Past My Bedtime

The email invited me to meet college friends at 8 p.m. on a Tuesday night. I check my calendar, and find the date conspicuously empty amidst a week full of places I need to be and things I need to do. You might think I’d be excited at this stroke of scheduling good luck. After all, these are people I was close to that I haven’t seen in years. Still, it’s 8 p.m. on a work night and what I really want to answer is "Sorry that’s past my bedtime."

In fairness to myself, and so I don’t sound like a total dud, my days start early, including a 5 or 6 mile run at 6 a.m. And I’m at my desk at least an hour before I need to be, mainly because I have a "salary" job, which translates to "there’s no way we could afford to pay you by the hour". So the earlier I start, the better the odds of me getting out of work in time to head off to an appointment, a charity meeting or a running clinic. Its not that I’m doing any less in a day, I’m just starting earlier.

But it wasn’t always that way. I kept a different clock in college. I’d schedule my first class to start as late as possible to balance off my late nights spent disco dancing (a topic for another article). Back then, it was unheard of to go out with friends before 10 p.m., as most clubs didn’t get busy until 11. Grabbing a late night breakfast at a 24-hour Pewter Pot was the thing to do, and in hindsight I pity the poor wait staff that had to deal with the likes of us ordering bacon and eggs at 2 a.m. in our disco duds. To top the night off, I’d write my term paper when I got home, possessed by post-disco adrenaline, pounding feverishly on the typewriter at 3 a.m. like a scene out of The Shining.

It’s not that I have any less stamina now, I just use it up earlier in the day. Stamina is about maintaining momentum, as Newton’s Law states, "A body in motion will remain in motion". Give me a long run, followed by a long day at work followed by a long meeting at night, and I’m up to the task- as long as I don’t take a break in the middle. Because as Newton’s Law also states, "A body at rest will stay at rest". Inertia is my enemy, which is why I’m mowing the lawn at 2 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon in the same clothes I ran in at 7 a.m. for fear of not being able to get up again once I sit down. Apparently, I’m missing lots of fun stuff that takes place after 8 p.m., or at least that’s what I’m told. There are music shows and comedy shows, plays and movies, dances and parties, fairs and fireworks. But my best dates are with my DVR, which free me from prime time prison and allow me to watch late night shows on my early schedule- a plan that doesn’t work out so well for major sporting events. From the NBA Finals to the World Series to the Super Bowl, my excitement about our team vying for a championship is tempered by the frustration of knowing I will fall asleep less than 30 minutes into the game, after closing my eyes ‘for a few seconds’ during a commercial. I will inevitable wake up hours later with a full body shudder as my eyes dart open to see the late night news signing off.

But back to my invite which awaits a reply. I decide to fight the old fart urge and attend, only to find others have already responded by asking if we could meet earlier, maybe some morning for coffee, or brunch perhaps. "What a bunch of old fogies!" is my relieved response, my boring lifestyle secret safe for another day.