block #8: the "i can't fall asleep" block, part 1

This isn't going to be a post that explains how to beat the "I can't fall asleep" block...this is just going to set up how I finally beat the "I can't fall asleep" block.


Context: I'm a mild insomniac.  Just a little bit.  My insomnia kinda comes and goes as it pleases; I'll be fine for a month, and then I won't sleep for a week.  It's a bit of an issue.

This weekend, however, I wasn't able to sleep, and it wasn't by choice that this was happening.


So let me preface this by saying that, yes, I'm a college student.  We are notorious for not sleeping a lot, and making sure that we are completely addicted to coffee, if not simply some kind of caffeine in general, by the time we graduate from our institutes of higher learning.  I am not the exception that proves the rule; in fact, I'm the one who probably inspired the rule, in a past life.  (For more info about my coffee problems, see below.)


POINT BEING, I'm not great about the amount of sleep I get to begin with.  I'm usually between four and seven hours per night, and that's not straight through.  I have this really great habit of waking up at like 3:30 in the morning and not being able to get back to sleep.


That, though, is assuming that I even get to sleep in the first place.


My school week ends on Thursday; all sophomore year, I've managed to schedule myself out of class on Fridays.  (Next semester, I might actually be able to do the same once again; this really ticks off my one roommate who's studying chemical engineering, because she is a strong believer in the 5-day week and has a class that enjoys testing on Fridays, which sucks.)


So, last Thursday night, I decided to head over to the lodge (think a lounge-style building that's next to the apartment complex) so that I could decorate a t-shirt with puffy paint.  Having some arts and crafts time, lots of glitter, etc.  I then get a series of phone calls from people who give me a combination of bad news and generally blame me for things that aren't my fault.


What was once a peaceful, glittery evening is now a stressful one.


When I tell my roommate about the fact that I am now stressed, she makes a great suggestion: why not go see a movie?  This sounds exciting to me, because I really like movies, and haven't been to one since the first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out (shout out to the HP fans).  So, I agree.


Little did I realize...this was where I went wrong.


We go to see "The Lucky One," as it comes out at midnight.  Movie was okay; I didn't come out overwhelmed, but I wouldn't say it was bad.  It was something to take my mind off all of the crap back at campus.  Thus, it did its job.  We got back to campus.  It was around 0230 when I realized I wasn't tired.


So I read a book.  Then I read another book.  Then, I read a third book.


(By the way, I read really quickly.  I've been known to finish books that have 1000 pages over the course of a 4 hour flight from LA to Chicago.)


By the time I was done reading books, it was 8 in the morning.  Whoops, where did the night go?  Yeah, I spent it watching Zac Efron and reading a series that my friend recommended to me (it was okay).


I thought to myself, "Hey, maybe I'll try to go to sleep."  But my roommate was up, and, if you've been reading any of my other posts, you know what happens when my roommate has class in the morning and I try to sleep.


I had a booked day, starting at around 10, and needed to get up and shower.  So, I was awake for the day, like it or not.


Then, it hit me.  12 hours later, I was going to be starting my consecutive standby shifts for Relay For Life, a walk that takes place over the course of 18 hours, for LUEMS.  I wasn't supposed to sleep during the standby, and I had two shifts: 8:30 p.m. to 1 a.m., and 1 a.m. to 5:30 a.m.  (As it turned out, I'd later be taking the 5:30 a.m. shift to 10 a.m. shift in addition.)


I went through my day, fueled by coffee, and slowly the standby approached.  When it was finally there, I began my night with enthusiasm.


By about 2 a.m. the enthusiasm was gone, the coffee had worn off, and I was tired.

MMM...coffee

The remainder of the second shift was spent watching YouTube videos in the truck with my crew chief.  We accidentally killed the battery because he left the key in third position, and had to get LUPD to come jump the truck.  Whoops...


(Side note: when I thought I was done at 6:30 and started to go back to my apartment, there were 5 deer outside!  They were adorable.)


The standby passed by uneventfully, but I wasn't allowed to sleep between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 a.m.; then, the sun was up, so my brain refused to let me sleep.  I was awake for the day, because that day was booked with activities too.


The day passed in a whirlwind of activity, nice weather, and yawning.  Yet, even when I tried to take a nap, I couldn't sleep, because of the sunlight that wasn't completely blocked by the blinds on my bedroom window.


At around 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning...I was finally done with everything.  I took my contacts out, brushed my teeth, changed into pajamas, and got into bed.  Yet...I still couldn't sleep!


-end of part 1-