FTD and Morning Routine

Starting the morning routine is the most important part of the day. If I don't start right the whole day comes apart at the FTD seams. I wake up at about 5am. I've breakfast between 5:30 - 6:00am,  shower, shave etc, watch "Morning Joe" news and am out the door slightly before 7am. It's then onto Cafe Bunni, where I'm productive with my blog and work anywhere from 7:00 to 10:00am on average.

This routine is done 7 days a weeks now. It goes smooth most of the time, with me having specific times to make sure I'm up and getting things done. Everything's a constant at that time of day. I don't really care for weekends because my morning news show isn't on at 5:30am. If we could only eliminate weekends, my FTD unionized world would be much tighter. I don't think the public would mind going on a 7 day work week for my convenience. 

Of course my FTD world isn't always perfect and morning routine, though mostly stable can easily be shot to hell. Now that I'm sitting here and actually thinking about it, it's not only disturbing how regimented I am, it's sick. Good thing I have FTD or I'd seriously have to consider seeing a shrink. Breakfast has to be eaten by 5:30am. The MSNBC news program starts at 5:30, so I need to be back in my bedroom by then or things start getting off kilter. The regular 5am news is usually on with a commercial break about 5:26am, so that's more than enough time to eat a hard boiled egg. If I get an earlier start, I might makes eggs over over easy. I only cook if I have nothing negative on my mind or have zero pressure. I can lose it easy. A flipped over broken yoke might mean the pan thrown against the wall or sink. A hard boiled egg shell that sticks to the egg means the whole egg getting crushed in my hand and thrown in the garbage. If things don't go perfectly, FTD pushes me aside and takes over. Even when I break two eggs into a cup, if one one yolk breaks, into the sink or garbage it goes. Probably once of twice a week breakfast doesn't go perfectly. I'll sometimes go through 2-3 hard boiled eggs before I eat one. If I get to the news and it's already started, it no big deal. Vitamins and pills downed at this point. 

Next comes the flossing and brushing routine. I wait for a the commercial to come on, grab some floss and floss while watching the news. I continue on to brushing the same exact way, running back to the bathroom to spit out toothpaste. Listerine and I'm done. I used to brush and floss twice a day all of my life, but that stopped about a year ago and I've been unsuccessful in keeping that piece of hygiene on track. I'm suppose to care and I do, but I don't. A few more quotes like that and I can run for President in 2016.

Forgot to mention that my laptop is with me on my bed from the moment I wake up and I'm constantly going back and forth to it.

I watch "Morning Joe" from 6:00- till I head to Cafe Buunni about 7am. Of course I squeeze in a shower, shave during a commercial break. I use one of the old fashioned grandfather double sided razors and usually cut myself up a couple of times a week. People ask me why I don't switch. $7 for two year supply of a blades on Amazon. I don't mind that battered look either.

Clothes, well I wear the same pair of jeans all the time. I used to do the wash every Saturday, but that stopped long ago. I get an occasional comment about my appearance or hygiene, but I'm far from out of control. 

That's my morning routine when nothing goes wrong. Things get a bit dicey when things do go wrong. If I have trouble sleeping and wake up past 6:30am or something distracts me, I might get it together and go through a quick routine and get out the door shortly after 7am. If I wake past 7:30am, chances are I won't make it out the door to the following day. In fact, I might not even make it out of bed. Everything just collapses, breakfast, brushing teeth, shower, shave etc. don't get done and I don't even think about it. When I try to get going, it just doesn't happen. The longer I get distracted, the greater the chance I'll head toward's an FTD frozen place. Couldn't care less. This has gone on for minutes or days at a time before I pull myself together. I'm not sad or depressed, I'm perfectly happy and comfortable doing nothing. Then comes the reality that I can't let FTD start to dig in or I may never be able to escape. I need to push myself back into my routine. If I go have tea 7 days a week from 7-10am and never leave the house besides that, so be it. I'm fighting this thing alone, getting out and adding purpose to my life by sitting here writing and doing other work to further awareness of FTD. I do incorporate other activities in my life, but there becoming few and far between. Hey, I have purpose and I'm happy with what I'm doing. 

Homer, AK 2004  

Taken while on work assignment. I had a life then and I have a life now. I made the best of it then, I'll make the best of it now.

I was invited to participate in an FTD symposium in Arizona. Some have advised me I can't. Right, never believed in the word can't. 

One day this blog will turn to gibberish, but no one can ever say I didn't life to it's fullest. Time to head to the Cardiologist this morning and make sure this heart of mine is set to continue this journey. 

*BTW - Had the superintendent of my building hang up my dry/erase calendar board. I filled out a week ago. Haven't looked at it since. Shwiah, Shwiah - Slowly, slowly in English.

Howard