Early bird gets the worm?

It was only when I turned to a family member this morning and told them that "oh my gosh, it's 6:20 and I'm running late" that I realized that my daily schedule is another one of those hidden changes in my life. The odd thing is that it's just not just me who makes statements like that, or who thinks nothing of calling a friend at 7:30 in the morning, and not making it through American Idol because it lasted until 10pm; it's pretty much everyone around me. It appears that people here in the south, even though many would know them for their more laid back approach to life, start the day at an abnormally early hour.
In all honesty, I do have to add in a caveat here, and that is that I do live in a military community. So perhaps this early morning thing is not so much a southern thing as it is an armed forces thing. Either way though, it's a night-and-day change from my life in Europe (pre-marital life, that is).
Just yesterday I was reading a book that took place in London, where the main character does not get up until 8:30. On a weekday. Depressing, isn't it? I had forgotten that most of my friends in England don't start work until 9:30am, a luxury that seems way out of reach now. Even though this British work ethic may seem frivolous, friends and family in continental Europe usually don't start work until 8:30, or 9 either. Of course, starting later involves getting up sometime between 6:45 and 7:30, and I can't even begin to describe how positively wonderful that sounds.
My weekdays start at 5:20am, when I'm immediately confronted by the fact that the love of my life is already up, showered, and usually incredibly cheerful. I have yet to find a non-American friend who can make that exact same statement :) Because of my ridiculous commute, I am out the door by 6:15 (another one of those facts of life that when I stop and think about it, it amazes me), and in my office by 7:45.
This is when my day begins to resemble my pre-marital life; I have always been an early bird, even in Europe, where academics are notorious for starting their days at 10am, 1pm, 3pm, or not at all. But the mind-boggling part is that most all of my co-workers are at their desks too! And not only that; they're awake, smiling, and almost positively happy to be there. And it's not just my place of work. It still amazes me that I can call other places of work at 8am, to find that they're open and happy to serve you. And schools too - the buses for the elementary, middle, and high school all pull into our cul-de-sac, the last stop on their route, somewhere between 6:40 and 7:15.
The downside of all this early morning happiness is that the evenings are fairly short as well. Although it's perfectly alright to call someone at 7:30 in the morning, it's equally not alright to call anyone after 9pm. And last night, when we saw that American Idol started at 9pm, we were all very disappointed that we probably wouldn't make it through to the end. Now I am very proud to say that we did, but our eyes barely stayed open.
Another downside is that this sleeping pattern carries over into the weekend. Sleeping in means not waking up until 8:30, and watching a complicated indie movie after 8:30 at night means I'll fall asleep halfway. Actually, I stand corrected; the other day I fell asleep during Kill Bill, so watching any movie after 8:30 is risky. This from the person who used to go to late night movie specials at the local indie movie theater, and who once sat through a six-hour Italian film which lasted until 1am. How life changes!
So although the early bird may get the worm, it sure misses out on all those night critters!