This morning I left my apartment frustrated that I haven’t been able to cast one part in the Web Series I’m working on, annoyed that I haven’t finished the second draft of the Pilot that I’m working on, Tired from trying to fix the final scene of the new full-length play I’m working on, and put one foot in front of the other to get to my day job. The day job that is a bridge and not a burden. And than I kept my eyes open wide on my daily commute and realized that there are ten constants in my day that make me smile.
1) The woman at Dunkin Donuts on my street that remembered that I like one splenda in my iced decaf when I forgot to mention it.
2) The short-haired - big earring lady- that is always standing next to me on the Platform waiting for the N train. I always admire her earrings silently, and marvel about how the two of us end up on the same train 80% of the time.
3) The AM newspaper man who gets me every time when I get off the subway. I don’t want the free newspaper, except I do read the horoscope, but his friendly “Good Morning” always makes me feel like it might actually be a Good Morning.
4) The Fruit Man. He’s disgruntled and bitter about his life. On cold days he’s missing from my day, but on this random warm November day – he chuckled as he weighed my grapes. A constant.
5) The Coffee Cart duo on the corner where I work. I haven’t been getting my coffee from them now that I’ve switched to decaf but I always give them a friendly wave and smile. I can’t figure out if they are related or not. But they seem to have a good time greeting people in the morning.
6) The News Agent next to work-who I will also try my luck at the lottery every once in a while. He asks me if I”m feeling lucky, and the answer usually is no. He’s a friendly face in my daily commute.
7) Roberto the security guard at my office. I don’t understand how he is protecting our door, and what he is protecting it from. But there he is every morning when I enter, and we exchange a smile or wave.
8) The receptionist at work who does a two-hour commute each way to open the office at 8am. I don’t really know much about her life except she is a friendly face in the morning.
9) My friend at work who is also living a dual life. We acknowledge each other in times of exhaustion and bewilderment for how we ended up with two drastic careers, and keep the faith that one day both of us will move on to bigger and better things.
10) My favorite part of the daily grind, seeing Mr. Lee at the end of the day. Mr. Lee asks me if I like to drink a lot, I think I made a joke about it once, he gives me a high-five on the way out, and without a doubt always ends my working day with a smile.
The Ten Reasons I Love My Daily Grind. I can get down about work, having to come to this desk, but there are the little things surrounding my everyday that make it worth it. I will have to remember to give each of these people, whose names are foreign to me, some cookies during Christmas time.
Thanks for reading!
