Fourth (lack of) sleep note. Video, at a normal time of day.

[11calls]

[Alex looks pretty much like crap. She's got multiple mugs in front of her, and she's sitting at her desk at work. There's dark circles under her eyes, and she's definitely missing some of her normal spark.]

Okay, so the worst thing about being a kid for a few days is that you get to sleep like a kid for a few days. Which was pretty amazing. But now it's just making this whole lack of sleep thing all the more pronounced and I'm definitely not loving this.

So, I'm opening the floor for suggestions. Back home, I actually have a sleep specialist, but honestly she's not all that helpful. I do all the things I'm supposed to: no electronics for two hours before bedtime, progressive muscle relaxation, the "the" game, pot... Basically you name it and I've tried it.

[Alex is going to shrug and not actually list all the things she's tried because well, open channel and all that. But she actually has tried basically everything she can get her hands on, including medication.]

But my world is limited in what it has, so I'm willing to try basically anything within reason at this point. Sleep potions? Spells? Weird tech? Whatever. I have just got to get some sleep, and they don't really have Casper mattresses here. [That's a joke and comes with a thin smile. Casper mattresses are something that her insomniac self plugs on her show all the time.]

Comments

@maverick

[deploy]

I've got an idea.

[11calls]

[Alex is going to just laugh softly.]

Yeah, I bet you do.

[deploy]

Ever tried reading War and Peace in bed?

I guarantee you'll be knocked out in five minutes.

[That's totally not what he was talking about.]

[11calls]

I actually like War and Peace! But then again I am a giant nerd.

[She knows.]

[deploy]

Hey, I like it too. Sometimes I even get through a full chapter before Tolstoy's tranq dart hits.

Course, there are other things you can do in bed. That don't involve Russian politics.

Or so I'm told.

video @frankenstein

[jolting]

I used to have insomnia all the time. Usually I just rode it out and kept myself busy with reading or working in my lab. But it's not really a healthy solution in the long run.

Who's your regular doctor at the Riverview Hospital?

[11calls]

Oh? I happen to hear you're fairly good at them.

[11calls]

Yeah, it's not a new thing since I've been here. I've been having it for more than two years now. Which is why the sleep therapist. And yeah, I tend to work through it, but I also know that I can't do it forever.

I don't really have one? I mean I've not gotten sick or injured since I've been here or anything.

[jolting]

I just didn't want to prescribe medication without knowing what you're already taking.

If we were in Storybrooke, I could refer you to Doctor Hopper for the therapy, but I don't really know who to suggest to you here.

[deploy]

I'd go into detail, but I'm more of a hands on kinda guy.

[11calls]

I do seem to recall that. But only vaguely. I think I may need to ask for a reminder.

[11calls]

Yeah, right now I'm not taking anything but back home I did the gambit of sleeping pills. Nothing really worked.

Dr. Bernier, she was my sleep therapist, she did normal therapy stuff too. It didn't help.

[deploy]

So ask away.

[jolting]

All right. We'll scratch that. How about you come in for an appointment?

[11calls]

Dinner? I don't cook, but I can definitely grab something.

[11calls]

Okay, Doctor. When do you have time?

[deploy]

I've had a craving for legs.

You know. Drumsticks.

[jolting]

I'd like to do a full physical, so I'll book you for the morning. How's that?

@a.parrish; text

[antietam]

What do you do for work or exercise?

[11calls]

[Alex is just going to laugh at that.]

I always figured you for a breast man, myself. Chicken ones, of course.

[11calls]

That sounds fine. I can take the morning off with no problem.

Would you prefer me caffeinated or decaffeinated?

audio un:pnwsalex

[11calls]

For work, I'm an investigative journalist. For exercise, I'm a member of the running crew. Three miles a day when I can manage it.

[jolting]

Decaf, if you don't mind. We're going to do a full physical. And I know sleep is the reason you're coming in, but try it anyway and keep a note of how long you sleep if you can do it at all.

We'll discuss your past sleeping patterns when you come in.

[11calls]

I can do decaf, I may be a little slow but I can definitely do it! And I do keep a sleep log that's basically a habit at this point. I've got it in a gdoc on my phone.

See, at this point I'm practically a professional insomenac.

[antietam]

You can probably try a few more miles. You're probably at a desk a lot, right?

[ ... not that he's ever experienced insomnia. He assumes it's a symptom of not working yourself to death during the day. ]