Changing time zones, that is.
Whomp. The adjustment to a new time zone (three hours behind that of my home state) has proven to be a more difficult task than I had previously assumed. Between attempting to communicate with those still in the Eastern time zone at home to developing strange sleeping/exhaustion/eating patterns, the time has constantly been on my mind today.
This struggle with time began Thursday night at about 10 PM PT/ 1 AM EST. After arriving at the Sea Tac Airport, my parents and I drove to our hotel, located a few miles north of the city. On our way, we resolved to drop off our belongings in the hotel room upon checking in, and then find a place to eat–our flight time did not allow for us to eat dinner before getting on the plane, and aside from a few mid-plane Sour Patch Kids and Peanut M&Ms (my personal favorite travel candies), we had not eaten since lunch, many, many hours ago. We quickly surveyed the area and discovered nothing was open except a nearby Buffalo Wild Wings–a local establishment you’ve probably never heard of. 😉 While we were at the restaurant and when we were heading back to the hotel, my dad kept asking what time it was. When I would tell him the local time, he would reply, “No, what’s the time back home?” My response was always a quick and honest “You really don’t want to know.” Because, mainly, it’s true. That’s the first thing I’ve learned rather quickly about dealing with the time difference: you do NOT want to think about what time it is back home. This will only make things worse: you will get more tired and/or will be even more confused or thrown off by the time. It’s best to live in the moment–but seriously, live in whatever time zone you are presently. This is truly the best way to adjust, or at least to cope with your jet-lagged exhaustion.
I, for one, was not good at taking this advice Friday morning. I awoke as any girl adjusted to Eastern Standard Time who is used to waking up around 8:30-9AM would do: at 5:30AM PT and wide awake. Even after attempting to lay there for a while, I decided around 6AM that I should simply accept my fate and remain awake. I went downstairs to the hotel breakfast to make some tea, wondering why the place wasn’t more packed before remembering it was merely 6AM. At this point, I decided to give N a call to update him on the trip. After a few rings, he answered the phone with, “Why are you awake?”
The only answer I could give was, “Because this time change thing is a bitch.”
Because it is. For now. I am looking forward to when I am more adjusted. But for now, there’s coffee. And, thankfully, I’m in the right city for that!
x. M
P.S. I promise all of these posts won’t be be titled with references to music from the 60s. Or references to music in general. But, it is a pretty good song, so you might as well give it a listen.
CLEtoSEA 