An All-Nighter of Madden With Shawn (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: April 18, 1999

A Brain in Meltdown

When it comes to keeping the consistency in my diary this month, I’m not up to scratch. There has only been just over one hundred pages written in this Diary so far and as my average would be ten pages a day my months’ entries has subsided a fair bit. However, as my brain is still in meltdown tonight I am not able to think too clearly.

I’m not tired at all but for some reason my brain just isn’t kicking in and that affects how I will think and write tonight. Therefore, instead of speaking of philosophy as I usually do I will get straight to the chronology that has been lagging behind for the past couple of days.

A Phone Call From Philippa

Regaining the story where I had left off on Wednesday night, the only thing worth writing in this diary for that night was my using the Play Station. This I played until the early hours of the morning where I played some Madden 99 and some soccer. Leaving Keith’s house tired that Wednesday night it didn’t show in me while I was playing the Play Station well until 6:00 a.m. Getting myself something to eat at that early a time on Thursday morning I watched Aerobics Oz Style, adored their beauty and then got myself to sleep.

When 9:30 a.m. arrived I was woken up by a phone call and knowing it could be no one else but Philippa from the temping agency I picked up the phone. For the whole night beforehand I was thinking to myself what to say if Philippa called me up and the best I could come up with was just to tell the truth. It was Philippa on the phone that Thursday morning and as she asked me what went wrong on Thursday I informed her how I wasn’t the right man for the job.

“You should have told Mandy to her face instead of just leaving” she suggested but I knew that wasn’t the kind of person I was. Our conversation lasted for a couple of minutes and I wasn’t too dazed despite only having had three hours of sleep. It ended with Philippa telling me that she probably won’t be getting me any more jobs but if something simple comes up she’ll give it to me. In my mind I was thinking “Yeah right, my prospects are finished” but I was to prove myself wrong with what happened on Friday.

Handing In the Form at the Link

Sleeping once my call had terminated I kept myself within slumber well until 1:30 p.m. Having set the alarm I knew that I had to head to the link to hand in my form so I could once again get paid. Getting something quick to eat as I filled in my form I had a shower, put some clothes on and then headed for the bus station. Since I had some money to spare I thought to catch a bus down to Campbelltown and to my knowledge I think I caught one back.

Arriving at the station I took a little walk to the link and then taking a seat I awaited my name to be called out. There I sat for twenty minutes as everyone else’s name was called out but mine. However, in that time Jett’s mum came and had a little chat to me but before we could get started on conversation I had to jump up because my name was called.

My birth certificate was the big thing I was trying to remember to bring with me as without that I wouldn’t be able to get paid and as I sat down a harsh reminder came to memory. Slapping myself on the head I remembered that it was still at home. This wasn’t to be detrimental however as I had the Indian lady who over time has managed to befriend me. Because of this she bent the rules and asked me only for my proof of age card as well as a keycard.

My reasons for seeking a claim weren’t questioned by her but rather, she acted as if to be helping me out. The process took ten minutes and with that I was back on my way home.

Gridiron Instead of Going Out

Making my way back home from Campbelltown I lounged around at home for a while, mostly I played the Play Station. When 7:00 p.m. arrived Keith drove out to the front of my house and keenly into a game of Gridiron I didn’t feel like going out. Heading out the front he asked if I wanted to head up to Macarthur Square with him and Shawn but as I noted, I was busy. “If you go out later to ‘Subway’ I’ll come out with you” I uttered and with that thought riding his mind he told me he would come back later.

Continuing with the Play Station for a while Keith came back at 9:00 p.m. Still keen on playing I didn’t want to turn off the season I had started and I didn’t want to save it on Shawn’s memory card so I just turned off the television and left it as it was. There was a new player I had created called ‘Madison Pat’ who was 7 foot 11 inches, he weighed 165 pounds and he was my wide receiver. Yep, a tall featherweight who could run fast and catch a ball, he scored most of my points.

Short Night of Cards

Leaving for Subway around 9:15 p.m. we didn’t stay there for very long as we usually do. Rather, Shawn had to get to work the next day and Keith wanted to get to his ‘Foxtel’ to watch cricket so I was keen to get home to the Play Station. An hour and a half was the amount of time we spent playing cards and once again, I was the one winning most of the hands. Usually I am the dunce who doesn’t win or I keep myself in the middle but for the past couple of nights at ‘Subway’ I have been winning most of them.

Madden Until the Morning

Upon arriving home at 10:45 p.m. I had myself something quick to eat and then I believe I started typing away on my diary. This continued well until the morning and from there I began once again to play Madden 99 on the Play Station. This time around I got a bit hooked on playing Madden, so much that I didn’t get to sleep until 3:00 p.m. Exercising my fingers on the controller was too controlling and it also affected my sense of sleep. With each hour that past I should have gotten sleepier but my eyes were wide open.

A Job Offer for the Wrong Day

When 9:30 a.m. arrived I was still engaged with my games but for a couple of minutes I was involved in a telephone conversation. Wondering who would ring me at such an early time in the morning my answer was given when Philippa was on the other end. Surprised as I was that she called I was more shocked as to her news that she had a data entry job for me. This sounded great all the way through until she finally told me that it was for the same day.

“Oh sorry, I can’t do it today” I apologized as I knew no sleep had been in me and as we ended our conversation I knew this would probably have been my only chance to redeem myself. From my phone call I kept playing the Play Station where my aim was to keep myself awake for the whole night so I could get to sleep early.

However, this didn’t work too well for me because my season finished around 3:00 p.m. and despite my trying to stay awake I knew I needed some sleep. Anxious that someone would try and call me in the next couple of hours to see if I wanted to go out I was going to disconnect the phone but I left it on just incase I received a call from Lyssa.

Shawn Wants a Play Station Night

Two hours slowly past and then once again, I was interrupted by the phone. With the phone constantly ringing while I’m always asleep I feel as if I have conquered my sounding tired on the phone when people ring. Just like if I was in the army and I would have to get used to waking up so early and a hectic schedule I got used to people calling me at all hours of my slumber.

So, I didn’t sound too different when Shawn and I started chatting on the phone. As soon as I realized it was Shawn on the phone I knew exactly what he wanted and when he asked if he could come over for a Play Station night I was right. The drama was whether to wake up with only two hours of sleep within me or keep sleeping and wake up at midnight.

Not wanting Shawn to think I was on the Play Station for the whole night I told him to come over and when he said he would come over straight away I relented but allowed it. Thus, I had to jump out of bed knowing that for the next couple of hours I would have to fight my tired state. What I didn’t know is that I would have to spend another all-nighter with Shawn until the early hours of the morning…

Pizza and a Long Night Ahead

With Shawn heading over my house just before 6:00 p.m. I realized that it would be an all-nighter when he didn’t drive over. Instead, he was dropped off by his mum and this was the telling tale of a long night. Why do I put myself up for these things, why was that a rhetorical question.

When Shawn arrived at my house we watched a bit of television and then as I had a shower he set up his team on Madden so that we could start a season. I didn’t feel too tired upon waking up but I did feel lightheaded and as if I was going to throw up when gulping down some yogurt. The shower was a good form of waking myself up and as I got out Shawn suggested that he order some Pizza. This sounded great to me and as he ordered the Pizza I started playing my game. For the rest of our Friday night I didn’t receive a call from Keith or anyone else who I consider an acquaintance. Lyssa was supposed to be sitting at home alone but she didn’t give me a call either.

Going Crazy With Green Eyes

There isn’t much to say about our night playing Madden 99 but that I started to get crazy in my tired state around 3:00 a.m. When I get overtired I usually start to go crazy, ball my eyes out in hysterical laughter over nothing and talk a lot. A classic example was for Jett’s birthday a couple of years ago when we headed to Lonestar. The hysterical laughing began when I mentioned to Shawn “You know I usually go crazy when I haven’t had sleep” and with that I started cracking up. The intensity of my laughing and trying to hold it back caused Shawn to belt out in laughter and for the next twenty minutes we were sitting there in stitches over nothing.

Making my way to the mirrors in my room I looked right into my eyes and noticed that they were green. The brown that is usually in my eyes had faded into the pupils and I concluded from this that my eyes turned green when I haven’t had much sleep or when I was sleepy.

Taking Turns in Shifts

Shawn was the first one to feel tired in our night and as he finished one of his games against the computer nearing 5:00 a.m. he decided to lie down on the ground and close his eyes. “Wake me up when you’ve had your turn” he remarked, “We’ll take it in shifts”. With Shawn asleep I had my game and then after an hour my game was finished. The time was 6:00 a.m. and I tried lightly to wake Shawn up but I thought it would be best to let him sleep so I could also get some sleep.

Therefore, I got myself to sleep leaving the computer on for Shawn to pick up whenever he woke up. The first time I woke up was around 11:00 a.m. and Shawn was once again playing Madden. Speaking to him for a couple of seconds he advised me that he had played our whole season through and we were both in the Superbowl.

Putting my head back down on the pillow as it was fairly dark in my room I slept for a couple more hours waking up every now and again for a minute or two. When the time reached 2:00 p.m. I was going to wake up but I didn’t want to jump on the Play Station. Wondering when Shawn was going to head home it played on my mind but I thought I could get back to sleep and not worry about it for a while.