Another day.

Don’t become a writing junkie. Just declare yourself to say “no.”

September 29, 2015

I feel this sense of foreboding. I agreed to work at the demanding job two days this week, then every day for the two weeks following! How will I cope with acting like a normal human person again? I work at a pharmacy that sends medicines out to nursing homes and assisted living places.
My typical day at the pharmacy goes something like this. I park whatever I’m driving. Tiny truck, real car. Whatever. Then I remove the old-lady sunglasses from my face, grope for my lunch, probably in an old yogurt container, and swing my tired legs out of the vehicle. Blinded by the relentless sun, I squint. I stiffly walk to the side door and use my name badge to unlock the door, which I kick. I notice the many kick marks and dents.
Inside, I want to holler, “Honey, I’m home!”
But no. I refrain. Nobody notices my entry. I pass from the warehouse into the hall, noticing that the other pharmacist has not arrived to unlock the pharmacy great room. I do so, punching in a simple code to disable the alarm. Hah! I think. As if they really needed me to do this. Then I unlock the door to the inner sanctum. I have to give the door a good hard yank. I turn on the lights. I walk over to the secretest inner sanctum of all, the “cage of drugs.” It has the controlled substances. I open the gate with my magic badge. Again, I think, Hah!
Now I go to the staff room where several lovely technicians sit around a table. They all start to speak at once. I hold up my hand. “Please!” I say.
I punch in my code into the time clock. The loveliest tech, Val, announces that she has started the coffee.
Now I pass Sharon’s old office. Sharon got fired for being habitually late. Damn! She was a truly great tech, I think. Sitting across from her old desk is Julia. “Hullo!” I said. “Haven’t they fired you yet?”
Then I enter the boss’s sanctum. Is she speaking on the phone? No?
“Honey! I’m home!” I said.