It is 4:45 AM on Sunday October 8th, 2017. It looks like I’m back to my routine of waking up very early again. I think the primary reason for this is that I got my morning workout in yesterday and was asleep by 8:00 PM.
I am the only one I know that goes to bed so early. We have strict bedtime schedules and I would really prefer to wake up early to have “my time” than stay up late. I can get so much done in the morning and feels as though it is a great way to start the day. I’ve already accomplished so much by 9:00 AM, more than many get done in an entire day. I use this time to write, read, work out, do the dishes, workout, straightened up, meditate, and think about other things I need to do during the day. My mind is clearer in the early morning.
When I wake up the first thing I think about as I open my eyes is what day it is. Is today a work day? Do I have anything planned? Fortunately today is Sunday and we actually do not have any plans except for a loose invitation to perhaps get together with the neighbors. It is nice to not have anything planned for once.
Yesterday we went to my friend Doug’s son Ronan’s first birthday party. I had to skip karate to go which was fine. We then picked up my son from Japanese school and came home. I cleared the cobwebs from the fence, watered the outdoor plants, put up Halloween decorations and we then ate sushi and watched Beetlejuice.
But going back to getting up early I couldn’t imagine myself doing this when I was a teenager. Back then I preferred to stay up late. I had a laptop but it wasn’t connected to the internet and so my time was spent messing around on it, usually playing solitaire or just learning new things such as file structure, various programs and so on or I would be on my Sega Genesis playing a game. I would also watch my TV shows: Parker Lewis Can’t Lose, The Fresh Prince of Bellaire, Friends. I would also listen to music usually from Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd, Guns and Roses and rock myself to sleep in my little “Sega Cove.”
Yesterday at Doug’s party I got to chatting with a guy who has lived in San Francisco for 20 years. We spoke about how the soul of the city has definitely changed. It is no longer the hippie enclave of the 60s and the Height Ashbury is now filled with drug addicts and runaways. The technology boom has left its mark on this city and it is now completely different. Little tech nerds have invaded and now walk around staring into their phones with their earbuds in not wanting to interact with any living being, “Don’t talk to me just send me a text man!” The skyline is different with the massive Salesforce Tower standing ominously as though something from the future the both sides of 280 going onto 6th street now causes a feeling of claustrophobia being crowded on both sides by new buildings.
Only 7 years ago I had no issues with zipping through the city in my car just after rush hour. Now, Google Maps shows a constant pattern of red indicating very slow traffic throughout the city. I no longer like driving downtown and would prefer to take the BART. There are so many young people trying to make a living there. They all have to pay a hefty premium for their apartment and usually have a roommate or even two. We are extremely lucky we arrived in San Francisco when we did. Back in 2006 we could get an studio apartment for $1,300 right next to Union Square whereas now that same studio would go for $2,500 – $3,000. We were also lucky because we could buy a house thanks to the housing crisis when the prices really dropped. The only reason we’re still here in the Bay Area is due to the timing of the economy. We wouldn’t have stayed if we’d just arrived now. It would either be up to Portland or back to Japan.
The talk of many of my friends is in trying to afford a house which is a monumental task. Even complete dumps go for $600,000 an incredible amount.
The time is now 5:07 AM on a very cold morning here in Pacifica. I’m out in my clubhouse with the heat lamp on full blast but my hands are still cold as I type this. The next activity this morning is going to be the dishes, followed by perhaps meditation. I’m not in the mood to work out just yet although that will probably come later this morning. I think I’ll meditate for a bit and then perhaps go into VR which I haven’t done for a long while.
