Daylight is pissed... and so am I!

For as long as I've lived in Indiana, I've never had to "leap forward" or "fall back". Not once. That is, until about three years ago.

This morning, I woke up at my usual time of 6:30 - 6:45ish (the snooze button is heavily involved here). It was pitch black outside. Naturally, this confused the crap out of me because a) I don't wake up well and b) it was not this dark when I woke up for work on Friday.

Then, it hit me. Mitch Daniels. I mean, Daylight Savings Time.

I am not a morning person in the first place, but I do not appreciate waking up before the sun. Now, I know plenty of people do this every day and not only survive, but lead relatively happy lives. Unfortunately, I am not one of those people. I don't fish, I don't think sunrises are romantic and I never get up early to exercise.

As I was inhaling my coffee and fixing my lunch for later (have you ever noticed how it doesn't matter where you are or who it is, but if someone is using either jam or syrup within a five-mile radius, your hands get sticky?) I realized I was carrying a load of heavy foreboding I couldn't quite explain.

I knew today was going to suck.

While I'm generally a firm believer that YOU decide whether or not YOU are in a good mood every day, I knew today would be somewhat out of my hands and that I would be crabby before I even got to work... and I was right!

From the jackass that was driving without headlights to the fact that I forgot my chapstick at home, I was overflowing with reasons to curse the world and feel sorry for myself.

I think my new friend Jeff (he plays God in Children of Eden) summed it up the best in an e-mail he wrote to me this very morning.

"So, I know I grew up in Indiana, and the rest of the world thinks we're a bunch of idiots for not doing daylight savings time until, like, last year...but driving to work this morning pissed me off. I was really starting to like watching the sun come up in the morning. Late last week, there were even some days when I didn't have to my have my lights on anymore...But today --BAM--December again!"

That's right, Jeff, it's inexcusable!

Normally, I don't like to get worked up over anything this small (wait, yes I do) and Daylight Savings Time doesn't actually bother me much at all. This particular morning, however, was apparently more than I was prepared to handle.