Wow. Anybody that wants to see something truly beautiful should wake up early some morning and take a trip down Lakeshore Drive here in Chicago, watching the sunrise over the lake. It's something to see.

This morning I woke up at 4:45 AM. I'm not sure why exactly; I went to bed last night sometime between 11:30 and midnight, which is early by my standards. My normal bedtime is between 2 and 3 AM, which was one of the major driving factors behind my leaving my old dayjob and going full-time freelance. They were very flexible and accommodating, allowing me to shift my schedule forward to I could arrive late and stay late, but the real kicker was that I can't stand alarm clocks. As long as I can remember, I've been sleeping for about six hours or so every night, which I can and will do naturally, but if something wakes me up in the morning I get sick as a dog.

Anyway, so I woke up today before 5AM, did a little drawing, got cleaned up, and then decided to head south to pick up a client check first thing this morning. I'm now sitting in a Peet's Coffee more or less downtown, waiting for the rest of the world to wake up. There's a beauty to the world first thing in the morning. It's a little sliver of the peace and quiet that I so desperately miss from living out in the country. I love Chicago, but I miss that tranquility every single day. I feel like Gonzo, sitting beside the campfire and wistfully singing, "I'm going to get back there someday." Someday. I'm laying the groundwork now to get there -- I just need to remember that when I'm working fiercely against the clock and cursing the immortal souls of my noisy neighbors.

Either that, or I need to start getting up at 5AM more often. Something to consider.