Insomnia (cookies) 잠 잘 수 없음, 不眠症, 失眠

Our little town, which is not really a small town and would be considered a prominent suburb like Naperville, IL if it was near a big city like Chicago, just sprouted up an Insomnia Cookies in the middle of downtown, odd timing to be starting a new business but not for an established brand like Insomnia, I guess, and its business model  (open late, until 1AM! True insomnia!) fills a much-needed gap of fast food that closes at 10PM. I haven't had it much, but Insomnia Cookies always looks crowded despite the pandemic and immediately had customers lining up after opening, often stretching into the sidewalk which forces me to divert my running route to the other side of the street. And now they even have vegan cookies, a criteria that satiates even the pickiest eaters like MJ. I haven't had Insomnia much, but I did work near an Insomnia cookies in downtown Manhattan, and they were a hit with my co-workers, so much so that I ended up sharing most of my cookies rather than eating them myself. I feel like that's what people need more in their lives nowadays (not the diabetes part and high sugar intake part), things that make them feel good without much debate and choosing sides. Although maybe someone would say conservatives like plain sugar cookies more as opposed to liberals liking chocolate chunk. 

Insomnia cookies represents the type of food business that thrives in this pandemic economy: takeout food. Unfortunately for sit-down restaurants around the US, most restaurants will have to revert to takeout to survive, and for the fancy restaurants that rely on the ambiance and the service and sit-down experience, they're in really big trouble. Some restaurant/ bars are doing OK due to outdoor seating, and our town has plenty of business in that regard this summer even in the sweltering heat, but that's not sustainable during the cold winter months, when harsh biting reality sets in as we're still stuck in a pandemic. The coronavirus is so harsh in its complete dichotomy of results for different people and businesses: schools and educators are having a really tough time trying to figure out how to get students back into schools, restaurants are closed, airlines suffer and have to lay off staff, but on the other end megacap tech companies like Facebook, Amazon, and especially Apple (which all reported earnings this past Thursday and all beat expectations) are thriving precisely due to the pandemic. It's like a roulette wheel of life that has a bunch of red and near-death scenarios but also a lot of green profit-making scenarios, with no real "status quo" outcome in between. I guess maybe a couple: I own McDonald's and Yum and Starbucks stock, which are mega food chains that have a large takeout business so they should be fine (nobody really goes into McDonald's for their playpens anymore, that idea in the 1990's seems like it'd be a lawsuit waiting to happen nowadays) but even they lose share to people staying at home to cook and buying their own ingredients from Costco. Probably best to stay out of investing in restaurants entirely, even Chipotle (CMG) which I said to buy 9 fateful years ago and now it's sky high. 

Insomnia is real for many people for many people in this world, and I really feel bad for those who suffer from it. Sleepless nights are frustrating and the most memorable kind of nights (turns out I don't really remember the nights I sleep like a log) as I get up, toss and turn, feel frustrated for not being able to fall asleep, which prevents me from getting to sleep, and since I sleep with MJ too I worry about waking her up if I get up, too many things cross my mind, I try to count from 1 to 100 and hope that by the time I reach 100 I'll be asleep. I will say that when I'm not getting to sleep, I don't crave cookies or anything, I Just crave having my mind shut down and getting to dreaming. Luckily I don't get insomnia because I'm worried about getting the virus or financial situation or how I'm going to pay for my next month's rent, a dilemma for many Americans. I do get a little antsy and nervous before a big event like a dodgeball tournament, but the primary cause of insomnia nowadays is not getting enough to eat and not realizing it, and the cure is easy. Not so easy for many other people with real insomnia; one of the worst feelings in the world as it stretches to the next day and affects one's ability to think, mood, health. A very depressed person with suicidal thoughts could have a really great sleep and reset their whole mindset when they wake up and realize that the sun still rises in the morning, but lack of sleep might worsen that outlook.