I am grateful that it is a beautiful day in my hometown, that the sky is clear, crystalline blue and the sun is shining brightly. I am grateful because I really feel like a bear – all growly and standing on my hind legs, ready for attack with my claws and teeth bared. The glorious weather makes it a tad easier to calm the beastie.
I am not a fan of the time changes to conserve energy. I have never been. It takes me, it seems, pretty much the entire time between changes to get acclimated. I have about a month where I am confident that I am back in my own time zone and then the time is changed again.
Last night, I spent most of the night awake or in that sleeping place where I am aware of every single tick and crinkle in the air so I am not really asleep. It happens every time I use my alarm clock, which is rarely. Many years ago, I realized that I loathe alarm clocks. Didn’t matter what kind either… bells, buzzes, music, lights. Didn’t matter. I despised being startled awake and each time I did, it would set the tone for my day: absolute pissy-ness.
In an attempt to create a more easeful life for myself, I trained my body to wake up on its own. I am impressed with my ability to do this and my body rarely fails me. Unless, of course, I have abused it and have not given it enough rest. However, if there is a particular – and, most importantly – important appointment which requires me to rise at an earlier time, I set an alarm clock. And I spend the entire night awake, afraid that that damn clock will let me down.
Last night was one of those nights. I am unconfident of my waking ability when some outside force fucks with my time zone. I have heard about all the ways you can get acclimated… go to bed and rise fifteen minutes earlier each day for a few days prior to the change; drink lots of water; start changing your clocks ten minutes at a time a week prior. Ye-eah. Whatever. They are all just tricks, most of which don’t work for me because I have tried them. Besides, I already drink a gallon of water a day. Drinking more water, for me, would only mean more time spent peeing.
So, I slide bumpily and grumpily into the new time, grateful for the sunshine and keep my fingers crossed that this time it will be easier. All the while wondering why I still feel like I am asleep and looking at the clock, saying to myself, “Oooohhhh. That’s why. The clock says 7:00, but it’s really only 6:00.”
