Night Owl gets the Early Bird…

Awaking early versus late has a significant impact on one’s day. I was just staring at someone’s home page on their blog and it offered a nice scenic glimpse of a bridge goin over a river in what looks like a park with grass and trees. The area is engulfed in a thick, yet not too thick you can’t see, fog. Its beautiful and its generally something you can only witness early in the day.

As I looked at the photo at this website, I wondered what it must be like for birds who are required according to human work definition to get up early and “get the worm.” (do birds in Mexico arise early to get the worm from tequila bottles…?) I wondered if birds realized the significance in the difference between that part of the day and let’s say a few hours later. I feel that they must awake early because nature directs them to, but if they had the choice like some lazy humans do, to arise later than expected and catch a different part of the day first, would they realize at some point, the beauty they have been missing as I did today?

www.annapodris.com

I have for the most part been a night owl, preferring late night hours versus arising at 6 a.m. only to have coffee and venture to a 9-5. I have worked overnight hours several times and have found my work to be more productive… and when I went to school, I always arose late for class… and when I went to class in college, I always performed better in later classes than those 7 a.m. lectures.

Night hours have always seemed special to me and more fitting. Maybe its because there’s less activity going on. Or maybe cause there’s less people around. Or maybe because its less sunny and therefore generally cooler than the daytime heat. Or maybe it has to do with energy and that there’s less chaotic energy in the air to disrupt my overly sensitive senses.

But lately, being unemployed, I find myself awaking around 7 and going to bed around 11. Its a weird sensation waking up early and I have grown to like it. I feel like I am more part of the real world, even though I am not working. I feel as if I am doing what is correct by nature. And when I do get up early, I go outside with the doggie and admire the way the day is at that time. If I was still enjoying cigars and coffee, you can be sure I would have one or both of those things during these moments. The weird thing is that I am not even tired anymore at 7.am. I do get tired around 9 for some reason, but at 7, where I used to be groggy, its as if I was supposed to be up and I don’t even need any stimulants to make me feel more awake as most people seem to require. If I was working, this feeling would be ideal.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my appreciation for the a.m. with you. I wonder if there other night owls who have gone through the same thing… you know a transfer from a night owl to an early bird. Is it part of getting older? Is it part of my constant urge to eat? Is it my subconscious trying to kick my lazy conscience in to gear and get me motivated? Is it just my senses connecting to the part of the day that just seems to glisten with natural beauty? Not sure, but its nearing 9, and I must get in a nap…

owl photo borrowed from www.annapodris.com

Just when is the ‘official’ start of the next day?

Tomorrow. What does this word mean? Sure, there’s a definition and an origin, but that’s not what we are here to discuss. What we are looking for here is an answer to the question of when the next day actually begins

Some say midnight, others say 7 a.m. and many say its when you wake up after a sleep, but what truly defines tomorrow.

Let me give you an example of the confusion. Let’s say I have been up till 5 a.m., partying, writing, watching infomercials… whatever it is I have been doing, I am still up at 5 a.m. doing it. Now technically it is after midnight and therefore by definition, it is already the next day ( I mean the time machine inside this computer already has changed the date.) But at midnight, it doesn’t necessarily feel like the next day, unless of course its new year’s eve 1999 and it feels like the next millenia. But the clock reads Jan.1 2000 so technically, it is tomorrow.

But I continue to stay up until 5 a.m. When I awake once again at 11, I begin my routine for the next day and it is therefore at that moment that I can say for myself it is tomorrow. But the dilema worsens when I stay up until 11 and begin my day without ever going to sleep. Now of course by definition, it was already tomorrow at midnight, but using the “it is a new day after you wake up theory,” then tomorrow is still today… but since the date has changed in the computer, then technically this tomorrow is actually still yesterday, right? Do you follow me with this?

Many people would say that the next day begins with a new sunrise, but what if the sun rises around 8:30 somewhere, and you are already well slept, and awake by 6 a.m. For you, the past day is already behind you, and you have begun your next day even before there is light to illuminate your day… but is that tomorrow?

I raise this question, today, as I have gotten into the habbit of defining the next day as 7 a.m. I am not sure how this got started, but I think I can refer to the film GROUNDHOGS DAY starring Bill Murray and Andy McDowell when everyday in Bill Murray’s world, when the clock reached 7 a.m., he would wake up in the same day he just fell asleep on. But the one time he moved forward into the next day, was when he stayed up past that 7 a.m. time.

But today, I awoke just before 6 a.m. and created this blog. Now by my standards that I have grown accustomed to, it hasn’t even become the next day yet… it is still yesterday because its before 7 a.m., but I have already slept and its past the sunrise so last night has come and gone. Man am I confused. Its like PURGATORY FOR TIME.

Perhaps tomorrow, I will have a better understanding of today, or maybe later today, I ill better understand tomorrow. Either way, enjoy your tomorrow today!