Need a new oil lamp....

We had a four-day weekend. The last longer weekend for a while to come. I went up to Taipei for a day, but was back in Hsinchu in the office after dinner on the Saturday.

And there I stayed.

I spent virtually all of it in the office, burning the midnight oil. With few people in the office, I found the quiet - yet not dead silent - environment conducive to documenting.

What really made the difference was the presence of my coworker. We would work work work, go out to fill our bellies with good food and good conversation, and then come back and toil away again. Work hard, play hard. Play and eat hard, that is. :)

And so working late into the night wasn't even taxing. I was totally "in the zone": the right music, the right darkness, the right entertainment (as needed).... Tunnel vision. It was almost exhilarating (in a demented sort of way), reminiscent of the university days, when I would bang away at a project until the wee hours (and sometimes not so "wee" hours) of the morning.

But the progress and the [demented] exhilaration left me actually enjoying work again. And for the first time in weeks - maybe months, I came into work yesterday and today in the best of moods, "energized" and ready to be productive, despite 13 hours' sleep over 3 nights.

I am a tad tired today, but only mildly; my body - rather amazingly - has been quite content to return to a regular schedule, without collecting on my sleep debt.

Unfortunately I've reaffirmed that my most productive hours are still 22:00 to 03:00.

D'oh.