THE CANADIANS HAVE ARRIVED!!

PREFACE
I was driving to Fort Pierce on Friday and noticed three (3) motorhomes traveling south with Quebec license plates. Fort Lauderdale is the mecca for Canandians in January.

STORY
I was going to Ft. Pierce to apply for a payday loan and reflecting on these motorhomes...these self-contained, gas-guzzling, house-on-wheels...driving south to park for a month or more in south Florida in order to avoid the crippling cold of Canada. I don't blame them!

As an acclimated Floridian (one that's lived more than 30 years in Florida...actually 42 years for me), I chose to live here. I am a "lizard" and not a "snow bunny." I spent enough time in snow, cold weather with wind blowing 35 mph and not able to wear enough clothes to keep the cold wind from cutting through you...to the BONE! Nice to visit...not nice to live in. It is not quite far enough into the winter for it to be THE RIGHT TIME TO BE IN FLORIDA. The last week in January to the third week in February are the BEST time in Florida. It is the reason people come to Florida.

CONCLUSION
The "optimum time" of the season in Florida is what keeps the economy in Florida going for the rest of the year!! it officially runs from Labor Day to Memorial Day (Sept - May) but that is the whole "season" in Florida. There are four "optimum" weeks...and they are almost here...and so are the CANADIANS!! LOL God Bless 'em!

RESISTING SLEEP

I am a night owl. I am happiest sleeping until noon. Eating dinner at 9 PM or later. Writing, painting, manipulating images on the computer, all best done at 2AM, at least by me. How would you like it if every day was Saturday? Oh...yeah...you do have to shop and go for services during regular hours since the world runs on 9-5. Wait...most things can be bought over the internet, so maybe you CAN live outside the norm.

The next obstacle? Finding someone to hang with that is also a night owl. Early birds and night owls don't make a great pair. Everyone is programmed to believe that you have to conform or you are some kind of slacker, lazy and undisciplined. You just go to bed at 10PM and get up at 5:30AM and go do your job on 7 1/2 hours sleep. What if your personal internal clock is set to wind down around 2AM and you would naturally wake up at 11AM if there wasn't an alarm clock to force you awake? I NEED 9 hours sleep. Not want, NEED. Most people NEED 8 hours. they don't get it. I don't get 9 most of the time, but less than 7 for more than a couple of nights and I get clumsy. I start hurting myself, bumps, bruises, cuts...not a pretty sight. Left to my natural rhythm, I sleep 9 hours and wake naturally, instead of being jerked out of sleep by an annoying sound. Oh I know you can get an alarm that wakes you with increasing light, or gentle sounds that increase in loudness. But those don't work on me.

My life is just about perfect right now. I sleep when I want, go to bed when I want. I have no pressure on me at the moment and I'm enjoying it immensely. Life is good.