WAKING UP

To the trilling sound of not one, but three chattering alarms - one real alarm, two phone ones is the hardest part about ending a vacation. Usually, I ditch my weekday mode for a propah sleep pattern on weekends, anything longer than two days already sounds and sure does feel like sheer bliss.

On holidays, I remove all signs of clocks, alarms and watches - unless there is a flight to catch. This invariably means I stumble out of bed at 10am, pretty much the time when the morning show ends. It's not that I'm always asleep, it's just that sense of lazing in bed, watching the sun rise, hearing the chirping of birds, snuggling with my book - all those things that normal folks who sleep normal hours normally do - so I presume.

The feeling is unmatched. I don't know about the rest, but the fact that I can awaken my senses to my body's rhythms puts my spirit at ease.

Ten days on, the alarm rings, I am back to jump starting the morning. The cabbie is in a chat mode. Then there are the wires, the thought of that 50 cent wake me upper coffee, the bright lights, the deadlines, the bulletins, the shootings - I am back, truly awake, looks like haven't even missed a blink....and it still feels good. Never mind that alarm.