Insomnia is a b*tch!

My least favorite thing to do is close, then turn around and open the next morning. Especially when we have to do something that requires staying later than normal. Typically, we leave around 9:30; tonight we had to stay late to do a network segmentation test, so we didn't leave until 10:30. This meant getting home around 11, with exactly 8.5 hours until I have to be in the car again. Now, for some reason, my mind has been racing tonight; I cannot fall asleep for the life of me and it's obviously too late to take a sleeping pill. I feel tired--I'm yawning, and my eyes feel heavy with that slight burning sensation of fatigue--but I cannot turn off my brain and in turn cannot relax, therefore I cannot fall asleep. To go on a slight tangent... I find it interesting that while I'm quite the polar opposite of affectionate, I fall asleep fastest and sleep most soundly when cuddling. I think I need to "invest" in a cuddle buddy; I'm not quite sure what this investment would entail, but I may be open to negotiation.

Anyway, it's probably safe to say that the upcoming election is partially to blame... I'm simultaneously intrigued and terrified to find out what the future holds, because I feel as if my task is to pick the lesser of evils. In all actuality, I'm ready for the election to be over so everyone will stop talking about it. I'm tired of seeing it on tv, hearing it on the radio, reading it in magazines and newspapers, talking about it at work, etc. It's exhausting to attempt to educate yourself when you're surrounded by bickering and bashing. Politics and religion are the two topics I truly hate to discuss--especially with anyone I'm friends with--because it almost always ends in a heated debate and, in my opinion, leaves a chip on someone's shoulder.

I'm also blaming my current state of arousal (the awake kind, not the kinky kind... hehe) on rearranging my bedroom. My bed now faces a different direction, and I think it alters my ability to relax/sleep. I noticed when I was in college that once I adapted to my sleeping arrangements in my dorm room, it was impossible to sleep in my bed when I came home for a night or weekend. I'm sure there's some sort of correlation between this apparent dilemma and my Type-A tendencies (when I took a test on Psychology Today, my score was 81).

In other news, my knees are feeling better! My recent shift from apparel to footwear has caused me to do more bending/kneeling/squatting than usual, and my knees have been suffering. I went to GNC (safe to say, my current obsession) and bought myself a box of Fast Flex vitapacks; they have glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM, and fish oil, and some sort of willow bark extract that acts as a natural aspirin. It's entirely possible that this relief is all in my head, because it says they work in about two weeks, but my knees don't feel quite as stiff or inflamed and I haven't changed my routine--I'm still running and working. So now I take 10 massive, horse pills (5, twice a day) in addition to my normal multivitamins; I may be the weirdest 23-year old ever. Honestly, it seems as though I'm blowing things out of proportion because I should be young and healthy, but I've always had knee problems; blame it on riding horses every day of my life from age 6 to 16 and then every other day through  my sophomore year of college. I figure it's better to try to remedy the situation via supplements at a relatively early age than with surgeries and replacements later on in my life. Plus it's damn near impossible for me to walk by, let alone into, a GNC without coming out with armfuls of goodies.

Ok... 3:30 calls for an attempt at what will basically be a nap before getting up for work. Tomorrow's itinerary: Work 8 to 5... gym 5:15ish to 6:30ish... voting... yippee! Hopefully I'll get some rest tomorrow night so I can have a productive day off on Wednesday! :)