A Week in My Life: Day One

Like lots of folks out there in the crafty world, I’m participating in Ali Edward’s Week in the Life, a cool project where you document one week of your life and make a point of focusing on all the little details that make up your day and life.

I was reluctant to participate. When I saw the dates Ali had planned I knew I’d be traveling on business most of the week, and didn’t think documenting a week on the road would be reflective of my life or mattered. I mean come on, what about my kids? What about my husband? What about my life in Arizona? But, the more I thought about it the more I realized that a week of travel is a very real part of my life, even if it’s something that doesn’t always bring me the same amount of joy as being a mama or being at home does.

So here’s my week. It starts in Des Moines and will end in the car as we drive to Idaho (which I'm so excited for). 

Day One: Monday, July 25

7:54 a.m. Rolled out of bed after hitting snooze five times; headed straight to the bathroom and turned the shower water on so it could heat up.    

7:58 a.m. Checked email on my phone before hopping into the shower. Shower never warmed up. Called the front desk; complained; and proceeded to take a very cold shower.

Watched the Today Show as I put my makeup on … since I’m in a hotel all alone, I get to watch whatever I want. That means no Disney Channel. Woo-hoo for me.

8:31 a.m. Called home. It was 6:30 a.m. at home, so I figured the kiddos would be up and ready to talk. The phone rang and I heard “Hello, this is the Kalil Residence. If this is my mama, just say yes.” Before I had a chance to say yes, Shelby adds “Mom, I tried to FaceTime you. Can we FaceTime?”  We spend a little time chatting via FaceTime -- Shelby’s newest obsession -- and then I sign off so I can get going for the day.

9 a.m. Breakfast at the hotel buffet. Biscuits and gravy, which I only eat when I travel . As I eat, I scan the newspaper and continue to read my mail on my phone.

9:15 a.m.  Shuttle to the newspaper. The shuttle driver, Mike, drops me off right at the front door of the Des Moines Register where I’ll be working all week.

Started the day running. Before I managed to get my laptop setup or logged into Gannett’s publishing system I had people calling my name asking for help. On site for at least 90 minutes before I had a chance to sit down, log in and get settled. Lots of morning planning meetings. 

12:13 p.m. Lunch break with Fran and Nick. Palmer’s Deli. Cheddar cheese soup in a bread bowl, tortellini salad and a magic cookie bar.

1:15 p.m. Back to the Design Studio and trouble shooting. Lots of issues. Lots of questions. Lots of running around.

2:15 p.m. Called into an impromptu meeting with a Gannett executive (insert surprised face). Try to be as diplomatic as possible, which is not easy for me.

3 p.m. More troubleshooting. Sixty five new pages to output by 8 p.m. and nowhere ready.  Major issues with photos.

8:45 p.m. Looked at the clock. Can’t believe I’m still working. More fires to put out.

9:35 p.m. Finally done with work and hitch a ride back to the hotel with the systems editor (and my friend) Angela.

9:47 p.m Back at the hotel. Stopped at the hotel store to get tooth paste. Somehow , the Ziploc bag of all my toiletries never made it into my suitcase. The hotel manager left me some cheese and crackers and a bottle of wine to make up for my cold shower.

9:50 p.m. FaceTime with Shelby. She helps me pick my dinner from the room service menu (fillet, baked potato, salad, vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and hot tea).

10 p.m. Watched news, Tonight Show, caught up on blog reading and ate my dinner. The fillet was over cooked, but the ice cream was super tasty. Did a little FaceTime with Mike before I said good night to my loves.

11 p.m. Shower and hair washed. I don’t wash my hair every day or every other day for that matter. It gets too dry if I do and it takes forever to dry. So, I do it every three days and schedule time to make sure I can get it dried and straightened. Tonight was a hair washing night.

11:40 p.m. Went to bed.

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Observations: I work a lot of hours while on site and it’s exhausting.  But it also makes the time away from home pass quickly. I’m less lonely and bored if I’m working non-stop. I wish I would have taken more photos, but I'm grateful for the ones I did take. I'm tying to make this whole process simple, so I've just been using my phone to take photos. I have to remind myself to think of the big picture rather than the little issues that normally hold me back when attempting a project of this scale.

Favorite moment: Shelby answering the phone and begging to do FaceTime.

Gratitude: I'm grateful for a job that challenges me and is different every single day. I never get bored ... that's for sure.

Overheard: “There is no crying in CCI … “ though there are lots of time I feel like I’m going to cry when things don’t work right in Newsgate (the content management system my company sells).