I woke up this morning and I didn’t know where I was or what day it was. I didn’t recognize my apartment as my apartment and I didn’t recognize Friday as Friday. I sat straight up in bed like a robot and just stared at the wall for a while, thinking furiously. “What day is it?” I said outloud to no one, because sometimes I sleep alone. “Is it fucking Friday? Or is it Saturday?”

“Is it Saturday?” I repeated. If it was Saturday, I was about to either be very pissed or very excited. If it was Saturday and it was still the early morning, then I would be excited as I still had time to get up, throw a few things in my bag, and fly to Vegas like I planned. If it was Saturday and it was the afternoon then I would be pissed because I’d missed my flight and had dashed my plans.

I groped for my cellphone and saw that it was 6:25 AM. Why the fuck was I up so early? Again?! But at least I didn’t miss my flight.

I looked a little closer and saw that it was Friday as well. “Well hell,” I said outloud to no one again, “what was all the excitement for?”

Since I lost it in the fire, I haven’t used an alarm clock to get up in the morning. I bought a cheap one on one of my replacement trips to IKEA, but I’ve almost never had the occasion to use it. Granted, I’ve set it from time to time, but I always wake up before it. I’m not really sure, in fact, what the alarm sounds like.

And this was months ago. I haven’t used an alarm clock for something like 3 and a half months now, and it bothers me to no end. Not because I miss the opportunity to be rudely awakened, but because that means that I wake up entirely too early, no matter what time I go to bed. For a while, the magic hour was on or about 7:30, which was fine as that was when I woke up regularly anyway. It bothered me a bit that it started to happen on weekends as well, but at least I was getting an early start on a relaxing day. For the last month, though, it’s been on or about 6:30, with the 7:30’s still sprinkled in for flavor. I have absolutely no reason to get up that early and I usually end up lying in bed reading to eat up the time before I “really” get up. It sucks.

And it doesn’t matter what time I go to bed, either. Fall asleep at 10? 6:30. Fall asleep at 3AM? 6:30.

This is just another footnote in the long list of weirdness that is Dave’s Insomnia. And it may have something to do with why I didn’t know where or when I was this morning.