My day

06:31amMy alarm goes off. I snooze it automatically. Back to sleep.

06:40amMy alarm goes off again. I look at my clock, and decide that I want to try and finish this dream. I snooze it again.

06:49amThis time, I actually lift up on one arm. I snooze the alarm, then lean my forehead on my bed. If I get up now, I can be to work on time. If I wait til the next alarm, I can get there by my standard late time. I roll back to sleep.

06:58amI snap up, and turn off the alarm. I lean my forehead on the bed again. Time to get up and get moving. No delays. DO NOT CLOSE YOUR EYES AFTER TURNING OFF THE ALARM. Okay, Im moving. I pop the covers off crisply and swing my legs over the bed and into my day with alacrity.

Its light out. I note this with pleasure every morning as it signals a growing end to my SAD for another year, and that I don’t have to worry about walking naked through my apartment with the blinds open. No body can see in if I don’t turn on the lights. I walk to the shower.

07:15amAfter the bathroom rituals, I finish buffing my hair (running a towel back-n-forth across my head like a shoeshine to dry it) and make my way back to my bedroom. I observe it is raining out. Drat. I wonder if this stuff is really going to carry into the weekend? I turn on the TV and VCR (my tuner). There is some Fox Kids program on. Its all computer generated. It has some dude on a four-wheeled road-surfboard chasing a semi. Its actually quality CGI…so I watch a few minutes. Not bad.

Then I flip to another station, and they are talking about weather. Thank you, God. I love synchronicity. Yes, the rain will persist. Drat. There goes my camping plans this weekend. I don’t mind camping in the rain, in general, but I need a dry day so I can seam-seal the tent. *sigh* Off goes the TV.

07:35amI grab a oatmeal-fruit bar, a multivitamin, and my jacket. Since its raining, I stop and put my shoes on now, instead of in the car.

07:48amI pull up at work. This isn’t rain, its snow. But the ground is already too warm. This State has the weirdest weather… I survey my front seat for things to take inside. Dayrunner, CDs…that will do for now.

Our building is on a hill, and we have tiers of parking that spread down and around the outside of the building. The Bosses park on top, in front of the building. Most of the rest of the staff park on level two, beside the building. Since I am a relative newcomer, I picked out a great spot under a tree on level 3… but, there’s a construction crew taking up half of that level, including my usual spot.

So, I am parking even further around the back of the building than normal. At least I’m not on level 4 (further down the hill). Not that I mind too much. Its a nice walk, even in this sleetsnowrain. I just want my tree spot back.

08:18amMy computer finally allows me to log on! I check my GroupWise email, log onto Instant Messenger, then check my Hotmail. Nothing. I check my journal notes, find notes from some of my favs, then check their journals briefly. Then I open this entry, and start typing.

While waiting for the logon, I run downstairs and get hot water for tea, and a cup of ice with water. I come up and make myself drink the water, and start my tea to steeping.

After a while, a friend IM’s me. She keeps me company through the morning.

09:30am A friend e-mails me about lunch plans. He confirms that we are on for Noon (which is not either of our normal lunch times) and lets me know that he is out of cash. I reply that I’d be happy to spring for lunch!

09:58amWhile my IM friend walks her dog, I go walk down the hall…. *whistling*

So far this morning, I have been updating our website, along with reading a few joke-mails that my folks have been sending me. They do this about once every two weeks – they will send me like 10 within 2 hours. I’ve also taken a few phone calls, answered a few questions, etc.

I have my headphones on, and have been listening to a compilation CD tentatively titled “Spring”. It has a lot of Sting on it, plus a variety of others. I have refilled the ice cup with Pepsi, and I am randomly drinking among tea, pop, and a bottle of water, all arrayed in front of my monitor (my monitor sits high up). (The tea is a “Traditional Medicinal” for cold relief, and is non-caffinated).

10:20amFilm arrives from the service bureau. It looks right, this time. Our secretary has brought me the printing requisition for this job, so I reopen the artwork in Photoshop to confirm my ink-color choices. I play with a variety of subtle changes, and settle on PMS Red 32 and PMS Reflex Blue. Its for a flag ceremony certificate.

10:45amMy IM friend has logged off for awhile to go ..well, do stuff. She has a rare day off, so I am hoping she sleeps or does something really fun.

I am opening QuarkXpress to print another color printout of the project I am sending to the printer. I also turn the lights out in our section. My coworker and I both enjoy reduced lighting (we have a bank of windows that runs the length of our space, so we have plenty of light) plus it helps save energy in our building.

She also asks about music, so I unplug my headphones. My ears are kinda plugged with the cold, so the music sounds even more tinny coming from my monitor than normal. The current track is John Melloncamp “Now More than Ever (the world needs love)”…

Continued…