After spending a few months locked into the blackest of Black Boxes working on Shadow Box, I had rather forgotten what life was like at 4pm. Today, I entered afternoon world immediately after school and was stuck by the abundance of life and sun. It was my norm to exit the school when the sun had well gone down and the parking lot was totally vacant save my little red Charger eager to get going. Now it was sunny. Now the school was bustling with others going home. The parking lot presented a bit of a challenge to my Challenger as many cars were vying to be the first car out. It was a bit crazy at 4pm.
For years I have battled the middle-of-the-afternoon-get-me-sugar-or-a-nap syndrome. When it comes time for a play, I rearrange my sleeping. waking, eating, and exercising just so that I can, to the best of my ability, peak at 4 p.m. All my coffee cups are lined up to produce the maximum effect at 4pm. But now, what good is all that energy at 4 p.m.? Certainly I don’t want to waste it grading paper or doing lesson plans. Certainly this is not the energy you would want to waste on house cleaning. What to do?
Today this was solved by an early afternoon visit to the gym. During rehearsals I reserve my 8pm hour for the gym – but now I thought I could test that 4 p.m. energy with a little weight lifting. It actually felt good to hit the highway and rush down the road like all the other commuters. I was getting to the gym in daylight. I didn’t have to use my night access code. I was going to see a whole new group of people – brave enough to seek the gym in broad daylight. 4 p.m. energy was right there with me as I left the locker room. This is going to be magical – – until I heard my trainer utter the word, “squats” then pooooof! all of that 4 p.m. energy ran for cover.
Although I am a fan of daylight, I do miss my time in the dark – – my time with moldy air, cold coffee and teenage enthusiasm.
One comment on “4:00pm and What?”
Haha – squats.
One of the BEST exercises you can do. They may not always be pleasant, but they sure are functional.
Not a fan of the gym personally (even though I’m a fitness professional), but I would figure it’s probably less crowded at 4pm than perhaps 5 or 6 when everyone else is getting there after work.
It’s a great way to spend some of that extra energy though. I’m sure you’re comfortable with your normal routine (as most of us tend to be), but at least you found a healthy outlet.