Perfect end to a good night's sleep.

Byline: Grace Stopher 20Below News Team/The Register-Guard

On the most joyous occasion that was my birthday, I received none other than the iWake Dual Alarm Clock.

Just about anyone would be pleased with a nifty device such as this, but not me - I'm ecstatic.

First, the gadget can be described as nothing short of appealing. The only button obvious from a distance is the snooze button, and iWake's bright white plastic shimmers and shines if the light hits it just right.

Second, iWake is a new home for my iPod. I can now officially say goodbye to my ear buds, which have suffered through several hot chocolate spills and are indisputably blown.

The added bonus is the cute little remote that amplifies the art of being lazy.

But what makes me the happiest is that I've finally had the opportunity to hand my previous alarm clock down to my little brother, who has yet to discover the evil spirit that lurks within it.

My parents claim the old alarm clock - which has turned a sort of gross, spotty, brown color from years of collecting dust and other filth - is in perfectly good condition. I'm just guessing the clock hadn't become possessed until it was given to me as a hand-me-down.

To start with, some mornings the old clock finds it amusing to set off its abnormally obnoxious beeping too late.

But this isn't the typical beeping you hear from any normal alarm clock. This beep is a tormenting, ugly, cannonading scream that intensifies as the minutes pass.

In fact, it begins so loudly that my dreams are turned instantly to nightmares where Clock Phantoms lope around shrieking through 20-foot megaphones.

Now and then, it decides to go off at random when I'm not even home. But sometimes the old, crusty clock goes for a different approach - silence.

Despite the volume setting, its other method of provocation is to go off so quietly that I don't wake up until an angry mother comes storming into the room to get me out of bed.

On top of my usual crabby attitude, seeing as I'm not a morning person at all, the clock has pestered me to no end.

Something inhabits the decrepit old clock. And, fortunately for the clock, my clean and shimmering iWake took its place before I did something drastic.

And thank goodness I didn't.

Because now I'm entertained by my brother and his war with the Clock Phantom.

Grace Stopher is a freshman at Sheldon High. She can be reached at 20Below@guardnet .com.