Every morning, I have a routine. I naturally wake up at 5:28am, and wait, poised, for the alarm to chirp at 5:30. Then I immediately hit the "nap" button, which gives me another 20 minutes to either doze or just lay there waking up. It always takes me at least 15 mintues to summon enough guts to face the day, and this is why I set the alarm this early.

When I finally do get up, I put on some water for coffee and proceed to get ready for work. At this point, I almost always hate the entire world. All I want to do is go back to sleep; usually I don't get enough sleep, but I've realized that it's the mornings when I am well-rested that I especially hate-filled. Any thought I have will morph into a thought about whatever the suckiest aspect of my life is at that moment.

And so, in this state, I brush my teeth. I wash up. I eat Grape Nuts cereal.

Then it's time to leave for work. I put on my backpack, fill my travel mug with French press coffee, and grab my iPod. I walk down to the bus stop, and along the way I experience The Three Elements, and this magically transforms everything.

The first Element is morning air. I'm not an early morning person per se; I do my best when I wake up around 9:30. But still, there's something I absolutely love about the outdoors in the early hours, especially in the springtime. It smells incredible, there's hardly anyone about, and it's still quiet and clean.

The second Element is caffiene. And not just any caffiene, but really good caffiene in the form of excessively strong, silty java from my French press. It's thick and rich and just delicious. It hits my bloodstream, and already I'm feeling better about life.

The third Element is music. I have an ever-changing list of songs that I listen to during my morning commute. Usually, it's heavy on the Eels and Magnetic Fields, but sometimes I listen to songs that I'm thinking of using in my videoblog while dreaming up different shots and angles I might use. The Revolting Cocks' cover of "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" is the heavy artillery. I listen to that when I need a fail-safe day-starter.

With these Three Elements, everything changes.

The bus comes and by this time, not only do I not hate my life, but I'm actually happy. Quite happy. I get on, and the pretty girl smiles at me, and I nod. I see the guy who waves every day, the lady who does that thing with her arm, the bald guy in the hoodie.

Life is spectacular.
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