When I consider the times of the day (morning, afternoon, evening, and night), I would definitely say that nighttime is my favorite! The hours between 9:00 pm and 2:00 am are the absolute best. I have always loved to be awake during this time, even when I was little. I honestly think I am at my most productive, be it cleaning, reading, working out, sewing, etc., during these hours. Based on this, I would actually be a pretty good Superhero. My job would be conducive to my favorite hours, out all night catching villains. Using that rational, I guess I would also make a good villain. Maybe even a better villain than Superhero because I'm not that strong (even though I usually pretend to be), and I don't have any actual superpowers, and unlike Batman, I don't have unlimited resources to buy superhero gadgets.
Sadly, when I was in college, there was not a major in either Superhero-ism or general Villain-ry. But luckily, I found something almost as good---Accounting! The only problem with this is that the type of jobs that are available to people with specialized accounting skills are usually not available with a start time in the vicinity of 10:00-12:00. For the last few years (actually seven years, if anyone is counting), I have been the last person to show up in the office at every job I have had. Sure, there are have been discussions with various bosses, but they have all come around and realized that a work day from 9:00-6:00 works out just fine. Also working out fine is a work day from 9:45-6:00 or 10:00-10:00 during busy season. My accounting skills are generally good enough that I have always been given a pass and been able to basically set my own start time.
Two weeks ago, I started a new job. This job is different. I REALLY wanted it, and I had to fight for it. I interviewed quite a few times over the course of nine months. Someone who I really respect recommended me for this position and gave glowing reviews to people at the firm where I was interviewing. When I finally got the job, I got an email from the HR person outlining my first day. The email contained words that equate to my worst nightmare...start time=8:00. Yikes.
I quickly realized that 8:00 meant 8:00 in the am, not the pm. 8:00? Who does that? Crazy people, that's who! It's practically like starting work before sunrise. I'm not even sure that it is healthy. But, out of respect for the person who recommended me, I thought I would give it a try.
Well, I'm two weeks in, and I've discovered something amazing. There is a whole group of people that are up and going between 8:00-9:30 every morning. (Honestly, what time are these people going to bed?!) It's like they are all part of some kind of Secret Society, and they have now let me in. I am just waiting for an appearance by Robin Williams telling me to Seize the Day! (Dead Poet's Society for those of you who didn't catch the reference). It's kind of exciting. I feel like there should be some sort of password and secret handshake to signify that you are part of this super exclusive secret society.
If there was a drawback to membership in the society, it would be the fairly significant dues. I have a weekly Wednesday night date called "snick- snack". During my first week at work, I had to cut the whole thing short, so I could be in bed early enough to get up for my secret society check-in. The second week, I had to cancel because I was so tired. I haven't watched the 10:00 news for two weeks, my DVR it totally overloaded, and at this point the Jay/Dave/Conan rivalry is completely irrelevant.
I am hoping my new schedule sticks, and at this point I am 60% confident that it will. The positives are currently outweighing the negatives. The one person who is really going to miss me is my boyfriend. We used to see each other at around 11:30 most nights, and now I'm long asleep by that time. So, I guess it really is time to break up. I'll miss his humor, height, house band, and nightly guests. I'm going to miss you, but you can take comfort knowing it really is me, not you. So this is goodbye Jimmy Fallon. That is unless you too decide to "Seize the Day", and join the cast of the Today Show. We early morning people will gladly accept you into our secret society.
If you have any trouble, let me know...I've got connections. But let me know tomorrow because right now, I've got to go to bed. Goodnight.
