This Is My Day

I wake up between 8:45 and 9:00 AM every day.
Sometimes to the sound of my alarm, sometimes not.
Then I try not to look at my phone or check my email.
I get into the shower.
Brush my teeth.
Get dressed.
Grab my lunch
(or not.  Sometimes I like to treat myself).
If the boyfriend is up, I kiss him goodbye
and tell him I love him.

The drive is silent
or it's KCRW podcasts.

I pull in to the office between 9:45 and 10 AM.
Easy parking at that time.

I open the office.
I grab the hot water kettle.
Fill it.
Turn it on.
Then I sit at the desk and meditate.
The sound of water boiling helps.
By the time I am done with my meditation,
the water is ready.
Not too hot.
Hot enough to bring out the flavor of my tea
while it's steeping.

Then I turn on the computer.
Check emails.
Answer emails.
Look at Facebook briefly.
Maybe play fun songs that I'm excited to listen to.
This is my fool around time.

This morning I got to the office, 
looked at the index cards spread all over my desk.
Neatly organized.
I walked in, thinking
"I've got work to do!"
That exclamation point is pure excitement
not sarcasm.

I blog.
I drink my tea.
I get out my packet of morning
trail mix.

Tim usually comes in at some point
during this morning quiet time.
We chat a bit.
Talk about what we're doing that day.

Then we get to work.

I eat some time between 12:30 and 1 PM.
I work and eat.
I try to eat something healthy.
Kale.
Lentils.
Brown Rice.

Today it's fried rice that I cooked this morning
after the shower,
but before I got dressed.
I cooked in a towel.
Had to readjust it a few times to make sure
that I wasn't completely naked and cooking.

I am trying to keep my meat consumption to the
weekends.
I might not always feel that way.

Then around 2:30 or 3 PM I usually feel like
getting up.
That's because I'm about to fall asleep.
So I go for a walk
or I stand out in the courtyard.
I might also go outside and read something
during this time.
This is the time I used to
grab coffee.
I have been coffee free for three and a half years.
I just have my herbal tea next to me.
The warmth is comfort enough.
I get up to wake myself up.

Then I work until 4 or 5 or 6 PM.
It depends.
Sometimes the last hour is just me on the computer.
It's like I'm preparing for re-entry.

Then I go home.
I have to be better about working out.
But after work doesn't seem like the right time.
I'd rather work out later,
but by the time it gets to that time,
around 8:30 or 9 PM,
I am comfortable at home,
having eaten some dinner
or hanging out with the boyfriend
or watching something on Netflix which may
or may not pertain to what I'm working on.

These days it's Woody Allen films
or "The Mind of a Chef" to take my mind
off my work and to watch someone do something
that's very routine,
very much about their craft,
and very much about the daily ritual of working.
It's a reminder.
I also like re-watching documentaries.

What I'm finding is that having a structured work day
allows me to fully relax at night,
so that I don't feel like doing work.
Before I had this office,
I would work at all times.
And it would get all serious and quiet at home.
Not the most romantic environment.
I save the serious and quiet
for the office
where the boyfriend does not have to bear witness to it.
It's for his protection.

And that's my day.
Boring, really.
But people ask me what I do all of the time.
And that's it.

At least five days a week.
Between 30-40 hours a week.
I like a 30 hour work week
better than a 40 hour work week.

I figured that out this morning,
having put in a full eight yesterday
and probably putting in a full eight today.
I have plans later and might as well stay 
at the office until I have to leave.

I make my lunch.
I have my supplies here in case I need a snack.
And I have a companion to talk to in case I'm driving myself crazy.
I try not to drive him crazy.

So far, it's going well.

I am grateful for my daily routine.
I am grateful for this dedicated space.
I am grateful for Bobby Matos and his Afro-Cuban Ensemble.
I am grateful for cork board and dry erase board.
I am grateful for the creative visual.
I am grateful to see evidence of my inspiration all around me.
I am grateful for quiet time in the morning.