Bedtime

It is highly unlikely that 6 months ago I would have believed I would be chasing a 10:30 bedtime.

Although I see that the sheer fact that I can go to sleep at 10:30 means there is a serious lack of evening activity in my life, I really and truly don't care.

I used to fill my days from 9:30 a.m., when I typically woke up, until 2:30 a.m., and then start all over again.

But there is an undeniable difference between filling your day with increments and filling your day with a chunk. What I mean by this is - it used to be that I filled my day with 2 hour increments. 2 hours for class, 2 hours for coffee with a friend, 2 hours for meetings, 2 hours for studying, so on and so forth, and before I knew it, it was 2:30 am.

Now, my life is one big chunk. Wake up at at 6:45, get ready, go to work from 8 am to 5 pm. By the time I get to the part of my day where increments are an option, I have enough energy for two or three and then things shut down and it is time to sleep.

What I think all "young adults" need is consistent increments. Things they are committed to weekly. 2 hour chunks of activity that they don't want to bail on, because other people expect them there. Otherwise, we fall into this pathetic eat, sleep, work pattern with a vague, translucent personal life hovering somewhere in the distance.

I need consistent increments. But I'm not sure how to find them without being able to go to the grocery store message board and tear off the bottom sections of a flyer for yoga classes or a book club.

Does anyone else remember those days? Back when there used to be active community bulletin boards at the grocery store? People would post flyers with the little tear off sections at the bottom, and you could take their contact information to find out more about their hiking club, or triathalon training?

I liked that. I was 15 when they were still being used, but I remember thinking "some day I am going to be the pretty 20 something filling my calendar with yoga classes, hiking groups and book clubs."

Now I am that 20 something (the pretty part could be argued) and I'm dying for a community bulletin board to instruct my social life.