Right now I’m at my favorite point of the Blogathon, the part I’ve always loved and look forward to each time – the loopy time! It’s almost 4 am now, I’m tired but I’m also wired up, and so I’ve hit the point where just about anything can make me laugh. I get a little bit silly during this stretch.

I think it’s entirely possible that I look like this:

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

I think now is the right time for my last coffee of the night, finally. Because I know that after the loopy and silly phase comes (for me, at least) the confusion and paranoia stage – that’s when I start thinking “Oh my God! I have to post!” only to remember that I just posted all of 30 seconds ago. That’s followed by the bone-shattering exhaustion.

I’m hoping this final cup of coffee will help me stretch out the current phase and put off the numbing tired until the very end when my prize is to crawl into bed for a few hours!

Off to boil water for my caffeine fix!

Please consider sponsoring me while I do the Blogathon for the UNHCR!

There are many great and easy ways to keep track of what’s happening in the world of refugees.

Four places to follow the UNHCR:

1. Directly on the UNHCR website – http://unhcr.com
2. On Twitter* – http://twitter.com/refugees
3. On Facebook – Over here
4. On Flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/unhcr/ (I love following them on Flickr, you get a fantastic real look at life in the refugee camps around the world)

They’re all great ways to keep yourself informed, be sure to check them out!

*I think Twitter is what caused my site to crash. The person running the UNHCR Twitter account was kind enough to post a message saying “@sherina is doing well in her 24h blogathon to raise money for UNHCR. Learn about her awesome effort here:” with a link to my site. I think I got a spike of traffic that choked the site – which is really a pretty amazing reason to have your site go down for a bit! No harm done, my host ROCKS and got things back up quickly!

I was planning on drinking another coffee now but I think I’ll hold off. It’s still only 3 am, there are six hours left so I don’t want to blow all my energy in one shot too early (on the other hand, I have to have it before 6 so I can sleep when this is over!).

The thing is, too much coffee makes me very jittery. As I mentioned earlier, I can be prone to panic attacks and if I have too much coffee my heart starts racing like crazy which is very similar to a panic attack. That’s all I need, right? Panicking over nothing in the middle of the night while trying to post? No thanks!

I’ll give it another half hour or hour I think. I’m feeling a slight boost after washing my face with cold water – I thought about a fast cold shower but I have the A/C on in here and I’m already chilly (which is good, keeps me awake), so I don’t really want to be in cold water and then come out into a cold living room.

I’m not sure I look very awake, but I feel okay now!

In the meantime I’m having a glass of water and contemplating a cheese sandwich so that I’m not just eating junk.

Thanks for all the comments and emails, it’s really making a difference!

Please consider sponsoring me while I do the Blogathon for the UNHCR!

The kids went to bed easily and quickly tonight because of being so tired (especially Hayley who was totally zonked and was asleep in roughly five minutes flat). Pearl the Beagle is in her crate snoozing. Cricket the cat never comes out of the bathroom so she’s not much help.

Meanwhile, George has been up with me for awhile now. We just found an episode of House that we hadn’t seen yet (we just started watching the re-runs recently so most of them are episodes we’ve never seen) and watched that.

However, it’s now 2 am and it’s time for George to hit the pillow. He’s tired because he’s been helping our friend build a deck around the new pool. I also need him to get some sleep now so I can sleep at 9 when Blogathon is over.

But that starts the late night shift by myself – if you’ve been lurking quietly, now would be a good time to say hi in the comments. You can also feel free to chat me up if you have a gmail account – I’m chaostheoryblog@gmail.com so come find me if you’re over there! I’m going to try to watch a movie but if I start feeling drowsy I’ll be back here!

Please consider sponsoring me while I do the Blogathon for the UNHCR!

The UNHCR is in constant need of support because there’s always war and devastation leaving people without safe homes. Refugees often arrive at UNHCR locations with nothing but whatever they’re wearing on their bodies – if you’re fleeing for your life you don’t stop to bring anything else with you.

Here are seven ways you can help the UNHCR:

1. Donate. That’s the obvious one of course. The things that they need require money so the more people who donate, the better the UNHCR can help refugees.
2. Spread the word – Help spread awareness. Sadly, mainstream media doesn’t cover refugee crises very often, so getting word out is the best way to make sure people know about it.
3. Volunteer – You can find out how here. If you can’t afford to help financially, donate your time and compassion.
4. Corporate and Foundation Partners – Your company can play a role in helping the UNHCR too.
5. Become informed – Like I said, the media doesn’t get the word out as often as necessary. Stay informed straight from the source.
6. Help out online – You can get involved via social networking to spread the word.
7. Support UNHCR events – There are special events that you can support as well.

There’s always a way to help. Take a moment to see what you can do for refugees who need you more than you know.

Please consider sponsoring me while I do the Blogathon for the UNHCR!

Earlier today (at some point) I mentioned that I love American Idol. That’s not news for anyone who comes by my blog regularly – I look forward to it every year and get way too emotionally invested in people I don’t know. I’m also still irritated that they canceled Canadian Idol this season, boo, hiss!

Anyway.

Over the years I have always had a favorite that I was pulling for, but some were more important to me because I really liked their voice. My favorites were Clay Aiken (though with the Crazy Clay fans and his diva-esque behavior in the past, that’s almost embarrassing now, but he really had an incredible voice), Carrie Underwood, David Cook, and of course this season’s Adam Lambert.

But first there was Kelly Clarkson. I actually didn’t watch the first season from the start. I didn’t think I’d be interested in a singing competition show. Little did I know that years later I’d be so passionate about the damn show that I would yell at the TV, hop up on my couch like Crazy Tom Cruise on Oprah (that was when David Cook won, for the record), and basically freak out a lot.

However, I watched the last two episodes and knew right away that I wanted Kelly to win. Many seasons later, she can still show exactly why she won and why she’s still the Original American Idol. Because she is AMAZING.

George and I are watching Saturday Night Live right now and she performed two songs tonight, including her new single, “I Do Not Hook Up”. Obviously I can’t show you THAT performance but here’s one that she did on GMA. She is always so good and one of the few people who manages to sound great on talk shows where the sound isn’t usually very good.

I’ve been more invested in other Idol winners since then but she definitely maintains a regular spot on my iPod!

For those who are Canadian, my favorite Canadian Idol has always been Kalan Porter. I’ve liked others since him but Kalan was just seriously awesome. See?

Do you watch AI? Who’s your favorite?

Since I’m blogging to raise money for the UNHCR, I thought this would be a good time to give you…

Six scary numbers straight from the UNHCR:

1. When the UNHCR was founded in 1951 there were about 1 million refugees
2. Estimates at the beginning of 2009 showed over 10 million refugees worldwide
3. In the Middle East alone there are about 4.7 million refugees spread throughout 60 refugee camps
4. In worldwide terms, about half the total refugees are concentrated in Africa, and 20% in Asia
5. The UNHCR employs 6650 staff members – approximately 4900 are national and 1750 are international, with 740 in the UNHCR’s Geneva headquarters.
6. The 2009 annual budget came in around $2billion

When you add up all the numbers it comes down to one basic thing: The UNHCR needs your help.

Please consider sponsoring me while I do the Blogathon for the UNHCR!

I don’t know how people who have to work long double (or longer) shifts do it. Doctors are up at all hours, round the clock, and on top of that they make important life or death decisions. I’m feeling much more awake now that I’ve had my cup of coffee and my first chocolate bar:

But I’m still not what you would call AWAKE. Certainly not to the point where I’d like to be making Dr. House-style diagnoses or anything.

Still, I’m hanging in there. How’s everyone else doing?

Also, I really appreciate those of you who are hanging out and chatting me up in the comments! It’s helping!