rise & shine

the alarm clock rings. 6 AM. the world is still dark as my eyes slowly open. my hands feel around for my buzzing phone to cut the ear-piercing sound.

as i hop out of bed and turn a light on, i immediately begin my search for the pooch. i am never quite sure where i will find him in the morning.

that's right folks, last week i spent the WHOLE week (5 consecutive days!!) waking up to an alarm clock at the crack of dawn.

as long as i am in bed at a decent hour, i do not have a problem waking up early in the AM... not even in bone-chilling temperatures. my condo stays warmer than necessary. the pooch, on the other hand has no desire to be up at the crack of dawn. often times, i have to pick him up, carry him outside, and demand he potty as i already struggle to be on time.

by the time i drag myself (and all of the things i need for the day) out the door, the morning crowd is buzzing. i look around at other people in their cars and wonder what time they got up this morning and what time they hit the road. how is it that they had extra time to hit Starbucks, and i hardly had time to take the pooch out for his morning relief??

traffic is heavy in the morning and requires that i leave extra early. you see, when you don't ride morning traffic often, it is a challenge to predict how many cars will be headed in the same direction as yourself.

i enjoy CNN headline news, BBC Radio, and NPR on XM in the morning. i am always curious as to what time those people have to get out of bed in the AM to be at the station ready for broadcasting the news straight to the speakers in the Acura.

it doesn't matter how early i am forced to wake myself and rise from the bed... there is always someone that has experienced the rise and shine earlier than me.

i am certainly not a morning person, but will admit that it feels good to get up and get a move on the day.

monday morning... tomorrow... i will be forced out of the bed at 6 AM for the 6th consecutive work day. february is going to be a productive month for me.