How to Stay Awake While Driving - Abbey Style

A few weeks ago, I got to experience a very classic human phenomenon: driving for a really long distance in the middle of the night.  I won't get into the details of why, but let me tell you, it was...interesting.  As soon as I got onto the highway, I knew I needed to come up with strategies to keep myself from nodding off.  My wonderful husband bought me a Pepsi and wildberry Skittles, but I needed rules if I was going to survive the night.  Here's what I came up with:

1. I kept the air cold, because warm air makes me sleepy.  
2. I didn't use cruise control.  The constant need to check my speed kept me focused.  Relying on cruise control would have given my body a false sense of security, leading to sleep.
3. If I got groggy, I pinched myself soundly in the inner thigh as many times as needed until I was alert again.

These rules served as a good foundation, but I soon discovered that driving at night was not just about staying awake.  Music is my faithful companion on long drives, but in this insistence, my husband had to be at school in just a few hours after getting home and needed to catch as much sleep as possible.  I had to drive without the cheery companionship of music.  I was bored, and frankly, started going a little insane.  I have never seen the minutes pass by so slowly on a clock before!  I knew I had to do something if I was going to make it.  I started getting all philosophical on myself, saying:

"Abbey, my dear girl, time is relative.  One moment you are far from home, but in what seems the blinking of an eye, you will be snug in bed, and you will remember the past no more."

 This seemed to help (I think), but it still wasn't enough.  It was time to get creative.  On long car trips, my family likes to play the alphabet game, in which we choose a topic and everyone has to come up with a answer for each letter.  Why couldn't I play the alphabet game by myself?  It would challenge me and keep me focused.  I decided on Pokemon, because no one would ever play against me on that topic (I wonder why?)  So I began...

A = Ampharos, Absol, Arbok.
B = Beedrill, Bulbasaur, Blastoise.

When I finished the Pokemon alphabet, I decided to do Disney songs.  Every time I came up with an answer (A = "Arabian Nights" from Aladdin), I sang it under my breath.  I went through the entire alphabet this way, ending with Z = "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah."  Even after that, I was still an hour away from home.  So I then proceed to sing all of the songs from "Phantom of the Opera" (although at that point, I was no longer singing quietly).  I also sang songs by Clay Aiken, Taylor Swift, and David Archuleta.  Eventually I returned to Disney songs.  I was just finishing up "I 2 I" from A Goofy Movie when we pulled into our drive way.  I did it!  I survived my first all-night drive!

Nailed it!