Not that I couldn't work through the day, but there would be several interactions with people, and I prefer to address dependencies before getting onto my own tasks. That way, no other work gets blocked or I don't become a bottleneck for a bunch of tasks. The first thing I'd do in the morning, around 11:00-12:00 is check for messages with barely one eye open, rub them both open if there was anything useful/interesting, stretch a bit, get out of bed and into the shower--instead of walking around the house and looking for chores or some tidying up to do as has been my habit--and then have a leisurely meal while watching some stand up comedy--or some subscribed YouTube channels, note my gratitude in the journal, and then get to work between 13:00-14:00.
No matter what, I'd step out for cycling or a walk at sunset and come back when I felt contented with the activity I chose to do. Then, supper over watching some videos again, a little bit of Kalimba or coloring, some more writing, and then back for the night shift.
The milestone for which this routine was being followed was achieved on Monday, and I thought it would take me a couple of days to rest and reset my body clock.
However, I was so calm, content, and clear-headed throughout this period of focused, critical work, that my mind/body didn't need any recuperation. Achieving the milestone gave me a teensy bit of a high and that night I was in bed by 11:30! Even though I actually fell asleep somehwere around 01:00, I opened my eyes around 05:40, and felt fresh enough to go for a walk. After 4 kms of that, I was bored, and so I went cycling again for another 12 kms and returned a happy puppy.
Had my leisurely breakfast, watched some more standup, journalled, and got to a few more hours of focused work. My cousin came over to stay for a day, and we spent the next nine hours chattering away like monkeys. When he went to sleep, I instinctually logged on, and there was just enough work for me do be able to quickly and happily finish. Thereafter, I slept for seven hours, which was the longest in two weeks. Since the cuz was around, there was no plan to work in the morning. We chattered some more as I cooked/cleaned and we had brunch. Then it was nap time, after which I logged on and did a bit of work. Later, the power went off and didn't return for a few hours. I doodled a bit, but the outdoors had been calling out to me since the morning.
So, I got my sippy bottle ready, the batteries for the safety lights were fully charged the previous day, and all I needed to do was get on the cycle and go as far as I felt like. Instead, as I started off on the road, I remembered that I hadn't worn the scarf that serves as a face mask, so I went back for it. As I entered the house, I remembered that the power bank was discharged too, so I decided to use the outing today to get that and my cellphone charged, and maybe even work a little, while they got charged at my other house, where there's an inverter backup. I happily wrapped everything in plastic, slung my bag on the shoulders and stepped out, only to realize, yet again, that I had forgotten the scarf. This time, I felt like all was well until about four kilometers later when I realized that I had forgotten the water bottle. Thankfully, it was raining and I can anyway go about 20-25 kms, even on a dry day, before I feel like I should hydrate myself. I let the music in my ears wash away that minor irritation at my forgetfulness and pedalled on happily for another 4-5 kms. As the street lights came on, I realized that I had forgotten to strap the charged portable lights onto the bike. More eyerolling-at-self happened, but the weather was so good, I didn't feel like indulging in any more self-flaggelation.
17 kms later, thoroughly drenched, I was asking the STOBEH to lay a plastic sheet down on the sofa-chair for me to sit on as I worked while the devices were being charged. He asked me to change instead, and so, this time, instead of being a smartass--and remembering the scatterbrainedness from earlier--I had a nice shower, cleaned all the dirt from the clothes and the bag, and sat down to chat with him for a bit. Attempted some work, but by then, the laptop's battery had drained, and in all my awesomeness, and I had forgotten to bring along its charger. I also complained but my mouse's broken scroll button, so he gave me the one he doesn't use, except for gaming on his laptop. Bless his heart, poor fella, he not only tolerates me randomly showing up at his door, he also indulges me when I ask for help (which is rare, btw, and I've done enough to balance it out).
I gave up all pretense of being awesome, and we decided to watch Angrezi Medium instead. Such a disappointment considering it's precursor, Hindi Medium. An hour of watching with intermittent forwarding later, we gave up. I wrapped up my Duolingo and MemRise practice, and then thought of noting all of this here. You know, just to remind my future self of all the delusions I have about my coolness and to keep myself grounded in the reality of my forgetfulness. So there.
That doesn't mean I can't share some World Cycling Day swag, though...
Even though I didn't know that it was that day while I was cycling. I am totally cool with cherry picking what days to celebrate and what days to be a Grinch about.
