I need your help! I’m sleeping in challenged. As I begin my unemployment journey I have the opportunity to become a normal person. For many years I have lived in What Kind of Freak of Nature Gets Up this Early time zone. My shift at Nike began at 5:00 AM. My alarm was set for 3:30 AM. I was out the door at 4:10 AM and I was at work at 4:45 AM. To exist in this time zone you must stoop to socially unacceptable survival methods. Bed time in my world was between 8:00 and 8:30 PM. People who live outside of this time zone have no comprehension of this early morning reality. For example when it is 7:00 PM in my world it would be similar to 11:00 PM in yours. My first work break was scheduled for 7:00 AM and lunch was scheduled for 10:00 AM. I worked 10 hour shifts so quitting time was 3:30 PM which is 12 hours after I would get up. I was home from work at 4:10 PM. Many social activities in your world are scheduled between 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM. Imagine for a minute if I were to move all of your social activities to 11:00 PM until 1:00 AM and your dinner time from 6:00 PM until 10:00 PM. People would think you are crazy for keeping these hours but for those of us in my time zone this is what is asked from us daily. Imagine going to Youth group events, boy scouts or social gatherings an hour before you needed to be in bed. I would drag myself to these events completely exhausted and ready to leave before I hit the door. I’m in my 17th hour of the day and people wonder why I have so little to give. It is very hard to commit to anything when your fuel tank is empty. Over the past several years I have been ostracized for my bed time and made fun of for my lack of prime time TV knowledge. My evil desire was for those who mocked my bed time to spend one week in my shoes. I imagine by day three or four going to bed at 8:30 PM would seem like a smart idea.
So here I am on the other side of early morning insanity and I’m hopelessly broken. When 5:00 AM comes around I’m up and ready to go. My wife and kids are fast asleep and I’m well into my second cup of coffee. Sleeping in is 5:00 AM. I have courageously pushed my bed time back until 10:00 PM in hope of living in your time zone. I don’t think I have slept in past 7:00 AM in years. Stevey wonders how in the world `I can sleep in. Please let me know your thoughts.
2 comments:
First, I applaud you for being honest about how not cool it was to have to shift your whole life schedule for several years to bring home the bacon, and what a stretch it was to do that and engage in social events, TV, dinner, boy scouts, etc. I was so impressed with your positive attitude in the midst of it, but I'm proud of you for clarifying that it was hard and that it wasn't your favorite.
The closest things I can imagine to your old schedule was working the opening shift at a bagel shop in Seattle when I was nineteen. I had to be there at 5:30am and was off at 2:30. At night when all of my friends were getting ready to party, I was stressing out that I had to be up and AT WORK in only a handful of hours. And then I'm come home at 2:30 just ready to take a nap, but the weather was so nice and the rest of the world was in their prime operating hours. It is weird.
I FEEL for you. And it may take a long time to adjust, but this 5am time is probably precious time too, time to be with God, to write, to pray, to read and when you are healed- to run. Cheering for you, Steve!
My list of recommendations:
1) Eat lots of red meat
2) Put sand in your bed right before you go to bed (it will keep you up longer)
3) Set your alarm for 2AM and then take a tylenol PM.
4) Watch The Ring just before you go to bed.
5) Remove old asbestos from old buildings
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