Telling...

This one'll get your blood going, Mal;

Mr 2nd year, whom has become a real good friend of mine, was talking to me yesterday. It turns out he and I both have something unfortunate in common; Insomnia.

His is more pronounced than mine, he also has narcolepsy it turns out... and he is having difficulty staying awake at work.

I talk to him and he tells me that his doctor has put him on medication for his sleep condition. That's good, I think, as he is obviously not getting REM sleep.

His doctor put him on Ritalin.

I'm not kidding. Ritalin, to keep him awake.

Not a sleeping pill to put him to sleep, but rather a stimulant to keep him awake.

It's very much a telling thing, Japan has banned Melatonin, most sleeping pills, and Aspirin is expensive and can only be purchased from a pharmacist. The Japanese aren't into pills like we are in America... which, I actually think is a good thing...

But this man is not sleeping well... and so they put him on stimulants?!?

It tells something about this culture; many Japanese are afraid of sleeping pills... not because they are addictive, but because they might accidentally oversleep and miss work...

What a telling statement of this culture...

---Me.