Phase 10 : When time stands still...

Drinking alcohol kills brain cells. FACT. Drinking lots of alcohol kills lots of brain cells. Another FACT. However, brain cells can regenerate, yet another FACT. All fascinating stuff, I know, and some people will pay more attention to one of those facts than others. But within all that there is a simple equation, that, when put together does explain a lot. And something that somebody with a potential future involving excess alcohol should consider.
Killing brain cells at a faster rate than they regenerate ultimately leads to serious problems. Continual "drowning" of the cerebral tissue with pure alcohol causes a whole host of serious side effects including memory loss, disorientation, and...... errr....... memory loss. If you couple this with the incredible desire to fall asleep in an instant, anytime, anywhere can lead to quite interesting, and looking back on one of my own, rather unsettling experiences.....
....."Blimey, that was another lucky day", I thought. Lucky that I won the lottery?, no. Lucky that I got that parking space just in time? no. These days my "luck" was reserved for not meeting a police car doing breath testing, or not having to use the mechanical lathe at work, that could tear off my finger without thinking. "Then again.." I thought again, "...you make your own luck, dont you. You can get run over just crossing the street [particularly if I'm the one doing the driving these days]...". I put the carrier bag on the side of the unit, and unscrew the red label before I even remove it from the bag. Another visit to the shop complete, though didnt have enough money for fizzy lemon. Current mixer of choice, though all it does is add a touch of colour to the clear vodka. "Should change to orange.." I think, as I grab the pint glass still left from last night..."all this lemon is giving me acid indigestion [obviously cant be the 40%ABV acid I continue to line it with]..". I look at the clock and notice its just turned 4:00. Finishing work on a friday at 3:45 means that the weekend starts early. For me though, over the last 5 years, there never has really been a Thank-God-Its-Friday. That used to signify the end of work, and the start of play, including having a beer for 2 days. Not me though. My last 5 years has been one continual drink. No pauses for "school-days" as they are called. But hey, I'm single now. Divorced, I'll admit, but plenty of free time, so why should I justify this behaviour to anyone. What harm am I doing? Others would be only jealous if they knew. Anyway, enough of this self-thought, time to spend the evening on the PC, using my new found drink induced self-assurance. Mr Comedy, thats me. But first......[Glop, Glop, Glop......Glop], half a glass full, and a touch of lemon from the dregs left in the bottle from yesterday. I hold the half-pint of Vodka up to the light. The touch of lemon wasnt enough to stop me seeing through it. The first 2 gulps "burn" their way down, and I swallow hard, closely followed by the eyes closed hard, and that head shiver. I top up immediately what I had emptied, and carry it over to the PC, logging on to the chat sites to see whose on-line. I'm feeling extremely drained today, and things are a struggle. Height of the summer I suppose, heat exhaustion maybe. Haven't got to move from the chair much, so thats OK. As the evening seems to wear on, I dont notice the time as it flies by. I start to become accustomed to the screen as the double-vision kicks in. The solution of closing one eye is immediate, and effective. The glass is always to hand, as is the bottle. I can even alternate which eye after a while, so problem solved... Both eyes seem unduly heavier than normal though, and I start to struggle to at least leave one open. Blinking becomes more frequent, and a lot slower. To the point that the "open" portion has stopped completely, and I lapse into one of my frequent "knocked-out" sleeps......
....something wakes me, with a start!!. My eyes are usually difficult to prise open, but this time something has sprung them open. I feel as though I have slept for a long while so I look outside, and its light. The clock says 7:50!, got 40 minutes before I need to be at work. My body may have been asleep, but my mind knew it was time to get up. Clever. I think this as I get up off the bed quickly [dont remember moving to it last night...], and all sorts of my routine are thrashing round in my head. I decide to save time by running the shower THEN getting undressed. Should save a couple of seconds. Lay out todays clothes, get todays liquid provisions ready. In shower, wash, out, dry, dressed. Right. Time? 8:15. Should still make it. This new flat being nearby is handy. I'm in the car and get to the car park just in time. Still time for a quick glug though, and looking around there arent many cars about to see me [glug, glug..]. Hold on. Why aren't there many cars? why is the radio station not familiar?
It was then that it hit me. It wasnt 7:50am when I woke. It was 7:50pm. I had only just had a nap. My sleep was only about 20minutes, yet it felt like 10hours. But my body had gone into shut-down though. A deep shut-down. How I laughed at the time. I saw it as an opportunity to drive back, and continue the evening as I had planned. Confusion was forgotten...

....its only now that I realise that it wasnt just one of those things, or an event to laugh-off.
My brain was, quite literally, trying to open my eyes and ironically, give me a "wake-up-call"......