I blame it on being very busy at both work and home recently, but lately I've been waking at 2 or 3 am most mornings, having just come out of a dream about getting an angry email from a colleague or from a reader of this blog, lambasting me for something or other. In a sleepy, confused state, I know very well that it was just a dream, but for some reason I can't shake off the feeling that should go and check my email on the computer, as if I've got an IMAP connection on a secret dream port, and might have actually divined the content of a genuine email in my sleep. Ridiculous. But I lie awake for half an hour or so, telling myself that I'm being a complete muppet, and trying to resist the urge to lift the lid of my PowerBook.

Of course, in the morning, it's instantly obvious to me that it was all ludicrous, and I was worrying about nothing. I think that it's a good indication that I should never try to make an important decision at about 3 am, because my ability to distinguish reality from fiction is obviously seriously impaired at that hour. It's lucky that I don't have to do night shifts.