Early Starts

Over the last three weeks I've been getting in to work at 7 AM. This means that I've been waking at 5:30. I don't think I've ever consistently woken before 8AM before in my life. It's quite a shock to the system, and also it's provided some interesting insights into early morning life:
I get up in total darkness, save my room which is a ball of light in the early morning gloom. I get downstairs, tip-toeing down the stairs trying not to wake anyone else on the way down. Then I eat whilst the flourescent lights of my kitchen attract numerous wasps that batter against the window throughout my early morning routine of pop music and shivers; despite my turning on the heating and wearing several layers, the cold still bites.
I have to go to sleep really early. Last night I was asleep by seven. Woke again at midnight to eat dinner, then slept from one until five thirty. It's an odd routine that the morning forces on you, and takes time to adjust. In the first week or so everyone gets colds and feels groggy by four in the afternoon; partly due to tiredness and partly due to hunger - we eat around eleven.
You can be as loud as you want, as long as you're insulated from the rest of the world by a bubble - ie a heavy door. The insulation of a heavy door makes one very appreciative of good craftsmanship and quality. This is a pet hate of mine - hollow doors. Hollow doors are useless; they don't shut conclusively, let lots of sound through, can be broken by pushing too hard, and look more puny and weak than well constructed doors.
Buses in the early morning are full of cleaners and security guards. Those paid a proper wage either drive or get a bus which arrives just before half past eight. The suits are no less friendly than the cleaners - everyone is in their own world in the morning - there is never any conversation. This is not the London tube.
Enjoy your early morning.
It's almost 10, I'm off to bed.