Yesterday was my last class about Ancient China. This is the class that met at 8:30 am, and it had to be really good; I missed only one class because I opted to meet friends who were only briefly in town. It isn’t the getting up early I mind, it’s the getting up early and rushing out. These days it seems to take about twenty minutes before my eyes are fully functional. When I was working at my last job I had to drive across the George Washington Bridge. I got up at 5:30 every morning, threw on some clothes, my contact lenses and got across the bridge before 6. (This was to avoid the really heavy traffic on the bridge, but I was still sure those trucks were going to get me.) The rest of the 35 mile trip wasn’t so bad; I was going upstate instead of down to Manhattan.  My company had a fitness center. I worked out for about 45 minutes, showered, dressed, went to their cafeteria to pick up breakfast and was at my desk by 8:30. It’s hard to believe that was only four years ago.

Next Tuesday I begin auditing an Asian art class. This one starts at noon so I won’t have that early morning conflict: to go or not to go.