Hibernation mode

Now that the days are so short and night comes on so early, I feel myself getting sleepy almost as soon as it gets dark. Settling down on the sofa to read, I almost inevitably fall asleep, sometimes for hours on end. It gets darn near impossible to get any meaningful reading done despite the fact that the weather keeps us largely indoors this time of year. Even during daylight hours, I've been known to fall asleep reading on weekends. There just seems to be something about this time of year that makes me feel lethargic and sleepy and almost wanting to go into something of a hibernation mode. It makes sense to me that people feel this way because doubtless our primitive forebears were forced to slow down during the colder months in order to pack on more body fat to protect themselves during the leaner colder months when food was scarce. Other creatures hibernate this time of year, why not humans? But our hurly-burly 24/7 lives now force us to get less sleep and work harder and longer because that's what our economy demands. Is it any wonder we've become such a dysfunctional lot as humans? We're forced to answer alarm clocks that rouse us out of deep REM sleep and work long hours at our jobs, thus robbing us of our normal body rhythms. In fact, just today, I read an article in the newspaper that said that naps refresh us in more than just physical ways - they also refresh and improve our memories and enhance our creative thought processes. But our workaday world does not allow us to take a nap on the job. Nope, gotta work, work, work to keep up our warped American Protestant work ethic. We drink too much coffee to stay awake during the day (myself included) and then drag our exhausted bodies back home. Our 24/7 economy means that people work days or nights or late nights, depending on their jobs, which is completely contrary to our natural circadian rhythms. It's just all so screwy. So it's no wonder that this time of year tends to make people a lot crankier. Not only is there the natural stress of the holiday season to have to cope with, but I suspect that like me, most folks would be content just to curl under the covers and sleep the winter months away until spring. There are those snow loving folk who look forward to ski and winter sports season, but I suspect that they are in the distinct minority.

RESCUE ME!

I've been reading in the papers how the executives of the Big Three automakers in Detroit have been going to Washington to beg for money to save their companies. What's ironic is that they flew down in their private jets, which completely sends the wrong message about how serious they are regarding their collective futures. Naturally, this was the subject of much scorn so there is talk that next time, they will carpool down instead. What I wonder is this: if they get their big chunk of change (thanks once again to us taxpayers, who keep having to foot the bill for utter corporate mismanagement), will they retool to create more fuel efficient cars, or will they keep to their misguided strategies of wanting to sell gas guzzling SUV's and big trucks? Yes, gas is about 50% cheaper now than it was just a few months ago, but prices are bound to rise again if speculators feel that the environment is profitable for them to do so. So it's better to retool Detroit to produce better made, more fuel efficient cars than to keep to the losing strategy of trying to sell America on big gas guzzlers. True, America has always been the land of "bigger is better", but I think that this recent financial crisis has shown people that thrifty can also be better. We're a nation of shameless consumers who buy far more than we need and spend more than we make, thanks to far too easy access to credit. But years of this kind of materialistic behavior have caused the chickens to come home to roost. We're a nation deeply mired in mortgage and credit card debt, thanks to overspeculation and overspending and buying far more car and house than people need. You don't need a quarter million dollar McMansion in the countryside to be comfortable. You don't need to drive a Hummer H2 in order to get from point A to point B. Sure, we live in a climate where in particular the winter weather can be pretty brutal and road conditions can get pretty nasty in a big hurry, but I feel perfectly safe in my small economical Hyundai Accent hatchback, a thrifty little car bought new for a very reasonable price that even someone on my tight budget can afford to own. Sure, it's an Asian car, but it's solid, well made and has a warranty like gold. I've driven Chevy's, Fords and other American made vehicles and found them wanting. Up until this recent purchase of a South Korean car, I was sold on good German technology and exclusively drove VW's. But the Asians have been rapidly catching up and Hyundai's, once considered the Yugo of the Asian car market, has now just about caught up with Toyota in reliability ratings. That was enough to convince me to buy one, plus their amazing warranty package convinced me that they stood behind their product and believed in its reliability. That they do so was enough to convince me that maybe this car warranted a good look when I went car shopping last year, and frankly, if you're in the market for a good, solid, reliable and economical Asian car, I could do no better than to recommend taking a look at Hyundai. I love mine and intend to drive it as long as I can. So America, get with the program, catch up to your Asian and European counterparts, and maybe the next time I go car shopping, I'll have a look at one of your products. But until you do, I'll stick with imports, thank you very much!