For some reason I woke up at 6am this morning. I’m not entirely sure how or why. I then fell asleep until the Amazon Echo filled the bedroom with commercial radio an hour later - and somehow had several hours of dream in that time. It’s curious how that happens.
The next few minutes will give you an insight into the nature of the cogs that turn inside my head. The last time I went for a run - the day before yesterday - I felt pretty rubbish, and only made it to three kilometres. I went to bed last night knowing that I should run in the morning, and that I should have a proper talk with myself about keeping going.
At 7am this morning I thought “Do I really want to go for a run? Why am I even doing this stupid running lark? What’s the point of any of it really? Wouldn’t it be better to just go and buy a huge bag of cookies?”
In the moments that followed an unseen force dragged me out of bed, pulled some running shorts on me, found a pair of socks and running shoes, and set me out onto the driveway outside our house.
I ran five kilometres.
You know the weirdest thing? I set out thinking “I’ll try and run quite slowly - and see how much difference it makes”. After the first kilometre, my phone told me I was running at exactly my normal pace - despite attempts to run slowly (this was made possible by a feature I didn’t know existed until I discovered it a few days ago - where it tells you out loud at each kilometre how long the last one took). It’s perhaps also worth noting that I’m never going to be super fast - I’m usually more focussed on “how long until I get to the end?”.
The second kilometre - despite thinking “I’ll slow down a bit” was within seconds of the first kilometre. And the third, and the fourth. If there were slow races at the Olympics, I could be a pacemaker. Granted, they would probably have an ambulance waiting for me, judging by my typical running demeanour, but still…
The last kilometre felt like the universe was conspiring against me. By now people were walking to work along the supposedly quiet footpaths I was running. No matter which way I dodged, they seemed to dodge the same way. I quickly suspected that they were all “non player characters” - along with the rest of the entire town, which I suspected some time ago.
So yes. I ran again.
That’s not what today’s post is all about though. Today’s post is about spending the day in an ACTUAL office, filled with REAL people for the first time since the pandemic happened. How many years has it been now? I’ve shared an office with one person during that time - but never a room full.
It wasn’t the whole company - just a small group of us - but it was surprisingly good. Maybe offices work best in small doses?
After working through until early afternoon we walked to a nearby café - the one I have visited on several occasions recently - and I introduced my co-workers to the delights of their bespoke sandwiches and baguettes. We bagged the biggest table in the middle of the café, and just enjoyed each other’s company for an hour.
At the end of the day - while walking home - I sheepishly admitted to myself that while working from home has all sorts of advantages, it really IS nice to see co-workers now and again - to be in the same room as them, instead of calling each other on the computer. I even dressed up for the occasion - wearing a sensible shirt, jeans, and hoodie, instead of the usual idiotic t-shirt with a nerdy message printed across it.
Anyway.
It’s late. I just wanted to get today down before it leaves my head. Tomorrow will arrive all too soon, filled with more non-player-characters, more stress, more chores, and more whatever else.
p.s. this was a return to “a day in the life” roots for this blog, instead of introspective think-pieces that are fine now and again, but if I keep at it, you’ll think I sit on the floor with a mechanical type-writer penning crazed conspiracy leaflets about life, the universe, and everything. I mean - I would LOVE to do that, but the “normal act” gets in the way.