A Day in the Life

I wake up at 6:30 am, give or take a few minutes depending on how late we stayed up the night before watching 24. I see Nate off for work at 6:30, usually giving a few minutes, telling him that I love him and to be safe. I always worry that something will happen as he is working on a roof or using a power saw or something of the sort, but every day he comes home in one piece. I get in the shower shortly after, trying not to fall asleep in the relaxing steam, and also attempting not to take all the hot water—though I’m sure I’m not successful in that regard too often. At exactly 7:15 I go downstairs and have a few bowls of cereal and a glass of orange juice. 7:25 I get my snacks ready to go in a plastic grocery sack that will hold me over throughout the day and keep me from getting too sick. My lunch for that day is the leftovers from the night before.

My drive to work takes between 24 and 26 minutes, depending on what car I get stuck behind. Every day I drive past a street named “Fillmore” and every day think, “Hey!” My goal is to arrive earlier than the other temp, Val, working with me, just so that I look like the more dedicated and responsible one, though she is usually there making coffee by the time I walk in the door. I don’t beat myself up over it—I get ahead in other areas.

I work for Regal Entertainment Group generally selling bulk discount movie tickets to large corporations. My job consists of answering incoming calls, telling people the status of their order, getting frustrated with UPS for losing someone’s package, solving misunderstandings, etc. It’s not too bad, though it ingrains in my mind why exactly I am getting a college education.

At 4:59 pm I have my computer almost off, my coat and purse in hand, sitting on the edge of my seat, and staring at the clock on my phone waiting for it to turn to 5:00. Also praying that no one else calls in that last one minute, and has a debilitating question that takes me 30 minutes to answer or 30 minutes to find an answer that calms them down. At the exact moment that the digital numbers increase by one, I turn off my phone, put on my coat, and walk briskly out to my car. Once I get into the hallway just outside the office, a surge of excitement passes through my body for the sole reason that I am finally going home, and I can hardly contain myself. I’m sure I smile all the way down the hall and out the door.

The drive home isn’t too bad. I found an exciting new way that takes minutes off my drive, which is always an invigorating discovery. Once I get home the rest of the night is spent in miscellaneous, spending time with my husband and in-laws. Lately the evenings have been filled with season 5 of “24” and hot chocolate.

It is strange working in a non-LDS environment. This is the first time I have been offered cigarettes or coffee, and although it was never a temptation, it was an interesting experience. Watching these people who are slaves to their coffee and nicotine, and who actually think that their life is normal and that they are happy is a new understanding for me.

Although I have not been very forthcoming in my religion, the people here know what I stand for. The other day the office ordered in Starbucks, and not wanting to be left out, I got hot chocolate. Someone saw me sitting at my desk sipping from a Starbucks mug and immediately had a shocked look on their face, almost in concern, and asked if that was actually coffee I was drinking. Even though everyone else in the office drinks coffee, they would have been disappointed to find that I was, too.

Yesterday a woman sent a funny forward out to everyone in the office which had a swear word in it. I have to admit I laughed a little bit. At the end of the day she came up to me and felt so bad that she had sent the e-mail to me and was hoping I didn’t get offended.

I have never come out and said that I don’t drink coffee or don’t swear. They have just observed in the past few weeks since I’ve been working here and already know the kind of person that I am. So that makes me feel good. Hopefully they remember me and maybe someday I will have made a difference to somebody because of the way I live my life.