i am le tired

For the past two nights I've been battling with a slight case of insomnia.

Now, Jeff, I know you blogged about your insomnia and I want to acknowledge that and state that I am in no way feeding off of your previous post. Mine is quite a puzzling case. Usually there is some reason for not being able to sleep. Maybe you're fighting a pointless war in Iraq and going slightly insane with boredom, or maybe you don't feel well, maybe you're worried about someone, or you're stressed about upcoming events. I have none of these. I got in bed around 11pm Sunday night after a day of lounging around and doing homework, and by 2:30am had had enough. I took a sleeping pill and sometime around 3am I finally fell asleep. Of course Mondays are my only early day of class, so getting up at 7:45am wasn't easy. But I made it to class and made it through the rest of my day without napping so that I would finally sleep Monday night. No dice. Luckily, I recognized how awake I was and took a sleeping pill around midnight and finally dosed off around 1am. Tonight I actually feel tired but I've had quite an eventful day so I should be.

I awoke this morning to the ringing of my cell phone. It was a private number. That, of course, means a call from home. And seeing as only a few people have my number here, there is only one person that would use it outside of an emergency. As I answered my mothers voice rang through saying "There you are, we're ready to skype!" Reluctantly I agreed, and groggily answered her skype call. However, I refused to turn on the video camera because she had just woken me up and I didn't feel like seeing anyone yet, or rather anyone seeing me. Her response?

"Turn on your camera, I like seeing you. Why, is someone in the bed with you? Turn on your camera!!!"

Good to know my mother thinks my Monday night was so eventful. When I retold this story to Hanne, she gave me what should have been my response. "Should have told her yes its Hanne and we plan on gettin married in Fiji." If only I was a quick thinker first thing in the morning. Love you momma :)

After a little breakfast I headed down to the washer to hang my now clean clothes on the line. Its a pretty uneventful task, but one that had to be done. As I was standing under the lines securing my clothes, I heard what sounded like someone dragging a box along the pavement. As I listened closer, I realized it sounded more like scales dragging along pavement, and it sounded entirely too close to where I was standing. I slowly looked down to my left foot and about two inches away was a lizard about two feet long dragging himself across our driveway. I slowly stepped away, my mouth agape and kicked myself for not thinking to bring my camera down to hang my laundry because this is Australia and things like this are always possible. He didn't bother me, and really barely noticed me. I watched him drag himself around the side of the house and out of site. Next time, I will be prepared.

As for the rest of my day, I got quite the workout. I motivated myself to go for a run in the afternoon. I found a great trail that runs by a creek and found a few more parks around my house that are perfect for picnics or a game of rugby . . . not that I know how to play, but I could learn! A quick shower and I was out the door to get to the bank and pay rent. I took the bus to campus to save time, but decided to walk home. I rarely take the bus here, not because I don't like it, but because its free to walk AND I get at least an hour of exercise every day walking to and from campus. Having been in the working world, I've lived the routine where I had to get up at 6am to workout before work and then sit at a desk all day. In college I never appreciated how much time I had to get in shape, or read outside or lay out on the quad. I definitely appreciate that now, and I'm using my time to the fullest. After returning from campus I decided to sit outside and enjoy the sunset while painting my toenails. Unfortunately, as I set my left foot down and lifted my right foot for its second coat, I placed my foot on top of a black ant. I've been bitten by little ants before, but this was no little ant. It got me right between the two pads on the bottom of my foot and hurt bad enough that I limped back upstairs to avoid further encounters. I finished painting my toenails and then took a quick powernap in the hopes that when I woke up the throbbing would have subsided.

I got up promtly at 6pm to get ready for my pole dancing class. The foot was still in pain, but I powered through it. Tonight, I was bumped from the beginner pole to the advanced pole. It was just me and one other girl so I got an intense workout and learned things that I've watched the other girls do with a pang of jealousy. Let me be the first to tell you that it is NOT as easy as it looks. Sure the spins are easy once you learn the steps, but it takes practice to make it look good. Tonight, I learned to climb the pole. Although I didn't get far, I learned how and with a little more strength training with my arms I'll be able to go all the way to the top. I then learned how to throw my body upside down, latch on with my legs and completely release my arms. I need a little strength training in my abs as well, but that was awesome. I also got an insider tip. Obviously buying your own pole would be expensive. Carmen Electra sells some cheap ones online, but the teacher told me if I buy one under $300, it will fall at some point and I will get hurt. So, apart from buying my own $300 pole one day, she said the best place to try to practice is a playground. Now, I'm not gonna whip out the stripper moves with a bunch of kids running around, but I can do pull ups on the monkey bars, practice my footwork on the firemans pole and of course enjoy a time or two down the slide. And lucky for me, I passed a great playground on my run today. Woohoo!

I ended the night with Inglorious Bastards with the roomies. Great movie, a lil gruesome but it is Quentin Tarantino so would you expect anything less?