What's your morning ritual?

Very, very interesting stuff. Particularly interesting how many of you jump to A2K as part of your morning ritual. Personally my morning ritual has gone into a bit of a downward spiral as of late. I'm trying not to wake up tooooo late....my alarm clock is set of 10 o clock these days. I used to wake up immediately, now sometimes I spend another 30 minutes just because I can. Then I go to the computer and check what's up (big dork). Then I do something for about an hour. I have no idea what I do but I must be doing something. Then I look to see if there is any food in the fridge. There isn't. Maybe I eat some peanut butter or some other condiment. Then I go to class. The rest of the day is a blur. I think there is some work involved somewhere. Definitely a lot of thinking. I'm so drunk right now.

Ayieeee yieee, me too.

stuh, all I can say is, if you are in school and your morning routine is a blur then you are having a good college experience. Keep up the good work.

Stuh enjoy it while you're young. When you get older you will have fond memories of all the things you've forgotten.

Haha...you guys have such the wrong idea about me, but that's ok...I can roleplay it.

just pickin up what you're puttin down.

Yeah, you all just don't know how much I exaggerate everything I say!!

Even if you are exaggerating getting up at 10:30 I doubt you are up at 5:30 and I am jealous. Although your routine sounds like me on Wed. (day off) without the going to class part.

I'm much like Littlek.
I work a dirty job, so I shower at night.
4:45 am alarm goes off, hit 10 minute snooze once or twice
5:00 bathroom stuff and clothes
5:10 downstairs, make coffee and remembering what to put in backpack for work
5:15 drive to car pool
5:25 meet carpool
6:00 at work, I wake up around then.

Luckily, I don't have to look good for work.


If I look at the computer before work, it means I'll be running late...

5:45. Ipod alarm. Snooze twice. Or let the music run, depending on what it is. Stagger out into shower. Shower.

Out of shower, dry off, get into boxers and tee-shirt (unless it's summer).

Downstairs, open kitchen door and wait for dogs to go tumbling out into the backyard. By now I can hear the missus's feet on the ceiling, heading into shower.

Grind coffee. Start coffee machine. Put breakfast in toaster/microwave. Go to check Sportscenter and Weather Channel until toaster pops and microwave beeps.

Go get breakfast. More Sportscenter until done with coffee. Brush teeth, get dressed, that whole lot. Out door between 6:45 and 7:20, depending on mode of transportation and need to stop for coffee when out of beans at home.

The ritual changes every few months, depending on what's going on. But the coffee is constant.

Ah yes, the coffee grinding. I do that the night before as well, since I am usually up first.

Sorry, pdog, but this is the visual I had when I read that:

The dog is the first one up and it is his job to wake up everyone else,
which is around 6:30 am, give or take a few minutes. When he successfully has done his deed, he happily waits his turn to go out for a walk. Then I take a shower, put on a t-shirt and shorts and go upstairs to the kitchen.

I get my coffee with the push of a button, so that's easy, but fixing breakfast for everyone including the dog is quite involved. So is "what-do-I-fix-my-child-for-lunch-today" but once all these things are taken care of,
I can sit down and check my emails, stocks, and a2k, while my child is
talking and talking nonstop, testing the durability of my fragile nerves in the morning.

By 8:00 am I drive her (gladly) to school, come back, do my hair/make-up, and change into a more presentable outfit and head out the door between 8:30 and 9:00 am. Sometimes I have to come back a few times because I forget things. Needless to say, I am not a morning person!!

I've noticed the majority of posters shower before having caffeine. How do you do this? I feel ilke a failure.

I am retired so my schedule is different every day, but the beginning is always the same.
.
I take a shower before bed.
I don't drink coffee.

Saying that, I get up much too early, at about 5 or 5:30 a.m.

I run outside and get the newspapers, which have been scattered, hither and yon, on my driveway. The papers are placed in a plastic bag. If it had rained, invariably the paper person pitched the bags on my lawn, so that the plastic is dripping wet.

I eat my breakfast, which is usually cereal and an orange. I take a boatload of pills, both medicinal and herbal, with a glass of Crystal Light. I read the papers, both the local rag, and the Wall Street Journal.

I take the stuff out of my dishwasher, and put it away.

I then turn on (TA-DAH) my computer.

I check my many E Mail accounts in a precise order, from the bottom of my desktop, going up. If my SIL has sent me one, or usually more of her inane jokes, I delete without reading. If she has sent it as an attachment, I mutter a few curses.

At the top of the bunch is the E Mail that I use for A2K.

I check my bank and brokerage accounts, and copy any pertinent changes. BTW, by checking my bank accounts, I can catch any problems, almost immediately, so that I never have to reconcile my statement. It is sooo much easier.

I then go to A2K. I check to see if anything exciting has happened on the threads that I have written. Then I go through all the threads that happened while I was away, make some "brilliant" remarks, reporting spam when I see it.

Once in awhile, I will play a couple of rubbers of "Easy Bridge".

By this time, it has gotten light, and I am ready to start my day.

Phoenix, why do you get up so early? And Noddy, what is Actonel? I'm so nosey.

Mine goes something like this...

Alarm goes off but I keep hitting snooze until the last possible moment of sleep has been exhausted. Turn alarm off. Turn to my daughter, who still insists on sleeping in my bed although she is 7 and give her a kiss and sniff her hair.

Make cups of tea for us both (can't speak properly until I've had my brew) and cereal or toast for her.

Search for clean college uniform for me and school uniform for her. At this point I start my repeated pleas of "get dressed now babe" and "brush teeth now babe" and "get shoes on babe" etc which have to be repeated usually 3 or 4 times until the task is accomplished.

After washing my face and brushing my teeth (showers the night before as I never have time in the morning) I attempt to sort my face out with make up. Liberal spraying of perfume - essential. I like to smell fragrant.

I check my daughter has all necessary shool type equipment and books etc. and then we are out the door.

This all takes about 1 hour.

Dorothy Parker- Damned if I know. Maybe it has something to do with me falling asleep in front of the TV at 8:30!

For a long time, a long time ago, we had a Braun coffee maker with a timer. Grind beans at bedtime, fill water tank, set timer. I would put a frozen bagel in the microwave and go to bed.

In the morning, it was like having a butler. The coffee would just be finishing as I entered the kitchen dining area. With a flick of my wrist I would zap the now-defrosted bagel for 17 seconds as I poured the fresh brew into the waiting cup.

Ah. The life.

The timer got fried during one of the New York blackouts. I tried using a lamp timer, which works, but I was spoiled by the effortlessness of the Braun's little buttons.

Now I grind the beans for the espresso machine at night when I pack my lunch. It's a one button thing and has my cup full (Yes, I drink too much espresso.........) in about the time that it takes to zap the frozen solid bagel.. 32 seconds.
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I am morning person. On vacation I am the one who gets up and runs down the beach to the store for supplies** and the morning papers. I get back to the condo, shower, eat breakfast, read the papers, reFOLD the papers (very important, don't ask) and head out to the beach before anyone one else in our little group gets up.

Joe(It's like having two days of vacation every day)Nation

**They make a list. One morning I carried a gallon of milk, a half gallon of orange juice, a six pack of water and a half a pound each of Swiss Cheese and Pepper Ham. It's just a mile and half away.

New start: Get up and walk 1 mile at 6 am or wait till 7 am when the sun is up.

I feel grungy before I shower...so it makes me feel like a yucky slob to do anything before I shower.