A day in the life

I am alone in Hepworth Towers West. The family have gone to work, to school and to meetings. It’s just me and the cats and they are busy trying to catch a mouse in the coat closet by the front door.

I have read the headlines, then an editorial pointing out that the UK press is out of step with public opinion on the bombing, as three quarters of the public want a ceasefire. And then I checked up on precisely what the UN Secretary General said and concluded that the Israeli objections are unfounded. And a misrepresentation - no surprise there. 

I cannot read the news in full. It’s too awful. There is this delicate balancing act going on inside my head - staying up to date with the horrific situation, while protecting myself from despair. After all, it’s not me who is suffering, I keep telling myself. And I do all that I can - post about it, write to my MP, sign petitions, give money to Medical Aid for Palestinians. There’s another big march in London on Saturday but I’m here in Boulder.

The weather has turned, and it’s cold. Alexa says there will be a high of 60 deg F today (15.5 C) so it will mean wrapping up for my bike ride.

Yesterday I had breakfast at Google with Isaac and loved it. It’s nice to spend time with just him. 

As far as the office is concerned, every comfort is catered for in a minimalistic streamlined kind of way. I tried one of the massage chairs, which was bliss, and one of the hanging pods that are there to relax in, to be quiet, to work, whatever. I didn’t have a go on a treadmill. Perhaps you can see a pattern.

Photo by Isaac

Isaac showed me most things of interest. I even saw a dog feeding station, and a quiet little pooch pattering down a corridor. I carried around Isaac’s iPad Pro and held it in front of my visitor’s badge so I could pretend to be an employee, but even ignoring my age, my clothing betrayed my outsider status. Most people had T shirts and sweatshirts in black or neutral colours, and Wendy says they’d all be garments made of some fabric with advanced technological features. I saw no denim. And just one splash of orange.

The views of the mountains are stunning. It feels like a great place to work. Cece likes the snack stations on every floor and Lux likes the massage chairs best. 

I walked home along one of the trails, and then under Wendy’s instruction, tie-dyed my T shirt to go with my Halloween Hippie costume. (Illustration later.)

Then Wendy took me for lunch at the Rio where we sat in the sunshine on the roof and had my usual -a margarita with rocks and salt, and house salad with shrimp. It was fun. Lunch out with Wendy always is.

Photo by Wendy

I spent the day before on my own, on a bike ride, and going to a couple of art galleries, and I had an interesting encounter on the main shopping street. A young man standing outside a shop said he wanted to give me a free gift and handed me a smart and tiny carrier bag containing a sachet of something. I asked him what it was. 

“It’s cream to put under your eyes,” he said.

“Oh, thank you.”

“Or would you rather have one for above your eyes?” he said.

“Which do you think I need?”

“I’ll give you both.”

I am still laughing (and no doubt creating even more laughter lines.)