Five Years and Two Months

I lay in bed, my eyes adjusting to the darkness. The inky blackness of night slowly dissolved into a ghostly blue. My ears attuned to the predictable symphony of creeks and pops as the house slowly settled on its foundation for the night.

My mind rewound and replayed the phone calls and deadlines of the day. I drafted the next day's blog in my thoughts, which would never be written or remembered. I re-casted the actors who would play the characters in the movie version of the book I wished to write.

This is the point in the nightly ritual when I usually fade out and sink into the sweet cocoon slumber. On this night, though, I remained awake. Admittedly, it was a little early for me, but I had been nodding off on the sofa. I was tired.

It was then that I did it. I opened my eyes, and turned my head to look at the calming green LED number shining from the clock beside my head.

11:11

"Of course," I thought. "Of course it's 11:11. Now I suppose I can get to sleep." And that, I did. It is just an arbitrary time on a never-accurate time piece, but it keeps popping up. A.M. And P.M., at home and at work. More often than seems normal or coincidental. A quick peak at the time reveals the four digits, almost on a daily basis now, for about the last week and a half.

I have long been consumed with the concept of the "all-1" moment. It only occurs twice in one day every hundred years or so. The next such occurrence will take place in about five years and two months (depending on when you read this.)

On November 11, 2011, at 11:11:11 a.m. and p.m., the date and time will be: 1111111111. Of course that is assuming you drop the millennium and century from the date, and only use the decade and year. Follow me?

If you follow military time, this will only occur once, in the morning.

Now, there was only one day in all of history that truly had two "all-1" moments. That day was, obviously, November 11, 1111 a.d. However, there weren't many folks who could tell time back then, let alone track seconds. So, there probably wasn't much fuss about it. Theoretically, there was also November 11, 1111 b.c., but the folks who were alive on that day had no idea what the date was, so it doesn't really count.

The last time this event occurred, my great grandmother was the age of my daughter. I suspect in five years it will be attended with much hoopla and spectacle. I hope that I don't miss it, and once it's over, I hope to get some sleep.

Reading for Comprehension:
1. So, what particular chronological anomalies do you obsess over?
2. Where do you expect to be on November 11, 2011? (It will land on a Friday)
3. If I wrote a book about my life, who should play me in the movie?