Early morning alarms and zen don't always mix

I'm going to admit...it's hard to keep one's Zen when the CO alarm is going off multiple times throughout the night...by no fault of actual CO in this case.

So, in doing my best to not let the anger of waking up from that sound sleep to the ear-piercing noise of the alarm, and to get myself back into slumber, I tried an Buddhist trick passed on to me by my friend Larry:

Sit with your eyes closed and focus on your breathing. Breathe in through your nose while saying silently to yourself "this is my in breath," then exhale through your mouth while saying silently to yourself "this is my out breath."

Do it for about five minutes and you'll find yourself most likely getting back to your calm/zen state in no time.