July 27: Waking up for school
I never took the bus to school and this meant I got to sleep in.
When you take the bus, you are at the mercy of someone else’s schedule. When you walk to school, you can wake up later. All you need is enough time to wolf down some breakfast, maybe grab a shower, and then race out the door.
I used to enjoy sleeping in. I don’t enjoy it anymore and I don’t have much use for people who sleep in until two in the afternoon (unless they work the night shift.) I had to get up at five in the morning once and, by the time nine had rolled around, I was amazed at how much I had accomplished.
My mother used to have a difficult time getting me out of bed. Like many teenagers, I enjoyed nighttime more than the day. The darkness of night evoked mystery and it was that that I longed for, not the humdrum predictable schedule that comes with day.
On the weekends we would stay up all night. In junior high, it was Jason and Larry and me. We’d walk to McDonalds and then we’d walk to the video store to rent a movie and then we’d spend all night drinking pop and eating chips at Larry’s and Jason would talk about all the girls he was with (he was lying, for the most part, and I think Larry and I knew this deep down.)
In high school our circle of friends expanded and that meant even later nights. Monday morning would come and the alarm clock would ring and mom would be pounding on my door and I would get up and mom would be grumpy because I’d slept it and that meant she’d have to drive me to school.
You know… I just remembered something. I DID take the bus to school for the final one-and-a-half years of my time at Bishop Grandin. My parents bought a bigger house in Canyon Meadows (this wound up being a foolish decision) and that necessitated me waking up even earlier so I could catch the bus.
In Grade 10 I slept in a lot and I was almost always late for French 10S. At the time, I was stupid enough to think my constant tardiness was charming; in fact it was profoundly disrespectful and I wish I had a time machine so I could go back to 1988 and kick myself in the butt.
At Mount Royal College, the theatre department was next to the school chapel. There were two ministers –one Catholic and one Protestant – and I remember asking what anon-Christian student would do if they wanted to use the chapel.
“The chapel can be used by any student regardless of their faith,” the Protestant dude said. “In fact, the Muslims meet in the chapel every morning at six so they can worship before class.”
I saw one of them once. He was getting out of a car bearing a bumper sticker that said ISLAM – A SOLUTION TO TODAY’S PROBLEMS.
That night, I felt a little guilty knowing that the Muslims were getting up to worship while I was still asleep.
But you know… getting up for school was kind of fun. The best part of the day was the walk to school. In junior high, I walked with Jason, my best friend. In high school, I walked alone (Jason had dropped out) and this was fun too. I had a brown leather bomber jacket I was very proud of and I would go to school wearing it, even when it was too cold. I had my Sony Walkman –yellow, of course – that was usually playing Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Quiet Riot or a mix tape of Alice Cooper, Aerosmith and Quiet Riot (and one Cyndi Lauper song but don’t tell anyone.)
Before that, I dressed myself. I had two pairs of acid wash jeans and they were size 28s. Today I wearsize 32s but sometimes I can fit into my 30s, though I doubt I’ll ever see the day when I can fit in a 28 again. I still have some T-shirts that I wore in high school and they still fit me too.
Maybe I’ll wear one to bed tonight so it will be on me when it’s time to wake up.
For work.
When you take the bus, you are at the mercy of someone else’s schedule. When you walk to school, you can wake up later. All you need is enough time to wolf down some breakfast, maybe grab a shower, and then race out the door.
I used to enjoy sleeping in. I don’t enjoy it anymore and I don’t have much use for people who sleep in until two in the afternoon (unless they work the night shift.) I had to get up at five in the morning once and, by the time nine had rolled around, I was amazed at how much I had accomplished.
My mother used to have a difficult time getting me out of bed. Like many teenagers, I enjoyed nighttime more than the day. The darkness of night evoked mystery and it was that that I longed for, not the humdrum predictable schedule that comes with day.
On the weekends we would stay up all night. In junior high, it was Jason and Larry and me. We’d walk to McDonalds and then we’d walk to the video store to rent a movie and then we’d spend all night drinking pop and eating chips at Larry’s and Jason would talk about all the girls he was with (he was lying, for the most part, and I think Larry and I knew this deep down.)
In high school our circle of friends expanded and that meant even later nights. Monday morning would come and the alarm clock would ring and mom would be pounding on my door and I would get up and mom would be grumpy because I’d slept it and that meant she’d have to drive me to school.
You know… I just remembered something. I DID take the bus to school for the final one-and-a-half years of my time at Bishop Grandin. My parents bought a bigger house in Canyon Meadows (this wound up being a foolish decision) and that necessitated me waking up even earlier so I could catch the bus.
In Grade 10 I slept in a lot and I was almost always late for French 10S. At the time, I was stupid enough to think my constant tardiness was charming; in fact it was profoundly disrespectful and I wish I had a time machine so I could go back to 1988 and kick myself in the butt.
At Mount Royal College, the theatre department was next to the school chapel. There were two ministers –one Catholic and one Protestant – and I remember asking what anon-Christian student would do if they wanted to use the chapel.
“The chapel can be used by any student regardless of their faith,” the Protestant dude said. “In fact, the Muslims meet in the chapel every morning at six so they can worship before class.”
I saw one of them once. He was getting out of a car bearing a bumper sticker that said ISLAM – A SOLUTION TO TODAY’S PROBLEMS.
That night, I felt a little guilty knowing that the Muslims were getting up to worship while I was still asleep.
But you know… getting up for school was kind of fun. The best part of the day was the walk to school. In junior high, I walked with Jason, my best friend. In high school, I walked alone (Jason had dropped out) and this was fun too. I had a brown leather bomber jacket I was very proud of and I would go to school wearing it, even when it was too cold. I had my Sony Walkman –yellow, of course – that was usually playing Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Quiet Riot or a mix tape of Alice Cooper, Aerosmith and Quiet Riot (and one Cyndi Lauper song but don’t tell anyone.)
Before that, I dressed myself. I had two pairs of acid wash jeans and they were size 28s. Today I wearsize 32s but sometimes I can fit into my 30s, though I doubt I’ll ever see the day when I can fit in a 28 again. I still have some T-shirts that I wore in high school and they still fit me too.
Maybe I’ll wear one to bed tonight so it will be on me when it’s time to wake up.
For work.
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