No sleep ’till nerd Brooklyn (while I plan for Australia)
Every inch of my body wants to rock out to the Beastie Boys “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”. It’s hard-pumping riffs are total coolness. I used to note (well still do) that I was made in Brooklyn. I grew up as a South, South Bronx girl. Like J-lo, but not really. My mother loved Brooklyn always waxing philosophical about it. She had wanted to be buried in Brooklyn. Sadly, she was not. i’m not too sure that I would like to buried in Brooklyn just because I was made there. Nonetheless, that song resonates with me.
I grew up and live by the philosophy of “no sleep till Brooklyn”. Basically, I don’t stop until its done. I don’t stop until the metaphorical finish line is reached. My DNA doesn’t know or understand the concept of quitting. M DNA’s lack of “quitting” understanding is a great motivator and propels me to new heights of success. However, it also propels me to lack of sleep at times, heartburn and the dissemination of random emails at midnight and at six am.
I like to say I live by the motto of “No sleep till nerd Brooklyn”. Every night I have a ritual. I take a bath (my one great treat to myself), I run on the treadmill, I watch one or three of my recorded television shows (of which there are over 100), and I brainstorm with myself. While I run on the treadmill I come up with essay ideas as well as solutions to my statistical analyses problems. By the way if you have a solution for reverse scoring a continuos variable (that runs from zero to affinity let me know). I get jazzed and pumped up about my brainstorms.
Being pumped up physically and mentally leads to me heading to the computer and trying to solve an issue or write up an idea. I then get wrapped up in my brain adventure and can’t seem to let go until I have reached a satisfactory point. That point – that benchmark- gets moved further and further out as I keep going.
Lady night I got into a work issue that was gnawing at me. I wanted to figure out a way to run a particular linear regression for my twitter research I will be presenting in Australia. Yes, total nerd I am. I admit it. That in turn got me thinking about what I should visit while in Melbourne. I then started reading page after page. I contacted 6 different companies to see what tour I could take in between my conference activities. By the way anyone with recommendations on Melbourne is gladly welcomed. You may just save me some sleep time. Before I knew it, I was deeply into my Melbourne trip and had spent three hours reading up on it.
I went back down to the living room totally exhausted but could not stay away from catching up on the television show “24”. As the show does its own clock countdown, I started to finally get sleepy and wind down. There was my nightly ritual: relax, pump up, agitate the brain, numb it and sleep at last. I woke with numbers running inside my head.
Indeed no sleep till nerd Brooklyn.
Categories: Psychology
psychologistmimi 
I completely understand your routine. I can’t wind down until all of my projects are either completed or at a perfect stopping point. Your upcoming trip sounds fabulous! I’ve always wanted to visit down under. 🙂
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A little regression before bed? That’s dangerous, unless you stay strictly linear and have a strong assumption of normality!
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Lol. Yes! Regression before bed how nutty 🙂
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I’m exhausted and ready for bed! And it’s only 5:13 pm!! This is what this blog has done to me, Mimi. You know, all my life, I wished I had more energy, and didn’t require more sleep than most others I knew. I wish you continued strength! As far as Melbourne, I don’t have any recommendations. I was in Australia many years ago, and, unless I look through my huge closet to pull out the exact album where I have memories and mementos of my trip, I can’t remember if I even was in Melbourne. I do remember Sydney. What a city! That’s another story. I’m sure you will find the answer to your “statistical problems.” 🙂
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Haha. Yes my energy levels dip between 2 and 5pm, cant stand afternoon meetings. Sleep is good. I hear! 🙂
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Mimi,I always get a kick out of your enthusiastic and energised posts.I’m not sure Melbourne is quite ready for you yet, sleepy little town it is.
Actually I am from just out of Melbourne and, depending on your schedule, I would like to jot down some highlights for you, should you want.
Melbourne is a really lovely city, un-complicated and friendly. There are areas that are a must, and like all cities, no-go places unless you have good reason. Because Melbourne is beside Port Philip Bay, the. climate is mild and variable.
If you send me an email of your attending times, I will endeavour to set out some appropriate activities that you may like. Keep an open mind in this city as you will find the food is fabulous and the sport is king. An AFL football game might be just the thing for you( I can organise members seats if required also).
The proximity of wine regions and country villages is always a possibility, given that traffic, whilst sometimes horrific, is generally easy.
I think your travel dates might be a guide as to which seasonal tours would be best.
For now, try and use up some of that excess energy so Melbourne can provide a haven of pleasure and calm for you.B.
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Thank you so much. So thoughtful and lovely. I will be there july 18th. How should I dress? Im excited for wine regions. Yes, fab food! Any recs? Im a major foodie and find grand delight in new foods 🙂 thanks again and cheers
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Of course you need to have warm clothing as it has been windy,wet and cold.
You will need some cool clothing because Melbourne is renowned for being the city of 4 seasons in one day ( Tim Finn – great song).
Restaurants include : Ginger Boy (Asian inspired) / Yu (Japanese) / Pei Modern ( Contemporary French) / Seamstress ( Asian) Nobu (Japanese)
Wine regions : Yarra valley ( 2 hours) / Pyrenees (3 hours)
Attractions : Melbourne shopping – Collins Street ( for the well to do)/ Burke Mall for the everyday / Chapel St- South Yarra ( upwardly mobile and settled immobile)
MCG Football/Cricket (Summer)
Tennis Centre – Australian Open ( Grand slam)
Art Galleries etc.
Everything is amazingly close and easy to get to. Hire a bike of walk. Tram rides everywhere.
Take a country ride – beautiful regional towns and farms.
Not too bad for an Interior Designer hey Mimi? Don’t hesitate to ask anything. B.
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Wow. I will print these out and put into my itinerary. Thank you so much for the recs. I am super excited to be going to Australia. It’s always been a dream of mine 🙂 from what I have encountered in word press Australians are very nice 🙂
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