4:50

In my new job I've been getting up so much earlier than I ever have. Sometimes at ten until five, that'd be 4:50. Yes. 4:50AM. I'm getting up early because now that my life is so regular I want to make sure I'm using the time to write and go for a run or dog walk or a combination thereof. And it's really draining. It's been five weeks and I'm still not used to it. I've always been a morning person, but morning for me was always getting up at around 7:30. This getting up before the sun rises sucks balls.

I don't mind going to bed early. There comes a point in the day that I don't have anything left to contribute. The dishes are drying. The dogs have pottied. Modern Family is a rerun. And I can't see straight anymore. I go to bed then. But then I don't go to sleep. I iPad. I read a book or I think about what it will one day be like to be mayor of Palm Springs. Now it's midnight.

I used to have an Ambien problem, and in the last year I've even used other things that I'm not real proud of to get to sleep. The problem with any kind of sedative is that it makes you tired the next day because the sleep you're getting isn't authentic. Then it's caffeine time at 4:50 AM. And again at 7:50AM, and at 1PM. And 4PM. Oh the crime of it all!

In my dream life I get up at 7:30AM. I nap at 2PM. I go to sleep at midnight. Rinse, and Repeat. But this is the retired life I think. Hey, this isn't such a bad idea...