Day In The Life 14th August 2011

0456 Wake up. I must have hit snooze in my sleep, for I have slept in a bit. I also appear to have an Alicia Keys earworm. This is not the set up to a good day.

0519 Musing as I get ready that I really can’t decide if I like this shift or not. I like that I am up in the middle of the night, when no-one else is around but also I hate that I am up in the middle of the night, when no-one else is around.

0533 Getting dressed. Nothing beats a pair of new legumes.

0535 In taxi. The 6-seater behemoth which has been sent for me today has, in place of it’s left passenger panoramic view window, a cardboard box that once housed Doritos sellotaped in. No explanation is offered and I judge it wisest not to ask.

0540 Arrive at work, unlock everything and immediately lock up my IT account as I’ve forgotten my password, this being my first day back after a week off. I should know better than to change my password the day before I go on holiday. I have been off for 7 days and have 391 emails I need to read. That’s 55.86 emails per day. None of them, bar my payslip, are worth writing home about.

0618 Realise that I’m working til 1600 today, not 1400 as I thought. WEEP.

0645 Purchase a Groupon deal for intensive cleaning of our flat. I have done this before and it was great. Hurrah.

1018 The day has passed painfully slowly so far, in a blur of words on multiple television screens and gentle sobbing. Colleague MSNs me to ask what time I want to take my break – this is most cheering as usually it’s a battle to be able to take one and also I’d forgotten, so it means I have 1 hour and 15 minutes of not staring at TVs coming up.

1030 Break time! I am spending it drinking Red Bull, eating last night’s lasagne cold for breakfast/lunch and working through my to-do list that I drew up after my new website summit meeting on Rothesay with mar-c earlier this week. Also work on a few things for another project we have concocted together. I like to cram in as much as possible to my break time.

1158 In my absence last week, the office seems to have acquired a communal basil plant, as if we needed any more proof that we’re the most middle-class workplace north of Oxford. I also counted at least 408 different types of tea in the tea cupboard just now.

1321 On verge of slipping into coma. Relatively dull day at subtitling HQ so far. But this can change in an instant.

1353 Getting a potted history in Pearly King London folklore courtesy of the Eastenders Omnibus subtitles.

1600 Out of work, the afternoon having passed without incident. Onto the subway, heading for hommmmme! Really thought this moment might not arrive today.

1813 Make my way home, and lie on the sofa for a bit and eat an orange ice lolly. Faff about with some admin, update my giant order book, order some supplies and sort stuff for new website until Lee gets home from his garden, bearing a giant bag of homegrown potatoes.

1829 I’ve requested Chinese food for dinner, so we are going to a local place, the Manchurian to sit at a table and eat like civilised grown ups.

1900 There is a very loud man at the table behind us. He appears to be slightly drunk and very emotional. His lady companion is just very embarrassed. Thankfully, after a lot of heartache on his part and loud burping, they get their main course to go and leave us all in peace. The food is very nice, as usual. I am ravenous as my eating times are always totally screwed up on early shifts.

2011 Home. Get changed into my Paul Frank pyjamas. Admire my newish watch a bit more. Lee bought me a Paul Frank watch (can you see a theme here? I’m a bit fan) on our honeymoon, from a shop in San Franciso. I lovingly wore it everywhere, scratched the face on the Hoover Dam and eventually, one fateful, drunken evening in the gay quarter of Newcastle, lost it, as the catch was always a bit loose. I recently managed to track down a replacement for it on eBay for a bargain price and Lee has taken it to the jewellers for a new battery today, so I am wearing it at last. It makes me smile.

2158 Faffing online. Lee has just about persuaded me to go to Hammer Fest in March, as his favourite band ever ever are playing (Anthrax). I have agreed because although it is a music festival I don’t have much vested interest in myself, it’s at Pontins in Prestatyn which means chalets, a proper bed, shower and if we get the VIP tickets, an actual seat in the main arena. I’m sold!

2245 I manage to stay awake until around 2230 when I admit defeat and go to bed. It’s been a very long day, but tomorrow I am off! Also tomorrow it’s pay day and my first driving lesson in a while, so I need a good night’s sleep. Off to bed it is. Zzzzz.

Quite a dull day, all in all. But thems the breaks with DITL – sometimes it’s mega eventful, others not. I also forgot to take pictures again, durr.

Julie will hopefully be posting up the summary of these entries on her blog, and selecting the next person who gets to choose the date, so be sure to check out her blog.

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