Oct. 01, 2008 - 5:34 a.m.

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.

.

I'm convinced that waking at 3am every day for the past 14 years has had the same effect on my brain as drinking a cup of sterno every day for that same span of time.

I'm not a coffee drinker, which makes me a glaring anomaly in the world of morning radio drones. But I do enjoy a cup of tea now and again. So last night while puttering around getting dressed I set a kettle of water to boil and placed my "I (heart) Menudo!!" mug and cracked stoneware sugar bowl next to the stove.

When the kettle whistled I had just put on my shirt and one sock. No pants. I shuffled back to the stove, stuck the other sock in my teeth, and poured the boiling water.

Into the sugar bowl.

Of course, I didn't realize I'd poured boiling water into the sugar bowl until I lifted the mug and it didn't taste like Tazo Chai Spiced tea. It tasted like air.

You know, at 3 in the morning a different set of rules applies. I drank the steeped sugar.

And now I'm at work waiting for my eyes to regain their ability to see colors again.