Thursday, March 15, 2012

In the Dark

One week ago today I arrived at work at 6:45 am.  This is what it looked like at that time…
  stuff 046
The sun was up, and the sky was blue.

Then, on Sunday, we started Daylight Saving Time.  The clocks on the wall (and tvs and microwaves and cell phones, and computers. etc) were moved forward an hour.  Unfortunately, my internal clock was not in on the plan. 

A few years ago, our government decided to make DST start earlier and end later.  This could have been due to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 which hoped to help save energy (some say has done more harm than good) or to a couple of Midwest state representatives thinking it would be nice for kids to go trick-or-treating while it was still light - what fun is that?!?.  (On a side note, if our government is making Halloween policy, I think SOMEONE should move it to the last Friday of the month, every year.  That way teachers don’t have to deal with tired kids cranked up on candy.)

Anyways, back to my internal clock.  As I think I’ve mentioned, I am NOT a morning person.  I get up in the morning because I have to.  In fact, if I didn’t have to I wouldn’t.  I am not a fan of getting up in the middle of the night, which is basically what I am doing with this time change. 

When I arrived at school to start the new week, this is what it looked like at 6:50 am...
photo Just kidding, but that’s what it felt like.
It actually looked like this…
stuff 051It looks lighter in the picture than it was because the nighttime lights are STILL on at that time because it’s so dark.

I’m no scientist, but it seems to me that, even though the days are getting longer, it’s still winter and so the days are still short.  With the time change it’s dark at 6:30ish PM and isn’t light out until 7:00 am.  Whether that hour is at the beginning of the day or the end, it’s not very much daylight. 

daylight-savings-indianPhoto from Onlineclock.net, thanks Marey for the quote.

My thoughts exactly.  

17 comments:

  1. This post felt like a math question. And I don't do Math! But I know one thing, that is a beautiful school that you have there.
    m.

    ReplyDelete
  2. @mark - Ha ha, well I'm not either, but my eyes work and it's dark! Yes the school is very pretty on the outside...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Glad you used it :)
    Yes, your school looks like a business park...your room is cool too!
    Happy Daylight Savings time LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  4. You always educate me : ) Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ha, is the school an extension to the Getty http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Getty_Center_patio.jpg

    As the the daylight saving, I've no sympathy for you at all. Actually fathead, you should have some for those of us that have it far far worse than you. Me, for instance. And think on the poor benighted Scots. As to the Finns, in their all or none life. It's little wonder they have bath tubs filled with homebrew vodka. And a smiley face in case you think I'm serious ;-D. If I could find a tongue stuck out emoticon I'd use that also.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The "nighttime" picture is so much prettier!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. @marey - :) It was a good one! School is a bit sterile, but it's clean and new...which is something. On DST...I just had 12 parent/teacher conferences tonight and at least half of the parents asked me if their child seemed "off" this week. They've been goofy at home this week, and I'm almost sure it's the time change. They were like zombies in class. I really think the early change has tweaked some of us a bit.

    ReplyDelete
  8. @Vince - {gasps} I've never been called a fathead before! I guess I can forgive you if you explain why you all deserve my sympathy? How is it far worse? Is it pitch blacker there in the morning? You still have a couple of weeks before the time change, don't you? :)
    As for the Getty, I never thought about it before, but I do see some similarities. I'm not sure if that is what they had in mind when built the school. The Getty is an ok art museum, but the architecture and grounds are outstanding! Have you been?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Fathead is a joke between mates. True especially when they are complaining about getting too many chocolate eggs for Easter. Moaning about the dark when living in a place known for it loveliness of light and sole raison d'être at all is the light on film.
    I don't deserve sympathy, the Finns do. But I certainly deserve it far more than you do. Imagine listening someone from Haiti moaning about the mimosas or the ice for the new island iced tea.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I was having a think about the buildings. I expect you rarely really look at them when the light is so low. I think they were designed with a far earlier period in mind when people needed to exist in the cool of the day and so the starkness of the construction is blurred. Nowadays A/C will make existence within them relatively pleasant. I know both are public buildings, but the idea for the design isn't. It's far more Spanish or even this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:RegistanSquare_Samarkand.jpg
    But I suspect you never can look at the buildings in the height of the day. Especially if they are painted that crushed pearl white.
    Oh, there's one for the history lesson for the kids. Like with the Red Coat of the English you can never truly see for the reds merge at about an 5' distance. White will do it also in truly bright light at 7', so a city or fort will look huge and impregnable.

    OK, enough boring people. Have a good, what time is it ?, ohhhh, sleep.

    ReplyDelete
  11. @vince - oh alright then, I'll limit my complaints about where I live...except in the summer when it's 110 degrees. I'm definitely complaining then! :)
    That square is beautiful. I believe our architecture is heavily influenced by the Spanish, even still, so it would make sense. I wish we'd plant a tree in/near the common quad area so it would be utilized more. It's such a nice place to gather, but most of the year the sun bakes us without some kind of shade...not that I'm complaining! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh so very true. But to go with the design a tree would need to be a Sagauro.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I have always said that Halloween needed to be always the last Saturday of the month. THe middle of the week is just too hard on everyone. Hope you are adjusting to the time change. At least it's almost spring break time and then you can sleep in all you want!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I have always said that Halloween needed to be always the last Saturday of the month. THe middle of the week is just too hard on everyone. Hope you are adjusting to the time change. At least it's almost spring break time and then you can sleep in all you want!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love the quote and I am still missing my hour.

    ReplyDelete
  16. @Vince - That might defeat the purpose then. :)Our city is giving away FREE trees, but we can't seem to get our admins to do anything about it...trees don't have anything to do with test scores!

    @Jill - Remember last week when I said, 2 weeks before break, no problem? This week took forever! A couple late nights of P/T conferences made for a long week, plus our regular drama...Spring break can't get here soon enough. I'm ready!

    ReplyDelete