Early to Rise, Part Two

My early-morning commutes continue as I fill-in for a vacationing colleague. Surprisingly, in spite of my drowsiness, I genuinely enjoy the pre-dawn bike ride. In the absence of a blazing hot sun, I find I can move much more quickly. And the absence of any traffic, and the cooperation of traffic lights speeds things up, too. Indeed, even if I reach an intersection where the light is red, pressing the crosswalk button causes the signal to immediately change. Meanwhile, I’ve been watching the moon wane. Each morning it’s lower in the east.

The downside to all of this, of course, is that I need to be in bed by nine o’clock at night in order to get enough sleep, and that isn’t realistic.

Lack of sleep made yesterday–the first day of school for me–especially challenging. In a small classroom with only six other students, it isn’t easy to hide one’s yawning from the teacher. Both my professors seem nice this semester, and certainly smart. But I fear one of my classes is going to be excruciatingly boring. And, since it requires a thirty-page paper, enormously difficult. Still, I have learned to stop worrying about it. I’ll pass, and that’s as much as I can hope for.

Early to Rise

This week and next I am hosting Morning Edition for a vacationing colleague. This means I must arrive at work by 5:45 in the AM. While it’s still dark outside. As I rode my bicycle this morning, I could clearly see mighty Orion in the southeast sky. I would write more, but if I don’t get some sleep tomorrow will be harder than it has to be.