That Zombie in the mirror was me

60

By alekhouse

Remembering a day not so long ago

Well, it was the only way I could get through the morning, which is not really over yet. This is going to be a "post-in-progress" It will help stabilize me. Last night I got all caught-up in stuff on the internet. It was extremely stimulating so it kept me up until midnight....big mistake!. I usually go to bed by 10:00 pm cause I have to get up very early 5-7 am to prepare, cook and serve breakfast to a boatload of bed and breakfast guests. I need 8 hours of sleep and if I don't get it I'm a basket-case.

Anyhow, I finally turned the light out at 12:00 pm and just lay there staring out at the darkness that surrounded me. Guess I drifted off cause at 3:30 am I woke with a start. I knew I couldn't function on 3 hours sleep, so I turned on the light, reset the alarm for 8:00 am. Then I got the bright idea of taking a sleeping pill, getting up at 8:00, killing myself taking a very fast shower, doing my toilette, and rushing to the kitchen to make a lovely breakfast of spinach-mushroom and cheese omelets, banana muffins and Kentucky country ham. Not!

I woke in three hours...after taking a sleeping pill! I never take them so had no idea how I would feel. My daughter, who has trouble sleeping (which I rarely do) suggested that if I ever have a problem sleeping she knew of a sleeping pill that didn't make you feel like a zombie in the morning. But that's exactly what happened....the zombi thing, I mean. I woke up 4 hours after taking the pill, jumped up cause it was 7:30 and fell flat on my face. Gathering up the pieces, I staggered to the bathroom wanting nothing more than to go back to bed. I threw cold water on my face while thinking of nothing else but coffee.

I made the mistake of looking in the mirror. I scared myself so badly that I had to go sit down on the bed for a minute. I couldn't think straight. I felt as though my soul had left my body and I was staring down at a zombi. I told the zombi to get up and walk back into the bath room. She slowly rose and as I guided her step by step she barely missed the desk on her left, ran into the bathroom door head-on, managed to straighten up and ease herself into the bathroom and fell against the vanity.

Reaching her comb, brush, and make-up, she began her toilette, applying erase around the eyes, mascara, blush and lip gloss. When she was finished, she started through the whole routine again. "Hey!" I called out, "you've already done that" To make sure I was right, she started counting the number of of make-up items on the vanity counter, then slowly pointing to each place on her face where they had been applied.
"yep, you're right" she said....

And so it went. I stayed in a zombi like state all through breakfast and my morning emails (98 of them). I didn't come back to life until around 2-3 pm. This is a true story........I swear!

Comments

suziecat7 profile image

suziecat7 Level 5 Commenter 22 months ago

Ha - too funny. I've had those days myself. Zombies can function though not with finesse in most cases. Thanks for the giggles.

alekhouse profile image

alekhouse Hub Author 22 months ago

You're welcome...and thanks for the comment

ralwus 22 months ago

I have been there too and you wrote about it so correctly. I used to fire up the old Cat like that and wondered why I was not in bed. Funny story Nancy. Did anyone else notice, or did you ever tell your daughter?

Shalini Kagal profile image

Shalini Kagal Level 4 Commenter 22 months ago

Very funny - I know exactly what you mean and I've been in that zombie state of disconnect without the benefit of a sleeping pill - just lack of sleep. That make-up bit was a hoot :)

alekhouse profile image

alekhouse Hub Author 22 months ago

Hey Charlie, Glad you enjoyed the story. Interesting that so many others have had the same experience.

No one knew. My daughter's the one who gave me the sleeping pills, and yes I told her about it.

alekhouse profile image

alekhouse Hub Author 22 months ago

Shalini, Good you got a laugh out of it. Yeah, the make up thing was very funny, in retrospect, of course.

SilverGenes profile image

SilverGenes Level 4 Commenter 22 months ago

Oh yes, I've been there too. I love how you wrote about it though - very funny! And I hope you get to bed early tonight :)

Green Lotus profile image

Green Lotus Level 6 Commenter 22 months ago

I love it alek! You shine when you let out the funny stuff. OK I'll admit it too.. I recently took a Tylenol PM at 4am. Big mistake. I'm an extremely dysfunctional zombie. Now if I can't sleep I take something more natural -100mg of Theanine and it helps to calm the brain chatter.

alekhouse profile image

alekhouse Hub Author 22 months ago

Hey SG, I love your new avatar...berry funny LOL. Glad you enjoyed my escapade into voodooland. No more sleeping pills for me...at least for a while

alekhouse profile image

alekhouse Hub Author 22 months ago

@GL: Really, with just a Tylenol PM? Better stay way away from the stuff.

Calming the brain chatter is good...but what do you do if your brain chatters all day too? Oh! hey, I've got an idea: write it down....:=)

judydianne profile image

judydianne 22 months ago

Got a good laugh from you this time! Sometimes I scare myself in the mirror without a sleeping pill. LOL!

akirchner profile image

akirchner Level 4 Commenter 22 months ago

Good lord! Not cool....that is why I don't ever take pills because they usually have this effect on me, too. I hate not being able to feel like I'm 'me' - even though I think I'm like Ms. Electric all the time, I much prefer that to being a zombie! I don't know how people take all these meds and still function to be honest. I'd be flat on my face or walk out the door in nothing but my bra and panties!

They always say we should not read, watch TV, or go on the Internet before sleeping - I've never found this to be true though. Anything I can do that does not involve flying around the house and other places like a buzzing bee helps me relax. The only time I've ever had a hard time sleeping is when I'm stressed about things or if I watch something disturbing on TV or in a movie. Then I tend to sleep fitfully or awaken a lot - but then I also tend to 'organize' in my sleep. I think about things, figure out what I'm going to do about this and that, rehash a program - but I still sleep really soundly.

Wishing you pleasant dreams, no more wakefulness, and no more ZOMBIE moments! That was hilarious though - I hate to laugh at your expense!

alekhouse profile image

alekhouse Hub Author 22 months ago

JD, Very funny. I know what you mean. LOL

alekhouse profile image

alekhouse Hub Author 22 months ago

ak, I'm glad you laughed...my expense or not...that's exactly why I wrote this hub. I love making people laugh...runs in my family. Besides, it's much better medicine than sleeping pills.

Feline Prophet profile image

Feline Prophet Level 4 Commenter 22 months ago

Haha...the Internet has a lot to answer for! :)

alekhouse profile image

alekhouse Hub Author 22 months ago

Sure does. Thanks for the comment.

Queen of the Lint profile image

Queen of the Lint 22 months ago

So that's what being a zombie feels like!

alekhouse profile image

alekhouse Hub Author 22 months ago

So glad to see you're back. Looking forward to your brand of humor in your future hubs. Thanks for the comment.

Dolores Monet profile image

Dolores Monet Level 7 Commenter 22 months ago

Poor Alek. That sounds awful. Insomnia is a pain and taking a sleep aid can be worse. But it sure helps when you know that you are not the only one!

alekhouse profile image

alekhouse Hub Author 22 months ago

You are oh so right about that. Thanks, Dolores

Christoph Reilly profile image

Christoph Reilly Level 2 Commenter 21 months ago

You made me laugh when you looked in the mirror. Come on, it couldn't have been that bad! Funny and entertaining story! How's the Inn biz?

alekhouse profile image

alekhouse Hub Author 21 months ago

It was pretty bad...really. The Inn business was not good this month, but it's looking up somewhat for September and October.

Dink96 profile image

Dink96 21 months ago

On occasion I have to use those things and I have to take them very early in the evening or I feel as you have described! Perhaps you should get yourself a Sock Zombie instead!!! I have a couple and they worse thing that will happen is they will eat your brains while you're sleeping! LOL

alekhouse profile image

alekhouse Hub Author 21 months ago

What's a sock zombie? Yeah, since this happened I've really been staying away from sleeping pills. I've gotten myself back on track and am now getting 8 hours every night.

kaltopsyd profile image

kaltopsyd Level 1 Commenter 21 months ago

Haha! That's how I feel today. I can relate. I went to bed at 2 AM last night - because this summer I was used to going to bed later than that - and I had to wake up at 6. Well... I woke up at 7 and sitting through Music Theory class was torture. At least I don't have any psychology courses today!

Thanks for sharing!

alekhouse profile image

alekhouse Hub Author 21 months ago

Where are you going to music school? I graduated from Chicago Musical College with a master's in voice.

kaltopsyd profile image

kaltopsyd Level 1 Commenter 20 months ago

My major is actually in psychology but I'm minoring in piano. I go to school at Caldwell College in NJ. Wow, a master's in voice. Impressive!

Lisa HW profile image

Lisa HW Level 6 Commenter 20 months ago

Alekhouse, I always feel like a zombie (and a mean one) whenever I wake up. What works for me is to seldom sleep more than a few hours. I guess, when it comes down to it, we're all on the verge of turning into zombies, no matter what we do, and for one reason or another. LOL

alekhouse profile image

alekhouse Hub Author 20 months ago

You are probably right about the, except for the part about getting little sleep. I do the best on 7-8 hours.

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