Minutiae. It's what blogging's all about.

I read somewhere about this idea of recording "a week in the life" on your blog.  The day to day stuff of what you did, what you ate, what you wore.  Because presumably that kind of data is interesting?  For the writer and the readers?

Or it's a way of whittling your followers list down to (1) your mom and (2) a couple of Canadians who are too nice to publicly un-follow you.

Anyway, I've got no new material here (still sad, still okay, dogs still crazy, house still standing), so here goes.


Thursday, June 2, 2011.

8am.  Wake up.  Doze fitfully until 8:20.

8:20am.  Get out of bed and take Cooper for a walk around the neighborhood.  Veer from our usual route when I see a guy walking his pit bull because (1) I can't trust Cooper around other dogs--sometimes he's super friendly tail-wagging and sometimes he's a total asshole and (2) I don't trust pit bulls, even though I feel sad about that because I know they need good homes, too.

9:00am.  Take a shower and get dressed.  Realize I am running behind schedule.  Wonder how I thought I could walk dog, take shower, dry hair, and get ready in under 45 minutes.

(The "rules" of this say that you should post a picture of what you wear each day.  I find that a little too precious, so I will just describe.)

9:30am.  Leave the house wearing a fitted black t-shirt (J.Crew outlet $9) and the skirt I sewed over the weekend -- black elastic waist, skirt is black and red and cream material in an Asian floral pattern.  Also it has pockets (!) (total cost $14 due to unfortunate coupon non-acceptance--should have been $10).  Also wearing black patent leather flats (a Christmas gift from David's grandma, which is to say I exchanged the jacket she gave me and got shoes instead).  Eat apple for breakfast while driving (illegal?).

10am.  Arrive at University Main Campus to sign contract, right on time.  Debate where to park, decide to park in spot reserved for "Visitors of the President" because what are they going to do?  Tow my car?

10:30am.  Conversation with HR guy has wrapped up, contract is signed, get back in car carrying paperwork for new job.

10:45am.  Sit down at a Barnes & Noble, read through paperwork, fill out some forms.

11:30am.  Leave B&N and drive to QT.  It costs $40 for 3/4 of a tank.  My salary suddenly feels smaller than it did, due to rising cost of gasoline.  Drive to Qdoba and pick up lunch for myself and David and the ladies in his office at school. 

12:00pm.  Arrive at David's school, carry in three bags of Qdoba.  Shove a veggie burrito in my face because apple for breakfast is not enough food.  Also eat chips and queso because I LUV queso.  Chat with teachers and office ladies.  I love that David has such a nice workplace.

12:40pm.  Leave the school.  Drive over to University New Campus, where I will be working, way far away from David's school.

1:40pm.  Sit in car and check e-mail on my phone.

2:00pm.  Meet with the Dean.  Meet with the Chair of the English department.  Get copies of all the text books for classes I might be teaching.  See my new office (it's big!  It has windows!  And bookshelves!  And file cabinets!  And a grown-up sized desk!).  Look over, discuss, and debate possible teaching schedules for the fall.

3:30pm. Stagger out to my car under weight of World Literature textbook, the Norton edition of Hamlet with Jude Law on the cover, and nine other books.

4:00pm.  Arrive home.  Take off clothes because I feel sweaty and gross.  Sit down on sofa in t-shirt and underwear.  Check e-mail, read blogs.

4:15pm.  Get phone call from grief therapist.  Missed 4pm appointment.  Check calendar and realize that I had written down appointment for the following week.  Apologize profusely.  Chat with therapist for 30 minutes on phone instead.  Cry a few times during conversation.

4:50pm.  Get off phone, feel exhausted, but better.  Browse online for woven sea grass rugs that I want to order for the back room of my house.

5:00pm.  Brother calls.  He's in Boston on business.  Connection is a little wonky as he uses Skype to call.  Listen to brother bitch about the bureaucracy of his workplace.  Tell brother he should go into academia, where all the cool people work.  Brag about my 9-month contract with a month off in December.  He agrees a college schedule is best.  Try to convince brother to meet up with us on vacation this summer.

5:30pm.  Get dressed (in same clothes from earlier in the day).  Get in car and drive to restaurant to meet up with best friends from college.

6:00pm.  Chat with Carol, who compliments my skirt and tells me I should sew curtains.  Talk about summer vacation plans.

6:15pm.  Jamie arrives.  She compliments my skirt and loves the pockets.  She tells us about trip to the lake with her in-laws.  We see a group of girls wearing bridesmaid dresses (not matching each other).

6:30pm.  Beth calls, apologizes for running late, is just leaving work.  We decide to get a table and get drinks while we wait for her.

6:40pm.  We order a bottle of the wine that the waiter recommends.  Carol uses her phone app to check in at the restaurant.  Another random person at the restaurant is also using the app and has also checked in.  She and Carol wave at each other and giggle.  We discuss how fun such an app would have been when we were in college so we could see who was at which bar.

7:00pm.  Beth shows up, having parked far away and hiked across the parking garage in high heels.  We toast to girls' night.  I announce my new job.

7:15pm.  Beth returns from restroom, where a girl in a bridesmaid dress felt compelled to explain to Beth that she and her friends are all wearing bridesmaid dresses to go to dinner and then see the movie Bridesmaids.  What a fun idea.  We order dinner.  I have the grilled salmon salad with shoestring potatoes and asparagus (at the waiter's suggestion because evidently I am very impressionable and will do whatever the waiter says).  Beth and Jamie have chopped salad and pizza.  Carol has house salad and pasta.  We talk about Beth's recent vacation, Jamie's upcoming vacation, my new job, Carol's job promotion, and a little bit about The Husbands.  The girls don't talk very much about their babies, which is probably intentional and for my benefit, but it doesn't feel intentional, and I'm grateful for that.

9:00pm.  Get up to leave.  Beth compliments my skirt (it really is a cute skirt) and wants me to make one for her.  Get in the car and drive home.  That one Ke$ha song comes on and I blast it.

9:30pm.  Arrive home.  Feel exhausted.  David is on couch watching TV.  We talk about dinner and last day of school.  We play tug-of-war with Coop.

10:00pm.  Bedtime.  David falls asleep, I start watching Did You Hear About the Morgans? or whatever that movie is called.  It's not very good.  I fall asleep.

Is your life as thrilling as mine?  I challenge you to take the 1 Week's Minutiae Challenge and blog about your day for seven days in a row.  Then we'll see who's left reading!