I wake up to the sound of my alarm. Eyes heavy with the remnants of sleep, I check the time. It’s 5:30 am, an ungodly hour by any standard. A pen falls off my desk with a crash, jolting me from the sleepy fog; it’s my cat, bored as usual. 15 minutes later—running on a mix of coffee, granola, and throat lozenges—I’m out the door.