Melrose marathon!

Yesterday we had another monster storm and I took advantage of the day inside to finally sort out the big box of old mail, receipts, notebooks, postcards, bandaids, lip gloss, pencils, paper clips, ribbons, strings, ziploc bags and other assorted detritus that I've been dumping in there every time I go on a trip and have to empty out my big red messenger bag, to lighten my load for the hike through the airport. To help pass the time while sorting (and because watching tv online is still a novelty for us) we ended up spending the entire day watching old episodes of Melrose Place back to back – almost eleven hours worth.

I had forgotten how much I used to love/hate that show, how trashy it was, how young everyone looked, how big their hair was and how high the waistline on their skin-tight white Levi cutoffs! Alison – so uptight and self-righteous! Billy – so arrogant and smug! Jake, troubled and brooding! Jane, earnest and sweet! Et cetera! Then there were the characters I'd forgotten all about – Rhonda, the sassy African-American aerobics instructor – Sandy, the tattered Southern belle – the corrupt and egomaniacal Dr. Peter Burns!

Television is so ... hrrmmph. I guess there's a reason why I don't watch much. It was fun having it on in the background while I was working on that pile of stuff yesterday, but really – what a waste of time.

Anywho. Another thing it's good for is when you can't sleep, which I haven't been doing lately. Not sure why; maybe adjusting to the lack of caffeine, maybe working too much, maybe it's because spring is coming early and the light is changing. It's not anxiety-based, like it used to be – it feels more like just being happy and excited. I can't get my mind to stop thinking about all the projects I'm planning, things I want to make, trips I want to take. It's a good feeling – I just wish I could get it to kick in early in the morning instead of late at night when I need to be asleep.

I got some homeopathic "go to sleep" pastilles and a new valerian tincture that seems to help some. I got the glycerine-based tincture instead of the alcohol-based one, hoping the sweetness would mitigate the musty smell and taste of the valerian ... which it doesn't. It's the moldiest one I've ever tasted! It works though. And really, I don't mind the taste as long as I pay attention to it and remember what I'm drinking. It's very medicine-like. I remember my old cat used to love it, too.

Getting back on my bike will also be good. I had a rotten cold all last week and between that and the weather (plus raging PMS followed by intense cramps) I didn't get any exercise to speak of all week. Maybe a little restorative yoga would be good, or a warm bath in the dark, with a candle and some lavender oil.

Well. It's not even all that late yet and already I'm getting nervous about not being able to sleep tonight! It seems like I go through this every spring though; it always seems to resolve itself eventually.