I used to mock/self-pity myself for having the lame 9-to-5 routine on my weekdays. I felt like just another sardine on a hamster's wheel (figuratively speaking... although as of this week I find absurd situations more digestible than those that are a consequence of common sense, so I guess if I ever encounter a sardine inside a hamster's cage, specifically on the wheel, I'd take a sip of shrinking potion (yeah, the stuff that tastes like a shoe and smells like molasses), crawl inside the cage and lay next to it).
But since I realized how important it is to have "recesses" in between daily tedious, grown-up activities
,
I've been
,
I've been
eating more,
sleeping better
and grinning wider.
I might giveaway details on my other recesses in later blogs, but the one I'd like to emphasize in this entry is my morning routine. I'm a creature that loves reading and also loves breakfasts (I think I am most hungry when I've snoozed my alarm clock at least three times and I'm blinking at my bedroom ceiling wishing the reality I was waking up to was a different one... ) so since a bit over six months ago, I've been going to work an hour before the office opens. I started this as an excuse to explore the different coffee shops around downtown (I'd just changed my workplace location and hadn't worked in this part of the city in almost half a decade, so there was a lot to look around) but, after becoming more knowledgeable on prices and flavours, the thrill started to wear off. So, I incorporated a walking routine that usually involved zigzagging between churches and parks and hotels until I started gravitating more and more towards the Malecon (the pier). Our local pier is ordinary in every sense: the water is murky, the sky is always cloudy, and yeah there are bits and studs of flora here and there,
BUT,
at Seven AM,
boy,
is it peaceful
and peace is
Priceless.
It's one of the few places in the the city where you can find a body of water kissing the sky;
Where you are surrounded by more birds than people; and,
You can close your eyes and appreciate the sound of the swaying current and the timid buzzing of the wind.
Every morning,
having the pirate ship called El Morgan within my wide-screen view,
I snuggle my bum onto the concrete stairs closest to the river
And as I sip my concisely sweetened black coffee,
I munch on words from a good-spirited book (I do a rotation of books I keep on my nightstand )
and take generous bites off a breakfast sandwich.
So, what are you waiting for to create a recess-like moment to squeeze into the days within a week you consider mundanest and make it a routine to look forward to?
BUT,
at Seven AM,
boy,
is it peaceful
and peace is
Priceless.
It's one of the few places in the the city where you can find a body of water kissing the sky;
Where you are surrounded by more birds than people; and,
You can close your eyes and appreciate the sound of the swaying current and the timid buzzing of the wind.
Every morning,
having the pirate ship called El Morgan within my wide-screen view,
I snuggle my bum onto the concrete stairs closest to the river
And as I sip my concisely sweetened black coffee,
I munch on words from a good-spirited book (I do a rotation of books I keep on my nightstand )
and take generous bites off a breakfast sandwich.
(foto: my go-to breakfast sandwich of the week, labelled by the bakery as Pastel de Pizza, is basically puff pastry with a well-seasoned tomato sauce filling with specks of oregano and hints of finely minced garlic and onions)