ramblings of an insomniac

what happens when a rain-loving, blog-addicted CSI (and House, MD) junkie perenially in need of a caffeine fix goes to bed at 11pm? nothing. 'coz sleep doesn't come. not until around 2.30am, that is. in spite of the early class hours the following day. and despite the fact that the body is extremely tired and the eyes are strained from all the hours spent in front of the PC :p

i tried counting sheep. unfortunately, my mind cannot conjure ovine images realistic enough for my taste. all i could come up with were cute "cartoony" sheep that unsuccessfully hop over wooden fences (complete with a backdrop of a blue sky and bright green grass). the picture looks disturbingly like a screensaver i'd like to see on a PC monitor (imagine the "tripping" sheep falling all over each other on one side of the fence) that i end up laughing inwardly and not getting any sleep at all.

one time, i took a friend's advice and drank milk before going to bed. unfortunately, my semi-lactose intolerant stomach didn't take kindly to that. hmm. bad move.

i also tried listening to music. the other night, i took my trusty mp3 player to bed with me.. put on the earphones.. and proceeded to listen to my favorite songs. i was so into the soundtrip that i found myself even more awake than before i tried to go to sleep. sheesh.

some say prayers help. hmm. yes, i guess they do. but most times, it's either (1) my prayer is too short 'coz i couldn't come up with anything to say; (2) my prayer is too long 'coz i have a lot of things on my mind; (3) my prayer doesn't make sense 'coz my brain's all muddled up; (4) my prayer is too intent 'coz i have one or two major 'issues' that i can't seem to get rid of. so what happens is (1) i don't get to sleep 'coz only a couple of short minutes passed - not enough to become sleepy; or (2) i don't get to sleep 'coz i was too focused on my prayer that i 'wake myself up' in the process; or (3) i don't get to sleep 'coz i spend all night trying to sort through my confused brain; or (4) i don't get to sleep 'coz my nose is all stuffy from crying over my 'issues.' bottom line: i don't get to sleep :p

so. counting sheep doesn't help. neither does milk. nor music. and prayer lulls me to sleep only when my brain allows it to. hmm. does anyone have advice to give this sleep-deprived ranter? :p