What gets you up in the morning? A particular song or radio station? The cat and/or dog? A swift kick from your significant other(s)? The ringing of a wind-up alarm clock? The noise of the garbagemen tossing your cans around?
For me, it’s the theme song from the They Might Be Giants album Flood coming from the alarm feature on my cell phone.
If I’m sleeping on my right side, my left ear hears the sound and I wake up and hit snooze. If I’m sleeping on my left side, my right ear (nearly useless) hears nothing and after 30-45 seconds of loud alarm sound, my gf smacks me (lovingly), I roll over and hit snooze.
If we do not have to get up for work, our dogs wake me up at 5:35.
My Wife getting out of bed around 3:30 wakes me initially. Then I hear her get out of the shower and take the dogs downstairs. I go back to sleep to be woken about an hour later when on of our border collies pounces on my chest. I’m usually ready for that, but this morning it startled the bejebers out of me. Luckily, it’s the smaller one of the two.
Then my cell phone alarm at 5:15. I notice the screen come on before I hear it. It starts silent and gradually gets louder some sort or random chiming.
My bladder likes to change things up on occasion. For weeks I’ll wake up to pee around 2am so still 3-1/2 hours to sleep whick is optimum. My bladder is now on a kick to wake me up at 4am! It takes me about an hour to get back to sleep at that time so then I have a whole half hour of really crappy sleep. UGH
My iPhone clock is set up on the “bedtime” deal. Set to wake me up at 5:30 Mon-Fri. I usually wake up before it goes off.
My Siamese come upstairs only once a day, its at 6:30ish. Time for breakfast. I always go back to bed til the dogs need to pee. About 9ish.
Today I had workmen coming in at 8. Screwed everyone up. Cats are freaked out. Little Yorkie couldn’t help but pee on the deck. Aaaacckk. The floor will be done today. Yay!
Sometimes it’s my son. He just moved into his big boy bed, and rolls out of that thing as soon as his eyes open. I hear him push open his door, then mine, then he starts with the “Mom” alarm (Mom. Mooommm. Ma. Mama. Mom. Mom. Moooommmm.)
On the days when my son sleeps past 6:30, my alarm is set to the Thaxted section of Jupiter from Holst’s The Planets suite. (It’s that broad, sweeping, stately melody in the middle of the piece.) I like being woken by orchestral music. For a long time, it was Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, but I started associating that song with the crappiness of waking up, so I switched when I upgraded my phone.
Trixie the Dog. She’s the one who will make a single bark in a very high pitch, meaning, *“Let me out!”
*
Its amazing how many different barks the crew has for different meanings.