(Note: This post was written at 4 am, but then I was called away to compete in the finals of the Twister tournament (which ended in a three-way tie because my leg muscles were on fire and I was swaying back and forth because I was falling asleep). Then I laid down next to my friend in the middle of the gym floor (right above the "76ers" logo), thought, "It feels so much nicer with my eyes closed, I'm just going to rest for a minute," and woke up 45 minutes later.)
It's 4 am, and I'm in the middle of my first all-nighter ever. It's not for a test, or even boards--it's the first Relay for Life of PCOM, and we're almost near the end of our 14-hour walkathon around the gym. My body feels like it's going to collapse, but I can't go to bed because I don't want to miss a minute of activities, and I can't tell if it's the adrenaline from the event, a fist-pumping high from my 3 am DJ slot, or that Monster Java that I downed earlier.
As of right now, the Relay website shows that we've raised nearly $19,000, and since that doesn't even count raffle sales or additional donations/registrations, I have a feeling we're going to easily reach our goal of $20,000. The night started off with speeches by cancer survivors, a Luminaria ceremony, and the traditional Survivors Lap. Over the last 10 hours, there have been pie- and pizza-eating contests, 3 am breakdancing, belly-dancing, cupcake decorating, MAJOR photobooth hogging (and I don't even feel guilty about it), OMM demos (including yours truly as a demo patient; I had so much HVLA performed on me and it felt amazing), Twister tourneys, and the continuous stream of people walking around the gym showing that the fight against cancer never sleeps.
Thank goodness this gym is so well-lit on the inside that you can't tell what time of day it is outside, or else my body would have rebelled; although, since I have to volunteer at a 5K at a local university in West Phillly in a few hours, I'm pretty sure my confused circadian rhythms are going to make me suffer over the weekend.
A more upbeat and detailed post to follow, not because I'm cranky, but because I'm not entirely sure I'm completely alert and oriented to person/place/time.
