They are returning: the Sleepless Ones. Lumbering towards me, large, furry, with eyes closed. Getting Closer. What will they do once they find me?

Prolly not a whole lot: shake me and lift me from the ground – because they're so much bigger than I. I can never figure out whether they are friends or enemies. I think they're just lonely and see me as a soft mark. Well, ok. I kinda like the big furry beasts. I don't care if no one else does, and now, I've managed to set up my life so I can entertain them.

Me and the Sleepless Nights can Stay Up all Night! Laughing and telling jokes. Ok, sometimes they get a bit Morose. There's one in particular who's got a penchant for Self-pity. Harmless Old Ogre. Thinks he got a real raw deal in life, and perhaps he did. He's artistic. Has some skills that he doesn't seem to realize he has. Seems to lack the confidence to do anything with them, which makes me really sad. Wouldn't hurt a flea. Funny guy. Has some pretty wacky conspiracy theories. My favourite is the one about how all the laundromat owners get together to rig the dryers so they give you less time than they're supposed to for your quarter. I like to imagine these poor immigrant laundromat owners getting together to form their dryer time cartel. Ahahahaha!

Actually, I heard something not so long ago that made me think that perhaps this Sleepless One was right...

Tonight, me and the Sleepless Nights party on my Droptop. It fucking rocks! I highly recommend that you spend $500 on one of these if you're in the market for a computer. Skip Apple and skip Windows. Get an Ubuntu powered droptop – Asus brand. Tiny, easy to carry, plugs into your larger monitor. Wacom tablet works upon plugin, as does Belkin switch, mouse and external keyboard. Opens flat like paper, almost. I've got the little beast propped against my legs as I lean against a pillow in bed. Typing in the Open Office.

OMG, OMG, OMG, Open Source so fucking rocks! Aside from all the programs being free, they work amazingly well. And if you want to install a program, it's pretty much instantaneous. Just click what you want from the Add/Remove list, and let it install. That's it. Free - in price, time spent and your ability to share - and made by people who love computers and programming. Made by people for the love of it! How's that for pedigree?

You think Apple makes sweet operating systems? Wait until you try Ubuntu. It's like Apple's poor cousin. Then you realize that while Apple was busy buying it's reputation, Ubuntu was quietly working creating something beautiful and unique. For the love of it.

You realize that the guys who created Ubuntu are not less talented than the guys who created Macs, maybe they were just rebels... Maybe they didn't fit into the machine and worked better in a more open and inclusive environment. Maybe they are like me: I had the skills to go to work for big advertising agencies, I just couldn't stomach it. In my case, I couldn't stand the thought of dedicating my life to lies. Sppose if I was born rich, or even middle class, I would have seen those lies as a necessary evil, as white lies even, for maintaining the standard of living of myself and my friends. But I was born poor, to immigrants, so instead I saw advertising as just a way to get people like me and my family to spend money on stuff we didn't need or that wasn't good for us. Yah, I could join the parade of dull, insensitive humanity and make money, or I could do my own thing, unpaid, but free.

Free, as in not locked up and free, as in not financially compensated. Sppose I could have been developing marketing plans for my skills and artwork; budgets and longterm forecasting of how to monetize them, but that was not my focus. Freedom was my focus, freedom from the grind of caring about the money I never had, and the social status and the friends that were supposed to materialize along with money. Freedom from being the one who could never afford french fries after a movie. Sppose if I was black, or Aboriginal, it would have been a lot worse than just being an farmer's daughter.

But I imagine these Ubuntu, Open Office, Gimp and Inkspace creators are a lot like me. Working for the Luvs not the $s. Money: not so much. Talent, soul and contribution to society: hell, ya!

Anyway, Sleepless Nights, it's prolly time for me to hit the hays. Crash on the couch if you like – I know, you like your caves. Ok, see you soon!

Image from: http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu