#18: Wake up early

One of the unexpected blessings that has befallen me in the past couple of years is an inability to sleep late. The latest I can usually sleep is, like, 8:30 AM. While this was initially a bit annoying, I've come to really enjoy an extra bit of day before everything starts up.

When the weather was nicer, I liked to wake up at 5:30 AM to go running while the streets were still so deserted I felt like I was Astoria's sole inhabitant. The peace and quiet at that time of morning made me feel centered and productive. But now that it's too cold in New York, I like to spend my mornings doing spinster things.

On a weekday morning, I like to wake up aroudn 6AM so I have almost two hours to check email, do a little online shopping, check out some blogs, watch the Today Show once it starts at 7, and of course eat my breakfast in bed. This also gives me enough time to get in an extra shower to warm up and wake up before I go to work. These extra hours also give me the freedom to do important things like make my apartment extra messy with all the outfits that didn't quite work for me that day. Which is really important.

On a weekend, though, waking up early feels like I'm getting bonus weekend hours. There is, of course, some morning news to watch, breakfast to eat in bed, and some Hulu to catch up on. But then, I can also have a shower, go grocery shopping, and go to the movies all before it's even lunch time. And then, of course, I can have lunch, and the day's not even halfway over.

So, all of this rambling is to say this: wake up early! It's like bonus spinster time.