I could sleep for a thousand years...

This is unexpected.

I was lucky enough to work days for three months straight, and the sleep was wonderful. Deep, satisfying and refreshing. Now, just a couple weeks into working evenings, I find myself all twitchy and restless. Exhausted, yeah, but restless.

MizBubs brought the new Chuck Palahniuk novel, Rant, home from the library for me and I've started that. We'll see how that goes. Ironically, one of the themes of the novel is the division of people, by curfew, into "daytimers" and "nighttimers."

So, fellow bloggers. Are you "daytimers" or "nighttimers"?

Florida will not destroy me

The Waffle House around the corner from my hotel is full of rock slingers and rednecks, and their grits were lumpy. The wildfires have created a "smoke layer" that the pilot has to warn you about as you approach Jacksonville, so that you don't panic if you smell smoke in the cabin as the plane descends. I discovered that, when you see a sign at the beach that warns you not to swim because of "dangerous rip tides" and the wind is 30 mph, it's a good idea not to swim.

None of this matters; Florida will not destroy me.

I've been on the ground since 7:30 EST Sunday night. The wildfires have apparently driven the alligators deeper into their swamp dens--I didn't have to drive over a single one in the hotel parking lot, or on my way to meet the client. I almost feel cheated. Normally the gators are scampering around down here like squirrels in Grant Park.

I just finished the second night of surveillance and I'm sneaking in a quick post while I finish my beer. Then it's nap time, and then back to interview some people for the rest of the work day. I think I've successfully killed off whatever circadian rhythm I had left.

On a positive note, I had a great shack dining experience at Singletons: a great meal of raw oysters and fried sheephead, washed down with a cheap longneck beer. Singleton's is right next to the 1A ferry landing, next to the Navy base. The pelicans kept me company. Pelicans are regal birds; regal and ridiculous at the same time, which is cool. I got to see the absolute frenzy that hundreds of gulls and pelicans flew into when some shrimping boats came in. Amazing.

Another positive: I found out that, after 1am, I got really good reception for WSM Nashville. I gotta tell you, it's pretty cool to be up all night in a creepy industrial area, sitting alone in your car waiting for something to happen, with old-time hillbilly music as your soundtrack. When the train whistle sounded down the road it created a perfect moment. Made me wish I smoked cigarettes and wore a fedora so I could've felt more like Robert Mitchum.

I better get some sleep.

Scaling new heights in depravity

See, here's the nice thing about Site Meter: when you're sitting around, burned out as thoroughly as a failed Greek restaurant, nothing to say, you can still come up with material by going through your Site Meter results.

So that's what I did. And Site Meter paid off.

An inquisitive Hoosier in Chester, Indiana Googled for "scab photo." I'm proud to say that Sprawling Ramshackle Compound is the first result, ahead of the entry titled "oral herpes picture information."

Even better, someone in Baltimore found us by looking for "quadruple amputee" +nude +girl +picture"

Finally, on French Google, we are a leading source for "video horrible."