Then work came along and that was even more of a nightmare. I thought that since my first job at The Peninsula Manila left me no choice but to keep regular 9-6 hours I would finally rid myself of my unpredictable sleep patterns and join the rest of the world in dozing at night and staying awake during the day… no such luck! Even after a long and oftentimes hard day’s work, I would still stay up late into the night either reading, writing, or watching films with my ex-boyfriend. The following day would see me downing cup after cup of coffee trying to keep my eyes open during the morning briefings.
I used to think I might have some kind of sleep disorder but upon closer examination and self-reflection I’ve come to realize something that would explain my sleep-deprived lifestyle and my nocturnal habits. I’ve actually always known that I’m a night person. I’ve always been more awake and more alive in the evenings and sometimes the dead of night is when I get my best work done. But seriously, moon-to-sun preference aside, I think I can attribute my insomnia to one important factor I’ve noticed these last few weeks.
I’m an insomniac because of one appliance in my room – a little black box on the edge of my desk known as the television! It used to just be books that kept me up but these days with so many good shows on the tube I’ve become addicted to catching the latest episodes of my favorite programs and this often means that if I missed the first airing I’d have to stay up to catch the replays which usually begin at midnight. Indeed, all couch potatoes and TV lovers agree that the selection of programs these days is every boob-tube fanatic’s dream come true. There are TV offerings to satiate everyone’s home entertainment cravings. Here are some of the shows keeping me up at night:
I love these two shows and I always make time to watch them (or their replays). Admit it, who doesn’t enjoy watching Colin make an ass of himself on international television or Kim constantly joking Chip that he’s got to do all the roadblocks. Besides, since I love traveling so much the show not only keeps me interested with the human relations aspect (really, it’s no wonder Americans are viewed as such bad travelers) but I enjoy checking out all the great places they get to go and all the amazing things they do like sledging in New Zealand. I would so want to do that! These next two episodes in particular I’m really excited to see with the last four teams racing through Manila and Palawan.
Additionally, who can resist the Fab 5? To be sure, Carson, Kyan (sigh, one hot male less in the world!), Ted, Thom, and Jai have won over the world in their weekly transformation of straight drab men into straight fab men! Sometimes it takes a gay man to set a man straight. I absolutely adore Queer Eye. Not only are you constantly amazed by the wonderful makeovers they pull off (Thom is a miracle worker) but you can laugh your heart out at the delightful comments they make along the way. Who can forget when Thom pulled out a filthy air condition filter and exclaimed, "Well, the source of SARS has been found" or when Jai and Carson paraded around in figure skaters’ costumes and pretended to be Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding?! It’s fun, entertaining, and informative – even for women.
These shows should come with a warning label – Caution: Can be Addictive. I just can’t get enough of sifting through the evidence with Gil Grissom and his team or of Sidney and Vaughn going on mission after mission for the CIA. Not to mention 24, the first season of which I stayed up an entire night watching! And, if these shows on primetime aren’t bad enough now all the pirated DVDs are coming out and one can’t help but pop in disc after disc just to see what happens.
It’s been interesting watching a young Clark Kent grow up and come to terms with his powers. I admit to being on the edge of my seat in the second season to see if he finally got together with Lana Lang – even though we all know it can’t last (enter Lois Lane in the future).