I'm trying to be as positive as possible about this. I refuse to let myself be a pessimist anymore. However, it does kind of make me want to gouge my eyeballs out when, after not sleeping the night before, I have trouble sleeping again.


This has been my dilemma for the last month and a half, or to be more precise, exactly 50 days as of today. 50 flipping days. Yes, there have been days in between these bouts where I've slept okay, but now it's back. Again. And all I can do is take a pill that I know will eventually not work for me anymore, or stay awake, panicking about how crappy I'll feel the next day, the whole night.


I don't know about you, but since I've read that somewhere along the lines of 40 percent of us are suffering from this poo, I'm guessing some of you are in this here boat with me. Therefore, I've decided to make a list of fun things you can do while you're not sleeping. Yes, I do love lists.


1. Shadow puppets. The light in my bedroom is not sufficient for this activity, but if I can get my alarm clock light right tonight, I'm going to practice making some bunnies. They're cute and you can also make up a little story for them as you go along.


2. List every book you've ever read/movie you've ever seen/restaurant you've ever gone to, etc. You'll be amazed how long some of these lists can get. I realize this option is far less appealing than the one above to some of you, but I like it.


3. Try to go through an entire movie in your head, with your eyes shut. The whole thing, credits and everything. It's a lot more difficult than it sounds, but more entertaining than just staring at the wall.


4. Mentally go through your closet and make outfits. This one will come in handy in the morning when you're so tired you can't construct a decent sentence, let alone an outfit that doesn't look like it was put together by Hilary Clinton in the 90s.


5. Finally, as a last resort, read a book of the Bible. Not one of the pleasant, poetic books or one that tells a story. Nope, it has to be one of the books where they're just naming people or counting things. If that doesn't put you to sleep, you know it's not happening, and you might as well get up and watch some TV.


I do realize that people aren't likely to take suggestions about getting to sleep from someone else who isn't getting any sleep, either, but you do have to admit that shadow puppet-making sounds pretty cool right about now...