It's past 4 a.m... I'm in my hotel room and I can't sleep... again.
I don't know how to combat my traveler's insomnia. It's hit or miss, but during my travels, I usually have one or two difficult nights of sleeping. Maybe my body is trying to adjust to a new environment, a new bed, or the quality of air in my room-- but irregardless of whether I'm in a posh Disney resort or at the Holiday Inn, I just have trouble sleeping in hotels. I lay off the caffeine in the afternoon, and last night I even had a stiff drink after work with a colleague in the hopes it'd help me.
A lot of my colleagues carry a friend to help them sleep at night... Jim Beam is pretty common, though I knew of someone who brought Jose Cuervo along. Jim would be good... Jose NOT a good idea at all. I haven't gone that far, though, I'm sure to re-evaluate that idea this afternoon when I have trouble staying awake.
Last week, I did a bit of socialized drinking while I was in Orlando. I got to spend time with a few colleagues I hadn't re-connected with since I got back into the realm of disaster. But I think what drove us to the bottle was why we were in Orlando-- it was a summit on pandemic flu. We're talking serious business, folks! It's incredibly scary to think how an outbreak could influence our society.
I'm in Palm Beach County now to help with case management... we have a group of clients that need to leave FEMA housing by the end of the month. It looks like I'll be coming back and forth down here for the next month, splitting my time in different areas. I also have to catch up on one of my programs and visit sites in Miami, Hollywood, Ft. Lauderdale, and Belle Glade.
This is the point of my job where the rubber hits the road... and that's a great thing. After a few months of feeling relatively useless, it's great to be back from the mission trip to be better motivated.
I think I'll try to get another hour of sleep... good night, er morning.
