One more sleep!

Sleep? People do that? Oh yes, the ever elusive act of sleeping long enough and well enough comes into my life yet again.

Last week it was suggested to me that, since Ch is 6 hours ahead, I should try setting my alarm a little earlier each day and going to bed earlier each day. In theory this would lead to a quicker transition once we are in the land of chocolate watches. Why not make my life a little easier while on vacation? I decided to go for it and give it a try. The next few days will tell if the application of this theory was worth it.

Some people already think I'm a little nuts to start work at 7am. I wasn't always like this. Let me point out here that I am not a morning person. Nor am I a night owl. I'm mostly a 3-hours-in-the-afternoon kind of person and the rest of my day is a crapshoot. How I ever managed to train myself to function for a living at that hour is a mystery. But most days I am successful at it with only minimal caffeinated intervention.

The first two days of getting up earlier were ok. A little more dark, a little less sun. Getting to know the night-shift staff better now. The third morning I fell off the wagon. In my own defence it was a Saturday and I didn't have to be anywhere until the afternoon! I did set the alarm for the prescribed 0500. And reset it each time it rang. Eventually I gave up and chucked it somewhere under the bed. I even answered the phone at 0630. And promptly went back to sleep. I finally dragged myself out into my cold bedroom at 7-something. This for me is considered "sleeping in" these days which I admit up front is rather sad.

The earlier I get to work, the more good parking spaces are available. The night shift girls in Health Records are very nice now that they know me on a first name basis. The night shift staff in Emerg greet me heartily although I stare at them blankly before I mumble a reply. Did you know the kitchen staff don't work at 5am? Even the 3 Tim Hortons in the hospital aren't open at that hour. Some days I get home before the mail carrier comes by. There's very little traffic at 0430. Nor was the snow falling at that hour this morning, unlike most other commuters who got dumped on while they crawled their vehicles to work at a more reasonable time.

Did I mention my part-time gig as an insomniac? It seems that some nights while my body is begging for rest, my brain just revs itself up and takes off like a rocket. To do lists, movies I watched, the meaning of life, how I got that groove in the bottom of my snowboard, did I take the laundry out of the dryer? Random thoughts run rampant as the night wears on. I get lots of advice for this problem: "Take drugs (never thought I'd ever hear THAT from my mother!), drink warm milk/chamomile tea/alcohol, get out of bed and go do stuff (makes me cranky to be washing dishes at 3am), count sheep/moguls/cracks in the ceiling, etc..." There is no regular cure. On special nights, I fall asleep fairly quickly but wake up often with random thoughts, weird dreams, wondering if the dog is in or out.....oh wait, I don't have a dog. I fully support the afternoon siesta campaign. Red Bull and I are best friends lately. I've found good use for my caffeinated mints and gum. Tea? Ha! I'm on the hard stuff now. I'm so glad Lori Lori Morning Glory introduced me to the Grande Tazo Chai Soy Latte from Starbucks which happens to be located across the street from work....

I ramble about this because tonight is the last sleep before we leave for Ch! This morning's alarm was at 0400 which, after I vehemently launched the clock somewhere and complained about how hideous those numbers were, was explained to me to be 1000 in Ch. "Yeah", I snarled in reply, "but it's still 4am here!" We're supposed to be at the airport around noon tomorrow to meet Tony's plane from Edmonton before collecting Darlene and boarding our flight to Geneva. Does this mean I'll bring myself one more time to rise like the living dead at 0330? Will I sleep at all or will my head be too excited to rest?