**Moments in Time**

There are two specific times of the day that i think about a lot. The first one i hate with an all-consuming passion, and the second i welcome with open arms. Why i hate the first one is readily apparent and if you've experienced it, you'll know what i mean.
Have you ever woken up 2 or 3 minutes before your alarm goes off, yeah, that's one of the moments. You roll over to see how many hours you get to sleep, but recoil in horror as you realize that you don't need an alarm clock today. So what's next? Right, you instantly close your eyes, throw the covers over your head and try to get back to sleep for another 90 seconds. Why do we do that? Can anyone actually fall back asleep within that 90 seconds? And then when the alarm DOES go off, you're surprised to find out how surprised you actually are. If there is a worse way to start the day, i haven't experienced it yet.

Then there's what some have called "Lucretia." This is an old word that basically means to "read by candlelight." Today it is seldom used, as today's society doesn't stay up very late without DOING something, and we have a lot more electric lights which seem to diminish the effect. One doesn't have to actually read, or have candles lit to engage in lucretia, however. One needs only to be up late (say 3am) and be lounging around the house. The key is to have little or no light on, everyone else in the house asleep, and nothing really important to do.
There is just something eerily calm about being the only one up in the middle of the night. This can be accomplished very easily, and it doesn't really have to be that late, (although the later it is, the quieter it becomes. After you're done cramming your brain with useless knowledge from the History/Discovery/Spike channel, and everyone is heading off to bed, take your time brushing your teeth, changing into your pj's, and getting ready for bed. Everyone else should be done before you, then go back out into the living room and just sit on the couch. Take in the sounds, the way the light from the street falls through the window. It's kinda creepy, but you'll get used to it. If you smoke, go out on the patio and have a cigarette. Listen to the lack of noise out there. Lots of bourbon usually helps the experience too.

Just don't stay up too late, and don't worry about setting your alarm clock, you won't need it anyway.