the usual daily grind. what’s my day like?

i work in a foreign mission and am fortunate to be at the office only 37.5 hours in a week!  fridays are the best because i get off at noon! i’m always the object of envy of my friends.  i can’t help but gloat.

this makes me think of how well i spend my work days and what a typical day is like.

my alarm sets off at 4.45 am but i get up at around 5.15 to 5.30am.  i allot about an hour and a half for travel time.  i spend that precious ninety minutes to say my morning prayer, collect my thoughts, take a power nap and again to collect my thoughts.  if i’m lucky to be wide awake as i get off from public transport, i’ll be in the office in one piece and unharmed.  but there had been minor and major mishaps in my 11-year stint as a “working girl.”  what are those? will do a separate entry for that. :d

i always arrive ahead of time, except for those crazy mornings when public transport has suddenly gone berserk.  this allows me to spend a few minutes choosing which breakfast option will sustain me until lunch, to chat with office buddies or play games in my ipod.  the office is literally locked down until one of our foreign-national officers opens the chancery for business. 

the morning will pass by with a blink of an eye as i speed between phone calls, emails, quick or long meetings and few trips to the ladies room in between.  lunch is either spent alone, with my door closed or with good old office friends in the pantry.  i neither do coffee nor yosi break.  i only take synthetic (3-in-1) coffee once a day at the comfort of my room and i value my lungs and oral health much to do yosi.

the afternoon goes a lot quicker than the morning with more phone calls, emails, troubleshooting, meetings, last minute requirements and lesser trips to the ladies room in between.

official work hours stop at 4.30p but i sometimes stay longer if needed.

i reserve meeting with friends and other activities on fridays as my travel back home is another story.  it’s like another day at the office, when you’re not supposed to, altogether!  that’s why i catch up more on my emails on my way home—good thing that i have remote access in my blackberry, make those promised return calls, wind down and think of how accomplished i am for that day.

(i had originally ended this entry with my usual humour but chose not to the last minute.  *wink*)