Where Bloggers Live: A Day in the Life: Workday Edition
Welcome to the monthly edition of Where Bloggers Live. It’s kind of like HGTV’s “Celebrities at Home,” but…Bloggers! Who doesn’t like to peek behind the scenes and see inside people’s homes and lives? Every month a group of six bloggers share their work-spaces, homes, towns, and more!
Because I love a good subset, today we’re starting a new series within a series: Where Bloggers Live: A Day in the Life…but even A Day in the Life will have three subsets: Workday, Weekend, and Vacation. Today is just the first, A Day in the Life: Workday Edition…but you can look forward to the others in the coming months.
Personally, it’s too bad this topic got put off so long, because I used to have much more interesting weekdays…work, then going someplace with the dog, or a photo shoot for the blog, coffee or dinner out with friends, etc. Now? Work, home, the end.
I also apologize for lack of interesting pictures – the post was written in advance but I was going to get pictures of “out and about in my day” this last week…and now I have been stuck at home so. Sorry 🙁
So…let’s do a day.
6:10am: Alarm goes off. The first time. I hit snooze. It usually goes off and I hit snooze another 6-7 times til around 7:15…if I’m feeling lucky I might hit snooze one more time…and then leap (and by leap I mean drag myself) out of bed, do the bare essentials required to go to work (teeth brushed, hair pony-tailed into submission-ish, bra on), and run out to the car, usually forgetting to grab my lunch or the trash or the book I needed to ship.
Where I lay me down to sleep. I’ve talked about this on the blog before: I don’t make my bed in the morning. I do the opposite, I UNmake my bed and leave it to air out during the day. I’m still surprised that’s not more of a thing. Also, that’s my emotional support toilet paper. I never buy kleenex. Toilet paper is softer (but not TOO soft as some tissue can be) and WAY cheaper…and the rolls are ENDLESS. Again, how has this not caught on more? Am I…smarter than everybody else?? HA HA HA HA HA.
And how did I spend the time between the first alarm going off and finally getting myself up out of bed?? Either a) dozing, b) not dozing but also not moving, or c) scrolling TikTok and/or Instagram. Checking in on my imaginary boyfriend, seeing what BTS has been up to, watching dreamy videos of magical little alleyways in Japan set to soulful melodies…you know, the usual. Essentially, living in avoidance a dream world where I did NOT have to get up 17 minutes ago and get to work.
8:01-8:10am: arrive at work. I’m fortunate to live as close as I do, so I CAN get there in like 22 minutes.
I spend the morning looking forward to things. The student-run coffee shop opens at 10am, so I get to leave the office for a little stroll, see some different people, and get a yummy cup of sugar coffee.
After that I focus on lunch, when I usually just drive out of our parking lot and into the next-door neighbor’s parking lot about 100′ away. There’s a line of big ol’ trees along the front so in the summer I park in the shade and in the winter I just park. I eat while I watch YouTube – usually Seoul apartment hunting or apartment tours, sometimes BTS or some other interest du jour. When I’m done eating and have both my hands free again, I spend my remaining time on Memrise – one of the Korean learning apps I use.
I used to nap and/or meditate. SOMETIMES, if I’m really behind in things, I’ll stay in the building and sit in the computer room and do a homework assignment. But then I don’t feel like I’ve really had a break, so I get out when I can.
And the last thing to look forward to…
4:00pm: Class Dismissed! I’m FREE! I usually head straight home, but if I have any errands to do: market, dr, laundromat, etc., I go immediately from work…but I try to limit errands to once a week. I DESPISE running errands. I hope I’ve lived admirably enough in this life that in my next life I can have a personal assistant to do all the annoying adulty things for me, like grocery shopping and going to the laundromat.
4:25pm: Home. Look in the mirror to see if I need to fix anything up before I film my TikTok and photograph my blog OOTD. I usually decide I can’t be bothered – not in an “I don’t care” way (well, SORT OF in an I don’t care way) but in an “is there really anything I can do to make this significantly better” way. Then I film my video…it’s usually 1:30-4 minutes long…can take a couple takes…so that can be like 3-15 minutes. Then I do the blog photo…which means I take 20-40 photos and then cull through to pick the best one. Then video-editing, adding hashtags, uploading, etc…image-editing, writing blog post, creating header image, scheduling…in all both things take me about an hour.
5:30pm: NOW I can take off my bra school clothes and get comfortable, whether that’s by putting on a loose-fitting dress in summer or my nightgown, anytime. So yes, most evenings, if I’m not planning to go back out (note: I am never planning to go back out), I am in my nightgown by 5:30pm. I feel no shame.
NOW I can get a snack or start dinner, depending on how hungry I am…
The kitchen is a perpetual mess. I sort of admire people with always clean and tidy kitchens…but I also just can’t be bothered. There are too many more desirable things to do.
5:45ish-7:30ish: Work on Korean homework. Right now I’m taking two classes and am in two different practice groups: a journaling group and a speaking group. The two classes post the week’s assignments on Sunday and are due the following Saturday, so I usually work at least a little bit each day to get all that done in time. The journaling group is Sunday at 5pm and I need to have something written to submit and read. I always MEAN to write a sentence a day, but with all the other work…I usually find myself scrambling on Sunday afternoons to get something written right before we meet. The speaking group meets Monday at 5pm and we’re given dialogues or other reading material during the week so we can practice before class HA HA HA HA HA. That’s always a stressful class for me because speaking is hard for me ANYWAY, and now in a language that my mouth and ear are just not…adapted to yet…eesh.
My life, day in and day out, is pretty much lived At a Computer – whether at work or home.
Any deviation from this schedule and EVERYTHING gets thrown off. I TRY not to have errands EVER. Which, of course I HAVE errands, but I just put them off for as long as possible…because missing just one afternoon of getting the Korean assignments done makes all the other days SO HARD.
7:30ish-whenever I can’t keep my eyes open, usually somewhere between 10-11, I watch k-dramas with a friend via text, so we can OOH and AHH and OH MY GOD at one another as we watch. I usually wake up, partway into an upcoming episode, with her text on my phone, “I guess you fell asleep, okay, good night, see you tomorrow,” ha ha. THEN I get into bed and watch ANOTHER HOUR of something else until I drop the phone on my face enough times to get it through my thick skull to JUST GO TO SLEEP.
The evening relaxation spot. Also the dining room. And classroom. Oh. it’s the MULTIPURPOSE ROOM.
And that, my friends, is my very exciting (not), very UNInstagramable life right now. I have to CRAM a lot into the weekends cuz I just can’t fit it into the weekdays…things like ebay, and getting stuff out of the apartment and cooking (eh) and cleaning HA HA, or seeing a friend once or twice a month. But all THAT good stuff is an upcoming episode.
Stay Tuned.
Make sure to check out my friends blogs today, too:
Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks
Em at Dust and Doghair
Iris at Iris’ Original Ramblings
Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style
Leslie at Once Upon a Time Happily Ever After
Sally at Within a World of My Own
TL
This story was so funny. I think I found my kindred spirit. Thank you for introducing kdrama. I am now hooked.
bettyewp
Yay! What’s been your favorite?
Lisa Elliott
I much prefer toilet paper to kleenex!! People think I’m weird hahahaha!
bettyewp
You’re not weird. You’re brilliant 🙂
Em Dirr
I know there are dozens of things here to which I can relate…starting with shedding the “harness” at the end of the day so the girls can relax…but I am just struck by the fact that it only takes you an hour to do all the stuff for a blog post. AN HOUR!!! It took me forty-five minutes to re-find a dog picture and most of a day to get all my drivel together. I think I need to find a different hobby.
So impressed with all your studying and KPrep. And your ability to stay up late. I do on occasion, but I have to be “doing” something or I’m toast.
Airing out the bed is a great idea! Makes MUCH more sense than sealing in the, erm, air. I’m a tad spiderphobic…I feel them when they aren’t there so I have to NOT air mine out or I will “fake” feel more of them.
And errand-avoidance. Yes. Same!!!
bettyewp
It only takes me an hour to do TikTok and an Outfit of the Day post. The ootd posts are mush faster…one picture…a couple lines about what I’m wearing or what I’m thinking or doing…and that’s it. A “normal” blog post takes muuuuch longer.
Airing out the bed, amiright?? I’m a sleep sweater…I wake up in the middle of the night and my hair and pillow are just drenched. That’s also why I’m not in the “shower at night before bed” club….because I wake up with sweaty, gross hair. It’s so nice in theory, getting all freshly clean at night and sliding into the sheets…but unless I want to be showering twice a day (spoiler alert: i do not), I usually pass on the evening showers.
How did I get on THAT tangent??
I hate to tell you, but I did find you in the trash 🙂 What’s funny is that my spam blocker has gotten SO much better about actually blocking ACTUAL spam instead of that folder having pages and comments of just ridiculous comments day after day. Which makes it mush easier to spot YOURS! Trash, trash, trash, EM! But for all that improvement it still can’t understand that are friend not foe.
teknology be dum.
Sally in St Paul
Airing out the bed is a MUST! I never make my bed because who needs to trap the moisture and provide a perfect humid environment for dust mites.
Life lived At A Computer is so true.
jodie
When I met my husband, he used toilet paper instead of tissues, but I’ve converted him, haha!! Now I may have to rethink that!
I actually like running errands. In fact, if we have 2 days in a row where we haven’t left the house, I get antsy and HAVE to get out and run errands.
Like Em, I’m amazed how fast you get out your blog posts. Between checking all my emails, and picking up the kitty and answering the door for packages, it takes me all morning to get mine written. And that’s having the photos already edited for me!! I know, I know. Multitasking isn’t any quicker but tell that to my brain!!
OXOX
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
bettyewp
Hey! Don’t be messing with the Toilet Paper Club! I also see in a lot of kdramas that they just keep rolls of toilet paper out on the table as napkins, even sometimes at small local restaurants. THESE ARE MY PEOPLE 🙂
Oh you can’t compare my simple OOTD blog posts with your very comprehensive blog posts! It would take me a MONTH to get one like yours done! Mine are just one picture and a couple lines of text. I don’t even usually add links anymore cuz all the clothing is so old and no longer available.
“I actually like running errands. In fact, if we have 2 days in a row where we haven’t left the house, I get antsy and HAVE to get out and run errands.” Oh gosh. I’ve left the house two times in the past 13 days…and am LOVING IT. Ha ha. But I will say, back in the day when I was first dating The Ex, “running errands” was a big part of our dating repertoire. Stop by the bar he worked at to pick up $, stop by to say hi to his father at work, go to the gun store (don’t ask), pick up a new uniform shirt, then a stop at a deli to get sandwiches, salads, desserts, chips and drinks…then go to a park for a picnic and nap on the grass. Those errands weren’t so bad. But they were HIS errands, I was just along for the company and the picnic 🙂 But those were good times.
BUT NOT ANYMORE (the errands, not the memories).
Daenel T.
There have been times when the bra hasn’t even made it out of the work parking lot. I just pray I don’t get stopped because I’ll have to tuck them in my waistband. LOL
bettyewp
Thanks for the visual 🙂
Ha ha
Leslie Susan Clingan
You make me laugh and think and laugh every time I come by to visit!! Have missed my Where Bloggers Live buddies and it felt good to join you gals for this post.
I pretty well detest running errands, too. And like you, I try to do them all in one fell swoop but that is hard. I spend an awful lot of time in the grocery store. Yuck. So hate combining that errand with others.
So impressed with the way you are jumping into all things Korean in preparation for your move overseas in the not-so-distant future. I feel uncomfortable speaking Spanish with adults but more comfortable trying with kids. I find people are generally pretty forgiving of my mispronunciation.
We hit snooze a whole lot over here. Have the best of intentions for getting up, fixing a nice breakfast, doing some quiet time, maybe even a little exercise before getting ready for work. And then, instead, we just hit snooze and lay there. And snooze. And lay there. Waste of time!!
bettyewp
I actually leave the building yesterday and combined getting a slice of pizza with grabbing the week’s bare essentials from the grocery store – so yay me 🙂
Yeah, I have heard that native Koreans are appreciative of anyone who at least TRIES to speak Korean while in SK that they’re forgiving of mistakes, bad pronunciation, etc, BUT STILL. Ha.
Snooze is both my best friend and worst enemy, ha ha.
Iris
I am SO far behind. The Wisconsin trip about did me in and then I had company all the past weekend. Talk about tired and out of the loop. Fortunately I had my post prepared ahead of time. That said, I like your organization, though I don’t think I could keep up with you. I used to be a really organized person. I’m going to take a page from your book and try to get myself organized.
Iris
bettyewp
Oh gosh, don’t take a page out of MY book! Ha ha, there’s got to be a better book out there about being organized. I don’t think I’m organized, I’m just SINKING and refuse to DROWN so scramble to keep my head above water. That’s the stressful version of “organized.”