I’ve mentioned that Connor (age 12) has been struggling to get up for school these days. I feel his pain…and think it’s probably in direct correlation to the dreaded “fall back” hour shift we endure every year around this time. I don’t know how it works in your house, but here we spend the first few weeks after Daylight Savings Time ends commenting that regardless of what the clock says, it’s actually one hour later in "real" time.
Whatever "that" means.
I’m actually wondering now: Which is the real time? I’m guessing Daylight Savings Time is the faux time, right? So, that would mean that for most of the year, we’re living on faux time whilst the rest of the world hums along in real time and probably wonders, “What the hell are they doing over there? Who plays with TIME? You really shouldn’t mess with TIME, you stupid Americans…just find a TIME you like and stick with it. Stop messing with it all the TIME. Yikes.”
Foreigners are so rude...right? ?
I happen to know that the shortest day of the year falls on the first day of winter, which means this year it’s on December 21st. So, mark your calendars and then try and balance an egg on your front stoop….’cause I think there’s a Vehicular/Vestibular Equinotic/Hypnotic event taking place that I believe allows eggs to stand on one end unassisted, but only outside... and only on one very level front stoop/walk/driveway/picnic table. Let’s all plan on trying this…we’ll all take photos of a sea of standing eggs and post them to Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!
I bet they won’t.
Believe it, that is. (Did ya get that?)
And no cheating if you live up north by shoring them up into a snowbank, or some sticky black ice…that wouldn't be fair to those lucky southerners, who shall remain nameless. (You know who you are.)
Oh, and realize that there will probably only be two and a half hours of daylight on that day, with it being so short and all...so plan ahead. There's nothing worse than waking up on the shortest day of the year and realizing you don't have enough eggs.
So, the point I’m making here is that the days are getting shorter and shorter and we’re all feeling tireder and tireder, which I realize is not an actual word…but I like it and it’s my blog.
And I'm tired.
Did I mention how freakin’ cold it is in here?
oh, it totally feel your pain on the tireder front... it takes me practically all my will power to get up every morning because I sleep very poorly because my body is still in real time so I think I'm late but I'm not really... *takes deep breath*... so I'm tired. But seriously, why DO we mess with the time?????!!!!!! I have a theory that it's just a way for coffee corporations to make money because everybody feels TIREDER than the usually do!
I'm off to Tim Hortons to get a french vanilla cappuccino.
First day of Spring and first day of Fall are for standing eggs on end. The sun is over the equator so the pull of the sun should be equal. I've also heard that standing eggs on end during this time is an urban legend. I've never tried it.
I'm still on the 'real' time. And I raelly hating waking up before the freakin' birds do!
:-)
What really sucks is that now we are 13 and 14 hours ahead of our family, instead of 12 or 13. Like that wasn't bad enough! Here in China, they don't do Daylight Savings Time. However, I'm still tired! Hmm. You think maybe that means it's me, and NOT the DST?!?!?!
Mich
Haha. Real time. Oh, yes. We do that, too. At night J doesn't feel tired enough to go to bed with me (about the same time as our neighbor's chickens... you know, when the sun goes down?)But then when morning comes, he's too tired to get up, even though the sun is shining. Guess that whole farm upbringing was good for me. Sun goes down, I go down. Sun comes up, I'm up. So what if that's like 11 hours? I've been sick! (I'm feeling much better. Got the doc to call in some meds to the pharmacy and I'm still alive.)
I remember when I was a teenager, I could not deal with the time change. Every year, I'd get sick that week and have to spend at least a day in bed sleeping to get my internal clock back to normal. Or... at least that's what I told my mom ;-)
I do the 'real' time thing too. I hate it. It's bad enough I can't keep my schedule straight, I don't need help messing it up more. It's that whole internal clock thing. I know there should be something happening but wait, the time changed so ignore that feeling. Pft. Wonder if they have daylight savings way the heck up north where it's sunny for 6 months and dark for the other 6.
Oh, I hate the time change and not because of the time either, because my hubby goes into his twice a year B** about the whole thing. Even my bf calls to taunt him on it a week before. Grrr!
I never heard about the egg thing, I'm going to have to try to remember to do that.
I was told that the time change was created to help farmers, not sure if that is true.
So then on the longest day of the year, which, presumably, will be a fairly hot day, should we all go outside and try to fry an egg on the sidewalk? Because I think Ripley's MIGHT believe that.
K, you are too funny.
I've been struggling with the time change too! My body wants to stay up til the same time (midnight) but it now wakes me up an hour early. So I'm very tired!! And the dark and the cold don't help.
I like JD's idea. I think I can get closer to frying an egg on the sidewalk on June 21st then to standing one on end in December.
Thanks for my morning giggle,
♥ Spot
My mother-in law would refuse to change her watch, so half the year she was on the "right" time.
I had an internal dialogue about what I would prefer going to work in the dark, or going home after work in the dark. I decided, I would rather have that extra daylight at the end of my day.
I'm going to try the egg thingy, I've set my calendar to remind me. : )
Who plays with TIME? You really shouldn’t mess with TIME
well that's Dr Who buggered then ....
OMG...you are TOOOOOOOOOOOO funny, Kathryn!
I had no idea about the "egg thing" and you better believe I'm going to try it!!
I too go through the same thing with the falling back. I know that technically we GAIN an hour, but for some reason it feels as though we LOSE an hour. Last night I looked at my clock, thinking it was like 11pm, when in fact it was 9!!!
I don't even understand why we need to change the clocks - what's the point??!?
oooo...and I SO thought of you this morning when I woke up and found that the temp dropped to 40 degrees!! Brrrrrrrrr! The sun is out though, so it's too bad. And you know me...I'm lovin' it.
As always...great post, my friend!
Stay warm and cozy.
X,
Mr. Penguin
i dont like daylight savings time either. I never did it growing up and since moving here it been SSSOOO confusing! i always ask my hubby, "What time is it?"
"It's 6am. time to get up"
"But isn't it really 7? so i'm already late, let's just stay in bed."
Of course I'm trying to be sneaky with that weird thought process, but it never works. Humph. He always pushes me out of bed so i can run and not complain about it later. BLEH.
I will try my hardest to get my fam to do the egg thing on the 21st of DEc.
I actualy balanced an egg last year and thought I was hot shit. Then I realized that if you do it right, you can balance an egg 365 days of the year. I hate it when my parade gets rained on.
I'm so confused about this egg theory. I keep hearing about it, but have heard several different days its supposed to work. I heard to try last Friday, that the planets were alligned or something... (didn't work btw.) Then i heard that the first day of winter is the day it will happen... but someone also told me it won't happen until the Mayan day o' destruction in Dec of 2012. I should probably stop believing everything I hear...
What I need are a few days a year where I decide to turn back the clock for an hour. No warning, everyone else just has to deal with it.
Like the time last year when I spent two hours in traffic to park for a concert and missed the opening act (which I was more excited about, anyway).
We all deal with enough deadline/arbitrary/DMV related crap, that we should be able to time-shift as needed.
"Oh, you were going to close this store? Tough nouggies, It's now 6 p.m. and you're open for another hour..."
But I do like the extra hour of dark. Haha @ the foreigner comment. I just NOW got why my UK friend went from 6 hours to 5 hours ahead. DUH!! Thanks for the clear u ;0P
It is really cold in here! And everyone is so tired. The weather is strange and unreliable. But Christmas is coming and today Autumn came into the hall at work, scattered a few golden leaves and left again.
Cold here too...brrr! I like gaining the hour in the fall more than losing the hour in the spring, but I do hate how dark it is when I leave work now. It feels like the whole day is already over. It's nice to have sun in the morning now though...easier to drag myself out of bed!
"You really shouldn’t mess with TIME, you stupid Americans…just find a TIME you like and stick with it."
MY sentiments EXACTLY!
December 21st the shortest day of the year? Only if you're north of the equator remember - to all the rest of us the shortest day is June 21st.
Adjusting hours to capitalise on daylight has been used since Roman times but 'modern' daylight saving was proposed in 1895 by George Vernon Hudson, a New Zealand entomologist so that he had more daylight time to indulge in searching for insects. Most countries have adopted some form of modern DST especially post war when fuel was at a premium and it made sense that people slept when it was dark and got up when it was light.
Once of your commenters suggested that DST was started to help farmers but in fact farmers are the most vocal opponents of DST as their animals cannot be regulated by the clock. Farmers have to get up at the same time anyway which makes it even earlier by the clock when DST is in force.
Lecture over.
uh is it losing an hour or gaining an hour im so confused you know how i know its autumn feel the cold outside *BRR*and stupid equator is broken now thanks to stupid exxon mobile *damn gas * why do you make it so hot grr
Fierce: Oh! I'll take one of those cappuccinos, if you're going anyway. To me, there's nothing more depressing than seeing the sun begin to descend at 3:30 in the afternoon. WTH?? So, for the next few weeks, it'll be light(er) at 6am...but then it'll just get dark again, anyway. I'm not seeing the POINT!
Eddy: Huh...well, there goes my "vernal hypnonox" theory. I thought something didn't sound right about it...so I pre-ordered all those eggs...for nothing??
f8hasit: Me too! Have you noticed that the end of DST has gotten later and later? I remember it used to be in the beginning of October...I'm grateful for that, at least. Now, if we could just delay the coming of winter....
Michelle: Well, that sucks! Yeah, I figured DST was an American thing...I shud really google it and see why, why, WHY? Honey, I hate to tell you this, but I think it might be US and not the stupid time!
I love this - and I love reading my fellow readers' comments to you. So enlightening!
Just as I was prepared to rant about WHY, we Americans must be SO DAMN STUPID as to CHANGE OUR CLOCKS (where, praise be, is the logic in that?), Lou explained it all. Not to my satisfaction mind you - who listens to bug doctors? - but at least I know it wasn't schemed up by candy makers for Halloween.
And thanks to Lou for naming the culprit!
I'm just relieved that it's no longer dark anymore when I have to get my daughter up for school. I'll take the time change instead of feeling like I'm waking up in the middle of the night.
The "spring ahead" thing is the one that really gets me.
jmberrygirl: YAY. You FINALLY got some meds! NOW you'll feel better a lot quicker. So, you must be one of those morning gals? And hubby is more of a night owl?
ValleyWriter: Oh, too funny! Isn't it amazing how one stinkin' hour can make such a difference? What IS that?
Lauren: Oh, God. Could you imagine it being dark for 6 months? I think I would lose my mind. Of course I'm gonna say that, but I'm sure it's just another half a year for the locals. I'll bet we wudn't mind the 1 hr shift so much if summer were coming...that's what I think.
Heather: Farmers? So....we could possibly be "suffering" because of farmers? Huh. And that egg-thing? Evidently I've gotten my seasons mixed up (those that know me are not totally shocked, I'm afraid)-evidently, it's spring and FALL that have the equinox. Go figure....
JD at I Do Things: Yes. Fried eggs on the longest day on the sidewalk. In Jamaica. In a blue bikini with white polka dots. Mark your calendar now...
Spot: I agree...I think the time change coupled with the cold is simply unmanageable. I wonder who we can complain to about this??
Angelina: I happen to totally agree with you...I'd MUCH rather have the light at the end of the day. I swear...it feels more like we've lost 2 hours, instead of one...right?
So funny about your MIL!
BlackLOG: I wish we DIDN'T mess with time...it'll take us 6 months to adjust!
Ron! Well, Mr. Penguin...you know how I feel about YOUR cold weather. Ahem. And the egg-thing? Evidently, that's in fall/spring...my bad. And I just said the SAME EXACT THING about it feeling more like 2 hours than 1! (Great minds, my love...great minds...) xoxo
book*addict: I say the same thing!! "Isn't it really 7 o'clock?" It'll be like this for another month, at least. What I can't stand is that the days will continue to get shorter, so it'll just wind up being dark in the morning anyway. I say we just stay in BED.
Erin@TheLocalsLoveIt: LOL! You balanced it on a bumpy surface...didn't you?? That's what I did one year and I was SO PROUD, till I realized the surface has to be really smooth. Or, so I thought! I remember feeling pretty damn proud of myself as well!
carissajaded: I think we may be better off just keeping the eggs for breakfast! Evidently, I'm now told it doesn't work anyway...or that it always works...I'm not sure! Just meet us in Jamaica for the bikini egg-on-the-sidewalk fry!
straight guy: That sounds great to me! Whose idea was this, anyway? And if we're gonna mess with time, why not REALLY mess with it? We're like little ducklings...they tell us to change the clocks and we just DO it. Maybe we should all just OPT OUT.
Ashley S: HA! That's right...we seem to be the only ones messing around like this!
Tina: Cool-io! And then you got to walk down the hall and hear the crunch of the leaves under your feet. Cold, tired, strange, unreliable. All great words to describe this time of year....
lifelove'n'wine: I just wish the light in the morning would last! Da boys just barely get out the door in the light now. And I'm watching the sun fade about 3:30 already...SO NOT COOL.
MeanDonnaJean: YEAH! I'm glad we're all in agreement. I think we need to stop doing everything they tell us to do!
Lou: Oh, riight. 'Cause you've got that whole other side of the world-thing going on. So, does this mean you DO have a change in time there in New Zealand as well?
Cynica Sarcastamos: HA! I hadn't thought to try and blame the time change on Halloween candy manufacturers! That's a good one, though. It's just such a waste...and if someone's got the power to change it from the beginning of October to the end, can't we just forget about it? It's one stinkin' hour, but it's messing us all up! And I totally agree...don't I have the BEST commenters EVER??
saku chan: We've "fallen back" an hour, so in essence, I guess we've "lost" it? And we won't find it again till spring?
Susan: I just wish there was a way that we wouldn't have to FEEL it so much...it just seems like the time change in combo with the cold, wet, snow, etc...it's too much. That, and my A&P is already playing Christmas music 24/7. TOO MUCH.
It is already dark when I leave work in the evening. That is just depressing. About the egg thing, it might be better to crack a few of them on Dec 21 and bake something really warm and toasty. That's the best way to get through 21.5 hours of darkness.
I just feel like there are not enough hours in the day now. Granted once it gets dark I am completely useless. Plus, I live in the damn arctic up here so soon it will be too cold to leave the house. It's supposed to be getting up into the 60's today. Of course, I have to work all day and won't be able to enjoy it. Karma, man.
Can't wait until the solstice. This is the hardest time of year for me. I so miss the sunlight.
Ugh. I hate daylight savings time. WE change some clocks in the house, some change automatically, and some stay the same so you can never tell what time it actually is! It drives me crazy!
This is what hubby calls Daylight Stupid Time. Can you believe we actually ate dinner at 6 tonight?! During the summer it's usually 8 or 9. Seriously, it's 8:30 and I'm ready to go to bed. PLEASE, Kathryn, don't send the cold down here. I'm enjoying my 70 degree weather. :)
I've marked my calendar for Dec 21st but which part of my front porch exactly is the "stoop"??? I've never really understood that! lol And if I'm going to post a picture of it someone's really going to have to give me the secret incantation you need for putting pictures in my blog!
I agree that the days have just felt weird since we turned back our clocks! Ugh I've been trying to get myself onto a nice little schedule and doing nicely then this silly "fall back" comes along...whatta pain.
Dreamfarm Girl: I totally agree. It's surreal the first few weeks you're at the office and it's dark outside, right? And yup...21.5 hours of darkness sounds just about right.
Sigh....
Jen: Aw...not karma! Please! Otherwise, I'm DOOMED! We're just like bears, you and I....we went to hibernate. I just want to turn myself inside out (pun intended) till spring.
Nanodance: Oh, me too! And it's only just begun! I start watching the weather channel for the lengthening of the days...it's only by minutes for the longest time...
Oddyoddyo13: It's just so freakin' depressing! I swear...I know it's only an hour, but it feels like MUCH LONGER.
Tinkerschnitzel: I'm. Trying. To. Hold. It. Back!!!! Seriously...do you think I WANT it up here?? I'm fighting the urge to change into my jammies at 6pm!! It feels like 10pm, already! I'd KILL for 70 degrees!
Clandestiny: Well, my bad. Someone reminded me that it's the first day of spring and autumn when you can do the "egg thing". Then someone ELSE said it's all a bunch of bahoohey. So....I'm gonna have my eggs over easy that day. And a side of hash browns. Ya want some?
OKAY these short days crass the line when it is dark at 4pm. I can't help but curl with a book/movie/martini when it is dark as I go to work and when I get off.
agree that the days have just felt weird since we turned back our clocks! Ugh I've been trying to get myself onto a nice little schedule and doing nicely then this silly
Work From Home
Michelle Stiles: I totally hear you! It's like some weird hibernation-mode...I start craving my jammies and a drink at about 3pm now! (Oops...said that out loud!)
preshant: Yes, it's definitely been feeling like more than a hour difference.
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