Clockwork (O!)range
The clock struck four and I knew I had to get up. The night before I had set alarms in six different time-pieces and planted them at strategic locations all across my apartment. The locations were chosen based on certain stringent pre requisites viz.
1. the place had to be uneasily accessible ,meaning it shouldn’t have been placed anywhere within arms length so that once the alarm would break out putting off the alarm would involve getting out of bed .That would act as a killer of residual lethargy so common after half a good night’s sleep.
2. The clocks should not let out sound out into the neighbor’s earshot for fear of fighting a public litigation appeal later on in life. For that, pre remedial measures included calling all the doors, windows and curtains shut.
3. The timepiece should be placed at safe locations considering that the alarms would be put off by a half- dead brain and an equally sluggish set of muscles and assorted bones. Hence placing the clock anywhere near unused nails, flower vases barely resting on their bottoms or naked and live electric wires would only cause unnecessary displeasures.
The alarms on each clock was set at successive intervals of a minute so that by the time five alarms would be put off , I would be completely free of the last traces of sleep and lassitude. It worked.
In such cases of compulsive, cascade attack on sleep, repercussions though less common, but nevertheless cannot be ignored. For instance, one of my buddies whom I met after a break of many long and short years was once applying the same methodology in getting himself up and ready for an early morning flight. It was a series of six alarms. Four of them were set on his own clocks. The remaining two were on clocks permanently borrowed from his friends (now ex-friends). The event chronology was such:
4: 30 – Alarm 1 goes off. It was conveniently put off by him. It was located just overhead so didn’t involve much of an effort or wakefulness.
4:31- Alarm 2 booms: Clock 2 was placed on a pile of clothes below his bed. So shutting that off didn’t engage too much of somnambulating either. He went back to bed immediately after; as if nothing had happened.
4:32 – Alarm 3 rings: A little bit of sleep-walking and he could locate the source and cut the noise. It was at the other corner of his room, next to the shoe boxes. He quickly retired and within less than quarter of a minute rejoined his dream.
4:33 – Alarm 4: It was coming from the window sill in the bathroom. With eyes almost closed and groping hands he could finally manage to spot the timepiece and put it off.
4:33:30 – Alarm 5: Just before he could close his eyes back again the buzz pierced and stuffed in through his ears cutting through the brain cells .He felt the skull would give in and splutter .He toddled to the point of source and in next instant, picked up the gadget, clenched it tight in his right fist and flung it hard on the wall in front. The NOKIA N91 beeped for the last time with a prominent crack on the display screen.
4:34- Alarm 6: The author leaves it to the readers to guess what might have happened then and later.
[Moral of the Story: - All that rings is not an alarm clock]
1. the place had to be uneasily accessible ,meaning it shouldn’t have been placed anywhere within arms length so that once the alarm would break out putting off the alarm would involve getting out of bed .That would act as a killer of residual lethargy so common after half a good night’s sleep.
2. The clocks should not let out sound out into the neighbor’s earshot for fear of fighting a public litigation appeal later on in life. For that, pre remedial measures included calling all the doors, windows and curtains shut.
3. The timepiece should be placed at safe locations considering that the alarms would be put off by a half- dead brain and an equally sluggish set of muscles and assorted bones. Hence placing the clock anywhere near unused nails, flower vases barely resting on their bottoms or naked and live electric wires would only cause unnecessary displeasures.
The alarms on each clock was set at successive intervals of a minute so that by the time five alarms would be put off , I would be completely free of the last traces of sleep and lassitude. It worked.
In such cases of compulsive, cascade attack on sleep, repercussions though less common, but nevertheless cannot be ignored. For instance, one of my buddies whom I met after a break of many long and short years was once applying the same methodology in getting himself up and ready for an early morning flight. It was a series of six alarms. Four of them were set on his own clocks. The remaining two were on clocks permanently borrowed from his friends (now ex-friends). The event chronology was such:
4: 30 – Alarm 1 goes off. It was conveniently put off by him. It was located just overhead so didn’t involve much of an effort or wakefulness.
4:31- Alarm 2 booms: Clock 2 was placed on a pile of clothes below his bed. So shutting that off didn’t engage too much of somnambulating either. He went back to bed immediately after; as if nothing had happened.
4:32 – Alarm 3 rings: A little bit of sleep-walking and he could locate the source and cut the noise. It was at the other corner of his room, next to the shoe boxes. He quickly retired and within less than quarter of a minute rejoined his dream.
4:33 – Alarm 4: It was coming from the window sill in the bathroom. With eyes almost closed and groping hands he could finally manage to spot the timepiece and put it off.
4:33:30 – Alarm 5: Just before he could close his eyes back again the buzz pierced and stuffed in through his ears cutting through the brain cells .He felt the skull would give in and splutter .He toddled to the point of source and in next instant, picked up the gadget, clenched it tight in his right fist and flung it hard on the wall in front. The NOKIA N91 beeped for the last time with a prominent crack on the display screen.
4:34- Alarm 6: The author leaves it to the readers to guess what might have happened then and later.
[Moral of the Story: - All that rings is not an alarm clock]
posted by Suryya Sarkar at 1:38 AM
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