from the editor

It has been said that writers are good observers. I hadn't the faintest idea what to write for an editorial this issue, so I decided to take a look around. As UNH's pop culture publication, we ought to have our finger on the pulse of what's going on in classrooms, at the MUB, on the shuttles and downtown. After spending a few days with my eyes open for trends, I realized there was a single overwhelming fad: students are crazy about falling asleep in public.

Now I took Psych 401, and in my book there was a picture of a middle-aged Japanese man dozing on a subway on his way to work. My heart ached for the guy-It seemed what he really needed was to take off his trench coat and wingtips and curl up into his little bed for a long winter nap. Productivity is good, but if you're consistently drooling on people's newspapers on the commuter rail then something needs to be done.

I did a little research too: did you know that driving after being awake for seventeen hours straight is more hazardous than driving with a little bit of Pabst in your belly? Let's count on our fingers, shall we? I average about six hours of sleep at night. I got four over there in the corner. Something's not right here. Why are we up so late? I'm willing to bet that at least sometimes, it's that damnable IM.

AOL Instant Messenger: the only place that you can learn about someone's childhood heartbreaks before you see anything more than their "Bomb Bin Laden" Buddy Icon. You determine that you've found your soul mate at last- you both want to marry Morrissey, you watch reruns of Cosby on Nick at Nite…it was meant to be.

Then comes the date. Yes, then you learn who you've been wasting all your sleepy time on. Maybe we need to turn off the IM's a little sooner and dedicate some of that time to shut-eye. And if you want horror stories for fortification, my office is 158C.

The funny thing about all of this is that halfway through writing this editorial I fell asleep. Two days later, I was sent away from health services with a diagnosis of dehydration. Ignoring my eight glasses for long enough had turned my blood pressure up to eleven and nearly sent me to the hospital. Naglene was SO last year, but I think I'd better dust mine off and start toting it again.

On the phone, my mother has the answer for all of us. "That's the problem with you kids! You think you can keep going and going and you don't take care of yourselves," her voice trails off forebodingly. I'm going to add my recommendation here too. Especially to the kid behind me in P. Bio (You snore. Loudly.) and to that poor girl in the computer lab (I hope someone poked or shook you eventually…I would have, but you looked so peaceful there, with your neck doubled down like that), you aren't machines. If you have to peace out of a couple responsibilities in order to become a human being again, then do it! Working yourself to exhaustion is a bad habit to pick up, and a dangerous one too.

Julie Beth Himmelwright