It's Always Darkest Right Before It Goes Pitch Black...

So, you know when it's the beginning of December and you wake up and it's dark outside and when you get out of work it's, you guessed it, dark outside? I have long ago decided that it is in fact necessary to have Christmas lights during this time, otherwise we'd all go into hysterics.

Well, I need me some Christmas lights, stat!

Today, the sky went dark at 5:00 pm. I cannot believe it! I mean, it was bad enough that in the peak of summer, the sun went down around 8:00 pm. (A far cry from the daylight still lingering in the sky close to 10:00 pm in Ohio.) I definitely missed daylight savings time, but on the other hand, it was dang hot and nighttime was the only time to feel halfway human outside. But now? It's getting colder. This is why I'm still in my (David's) flannel pj pants, long sleeve T-shirt, a cardigan sweater and knee socks. (And no, they do NOT coordinate together. The height of fashion right here, let me tell you. Didn't you know that "dumpy" was the new "black"?) It is, of course, light around some ungodly hour of 4 or 5 am, but what good does that do me? Now I am faced with half my waking hours being dark AND cold. Misery...

In case you were not aware, China is all on the same time zone. Now, go look up a map of China. Now, stand in awe of it's enormity. I mean the place goes all the way to India! It's about the same physical area as the U.S. and we have 4, count 'em, 4 time zones. So what does this mean? It means time is a weird thing here. It's dark way earlier than it should be because I am in a very eastern part of China. I think out west it's probably light until 11:00 pm or something crazy, but I hear the difference is so great out there that they actually have two different times: Beijing time (my time) and local time (so they can wake up in daylight and normal things like that). It seems a crazy system. Take that back, it is a crazy system. It's a wonder they make it work.

So now my dilemma is, it feels like bedtime again! Why in the world should I actually get dressed and all that when I am about to go to sleep? Plus, my feet are frozen already, so I can't stand the thought of taking the socks off. It's sad really. It's probably only in the lower 60s outside, but my feet are ice. (Reasons Winter Stinks #1)

But the reality is, I am not about to go to sleep. I have a lot of "day" left. And some movement would no doubt improve the feet thing. I just wasn't expecting the siren call to hibernation to lure me so early this year. I must resist staying in lounge clothes past lunch time and force myself to acclimate quickly. After all, it is still autumn and will be for a few more months still. I refuse to think about winter yet. I'll cross that icy road when I come to it.

In the meantime, need to buy a hairdryer, a hot water bottle, a whole lotta hot chocolate and more sweaters. Oh yeah, and some Christmas lights. Maybe I can buy them in orange for a little Halloween cheer...


(And speaking of things fall and Halloween, do me a favor and throw some colorful leaves in the air for me. Autumn just ain't the same here in the East.)