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June 10, 2004
Need to Reprogram
Well, let me start by saying that it’s been a bit tense in the Callalillie/Irving household. I plugged my A/C in on Tuesday only to find that the fan had died—no fan = no A/C being pushed out. While both inhabitants of the house are surviving, the furry orange one has been less than happy. Each time I look over and see my wilted, soggy looking feline sprawled out on the floor I can’t help but sing Hot cat, summer in the city…
Of course, increased heat leads to decreased sleep. Not for the cat, mind you, but for his owner, who spent most of the night straining to catch the breeze of her fan and, as a result, woke with a stiff neck that could only be relieved by deep tissue massage or some nice, heavy drugs.
I felt teary in that tired, exasperated way when I arrived home last night. I still had a pile of work to do, my floor felt soggy, and above it all, I was just exhausted. I’ve been tired a lot lately, irregardless of sleep patterns. This morning I sat drinking my coffee and analyzed the situation. What leads me to this state? Will I ever be able to stop complaining about being sleepy?
I am my own culprit. For some reason, particularly in the past eight years, I require at least thirty minutes in the morning of personal time. This generally equates to a morning routine of setting up coffee, buying the paper, and then sitting with both for as long as I need to learn about what happened the day before and the caffeine to settle into my bloodstream. I also require a half hour at work when I don’t work—this is to say that I get ready to work in the silence of our work area. Once people arrive, I find myself in meetings all day. Simply put, I often find my blogging time in the AM before the workday starts. I also get to look at my email, perhaps respond to it, get a glipse of my calendar, and drink more coffee.
So, this amounts to me waking no later than 6:00 a.m. This was never a problem for me—in fact, it’s late. In my youth (four years or so ago), I would wake at barely 5:00 a.m. and get my running/gym in, then do the thirty minute newspaper/coffee routine, and still make it to work with a few minutes to spare. Waking earlier than 5:45 a.m. these days requires me being worried about something or a forklift.
How do some people get so set in their routines? I’ve tried to change this morning ritual, but each time I find myself flustered for the rest of the day. Somebody help me! I want to arrive at work at 9:00 a.m. with the rest of the world! Or, at the very least, I’d like to be able to get my lazy ass to the gym a few times a week. And above all, everyone else would appreciate it if I could stop whining that I’m exhausted all the time.
Posted by callalillie at June 10, 2004 8:07 AM | Introspect , Mental Health
I'm with you on the exhaustion. I get up at 5:00 AM on week days. I make my tea, check my email and what's happening online and then go for a run. If I didn't do these things, I could probably get up at 7:15 or so and still make it to work on time. But since running is sometimes the only thing that keeps me sane, I have to do it. Ditto with the personal morning time. And I have to say that sometimes this schedule really sucks. I don't go out on week nights that often because I get up so early and so sometimes I feel like I am missing out on a lot. I've had this same routine for many years...if I suddenly had a job that started much later, it would probably totally throw me off. But I do wish that I could stay up past 11:00 PM on week nights!!
Posted by: juli at June 10, 2004 9:57 AM
you're like old people or something. i get up at 7 and i still think that's kind of early. i'm not sure how you can last the day without falling asleep. but i guess you have coffee.
Posted by: tien at June 10, 2004 10:09 AM
eh, you're both nuts! :)
so i guess the subway commute doesn't count for the pre-work personal time?
Posted by: ChrisG at June 10, 2004 10:11 AM
7 AM for me. I grab a shower and then vegetate until 8:15-ish. I need at least 6 hours of sleep. If I get less than 6 hours I wake up very cranky.
By the way, cute shoulder. :)
Posted by: ccs178 at June 10, 2004 10:45 AM
Now I'm torn whether I want to wake up earlier or later...
Posted by: corie at June 10, 2004 12:26 PM
