I find that now I have my daily routine all set, and follow it in an effort to keep an efficient lifestyle, I start having a hard time coming up with ideas to write about here. My writing has improved since starting this blog. I dread looking back at the early entries for fear of what I might find.
Speaking of looking back, my 200th post is coming up. I’m going to continue with my old diary as I did for my 100th. If all goes to schedule I will have that post up on the 20th. I also haven’t forgotten my birthday celebration post, where I present my life in pictures. I’m still waiting to borrow many of those from my father’s collection. Another big post I need to think about is my first anniversary of this blog. I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet. Taking a week off in celebration briefly crossed my mind. I quickly shot that one down. I’m not ruling the idea out forever, but I’m not burnt out yet.
To get back to my main point: aside from not having much variation in my life, lately I have been trying to come up with bigger and better ideas for entries. This blog has become an eclectic mix of a diary and a column. I make no predictions as to where this will lead. I do know that, although I am trying to write more creative entries, people seem to find my most mundane posts the most interesting. Indeed, one of the first influences on this blog as an article I read about a man who, up until he died, kept an almost minute-by-minute account of his daily life, even going to far as to describe how his stool came out. Certainly I haven’t gone that far, but somehow the article inspired me to go ahead and start this blog (amongst other reasons). I leave no details how if I feel they are relevant, even if they are, at least to me, boring. Even with the change in style that seems apparent lately, I’m not discounting writing about the details of my life. I’m not guaranteeing every entry is going to be a life-changing essay.
What I am doing tonight, however, is bringing together bits and pieces of information I’ve been dropping throughout various entries into what could be the most mundane post yet (and therefore, most entertaining). Tonight I am taking the time to consolidate this information, with additional details, to give you a more complete picture of who I am. Or, if you keep reading, tonight I might just bore you death.
For tonight I present to you: MY ROUTINE.
Note: the times listed below represent my current work schedule, which is subject to change (hopefully in the next few weeks).
I will start with the work day. Sunday through Thursday nights I leave my computer on sleep mode. At 5:55 in the morning iTunes automatically opens, “waking” the computer. Then, at six, the task schedule opens Windows Media Player to a general playlist, acting as an alarm. The computer is already connected to a transmitter to my shower radio, which is set to a timer to come on at six. Also set at six is my alarm clock. The alarm clock is also set to go off at 6:10, although I usually turn off the alarm after the first one. Because I have a hard time getting up in the morning, I also have three more alarms on my cell phone, just in case: at 6:15 it plays my “Trololo” ring tone, at 6:20 it plays my “Black Crow On A Tombstone” (Satyricon) ring tone, and at 6:30, which I rarely ever get to, it plays my ring tone of Fiest covering “Inside And Out.”
I also have my coffee machine automatically brew my morning cup at five-thirty, so it’s ready whenever I get up.
Once I force myself out of bed, I turn off the alarms and head towards the shower… if I shower that day. I shower to my New York Times podcast, followed by whatever other podcast I’m trying to get caught up on. I recently acquired a shower mirror, so not only do I shower but I shave as well at the same time. Once I’m done with the shower, I then throw the towels into my washer machine. The machine’s door is open throughout the week; it’s always the first load I do on Sundays (or even Saturday nights, if I get home early).
I then dress for the day, turn off the computer (except on Wednesdays, when it may still be running a virus scan), and head towards my office/music room for guitar practice. At seven I eat breakfast and put my meals and snacks together for the day. The food is already prepared, I only have to fit it in my lunch bag. During this period I may throw on the iPod again, so I can get caught up on my podcasts further. Once I’m done eating, I brush my teeth followed by mouthwash. I then wash my dishes and leave them in the sink to air-dry. At seven-thirty I depart for work.
I start work at the department store at eight. This is where I drop several of the details, for fear I may reveal something that I’m not supposed to. I will say that I am the receiver at the store. Because of when I eat breakfast and dinner, I always eat lunch around eleven on Mondays through Thursdays. It can fluctuate on Fridays, as I only work the one job in the morning. I have a different lunch every day, depending on the day of the week: Monday-vegetarian pot pie, Tuesday-lasagna, Wednesday-soup, Thursday-spinach feta or spinach pizza pocket sandwiches, and on Fridays I have fake cold cut and cheese sandwiches. I have been open to experimentation on lunches lately, especially with the soup on Wednesdays. I leave that job Mondays through Thursdays at three-thirty. Before I leave the department store I have a salad. I eat the rest in the car on the way to my other job at the convenience store. On Mondays and Wednesdays I have the same kind of sandwiches as I do on Fridays, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I prepare veggie burgers at the store which I take with me.
My shift at the convenience store starts at four o’clock, Mondays through Thursdays. I work as cashier there, although if needed be I am able to work stock. Again, I won’t detail the job, although it’s pretty cut-and-dry. While I’m there I can play my iPod in the background; although I can’t catch up on all of my podcasts there because I’m not allowed to play extreme metal behind the counter any more. Between customers I try to write that night’s blog post in a notebook I carry around with me most places I go.
I leave that job at nine-thirty. I usually get home around quarter to ten, and clean out my lunch bag. After making the next morning’s cup of coffee, I wash out my dishes and utensils from that day. A dish wand which contains the soap makes washing such small loads easy. I then dry the containers for the next days’ salads, which I then make: lettuce, shredded carrots, and yes, sliced radishes. On Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights I also make the sandwiches. I put them into containers as well, and stick all of the containers in the fridge. I leave the other dishes to air-dry. My snack for the night also depends on the day of the week: Mondays-fake chicken patty sandwiches with cheese, Tuesday-microwavable mini pizza bagels, Wednesday-fake chicken nuggets with barbecue sauce and peanut butter on bread, and on Thursdays it varies. Usually I’ll go to Dunkin‘ Donuts in Kittery or Dos Amigos Burritos in Portsmouth and grab something to eat on the way home. As I eat my snack, or perhaps afterwards depending on whatever other chores I may have to do, I write up my blog entry for the night. I’ll then brush and floss my teeth, followed by mouth rinse. Then it’s relaxation time until I feel like going to bed… I really should develop a habit of going to bed at a certain time, but let’s just say right now it’s roughly… not early enough.
Thursday nights I have the additional chores of getting ready for Friday’s after-work errand runs. I prepare my grocery list; the list is printed up on a spreadsheet every five weeks. The first column contains almost everything I ever get at the grocery store, with the next five columns representing the next five weeks. I go down the column, writing in the quantity of what I’m getting for the week ahead. I put this on a clipboard with brackets attached so I can easily mount the clipboard on a grocery cart for hands-free shopping. The clipboard then goes into a reusable shopping bag (along with another bag inside). I also get my recyclables and trash ready. Everything then gets loaded into my car so it’s ready when I get out of work.
After I leave at two in the afternoon on Fridays I head towards the grocery store and the dump. In the colder weather I go the Portsmouth Hannaford, then the dump. In the warmer months ahead I plan on going back to the dump first, then the York Hannaford. They are both around the same distance from the dump. I guess I just like the Portsmouth store better for some reason, even though they both roughly have the same prices. Anyway, I then head home, put my groceries away, and take a shower. By that point I usually have a BBC Radio 4 Friday Night Comedy podcast waiting for me. If not, then I’ll either wait to take the shower or just wait to listen to the podcast. Friday nights are variable–including dinner.
Saturday morning I get up when I’m done sleeping, then shower. I should mention at this point I shave my head during Wednesday and Saturday showers. After the shower on Saturdays, I get dressed and throw the towels in the machine… some days I go ahead and turn it on, some days I put it off if I have some dishes left over (so I can throw in the dish towels into the same load). Saturday morning breakfasts consist of going to a coffee shop in Portsmouth and having an everything bagel with plain cream cheese, with a large mocha (with varying amounts of caffeine, depends on how I feel). If I hadn’t written a blog the previous Friday, this is when I do. After breakfast, Saturdays are up in the air. They are the days in which I relax.
Sundays I spend at home. After breakfast (by the way, Sunday through Friday breakfasts consist of either cereal or strawberry toaster pastries), I have guitar practice. At some point, I write. Throughout the day, I have loads of laundry go through the machines. Lately I have been focusing much on getting things done around the apartment so I don’t have any more distractions from writing. I should have that set in the near future. Sunday nights I listen to that week’s This American Life podcast. I’ll get Monday’s lunch ready, followed by my Sunday night snack: hummus on toast. Then the cycle starts over again.
There you have it. If you made it this far, then you really are one of the people who find my mundane posts entertaining (or maybe you have some strange curiosity). For my part, I got this out of my system. If there are any questions, feel free to leave comments, or, if you know me personally, then you know how to get in touch with me.
Current book: volume 37 of Story Quarterly.
Ragged Good Looks 