A Peek Into My Work Day

A day in my work week goes kind of like this... 


I get up in the morning, meditate for 20 minutes, make my coffee and then sit at my computer reading some blogs and sipping my morning cuppa. By the time I've gone through all my favorite blogs, it's time to grab Jimmy Boo and hang out on the back porch with him. It's become our routine, and we both enjoy it. My coffee comes with me if I haven't finished it yet. Beckham is typically sleeping or laying in a window watching the world go by. Since he doesn't allow me to hold him in my lap outside, he doesn't come out.


I might have some breakfast, then shower. It depends on whether or not I'm going in early or later. If later, I push breakfast into brunch, and then figure out what to bring for my dinner. Then I get ready for work and start off on my walk. You've heard about my walk, and know that I stop at least three times to take a photo of something along the way.

There are still lots of flowers blooming since we're pretty much still in the summer season. It's starting to turn, though... the air is cooling down, and some of the leaves are falling in shades of red, yellow and mixtures of red & green. But when you look up, you still see mainly green foliage up in the boughs of the trees. 


This walk has turned into a kind of mantra for me. I review all the things that I'm grateful for while I walk. It's a ritual that I don't want to give up, as it gives me some early morning clarity about my life and my choices. I try to be very present while I'm walking, and not get too lost in taking photos or following the tracks that my mind might try to take off on. It's very easy to get lost in mind-noise.

As I near work, I allow my mind to switch over to work mode. And when I walk down into the lobby, I feel calmness and know that I am helping in this place, and that they want me there. I've connected with a lot of the employees and clients, and it's a place of positive energy. The scents and the lighting create a relaxing atmosphere that calms. The cleanliness is helpful in keeping that calm around me. My day has started. I answer phones, schedule clients, do laundry, clean, enter data on new clients into the system, and chat with coworkers while they wait on their clients. I also enjoy chatting with the clients. They all start out like normal people, then they get their massages and they practically float back into the lobby with messy hair, lines in their faces, and dreamy expressions. It's awesome!


I love the morning shift, as I get to leave at 3 pm, and walk home while the sun is still out. People here still greet each other in passing, for the most part. I like to notice the little bits of whimsy that people have added to their environment. You only have to pay a little attention to see things like this...

The imprint of a leaf in the concrete. There were several, but I share with you the best one that I saw. I wonder at who might have done this... a child? An adult? A man? A woman? When did they connect with their inner child and decide to dress up a boring slab of concrete with their tiny transgression? I love that they DID. The area where this leaf imprint lies is not near a private home. It's on the corner of public building, and there were several leaf prints, though this one was the best. They had to push pretty hard, you can tell. The displacement of the concrete shows that it had already started to harden, and thus was forced out in thicker waves when the print was made. Determined and naughty!


On my way home yesterday, when I took these photos, I decided to stop at a little antique store that's connected to an antique book store. I wanted to buy an ink well for painting with inks. There was a real ink well, but it was made for quills. I needed something I could use with my calligraphy pens, as that's the way I make my ink drawings. I found something that would work... a tiny little bottle.

I took it home for $3 and found that it worked perfectly! Much better than the $39 antique ink well would have worked. It suits me better, also. After I got home, did some dishes, and changed clothes, I started working on a new piece. As I had drawn Beckham the other night, I decided to draw Jimmy Boo. The photo I chose to work with has Jimmy drowsing on my table, with the sun hitting him and one eye half closed and the other fully closed. It was probably not the best photo to use. He turned out looking rather demonic, yet sleepy. He's the least demonic of my two cats, so this isn't an accurate representation of him. I'll share it, anyway.... I worked some watercolors over the ink drawing... It's okay. It's not the best. But I need the practice, and this was my first watercolor of a cat. The next one will be an improvement! So that was my typical day.

Jimmy Boo looking a bit weird.

Not bad as far as days go, right? Not bad at all.