Narrator: When you have insomnia, you're never really asleep... and you're never really awake.

Night number two. Considering I'm well known for falling asleep at the drop of a hat, this is... unusual.

But it's not the first time it's happened, so I don't know why I'm surprised.

The hours between 2 and 6, are almost quiet here. As quiet as the streets of small town China ever get. So, basically, nobody seems to be hooting. Not a lot of traffic.

Sat on the balcony a few hours ago and watched three guys walking home in the middle of the street. If you know what to watch for, even from 17 stories up you can spot a seasoned drinker. No stagger, no real sway, no arms out balancing himself. But a definite gentle drift left and right as he proceeds down the road, happily marinading.

A little dread creeping in at the thought of having to face the day. Had our Halloween party for the kids tonight, which had some glitches. Personal responsibility a tough call here, but the buck stops with me. So tomorrow, today, time to speak to people, find out what went wrong, fix things for future.

Strange role, this one of transient manager. It's about building something, constructing a foundation and then a base and then a platform and then a skyscraper on top. But you've really only got a year to do it. Easier to keep the status quo. Except our status quo can improve. Have to improve it, knowing that there's only a year to do it. Less, now. Ten months. And then it's all up to somebody else to change it again.

Thoughts are weird when you can't sleep - they all come at once, and you just try to grab a tail of one as they swish through your head. Once you've got the tail though... then what? Hang on tight and see where it leads? For me, these days, nowhere. Bad bad lack of thinking ability.

Time to go, try force some shut-eye before assaulting the day.