Jet lag

"My 2005 Subaru Impreza sits in the middle of the road in Whiteford, Md. as the sun rises Thursday morning. Jet lag from my trip to Japan has left me with irregular sleep habits the past two days."

There is nothing really fun about coming home from a foreign country and still being 14 hours ahead of time because of jet lag.

The past two days I have gone to bed after 8 a.m. and gotten up around 4 p.m. Respectively, that is the same as going to bed at 10 p.m. and waking up at 6 a.m. in Japan. But for now, it means I stay up through the entire night into morning.

I get to see the news twice, view all the late night talk shows, watch ridiculous boring television programming from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. and basically be bored out of my mind as everyone else on the east coast sleeps.

There is one upside to the equation. Catching the sunrise Thursday morning.

Obviously not sleeping, I thought I’d pick up Kate and take her to work since I had not really seen her for two weeks. It was early, but I had been wide awake since 5 p.m. and I can't remember the last time I caught a glimpse to the sun actually rising.

Sure, I've watched the sun dip below the horizon hundreds of times in my life, but I can't recall the last time I watched morning turn to day. It was stunning. Makes me wish I was a morning person and had the opportunity to see the magnificent amber sky every day.

As I waited for Kate outside, I decided to take a picture of the Subaru. I bought the car a little over a year ago and love it, especially around this time of year. Why this time of year? Because it is an all-wheel drive car and navigating it around in the snow is a breeze. Not to heavy like an SUV and not front wheel drive like my old Honda.

I also hadn't driven in roughly two weeks. I had grown used to hoping on a train or in someone else’s car in Japan.

As for tonight, I am forcing myself to try and get to bed early. Yeah, it's past midnight as I type this. I don't know what I'll do, but this jet lag needs to stop.

The odd thing is, was when I got to Japan, I was so excited that I paid no attention to how long I had traveled without sleep to get there. I also paid no attention to the time difference.

Figures when I get back, I have two unpleasant days of unrest.

I miss trains, rice and green tea. Oh, yeah. Sushi, tempura and other traditional Japanese foods, too.