Burning the Midnight Oil. At The Oasis.

That's it, I am officially keeping a notebook by my bed to write down all the awesome blog post ideas I get at 3 AM and then forget by 7:45.

Oh who am I kidding? The kids will find that notebook and claim for their own, just like the rest of the stuff they have taken off my nightstand, including my thermometer and NFP charts.

How did I get five kids again?

(kidding, people. SO kidding. Everyone remain calm. NFP works. I repeat, just kidding, NFP works. Please don't send me either hate mail or "I told you so" mail.)

Anyway, I really do get some fun ideas at odd times, but I cannot retain them because I have been cramming for Book Club. I know I'm not supposed to capitalize Book Club, but it just feels fancier if I do. Fancy is as fancy does.

(I don't even know what that means because I am so tired. Ignore me.)

I got the selected book yesterday and the meeting is Friday night. Think I can finish it? I'm betting I can, because it's a quick read and I have become pretty good at staying up late. That's thanks to my on-the-job motherhood training right there.

I haven't stayed up this late reading since I was cramming for finals during college. I was never one of those who stayed up for the entire night, but I do remember dragging myself to bed around 3 AM several times.

(Luckily for me, there was no 6 AM wake-up call by a blond two year old, just standing there and staring and breathing. Waiting for me to open my eyes and see him 3.6 inches from my nose. Creepy.)

Whoa, tangential much, tonight, Aimee? Don't worry, I haven't taken up meth, I'm just trying to post something before I have to get back to reading and I lose another chance at my computer time.

Another thing I remember about finals during college was Midnight at the Oasis. I kid you not.

I went to a small college, out in the middle of cornfields, and our cafeteria closed at some ridiculous hour like 4:30 PM. Seriously, we all became like senior citizens racing in there for the early bird special before they closed up shop.

Once that cafe closed, unless you had a stash of food in your room or you had a car/friend with a car, you were done for the night. And forget about trying to walk anywhere. When I say cornfields, I mean like huge, sprawling cornfields. I would have had to be ready to chew my own arm off before I thought of walking a couple miles past PITCH BLACK cornfields. Again, creepy.

Plus, I had no money. None. Not even a little change in my pocket going jing-a-ling-a-ling. (Quick, name that song and artist!)**

No wonder I was at my lowest weight in college. Fear, poverty, and stress work wonders on a waistline.

I don't know who came up with the Midnight at the Oasis plan, but here's what happened: They would open the cafe at midnight and let you in to eat junk and drink coffee. Simple, yet enticing. I was so there, since I was so hungry that my stomach was cannibalizing itself by that point.

They even piped in that awful Maria Muldaur song of the same name from the '70s as we waited in line. And I'm sorry if you like that song, but it's awful. "Cactus is our friend?" Really? Oh well, I was hungry so I could deal.

In addition to Midnight at the Oasis, our parents were strong armed guilted persuaded to send money in so that the school would deliver an "exam survival kit" to their beloved, long-studying son or daughter.

What was in the survival kit? Gatorade, Pop-Tarts, granola bars and some kind of caffeine pill like No-Doze or Vivarin. So we'd all be nice and jittery for our tests in the morning. Yikes.

But my parents sent me one, God bless them, and I had the good sense to binge on Pop-Tarts and leave the caffeine pills alone. I've always been a carb girl.

I know my parents had no money while I was in college. None. But they sent me a survival kit anyway and I've always appreciated it.

I wonder what kinds of things my kids will need or want of me when they go away to college?
Will my kids want me to send them a survival kit when they are cramming for exams? Will those kinds of things even be offered?

Maybe I'll download "Midnight at the Oasis" now, just in case I need to send it to them with a ten dollar bill wrapped around a Pop-Tart and a couple of caffeine pills from Mama. You know, kickin' it old school.