Light.

For a guy prone to dark moods, I like good lighting.

At home in my trainer dungeon, I have the overhead florescent lights, a couple LED shop lights, and a small SAD light (which never did much for me emotionally). They're all on when I'm on the trainer, partially because the bikes and bike components hanging from the ceiling reduce the impact of any single light, but also because I really like bright rooms.

At the radar sites, some genius decided to paint the walls in the rooms with a flat color that absorbs 90% of all light. In winter along the Chukchi Sea it can get pretty dark, so this is not a great feature during the seasons when the mind tends to veer towards the homicidal. One of the first things I do when I move into a room is start adding lamps. The more, the brighter, the better. I'll pull off lamp shades to make them put out more light. I'll replace the bulbs with the highest wattage I can get away with. Anything to brighten my little world.

It helps.

It's easier to wake up at 4:00AM and get on the trainer when you have the equivalent of four or five suns beaming in your face. The alarm goes off and I start making the rounds of the room, flipping switches. With no one else to annoy in the room, it's all about making my usually lethargic body spring into action at an ungodly hour. It's brutal, but effective.

Guess I am all sunshine after all.