My first two nights in my new place went smoothly.  Slept like a baby.  This is why I didn't think I'd have a hard time sleeping on my third night.  Wrong!

I was again exhausted when I went to bed last Monday night.  I had spent the entire weekend either moving or cleaning (or some combination of both), and then took Monday off from work to try to put my new place in order.  I ended up crawling into bed at around 9:30pm (kind of early for me) and apparently drifted off to sleep quickly. 

At around 11:30pm I rolled over and woke up enough to open my eyes.  In the darkness and shadows I "saw" a human figure quickly approaching my bed.  Never the subtle one, I immediately shot up and started screaming.  And not a half-assed scream either.  I mean, I let 'er rip!  I belted out four or five full-on, blood curdling screams before jumping out of bed to grab my gun (which I keep in its case under my bed side table).  It was like I couldn't stop screaming until I grabbed my gun and turned on the light then I snapped out of it enough to realize that: 1) no one was there, and 2) I hadn't heard anyone run through my house...hence, there was no one really there to begin with.  But I could look anyone in the eye at this very moment and swear that I really did see someone there.  It was so real.

Needless to say I was freaked...and wide awake!  Adrenaline is a powerful thing.  I needed to talk to someone real and safe to bring me back down, but at that hour my options were limited.  The only one I knew who would possibly be up at that hour is my chief, so (feeling like an idiot) I called him.  It helped to talk to someone and calm down a bit, but I still couldn't shake that feeling.  After hanging up with him I sat in my bed, deathly still, for about 45 minutes.  I know there was no hope of me going back to sleep if I didn't search my house...even though I knew that no one had really been there.  So, I finally went through the place (turning on every light in my path) until I was satisfied.  However, I was still so jacked up that I turned on the TV to watch something funny (nothing scary...I certainly did NOT put in Capote - which I had just got that day) and made a cup of herbal tea.

I sat up until almost 2am before I decided I needed to go back to bed.  Of course, I had to leave on the living room light and my bedroom light because apparently the Boogie Man only likes the dark!  Every little noise would get my heart rate up again as I tossed and turned.  At one point (I think around 4:00am) I tried to turn off the bedroom light and just sleep with the living room one on instead, but that was just too dark.  I think I did manage to fall asleep for a bit between 4 and 4:30...but that's all the sleep I got that night.  The alarm went off at 5am and I knew I could have gone into work late, but I just wanted to get up and get out of there for a bit.  Needless to say I skipped the coffee that morning in favor of Red Bull (which I only drink in cases of dire emergency!).  I made it through that day totally freaked out and sleep deprived, but I have yet to be visited by my Boogie Man since.  I think my screaming probably scared the crap out of him!

Oh and you'll be proud to know that I have been able to sleep soundly since then...with the lights off and everything!  Although I will admit "he" kind of puts me on edge when I hear strange noises and I had a hard time falling to sleep the night after his "visit"...but so far, so good.  Things are falling into place and it's starting to feel like home.  And I think it's those "home-y" feelings that will keep my Boogie Man away!

(sorry about the different size fonts...I'm not sure what is going on with my computer.  Perhaps it has a boogie man too!)