Day in the Life - 2014
I dare you to move
Like today never happened before
It’s been so long since I’ve really set down an account of my life that I feel I ought to give a Day in the Life.
I can’t help but feel that as an adult my usual day is much less interesting than it has been in the past.
When I wake up, it’s for one of four reasons. Reason #1: I set my alarm for a particular time because I had an appointment. #2: The dog is whining for the fulfillment of one of his basic needs such as more food, the great outdoor bathroom, or sheer boredom. #3: I had to go to the bathroom and my bladder woke me, or #4: Someone called me during the wee business hours around 8am and I was still in bed.
Typically the very next thing I do after all of these things is put on my hair band (of the accessory variety as opposed to the 8o’s variety) and glasses and sit down to the computer. Shortly after this, most days, I am thirsty and get my trusty frozen bottle from the freezer. I bought two rectangular cube 1 litre jugs from Dollarama for a lemonade party, and now I freeze water in them every night on an angle for maximum surface area of the ice. I can’t remember life without them, but they’ve only been around for 3 months or so.
My lovely glass desk is something I’m pretty used to now. My computer still runs very fast (ever since we replaced the hard drive with a solid state one) and is now running the shiny new Yosemite OS, which is fast and pretty and makes everything feel new again despite the small ways the computer is starting to show its age.
As I look around our rather tiny basement suite, I remember that most of the people reading this have never seen it. The walls are a light lilac purple, and some of them are at haphazard angles. The only doors are the door to the bathroom and the door at the top of the stairs. We always come in through the garage into their garage entryway, and the door to our suite is right beside it. We installed a set of hooks at the top of the stairs for coats, just in time for the shifting weather. The floors are linoleum faux wood in a charcoal grey colour. They are cold, so we have an inherited carpet in front of the couch - a strip of which is a favourite haunt of the dog and develops a white hue with his discarded fur if we don’t vacuum it often enough. I have a little carpet sample I bought at Value Village that sits under my feet at the computer, so I often feel like I have carpet even though I don’t.
I’m rather fond of my little office space, which is good as I spend probably 5-8 hours a day or more there. It’s typically about half-way to organized, and I organize it all the way every week or two. I try to keep a handle on the scanning since I’ve gone paperless. Right now when I look left, I can see all the way across the suite to our shelf, credenza, and curio cabinet, where our pretty things live. The top of the shelf is full-out Christmas right now, with my favourite tree that a friend gave me one year when I didn’t have one as the guest of honour, and three cute little snowmen occupying the shelf beneath. A stuffed alot wearing Paul’s grad hat and a bevy of Nutcrackers, complete with a stuffed Babar the Elephant riding a stuffed wooly mammoth we got in Drumheller. I overlook them often in my day to day, but the things on that side of the house have a lot of power to make me smile.
Our kitchen is horribly tiny, and though we have an under-stairs pantry and get to use the dishwasher upstairs, it is seldom in a state of entire cleanliness and usefulness. The lack of counter space typically pushes things onto the table in the living room, which serves as both coffee table and dining table, when we dine there. Honestly, we dine far more often in front of the computer-functioning-as-TV and watch one of our favourites. I watch a lot of television, and sometimes I also relax on my red chaise lounge, a prize possession of mine, and read a book.
Our bathroom lacks a tub, to my chagrin, but I’ve been enjoying luxurious baths when I travel, so I am not too hard done by. In the end, the home is rather functional most of the time. Our bedroom is a fair size, and with a full wall of closet space, under-bed storage, a dresser and a few extra storage options, I find it works out fairly well. The blackout curtain I put up in the doorway doesn’t block sound very well, but it does block light well.
I spend most of my time either in my office or asleep when I’m at home, though I’m gradually getting into a better habit of spending time on chores.
Murphy and I sometimes play by chasing each other in circles around the table in the living room, and if I’m in a good mood and paying attention to his needs, which is most days, we have a good romp. Other days I have Paul take Murphy to doggy daycare, where he has a blast with other dogs and comes home utterly exhausted but happy. Those are typically days I have to be out for work, or I have a huge load of editing to do. Home is better with Murphy in it most of the time though. He can be a great companion. He can also be obnoxious if he gets bored, which we attempt to avoid by sprinkling daycare days, dog park visits, time outside, and inside playtime and training time.
While on the computer there are many ways that my day can go. I plan, I organize. I edit. I manage email and appointments and contracts and such, or, now that I have an assistant again, instruct them on what I plan to do next. I eventually realize I’m hungry and go foraging for food - and typically that reminds me of groceries I need to get or meal planning that needs to be accomplished. The latter is saving us a ton of money, and sometimes a lot of time, too. I’m starting to become somewhat good at it now. We’ve tried a few unique meals, several of which have been a big hit, and others have been a total flop. Par for the course, really. I miss my lovely kitchen in Saskatoon, but I cook anyway, and so does Paul.
I am often rooting about in Evernote organizing life, writing content for one of my two businesses, finding and recording new ideas and research or sharing something I found that Paul enjoys. I spend a fair bit of time on Facebook and Reddit, mainly shopping for interesting, cute, thought-provoking, or scientific things. I add quotes to my quote blog every few days, and it has started to blossom into a very large library.
Most days I watch a bit of TV or listen to a podcast while editing - This American Life is a favourite, some days Paul and I play games, and every weekday when Paul returns home from work we hug and talk about our day, which is a part of the day I treasure. I’m thrilled whenever Paul comes home.
On my days out of the house I am often running errands, meeting people or networking to promote or offer services for Last Resort (I’m basically working with three clients now, technically four but two are a team), getting medical services like chiro, massage, doctor appointments, or similar. Sometimes I’m out buying things to make our home a more live-able place, going to the library to pick up a book (which has a 1 in 3 chance of getting read, realistically).
Most days, I am glued to the computer working on new things for Last Resort, initiatives for Admire Studios, or personal projects. Right this moment, a sleeping dog lies beside me on my special chair, and I am contemplating what to eat for lunch. Life can be quite simple like that when things are slow, or I could be attempting to laser focus on a project that needs finishing. In either case, I am usually fairly happy at the end of the day.