So this morning I woke up at 3:16am to the sound of Gmail’s dinging indicating I had new mail. I had forgotten to silence my phone to protect my precious sleep from disturbances before I hit the sack. Was I now to roll in bed for the next 4 hours, desperately trying to just pass out?

It was no surprise that I wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep until a couple of hours later, but I was surprised why I couldn’t get back to sleep. I could’ve considered this night of broken sleep a disaster, but an odd thing happened… I felt like being creative. Maybe this article about broken sleep is right after all. The time before second sleep we’ve been passing up has been a daily missed opportunity to get the creative juices flowing.

Anyhow, I am by not the most prolific storyteller, nor am I a comedic genius but in the wee hours early this morning felt like writing a story, a funny story, a joke really, and the result is what you read below. It might not be funny at all (especially if you don’t watch too many pop song covers on YouTube), but I am content. And I’m laughing at the strange thoughts that percolate at 3:16 in the morning.

Bruno Mars, Enrique Iglesias, and Justin Timberlake were all hanging out one day when they see a beautiful girl pass by them on the street. They’re all stunned by how attractive she is, and they all try to win her heart and impress her before she walks off.

Enrique goes up to her with his suave Spanish accent and says, “I can be your hero, baby.”

She says, “No thanks” and starts walking away.

So Bruno Mars gives it a try. Bruno walks up to her and with a heart full of soul he says, “Girl you’re amazing, just the way you are.”

She says, “No thanks” and continues walking away.

Bruno goes back to the group and says, “Man, this girl is tough. Doesn’t she understand I’d catch a grenade for her?”

Justin says, “Don’t worry guys, I got this… It’s gonna be me.”

So Justin, full of style and effortless charm, walks up to her and says, “Girl, it’s like you’re my mirror. God must have spent a little more time on you.” The girl says, “No thanks” and continues walking farther and farther away.

Feeling dejected the trio regroups and watches in pain as mystery girl walks off into the sunset, when all of a sudden, Gabe Bondoc appears. With his jeans and T-shirt he casually walks up to the girl. He says a few words. She laughs, gives him her number and continues walking on her way down the street.

So the surprised trio runs to Gabe and they ask him, “How did you do it?! What did you say to her?”

Gabe says, “I told her, ‘You see those three guys that kept coming up to you…

I’ve got ALL their songs covered.’”

Oh, and if you’re wondering, I finally did crash at 6:30am.