I have a strange breed of insomnia — or maybe it's not, I haven't really discussed it that much with others so I don't know how common or uncommon it really is.  I can usually fall asleep just fine, but I wake up at 4 a.m. and then am unable to fall back asleep.  To make it worse, it generally only happens when I have to work the next morning.  I'm thinking I need more exercise, including the possible addition of a weekly yoga class, to combat this.  When I wake up, I actually use a guided meditation CD to help me try to fall back asleep.  Any other suggestions?

Have I ever mentioned that I hate crowds?  I think it stems from being short — I'm 5'1", which means that when I'm trapped in a crowd, I'm usually in the midst of armpits and elbows and my face is shoved in peoples' backs and chests.  The worst crowd I was ever in was in the Yankees victory parade in (I think) 1998.  Nathan, my boyfriend at the time, was a huge Yankees fan, so of course we were heading down to participate in the celebration.  At some point, however, we got completely trapped in the crowd — we were at a corner, and the crowd was pushing so hard in both directions towards us that my feet were literally swept up off the ground.  My arm had somehow gotten stuck up in the air (maybe I was trying to reach for Nathan, whose 6'2" stature couldn't even protect me at that point), as the crowd was so thick I couldn't put it back down by my side, and I was crying from the sheer panic of the situation. Ultimately a cop helped us get me out of the crowd and we headed off to watch the parade from the comfort of  much less crowded restaurant.

Last night I was at a party that brought back a bit of that feeling as I could barely move for most of the time I was there, particularly at one point when I had sought refuge near a wall.  Unfortunately it was right before a burlesque performance in front of me on the bar, so every photographer in the place was suddenly squeezing in front of me, and I had no room behind me to get out of the way.  Once again, armpits, elbows, and no escape.  Thankfully the performance (or what I could see of it between the people) distracted me for a bit.  Needless to say, I didn't make it that long.

At least according to some studies featured in the NYT recently.  And this is why I force myself to go to the gym, even when I am exhausted!  Today will be no exception.  There may, however, be some napping involved as well.  I knew this week would be rough!