white nights

[freckles_and_doubt]

In the Department of Random Idioms Acquired From FSM Knows Where, is anyone else familiar with the term "white night" to describe insomnia? It also, of course, describes the deliriously cheesy (in the Young Brie category) 80s movie with Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines, about escaping from Soviet Russia: I remember the movie primarily for the Lionel Ritchie theme tune and the frankly marvellous mid-film pas de deux of the two dancers, somehow melding classical ballet with modern/tap moves. However, she says, skilfully resisting the seductions of sidetrack, Teh Internets seem to think that "white night" in the idiomatic sense is a translation from the French, and means a night spent without sleep, presumably related to the near-polar-latitudes experience of midsummer nights when it never actually gets dark.

All of this suggests that I can't actually define last night's experience as a "white night", being as how I went to bed at ten, slept until two, woke up in a state of mad alertness and couldn't, despite application of cocoa, Terry Pratchett and soothing visualisations, get to sleep again until somewhere in the region of 4.30. Then my alarm went off at a quarter to six, causing some unladylike vocabulary to manifest. I am headachy, disoriented and annoyed; also, trying to arrange computer lab sessions over four programmes with three kinds of training or test for each of 1200 students in five potential labs is making my head go round and round.

And, in the Department Of Things Not To Do When Trying To Establish Academic Cred: consistently refer to Kipling's Just So Stories throughout an English department seminar when you really mean The Jungle Book. Phooey. On the upside, bonus academic waffle points for successfully comparing McCarthy's The Road with Gaiman's Graveyard Book in one epic, thematic analysis.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Ah, I loved White Nights. Haven't though about it in years. Must add it to my Netflix list! I do believe that's when I fell madly in lust with Helen Mirren, come to think of it.

I hadn't heard of insomnia being called "white night," but somehow, it does make sense. Have you tried Melatonin? It seems to be helping me when I can't sleep, or when I wake up and can't get back to sleep.

Hugs,
Dayle/Rhieinwen

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

I love the way my cultural memories are so often in tandem with yours - that being the same age thing. But I don't actually even remember Helen Mirren in White Nights, I remember Isabella Rossellini being luminous, and that amazing dance routine in the studio.

In terms of insomnia, the best treatment is going to be for my life to become less stressful, which it actually should in the next few days. If that doesn't work, d_hofryn has a stash of low-grade tranquillisers which apparently do wonders for insomnia, and has promised me a sample ;>.

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, I remember the dance routine, and Isabella being luminous, and the exchange of prisoners between cars at night, and how stunning Misha was, but in hindsight I realize just how Helen Mirren affected me, of all the actors.

Let me know how the tranqs work! I've so far avoided prescription things. Valerian works as long as I can schedule a full nights' sleep (otherwise I end up groggier than if I didn't get enough sleep) but Melatonin does the trick when I need the push to shut up my brain and fall asleep.

Then again, so does a healthy dollop of wine...

Hugs, Dayle