Sweet Dreams Are Made From Screens
Working through our bedtime dependence on devices.
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The sentiment evokes possibility, a vision of the hotel room as a blank canvas.
Boy, do I envy Golds romanticism on the matter.
Hotel rooms unsettle me.
When confronted with their vacant neutrality, the mind races.
I can never get comfortable.
Sleep becomes an issue, naturally.
When I started traveling somewhat frequently for work, maybe around 2016, I would simply not sleep.
I spent hours tossing and turning in hotel rooms, staring at the ceiling, grumbling.
Im in good company, of course.
Many travelers share the problem of hotel insomnia, even if most dont possess my particular severity or neuroses.
But thats just slapping a scientistic label on what is fundamentally quotidian: Youre far from home.
My management of hotel insomnia once heavily relied on television.
Pills are occasionally popped.
Lights off, lie back, and stare in the general direction of the screen.
Eyes unfocused, minimal engagement so the brain is allowed to gradually shut off.
It usually takes me an hour to tip over and drift off.
The television keeps going, mumbling away.
Ive burnt through several hotel-TV sleep aids over the years.
Then came HGTV, which worked so well it stuck around for several years.
And, you know, sure!
Besides, theres a peculiar synthetic quality to HGTVs representation of homeyness.
Its not home, its Home.
(Lets keepHome Townout of this, though.
Those houses are homey as shit.)
Still, it worked.
The HGTV vibe got me in the mood.
The predictability lulls; the minor variations keep you sufficiently engaged.
It is the perfect pop song.
Boundaries apply, however.
The mayor of Flavortown rarely makes an appearance in her home.
Why this happened exactly, Im not quite sure.
I was already tightly wound before the pandemic; today, Im a mattress coil.
When confronted with the isolating hotel room now, the mind races even harder.
I might even tear up at the thought of my cat.
Beggars cant be choosers.
Hotel rooms are perfect voids screaming for completion, and they seem to have no problem filling that space.
I wonder what its like to be them.
Until then, Ill always haveLofi Girl.
