I wake up at 5:00 a.m. and look at the clock. I groan.
I set the clock for 5:15.
I used to set it for 5:05 so it would say "SOS" when I woke
up, but I also set my clock ahead by about seven minutes, so I figured I must
really be waking up before 5:00, and that just wasn't working for me. Now I set the alarm for 5:15 so the clock
still says something (SIS) when I look at it but cuts me closer to the accurate
5:05 than the alarm actually would.
I often awaken anytime after 4:30 but before the 5:15 alarm. That bugs me.
I hate losing sleep when I tend to get so little of it. Generally I don't sleep well and piece
together about five to six hours of sleep a night. The other night I stayed up to watch the
Bruins play into double-overtime. The
game ended around 12:20 a.m., then I couldn't get to sleep until after 1:00
a.m. A couple of the students tried
pushing the envelope that morning. I
grinned sinisterly and simply dead-panned, "Go ahead. I'm operating on four hours of sleep. Make my day."
So when I see that the clock says 5:00 a.m., I'm not
surprised, but I am disappointed. I've
been ripped off of fifteen minutes of sleep, the way I look at it, anyway. I hesitate for a minute, wondering if I
should get up or wait until the radio kicks in automatically. I briefly start deciding what I'll wear to
work -- Is it a jeans day; How hot is it supposed to be; How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a
woodchuck could chuck wood?
My mind chews on these questions for what seems like an
eternity. I'm thinking I should probably
turn on the television to get the weather report. I should probably get up and shut off the
alarm. I should probably… I should
probably … I … should … probably ….
Muddahfuggah.
It's the weekend.
Hey! It's the weekend!
Screw this! I turn
over and go back to sleep for three more hours.
When I wake up again, it's 8:22.
8:22 doesn't say anything like 5:05 nor 5:15 do, maybe gzz, but that's
not really a word nor does it stand for anything recognizable. That's what makes it so great.
I hereby declare 8:22 to be code for "Slept great -
weekend is here."
Wishing you all a happy 8:22.
