Overcoming a Sluggish Start

It took me a while tonight to really get going.

So long, in fact, that by the time I really actually did get going, it was no longer night, but morning.

Right now, it is almost 6am, and my energy is finally enough to keep me floating, and to keep the words and sentences coming.

By now, some of you reading this should know that I work overnights. You might think that staying up all night would be natural, that it would come easily. Yet, you would be mistaken. I have some strange nights off - on Tuesday nights, and again on Friday nights. So this, being a Saturday night/Sunday morning shift, it was my first night back. I work my other job on the afternoons, so after eight hours there, I rushed over here for an additional shift, and that is, admittedly, always tiring.

Still, usually, I am more energetic than this. Not always, but usually.

Today was different. It seemed like I might be more energetic, and yet, once I was finally here, I just crashed, barely making it to my lunch break, during which I sleep, admittedly. I take a nap for an hour or so, and then, when I get back, usually will take a while before fully waking up. It happens, but it takes a while.

Well, today, it took a very long while. An unusually long time, frankly, and I rather had to force myself to kind of snap out of it. But finally, I managed it.

Then, it was onto the blog, and writing, where I wrote the better part of two pieces that will likely be published here within the next few days or so. Having gone from having written nothing, to having written a decent amount, in fact, I felt significantly better, and ready to face the day with my head held a bit higher. There's just something about feeling like you did something, right? Even if it's writing a blog entry that perhaps three or four people might read.

Usually, I will get more of an audience for things like concert or movie reviews, or perhaps some political blogs. But I simply can't write things like that every single day. How many movies and concerts can you go see, after all? Yes, it's election season, but these days, I find it all so depressing. When I was younger, it used to seem more exciting and intelligent. The nation would pay attention to matters political, and there would be this kind of internal debate. The race was exciting, and I looked forward to it.

But these days, they disgust me. Perhaps I could use the standard lines, like the negative campaign ads, and such. It's just that they tend to be true. The focus is not on ideas, or how strong the nation will be if this candidate gets elected. Rather, it's how bad the other candidate is, and how the nation will be the worse off for it. Allegations of corruption, of being out of touch, of being too extremist or having some ulterior agenda, of being too much of a political insider, etc, etc.. Yes, it's depressing.

So, I know a lot is going on in the political world, but I have kind of just avoided it. I did not even watch the debate the other night, although I know that the general consensus is that Romney won. Since the debate, Romney has gained evidently in the polls, and people were impressed with how forceful he was, how well he handled himself, and how he seemed to back Obama up against a wall. Suddenly, people have a more favorable impression of the man. I will admit that it's still a bit of a mystery to me how so many Americans feel they can relate to the $200 million dollar man, but maybe that's just me. He raked in profits from other people's pain, quite literally. He has plenty to say about how bad Obama has been for the country, and the need to get rid of all the things that Obama did. Yet, his own ideas seem deliberately vague. How convenient.

Obama, for his part, seemed intent on making Romney look as legitimate and Presidential as possible the other night. He himself looked timid, to the point that I heard Bill Maher was wondering if, indeed, the President can really function without the teleprompter. Maybe, as Al Gore evidently suggested, it was just the altitude of being in the Mile High City. Who knows? All I know is that he seemed to have been the clear loser of that debate, and I don't know if he can afford another night like that. Not sure what was wrong with him, but there was definitely something wrong with him.

In any case, I did not intend to talk about politics, yet went off on a rant a bit again there. Sorry about that.

Let me leave it there for now, as another wave of fatigue seems to have overtaken me. Just seems to be overtaking me on this day. See you guys on this blog page soon again, hopefully!