I Hate Daylight Savings!

When I lived in Southern California, I could not have cared less about Falling Back or Springing Forward. The weather was pretty much always mild. Now that I live in Northern California, I get depressed every year at daylight savings time...

For the past six years, I've had jobs that start on the early side of things (I start work at 6:45am). I get out of work early, and unfortunately I have to go to bed early in order to be functional at work. Since I can't often enjoy the nightlife, I at least like to be outside after work. I like running in the hour before sunset - running is sometimes a bit of a mindf*ck - it's hard to get dressed and get started at times, but after going for a while, it feels good. When it's nice out and the air is getting cooler just as my body is getting warmer, sometimes I feel like I have wings instead of legs, and there's a period of running time when I feel like my lungs and heart are tireless and I could run forever.

This does not happen in winter. We turn back the clocks, and suddenly it's dark at 5:30pm, and it's cold in San Francisco, and I feel depressed, and start thinking about my cat Mei Li, who died two years ago after I'd had her for more than 10 years! This happened yesterday. On an ordinary Monday, Dear Daniel and I might put on our running clothes and go out for a run, and then shower and make dinner. The sun would set sometime around dinnertime and everything would be fine. But last night, I picked DD up after he finished work at 5:30. By the time we got home at 5:50 it was dark and cold. We live in a weird place - you can't just step outside and be on a city street or even a neighborhood street, with sidewalks and street lights - no! We live at the edge of the continent, where the forest meets the ocean. It's beautiful, but at night it's pitch black and friggin' creepy! Last year a woman was hit by a car in the early morning hours, jogging alone, and the driver didn't stop - the woman died alone on the side of the road. It was hours before someone came across her. Creepy people hang out at the beach after dark, too. I definitely won't run alone after dark here. The first thing I said when I saw DD was, "I am not running tonight. It's cold. I'm depressed. I miss Mei Li." I proceeded to start crying about Mei Li.

Dear Daniel says we just need to get me a warm running jacket and one of those blinking lights that clips onto your jacket or your butt so people can see you in the dark and I'll be good as new. I don't think so. I hate winter!