Being busy looking for a job and finishing my thesis has left me with little time to sleep. Le manqué de sommeil (the lack of sleep) over the past few months has left me constantly searching for le bouton snooze (the snooze button).

“The Greatest Button In The World” by Sean McGrath on Flickr. Lincensed under CC BY 2.0.

Tous les soirs (every night) before I go to sleep je règle mon réveil (I set my alarm clock) for the next day. Even if 24 hour clocks sometimes confuse me, they stop me from setting mon réveil for the wrong time!

I use mon portable (my cellphone) as mon réveil, and it always tells me how many hours until l’alarme will sonner (go off):

Alarme dans 6 heures et 12 minutes à partir de maintenant
Alarm set for 6 hours and 12 minutes from now

After je m’endorme (I go to sleep) I’m greeted in the morning with a familiar sound:

BIP BIP BIP BIP
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Or if you have an older réveil:

Driiiiiiiiing
Riiiiiiiiiing

“The Alarm Clock” by Łukasz Hejnak on Flickr. Licensed under CC BY 2.0.

My first reaction is, bien sûr (of coure), to press le bouton snooze.

Dix minutes plus tard… BIP BIP BIP
Ten minutes later… BEEP BEEP BEEP

Then it’s time to se lever (get up) and se préparer (get ready) for the day. C’est alors (that’s when) things start to get busy:

• Brosser les dents (brush my teeth)
• Faire le café (make coffee)
  
• Préparer le petit déjeuner (prepare breakfast)
• Voir la météo (check the weather)
• Choisir mes vêtements (pick out my clothes)
• Commencer à travailler (begin working)

After une journée longue (a long day) I make sure mon réveil is set for the next day before laying down in mon lit (my bed):

Alarme dans 6 heures et 20 minutes à partir de maintenant
Alarm set for 6 hours and 20 minutes from now