On Sleep Schedules

You know that stereotype of a musician who awakens at noon and doesn't sleep until 6:00 am? That's me. Well, actually, it's go to sleep around 3:00 or 4:00 and wake up around 10:00 or 11:00. I know, my god, what a slacker, right? For the last 15 or so years, I've felt kinda bad about my schedule. I mean, everyone else is waking up between 6:00 and 7:00. These are the contributing members of society. These are the ones who understand that you've got to work for a living. It's only those crazy kids, those slackers with no job, who would wake up so late. I mean, jeez, they've lost half their day waking up that late!

It took me a long time to realize that I'm no better or worse than those going to sleep at midnight and waking at 6:00 or 7:00. I'm just different. I don't have an office to get to. There's no traffic jam I need to hear about on the radio. I have no kids who have to be in homeroom by 7:15. Oh, I suppose on occasion I'll have a meeting at 9:00 or, ugh, an early flight. But, for the most part, there's nothing I'll need to do before noon. So, why should I wake up?

I've always liked late night and early morning (12:00 - 4:00). It's peaceful. Our pets are docile and sleepy. The house is dark and quiet. No one's going to call (and, let's face it, if someone does call - somebody probably died). I do a lot of work at night. It's a great time to write, compose, orchestrate, etc. Just pop on some headphones and get to it.

SIDEBAR: Some years ago, when I was roomates with Fadi in Tampa, we lived on the second floor. One night, our downstairs neighbor knocked on our door and asked us to turn down our music. She must be mistaken, I assured her, I was using headphones - ok, sorry, good night. 15 minutes later she knocked again and said she was sure it was coming from above. I finally realized it was me making the noise - as I was working with headphones, my foot was keeping time by stomping on the floor! I apologized, offered her a beer, and said goodnight. Half an hour later, she had to come up again - apparently, I'm not aware of just how often my foot taps to the music!

For years, I felt a little ashamed about my schedule. To this day, I grimace if, when I answer the phone, the other party asks if they just woke me. I don't know why. I'm as productive as anyone else. Hell, sometimes I'm a downright workaholic (interspersed, of course, with periods of abject laziness). Maybe when we move to Portland everything will equal out. I mean, if you think about it, I'm just living on a west coast schedule. But, more likely, I'll just shift back another couple of hours.