Insomnia

OK, so I was suicidal enough to volunteer for a double-shift at the other store today. I went to bed at eleven o'clock last night. I even took some valerian root and chamomile tea, which helps most of the time. But I woke up at 3:30 and can't get back to sleep. I only have this issue once in a while.... one of those times when inane thoughts are racing through my head and bombarding my mind just enough to keep it from powering down. I wish there was a switch to turn them off.

A while back I listened to a book on cd called The Accidental Buddhist. It was a good book and one of the highlights that comes to mind right now is a condition that the author referred to as "Monkey-Mind", a common modern-day affliction that manifests itself as thoughts racing through your head too fast and bombarding you with sensory overload. This does not bode well for the rest of my day, but as usual I will have to make due. This also means that I'll be bringing a ridiculous amount of green tea & yerba maté with me to work. If there's one thing I've learned, when all else fails caffeine will compensate.

On the positive side, at least today's agenda has me doing one of the things I love most... building planted tank displays. For those of you who don't quite understand.... there are some people in life who find gardening to be a form of relaxation. I am one of those people. Think of THIS as a form of gardening, but underwater and on a smaller scale. I'll be working with the current fish-room staff up there, teaching them my methods for setting up and maintaining a planted display. I think I will bring the camera along to take before & after pictures.

Update: I just got back from the loooooong work day. My entire body aches; I am soaked to the bone with a mixture of sweat and fish-tank water; I have cuts all over my hands from ripping out corroded wiring and electrical apparatuses; my injured knee is throbbing; my back itches due to small bits of fiberglass falling from ceiling tiles as I moved them, and I have all manner of unmentionable ick under my fingernails... AND I HAD AN AWESOME DAY!!!! Seriously, I got a lot accomplished and I made quite a few improvements to the fish room up there. I'll be working another double at the same place, doing the same thing next week and I am actually looking forward to it. I count this as another (strange) blessing.