6 alarms, each of them with a 10 minutes snooze time. That’s what it took to wake me up. I wish I could say I’m a morning person and I wish I could wake up at 5 a.m., make breakfast, work out and save a baby seal before my 9 to 5. And then gloat about it the way morning people do. I wish.

I’m not saying that I’m usually late for work, but I am. And that’s ok. Today, though, my boss needed me around earlier (probably because she knew she was going to be late). I hopped mindlessly on the shower for the wrong reasons: more because I wanted to wake up and less because I wanted to be clean. I shaved without really watching my face in the mirror and went to my room, still dripping water all over the carpet. Decisions. I picked up a very wrinkled pink shirt and thought about how I’ve managed to live without an iron for the past two years. Without any real appliances, actually.

After putting on my suit I chugged some soda and headed outside. The mid-April weather was pleasant and the sun was high already due to daylight saving time. “I could use some wind” I thought, being the constant complainer I grew up to be. I realized halfway of my walk to the metro that I wasn't listening to any music, even though I was wearing my earphones. I tuned in The New York City Crime Report and ventured into the subway.

Half an hour later I was already downtown. I glanced at the huge building I work at and walked past security. I still had 40 solid minutes to spare before work so, for the first time, I grabbed breakfast at the cafeteria. After deciding on a croissant and a side of bacon, I bought some soda, knowing I could have coffee later at my desk.

It was eleven o'clock when I got a text message from a coworker asking if I wanted to have lunch with her. She's very young and a little naive, but we kind of share the same hometown so I enjoy her company once in a while. The one thing I constantly hate about my life away from home is having to eat alone. I daydreamed for a while, reminiscing about my old friends and how they would go out of their way so I wouldn't have to eat by myself.

I met with her at noon and she paid for my food. She reminded me that last week I bought her lunch when the credit card system went offline and she didn't have any cash on her. She made a comment about how absent minded I was and I mumbled an apology, joking about how tired I felt. I ate fast -not really wanting to be there- and listened to why she had to commit facebook suicide.

I excused myself and went back to the office. I detoured towards the restroom and splashed some water on my face. I looked at the mirror, probably for the first time since I had woken up. “Damn I look like shit” I whispered to myself.

After lunch I was introduced to some people, including the VP. “This… none of this matters” was all I could think of as I reached for a handshake. “How was your vacation?” I asked politely. After 30 seconds of small talk I went back to my cubicle.

I poured some coffee and turned the screen on. Not much to do but to check a few calendars and call some people back. When coffee was done I refilled my mug with soda in order to hide my diet coke addiction from my coworkers.

The afternoon dragged on and I started thinking of a destination. I had some time off coming soon and, even though I didn’t have any money, I wanted to get away for a few days. There were three reasonable places I could go, one of them was home. I didn’t know anyone in the other two. Not soon enough it was time to go wrap things up in the office and go to my apartment.

The Subway ride was uneventful. I managed to find a seat and I dozed off a couple times. I stopped for groceries (soda) on my walk home.

When I entered my apartment I noticed a familiar yellow paper on the coffee table: an eviction notice. It wasn’t the first time but I was sure it was another mistake by the leasing office. It always was.

- Did your payment go through? I asked my roommate.
- Of course.
- So did mine. I’ll call tomorrow.

That was one of the three conversations I had yesterday outside the office.

I went to my room, changed clothes and lay in bed for a while until my laptop started burning my legs. I put it aside and walked lazily to the kitchen.

- Do you want to go to the grocery store? I shouted while I fixed myself some cereal.
- No.
- …OK.
- It’s about to pour outside.

I didn’t really need to go buy anything. It was my way of making small talk. Like “How was your day”, “how was your trip” and “how was your dinner”. It didn’t rain either.


After a hardly fulfilling bowl of cereal I stepped out for a smoke. I noticed something was not right on my neighbors’ backyard. They had moved out and I didn’t realize it before because their cheap, portable grill was still outside. I smirked and wondered if they were coming back to get it.

I liked their dog Max, and I liked them. We would engage in pleasant inane conversation every time I ran into them. Stuff none of us had the power to change, like the weather, or the congress shutting down. I finished my smoke and went back inside.

- The neighbors moved.
- Left or right?
- Right.
- Huh, how come?
- No clue. Their grill is still out there. Should we claim it?
- Sure.

I went back to my room and decided to watch a movie. Even though I was exhausted I didn’t want to go to sleep. I think I’ve only gone to bed before midnight twice in the last 4 years. I thought about tuesdays and how they have defined normalcy when it comes to my life. Even though they only happen once a week.