Posts Tagged "alarm clock"

Spilled Coffee That’s Worth Crying Over

Dear Kid,

Reasonable people do not get up in the morning and think “I’ll go make a big mess in the kitchen this morning.” Most reasonable people get up in the morning and think “Coffee. Now.”

Most reasonable messes do not get up in the morning and say “Today is the day I will splatter myself on some unsuspecting soul’s kitchen.” Most reasonable messes get up in the morning and think “Coffee. Now.”

Because everyone is pursuing caffeine with a determined single-mindedness, things tend to work out ok.

Most of the time.

Because most of the time Distraction can’t be bothered to get up that early. Its alarm clock goes off, but rather than getting up, Distraction rolls over and goes back to sleep.

Most of the time.

Occasionally Distraction and a grumpy mess meet at the coffee maker. Distraction and the entire Mess side of the family don’t get on well under the best of circumstances. And pre-caffeine is not—by anyone’s definition—the best of circumstances.

When a Distraction and a grumpy mess meet pre-caffeine, there is a lot of elbowing. There is shoving. There is “Stop looking at me!” This can lead to coffee grounds falling in places where they won’t get turned into coffee.

This is nothing compared to what happens when you forget to put your mug under the Keurig...Not that I would ever do that. DearKidLoveMom.comIf they aren’t told to Stop It NOW And I Mean It! and sent to their rooms to settle down, things can get downright ugly. And by “downright ugly” I mean someone might get thoroughly distracted and forget to put a coffee cup under the Keurig.

Do you know what happens when you forget to put a cup under the Keurig? Nothing if you forget to turn the Keurig on.

I didn’t forget that part.

Distraction and the mess are currently sitting in the corner snickering and refusing to help me clean up.

Hope your day is off to a good start.

Love, Mom

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It’s Time to Wake Up! Clocks and Other Tick Tocks

Dear Kid,

Once upon a time, there weren’t any alarm clocks. In fact, there weren’t any clocks.

When Mrs. Joe Neanderthal thought Joe should get up, she banged him over the head with his club. Since there weren’t any clocks, Joe couldn’t even say, “It’s only 5 am!” and go back to sleep. Which was OK since A) Mrs. J. N. was not the type to put up with whining and B) Joe couldn’t count.

Wake Up! The History of Alarm Clocks. DearKidLoveMom.comThen along came School and Start Times and alarm clocks had to be invented.

The first clocks were used by the ancient Greeks and were made from water falling through gears and levers. This is the origin of the popular phrase: I’m sorry I’m late, there was a drought.

Sundials were an improvement since they weren’t affected by an occasional drought or deluge, but cloud cover (and night) put a damper on time-telling. Which is why bacchanalia tended to last all night (no one could say “I have to be home by 3am” since no one knew when 3am was).

The first mechanical-type clock was during medieval times (the era, not the dinner theater). Clocks told the bell-ringers to ring the bells and the bells told the people to get to church.

Finally in 1787, Levi Hutchins in Concord, NH, invented the first American alarm clock. Why we didn’t just copy the European alarm clock I have no idea. But Levi wanted to get up on time (which for him meant 4am. This ridiculous hour has caused alarm-clock rage through subsequent ages.).

Isn’t it great getting up really early on a non-school day?

Love, Mom

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Five Tips to Make It to College Graduation | How to Avoid Becoming a Statistic

4.5 million college studentsDear Kid,

Turns out there are 4.5 million college students in the United States (I counted), and according to this Important Graph That I Did Not Make 30% of them will never graduate. Never.

Now while I’m sure you will be part of the 70%, I thought it might be helpful to share some tips about how to be successful. Just in case you might know someone who could use a refresher.

Here are 5 tips to help ensure you are one of the ones who makes it through to college graduation.

1. Alarm Clock. Many people tell you to buy an alarm clock. That misses the point entirely. The trick is to USE your alarm clock. Which means setting it and then getting up when it goes off. EXTRA TIP: If you have an 8am class, set your alarm for enough time to get to class–that means some time prior to 8am as teleportation is not yet a reliable form of travel.

2. Eat Breakfast. For years you’ve heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Want to hear something amazing? It’s true! Your brain has several jobs in the morning. Top of the list: Keep breathing, walk to class, open eyes, don’t fall down, learn something. If your brain doesn’t have enough fuel (read: food), it focuses on what it considers the highest priority things (like breathing and not falling down) and totally skips the “keep eyes open” and “learn something” requests. Give it food and your brain will happily multi-task. Note: Caffeine is not food. It’s not a bad thing, but there is a limit to how long it will work. It’s like using a really low grade gasoline in your car. It will give it the boost you need to get where you need to go right now, but might not be so good for the engine in the long run.

3. Get Working Early. There are some things that can be done at the last minute. Deciding what to have for dinner in the cafeteria is one of them. Writing a college level paper is not. In high school, it was often easy to wait until the night before a paper was due to write it. (Not brilliant perhaps, but possible.) Most homework was due the day after it was assigned, giving you an implied last minute deadline. As you have doubtless (without a doubt) figured out, that kind of studying won’t work in college. Get started early on your school work. Make (horrors!) a schedule and (double horrors!) stick to it.

4. Talk to Professors Outside Class Time. I hope you’re sitting down, because I have Very Important News. Are you ready? Professors are people too. There, I said it. I’m sure more than one of your professors has encouraged everyone in the class to visit during his or her office hours. They mean it. They are there to teach (the vast majority of them, anyway). They want to get to know you, they want to help, they want you to succeed. They might even be able to help you obtain Gainful Employment at some point. So go, meet, get to know, make a good impression, ask a question, get help. Just go.

5. Make Friends.Didn’t see that one coming, did you? The trick is to make the Right Sort of Friends. By “right sort” I don’t mean based on skin color or sexual orientation or what kind of soda a person prefers. I mean A) people you like, B) people who have the same sort of goals you have (to do well in college), and C) that have good study habits and are able to balance school and social life. It is a truism that we become like those we spend our time with (which means that I shall probably begin shedding shortly). Choosing friends you want to be like can be a life altering decision.

 Have a good day, Kiddo!

Love, Mom

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