I think I'm really getting old. I used to sleep for 6.5 hours and can keep energetic till I hit the sack. But now, it's almost impossible to get up on time without an alarm clock. To make it worse, it's getting harder to wake up even with an alarm clock. The worst thing is, two alarm clocks don't lower my chance of oversleeping.

I brought a small plastic alarm clock from home since I moved to the US. It is more a clock than an alarm. Its beeps are so faint that the only way I can hear it is to hold my breath. This is indeed a cure for nostagia.

I also brought a radio here and I was happy to find out it's an alarm clock radio. During the days in Milwaukee, it was powerful--I could jump off the bed when it turned on. My biological clock even adjusted itself so that I could get up to turn it off before it sounded. But Evanston beats my super radio clock easily; FM signals here are so weak that I have to use AM. I do like Voice of Chicago but ladies and gentlemen, you are not loud enough to touch my hearing nerves.

I'm hesitant to count the SONY Ericsson T610 as my third alarm clock though it claims to function this way. The weirdest thing about it it can wake up my roommate in the other room but it just doesn't work for me [ right besides my pillow ]. It functions in an odd but considerate way: it would ring once, then have a 10-minutes break, then ring again, then rest for 10 minutes... How I miss my lost Razr! It would ring and ring and ring and ring and ring till it runs out of power. What a strong-willed clock!!!

The fourth alarm clock is really a tricked-out one. I can use it to surf the Web, check emails, instant messenging, write papers... anything I can think about. ibook is not designed as an alarm clock but iCal+iTunes make it one. I tried some classic music only to find I can sleep better with them. Maybe Rock'n'roll can work?

That's why I need a vibrating alarm clock desperately. I can't resist "A WACKY SHAKE N' WAKE WAY TO START THE DAY!!"

Timex® brings you this Shake n' Wake alarm clock featuring Wacky Wake-Up phrases that will laugh you right out of bed! Wakes you up to funny character phrases and the unit shakes after it says the wake up phrase. You can also play with it by switching it to "demo" mode. From a gangster saying you either get up or he's coming in after you, to a Johnnie Cochrane type saying "your honor, if the alarm don't quit, up you must get!" Seven phrases in all and everyone of them guaranteed to wake you up with a laugh. This Wacky Wake-Up Alarm Clock features a unique shape with a LCD digital readout to see the time at a glance. The snooze button is easy to find for those mornings when you want a few extra minutes of sleep and provides one touch back-lighting to see the time at night. An alarm reset button turns off the alarm and automatically resets for the same time the following day. Runs on 3 "AA" batteries (included) for safety.