite Foods: Brothy noodle soup, extra crispy potato wedges (or chips from the chippy at 2 am), hummus, tofu curry.

4 Places I'd Rather Be: At home in Camden, asleep under the fluffy blanket with the skylights open and with Max the kitty magically transported over from California; sunbathing on the beach in Zihuatanejo with a margarita; driving to Los Angeles from Idyllwild by myself with a good playlist; at the Fort Greene Sunday farmer's market in the summertime.

4 Albums I Can't Live Without: Well. I'd ideally need to list about 20 here. But I'll just pick a few randomly: Revolver, Rubber Soul, Hail to the Thief, and The Soft Bulletin.

4 People to Tag: Um...I don't have any more bloggy friends. So, YOU, random person who may be reading this, consider yourself tagged.

Sleeplaughing

Most people in the world have probably heard of sleepwalking, or even of sleeptalking. But, as far as I know, I am the first person to experience the phenomenon I call "sleeplaughing". Now, before you shake your head and rub your eyes cartoon-style in disbelief, let me assure you that it is true. Also, let me tell you that when it wakes you up in the dead of night, it is terrifying.

On several occasions, I have awoken to an evil-sounding cackle that gradually metamorphosed into a hearty bellylaugh. At first, this aural maelstrom would permeate whatever dream I happened to be having at the moment, inevitably throwing my unconscious mental ramblings into a state of nonsensicality and puzzlement. It would then wake me up entirely, as the sound, originating from the sleeping Sam's grin, endured for several freaky minutes. The first time this happened was possibly the most frightening; Sam was lying on his side and facing me, so I initially thought he was just lying there, staring at me, and laughing his head off, which, I think you will agree, would be a properly startling way to wake up. I came to realize, however, that Sam is not actually insane, but rather has some sort of weird sleep malady that causes these chortling outbreaks. Upon shaking him frantically in an attempt to wake him up, I would often receive some sort of unhinged response when I asked what he was laughing at. See examples below:

Me: Sam! Sam! Stop it! What are you laughing at?!
Sam: (with annoyance, and with eyes still closed) Don't wake me up!

or

Me: Sam! You're doing it again!! What are you laughing at?
Sam: What? Oh, Alan Partridge.

or, my favorite one so far...

Me: Sam! For fuck's sake! What are you laughing at?!?!
Sam: Hahahaha. Hahahahahahaha. Slapstick comedy.

Fortunately for me, Sam and I have enjoyed laugh-free sleep for the past few weeks. Here's hoping that trend will hold out.