I'm getting better! My sleep hours are inching down from "you're-sick-and-need-12-hours" back to "you're-normal-and-need-6-hours" and are well on their way back to "you're-normal-Mel-and-need-3.5-hours." Productivity, how I've missed you.

6 hours isn't as insanely little as it may seem. In Why We Nap, a compilation of academic papers on sleep edited by Claudio Stampi, it's shown that while the average human need for sleep is usually 7-10 hours, it's possible for almost any person to train themselves down to needing only 5, if those 5 hours come in a consistent schedule.

My father came for Candidates' Weekend. Every time I see my parents, they're a little bit older, and I'm able to talk to them more. (my little daddy is growing up!) As it was, we spent a wonderful 2.5 days together, ate some good crepes in Brookline, and tossed around the idea of a human-powered trash compactor for refuse collectors in developing countries. So my productivity didn't actually rise that much this weekend, but it's worth it; I can do homework anytime, but I can't hang out with my family that often now.

I don't know how parents can stand to have their kids grow up so fast.