Inside the Denny’s in downtown Monterey, a red-rimmed clock with the chain’s logo hangs above the front door and reads 12am. Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” plays over the sound system as the employees serve a handful of customers and take their midnight lunch breaks.

Tonight, I’m attempting to stay up until sunrise to meet the people who work after midnight. I want to know how they stay awake and keep busy in the early morning.

I pulled my share of late-nighters during the college years, but the current task of staying up all night is somewhat terrifying. Maybe that’s because if I don’t get a full eight hours of sleep these days I can’t even remember my address.

What I expect to find are a quirky bunch of folks who survive the late night hours by becoming crossword puzzle experts or connoisseurs of cheap pornography. I find something totally different.