*A Fairly Typical Day*

So these are the things that usually happen every day while I am living the dream in Portland.

1. 1. A good morning wake -up call… or text. These usually come around 5 am, or sometimes, if I’m really lucky, at 3 am. Thank you East Coast friends. Don’t worry about the time difference, no really, it’s okay. You are a part of my dreams… you just happen to be the end part.

2. 2. A nice walk to the local bus…which inevitably turns into a brisk walk, followed by a run, and then a panicked sprint. This usually ends in one of two ways: A triumphant laugh as I board the bus now slowing down for me, or a head hung in shame as the passing passengers stare at my winded, defeated body.

3. 3. The opportunity to either endure, ignore, or repel the unwanted advances of men who think I rode the bus just to meet their acquaintance. Well, how did you ever figure me out? Of course I chose taking the longest route possible just so you can sit down next to me and batter me with your awkward banter. Don’t let the fact that I’m reading, or talking on the phone, or have my ears plugged up with my headphones deter you. Didn’t you know that I’m highly attracted to men who are missing teeth, at least my father’s age, and who boast about being unemployed? Oh yes, you did know that. That’s why you’re still talking to me.

4. 4. A little gift from above. Sometimes it’s the compliment I receive from my boss, or the surprise letter in the mail. It may be like that time the # 14 bus had a fender bender, which made it 28 minutes late on its route, allowing me to catch it so that I could actually make it to a concert I’d been looking forward to. Usually it’s the sun breaking through the clouds just when I was feeling the coldest, or it’s the friendly conversation that spontaneously sprung up at the bus stop. The best one, though, happens to be when that persistent, chatty guy next to me needs to get off at his stop, and I receive back my freedom.

5. 5. Computer time. This is the bulk of my day. I’m not sure what would happen without my laptop. The following list just skims the surface of things I do on it daily: work emails, Skyping friends and family, searching for that elusive airline deal, hunting down furniture through Craigslist, checking my Facebook, signing up for free items, scanning for Portland’s weekly events, researching the schools I have tutors in, typing up documents for the district, updating my blog, streaming my Netflix, deleting the spam that arrives in my inbox, catching up on missed television episodes…etc., etc.

6. Meals. I know, I know-- you're thinking that meals are a normal part of everyone's day, but my meals have taken on a special pattern lately.

Breakfast, which usually doesn't even occur until about 10:30 or 11 am, generally happens as an afterthought as I'm headed out the door to head into the city. Thus, sandwich bags of cereal, bagels wrapped in a paper towel, cinnamon buns being shoved in my mouth, or pop tarts that are getting crushed in their foil overcoat, become the staple of my morning.

Lunch is normally skipped, or else it consists of a bag of trail mix that I toss in my mouth as I'm heading to a new place. If I woke up smart that day, I may have remembered to pack an apple or scrounged up a dollar so I can grab a fast food item, but those days are few and far between.

As for dinner, that usually waits until I get home from work, sometime around 8 pm. At this point I'm tired, and malnourished, so although I try my best to make a real meal, what I'm really eyeing up is the frozen chicken nuggets that you just have to nuke. Jealous, aren't you?