Sleeping woes

I have no idea why, but my bio clock seems to be going wham out of order this week. Aren't we supposed to need less sleep as we age? I seem to have travelled back a few decades. Been persistently lethargic, sleepy and tired this week - take today for example. I simply couldn't drag my ass out of bed. Then, I woke with a nasty shock; I remember telling Aaron he could call, and I ended up gaboozing straightaway. Really, it's high time I got myself a nice sofa bed. IKEA has a really sweet one with bit soft matresses, but the price tag .. sigh. I don't forsee spending $1k+ on a sofa bed. Granted, it may contribute less to this syndrome of Sit On Bed and Fall Asleep, but still way too dear.

Let's see if I pull through today - it's the weekend! Yep, there's the combined clinical case conference (C3 conference - what a nice name) tomorrow which I'll go, but hey, tis good! Actually I'm starting to have evil ideas. If Dr. Palam doesn't turn up tomorrow, I *may* just be awful and use others' cases for my writeup. Even the discussion bit's done! (6) <- msn for devil

Rest of school's having their reading period and subsequent exams come next week, so it's going to be awfully dreary. First of all, no more dancing. Well, the guys at LHE kinda knew how I itch without swinging, so they invited me to join their current public class just for the kicks. I really might go. And also the med posting ... SIGH. Now that all the hectic-ness is over, the full repercussions of it's starting to kick in. More clinical tests ... gosh. All because of the dumb MCQ - HELLO?? Come think of it... it's some idiot's fault. He got his retribution anyway. And I hope he realises it's due to the bad karma.

Having a nasty bout of contact dermatitis on my entire left shoulder this morning. Perhaps it's high time I consulted a dermatologist.

Poor news in the garden. Voodoo lily's no longer stinking I think, it's been pollinated. Oh! And I realised it's got a most amazing mechanism of pollination! I was messing around with the inflorescence, when I touched the bulbous lower part of the flower. There ensued a haphazard buzzing from flies trapped within. This was a statement from Kew Gardens regarding the pollination:

"At the base of the spadix, within the protective chamber formed by the spathe, is a band of cream male flowers above a ring of the larger pink female flowers. When the flowers are ready for pollination, the spadix heats up and emits a nauseating smell that attracts the pollinators. This stench is so bad that the Indonesians call the plant ‘the corpse flower’. At one time, it was rumoured that elephants pollinated the flowers, but beetles were generally thought to be responsible. Recent observations suggest that the insects which transfer pollen between the giant inflorescences are sweat bees.

Attracted by the light colouration at its base, the bees enter the spathe chamber, and any pollen that they are already carrying brushes off onto the female flowers. However, once they have entered the chamber, the bees cannot get out again and they remain trapped until the male flowers have shed their pollen.The spathe then withers enough to allow the pollen-covered bees to escape and fly off in search of another stinking inflorescence. As the plants rarely grow in close proximity to one another, the giant inflorescence is thought to be essential for dispersing the scent over large areas to attract pollinators.

From the pollinated female flowers, the fruits develop inside the spathe chamber. Once they are ripe, the spathe withers completely exposing the bright scarlet fruits.These attract the attention of hornbills and other birds that eat them and disperse their seeds.The fruiting body looks rather like a giant version of the familiar lords and ladies (Arum maculatum) which appears in British hedgerows and woods in late summer."

OK, which means I'd better artificially pollinate if I want seeds?

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