Monday, July 07, 2008

Time Warp

Last night I arrived at the month long training school for my new job. Given that I am trying to train my body clock to wake earlier so that I can deal with the new ridiculously long commute, and the fact that every time I've had to be away from home for any extended period working and eating hotel and restaurant food, I've gained weight, I decided to put myself on an early morning exercise routine.

So last night I set the alarm for 5:20 a.m. I dutifully got up when the alarm went off and took myself down to the empty fitness room and spent 1/2 hour on the treadmill, feeling quite virtuous. The TV options were terrible, though, and the clock on the wall of the empty fitness room suggested that it was not quite 4:00. "Hm mm," I thought to myself, "I wonder why the hotel hasn't fixed the clock in this room.

On returning to my hotel room, with the sky still quite dark outside, I checked my cellphone, which, to my surprise, agreed with the fitness room clock.

Yes, it was 4:00 a.m. The alarm clock is set 2 hours ahead, and I had just gotten up at 3:30 a.m. and spent half an hour exercising in the middle of the night.

Having exercised for a half hour, wearing sweaty fitness clothes, I did not find it easy (or even possible) to go back to sleep.

During ice breaker introductions at class this morning, people are apologizing for being tired due to jet lag from the West Coast, or having been subjected to cancelled flights and lost baggage on their journey here from the hinterland. Two guys confessed to having been up late watching "Old School" on TV. And here I am, looking for the toothpicks to hold open my eyes, because I was on a TREADMILL at 3:30 a.m.! Yeah, right.

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