The hidden agenda of the brain prior to 8:30 in the morning

My day starts somewhere between quarter of and quarter past six in the morning. The exact time depends on if I have taken a shower the night before or if I need to take one in the morning, and since it is getting colder and colder in the mornings I am tending to take my showers at night. Doing this prevents me from leaving the house with wet hair, something that is becoming less desirable the colder it gets. Anyway, after dragging myself out of my nice warm bed I fix myself a bowl of cereal and plop down to watch the weather for the day. I then get dressed, kiss my sleeping boyfriend goodbye and trot off to get the bus. The bus brings me to the T where I get to sit and read for about 35 minutes until I have to switch lines and get squished like a sardine until my stop shows up through the windows. Once I emerge into the light of day again, I then call the, before mentioned, sleeping boyfriend to make sure that he is either on his way or in the shower. Now this is where I can do one of two things:

1. go to Starbucks and get something warm and delicious
2. go straight to my work and make coffee there

And this depends on a number of factors:

• what the exact time is
• how much money I have in my wallet
• if there is some type of inclement weather afoot
• if there is something that I need to get finished at work
• how many people are in line
• if "mullet guy" is working the counter

If I choose number 1 I do not get to enjoy the warm delicious-ness for at least another 20 minutes or so, because after this decision is made the rest of my morning routine ensues. This encompasses getting to the building, opening our office, opening the copy room, making sure there is enough paper in the copier, backing up our security main frame (I think that is what it is called), turning off the alarm, turning on the lights in the main hall, posting the daily upstairs conference room schedule for all the tenants, making sure that the tenant copy room is open and that they have enough paper, opening the front gate and door, sorting out the newspapers, turn the phones system on, and finally checking and responding to any email I have received over the night. If I am on time this should be finished by 8:30, give or take a minute or two.

Today. Today I hit a few road bumps. They are amusing in hind sight, so I feel the need to share. It is a three act play...

Act One: Slow fade in from black, scene opens and we are on the T; Our heroine doses off briefly and nearly misses her line switch stop, upon the realization of this she makes up her mind that Starbucks will get her money when she next sees the light of day. Scene closes with a hurried dash up the stairs to make the the awaiting green line trolley; slow fadeout to black.

Act Two: Quick fade in from black, scene opens and we are hanging up the a cell phone and walking into a Starbucks; Our heroine is in line, trying to figure out what she would like that will shake her from her current groggy state. A barrista quickly approaches and demands a drink order. Our flustered heroine manages to spit out "hot...salty...caramel..." the barrista guffaws and then asks " What?" rather indignantly. "Oh, hahaha, yes. I mean a salted caramel hot chocolate, tall, no whip cream please... You guys must get that a lot huh? Hahaha, That is why I need a drink!" this is met by shocked stares from every barrista behind the counter, while our heroine stumbles over her words, trying in vain to correct her turn of phrase. She commits to just turning a brilliant shade of red and slinking to the end of the bar to await her warm, delicious-ness. Upon receiving it she quickly scuttles out of the coffee shop. Quick fadeout to black.

Act Three: Quick fade in from black, scene opens and we are in the upstairs hallway that links the tenant conference room to the upstairs copy room; Our heroine has just posted the daily schedule for the tenant conference room and is going to check on the paper situation in the copy room, when she abruptly realizes that there is someone already in the copy room. "OH! Hello Gavin*, how are you?" Gavin turns, smiles, and responds "As you would say, 'I am well, thank you.' " "I just like to use proper grammar." Our heroine snaps, accidentally, and realizing as such she quickly tries to back pedal, in hopes that Gavin did not notice the curtness of her phrasing. She throws him a smile and makes a quip about the public domain of the lobby. She believes that Gavin has not noticed, as he responds "Well it is good to know that I am not plagiarizing you. Every time I hear you say 'I am well, thank you' I always think how much better it sounds the 'Oh, you know, pretty good'... How are you this morning? " The question catches our heroine off guard, as she was trying to fathom the early morning compliment on her grammar, and she blurts out "Oh, you know, pretty good." Gavin looks at her strangely and chuckles, she realizes what she had just said, plays it off like she had meant to say it and quickly begs her leave, saying that she needs to open the front gate. When downstairs she opens the front gate and door then collapses at her desk, taking in a large sip of her warm delicious-ness, praying that it will help lessen the flubs that she has been making all morning. Slow fade to black.

* Names have been changed to protect the assumed innocent.