It is 7:30am, I sit here, sipping coffee from my favorite Batman mug.  I have been awake for some time now, to those of you who know, me I can see you reaching for the phone to call X files because some alien must have kidnapped me and has left a doppleganger in my place to gather information.  Put the phone down, its just a case of jet lag.

For me, traveling for work (or play) to Europe is always a mixed blessing.  I enjoy the sights, I get to work and do a bit of wandering.  It is a wonderful reminder of the the big brilliant world out there, a reminder of the differences but also the similarities.   I was in Barcelona last week, shooting interviews at Mobile World Congress,
and during that time there was a strike (hit us where we hurt why don’t ya) but even so, even at 50% capacity the public transport was amazing.  On the down side there is the actual act of the travel… It breaks up my momentum, my routines.  I feel like i’m making headway with efficiency and then BAM!  All discombobulated.

Jet lag is the same way… Mixed blessing.  I wake up early, and that puts me on a time schedule closer to the rest of humanity in my time zone (ok maybe not my times zone but at least the EST).  It is a novel experience to say the least.  The down side is sleep becomes a chore, something I think about.  Normally I have two settings, asleep or awake.  Unless under undue stress, insomnia is never really a problem for me.  I can see a few of you laughing, having received 2am emails from me, but that is not insomnia, that is simply my sleep schedule.   I stay up till l’m tired, go to bed, sleep 7 hours, get up and do it again.  Sleep becomes the elephant in the bedroom, and as much as I like elephants, I’m ready for this one to head back to the Serengeti.  The most obvious is having to remain in bright bright areas of the house when the evening is coming to a close else I get sleeeeeepy and go to bed at 8pm.  It poignantly reminds me of one of my favorite neurosurgeons, we used to have long discussions about the merits of going to bed early (8ish?) and he’d get up at 4am and which would allow him to work without distraction.   Greg, if you were still with us, I’d concede on this point.  I personally don’t relish the thought of getting up at 4am so I tough it out, force myself to go back to sleep and so a 7 or 8 hour stretch in bed turns into a 9 or 10 hour stretch in the recumbent position which especially following 10 hours in a cramped airplane seat wreaks havoc on the muscles of my lower back.

Things I notice being awake so early, or normally bustling neighborhood is so very quiet.  If the wind is blowing and the tide is just right I can hear the waves on the beach a couple blocks away.  If there is morning fog, the eerie yet comforting sound of the fog horns color the peach glow of sunrise.

At 7am my slightly addled brain and spine are not really keen on sitting in front of the computer for a few rounds of editing so I find other ways to make myself productive.   Most recently the addition of home made yogurt has been added to the micro-biological zoo that is taking over the kitchen.   First Kombucha, then Kefir and now yogurt (but I’ll save that for another post).   Awake so early gives me time to do mundane physical chores, straining the yogurt, doing laundry, debating re-organizing my camera gear, cleaning my desk.   I’m thinking of signing up for some Lagree fitness classes at the local studio.   Oh yes, and I write.  Hence this rambling blog post