Other than lack of sleep, I'm not sure what came over me yesterday, but I was lost in the ozone for most of the day. Actually, I doubt that it was anything other than lack of sleep, but I made up for it last night. Or rather, this morning. I did get to bed earlier than usual, mostly because I couldn't hold my head up or keep my eyes open any longer. And then — here's the key to successful sleeping — I managed to fall asleep almost as soon as I, as they say, hit the pillow. So sleeping through the alarm was just gravy, or icing on the cake, but please, don't mix the two.

It's not really an alarm in the strict traditional sense. It's more of a gentle nudging from the local smooth jazz station (KJZY, Sebastopol). I set it to go on about a half hour before I plan to get up, and then I get up about 45 minutes later, rush around to try to be ready on time, and remember that I work at home, alone, and no one is going to see me in my pajamas (or whatever you think I wear to bed).

Two things make it impossible for me to stay in bed even longer, and it's probably good they exist to keep me from lazing the whole day away. First, if I don't get the Chronicle out of the driveway by 8:30, someone could drive over it. This has only happened once, but that one time has made me skittish.

Can't start the day without my paper. Box scores. Jon Carroll. The Boondocks. Obituaries (Did you know that Jerome Richardson, who played the first recorded modern jazz flute solo, on "Kingfish" with the Lionel Hampton band, died last week?). Oh, and then there's the news, such as it is. (Where am I going to get my Marisleysis fix now that Elián has gone home?)

The other reason I have to get up in the morning instead of following my instincts and sleeping the day away is that the phone could start ringing any time after 8:00, and I really should answer it. I wouldn't hear it if I didn't get up, because I turn the ringer off and the answering machine volume down every night. That prevents me from being awakened at 4:17 in the morning by people dialing my number, even though they're looking for someone else.

I repeat, for the benefit of those ham-handed individuals, that I am neither the Icee Company, nor National General Insurance, nor the ADD hotline. I care, of course, if your Icee machine is broken, or you've been denied coverage, your child is having problems in school. But my expertise in these areas is as limited as your ability to correctly operate a touch-tone phone keypad.

Santa Rosa Junior College each year brings some of the top dramatic arts students from all over California for an eleven-week whirlwind season known as the Summer Repertory Theatre. These young people put on a five-play rotation of varied material, but unvaryingly high quality, from costume and set design to acting and directing. It's a worthwhile project for the kids involved, but it's a great boon to the theater-going public of Sonoma County, because we get to see professional productions done by some amazingly talented people.

Tonight's performance was Romeo and Juliet, a uniquely imagined version blending period sets with contemporary costumes and props, and of course Bill's immortal words. The characterizations are strictly late twentieth century, the cynical punk blinded by the light of love for the blossoming schoolgirl.

Jason Arquin reads the roller coaster emotions into his Romeo with a fiery brilliance, while Gina Alvarado's Juliet is all mood-swinging, eye-rolling fourteen-year-old, but with an exuberance that is endearingly over the top. The body language between these two, especially in the balcony scene, draws the audience into the blazing intensity of their sudden attraction. It you picture Giovanni Ribisi and Heather Matarazzo in the roles, you'll get an idea of what I was thinking about when I was watching tonight's performance.

I was charmed by this reinvention of the ageless love story. I love to see Shakespeare given a new take now and then. It doesn't always work, but it's almost always interesting. I was drawn in from the start tonight, and I'm looking forward to the other shows this group will be performing this summer. They certainly have a beautiful setting for it. Santa Rosa JC has one of the most striking campus layouts I've seen anywhere.

The sky was gray and the light wasn't optimal for taking photos this afternoon, but you get an idea of the beauty of the campus.