Between the Hours of 9pm and 6am...

For those of you who know me, you're probably well-acquainted with my sleeping tendencies. I can usually fall asleep anywhere, almost anytime, be it on someone's living room couch amidst a lively social gathering, in the middle of writing an email with my laptop in my lap, or in my own bed. I've been sleeping well here in my little room behind the garage, but I do wake up every now and then, as the neighborhood is wide awake outside the gates of our house. To demonstrate:

1) At 9pm, the 2 cocker spaniels next door raise a bit of a ruckus when they see the neighborhood strays patrolling the sidewalks.

2) Every once in a while a red taxi zooms by (drivers don't usually mind the road signs and zip at high speeds along neighborhood streets.).

3) Once every few hours, a car honks in the street. Because most houses here have several layers of gates, usually drivers honk outside to let their wives/husbands/children know to come out and unlock the gates one by one.

4) At approximately 1am (almost every night), two neighborhood cats commence their ritual of tag on our rooftop, complete with melodious singing and scampering.

5) At 5:30 or 6am, the engine of my family's car coughs and chokes a couple of times before starting completely. (Christian goes early to his job as a mechanic).

6) At 6:30 my own alarm starts buzzing, although I'm usually wide awake before my watch sounds.