A (Long) Day In The Life - part 1

Soundtrack of my days
Status Quo - On The Level
Rhapsody - Symphony Of Enchanted Lands II -The Dark Secret-
Shine On - Classic Rock's freebie on Sept 2006 issue
Blind Guardian - Imaginations Through The Looking Glass (DVD)


The 05:20 alarm repeats in its incessant way, and I fall into the day after the oblivion of an all too short night - I turn, twist and upright myself and thread my way through the darkness of an early morning and make for tea - Tea helps - I shave knowing full well that it's too early and by three in the afternoon I shall look like an extra from some film shoot on the latest zombie sequel - I shower knowing full well there is little time and I'm taking valuable sandwich-making time - I make a sandwich taking valuable bag-packing time but I have things down to a fine art now and all culminates in a ceremonial unlocking of the door several minutes after 06:05 - I career towards the car like an unaccomplished juggler, balancing bag, CD's, keys and a carrier bag of shoes - the car is waiting patiently in the calm of the morning for me to shatter the peace and give it its purpose - Today, I start the day proper with Symphonic Heavy Metal courtesy of Rhapsody and it frames the day *Aural Caffeine* - I don't speed, I judiciously negotiate the speed limit and the road is as free of traffic as a shaken tablecloth is of crumbs - various markers; The Cinema, The roundabout, The Traffic Lights, The Dual Carriageway, on to The Motorway, The Motorway Services, The Cheaper Glasses via the Internet Sign, The Junction, The 2 Motorways Junction, Banksy's Bridge, The Road Works, The Hospital Road - They all pass by in a blur of dragons, enchantment and Symphony - The race is on to park; do I risk trying to park for free in one of the side streets? Or do I play it safe and head for the multi-story car park? The clock is ticking - I head for the free option and run the gauntlet of parked cars, each one adding steps and valuable seconds to what always becomes another race against time: I'm Late, I'm Late! - The laws of probability conspire and I either get a space so near to where I want to be, that I can't believe it and think I'm still asleep in bed or so far away I end up in another county! - Today, the laws of probability have a lay in and I get somewhere inbetween - Have I woken up yet? - In a storm of footsteps down a 1 in something hill (something per cent doesn't have the same impact) I arrive at the entrance, it's understated, more of an 'en' than an 'entrance', so understated that it's underestimated. But I know I am there because its hot - it always is hot in hospital - I'm running down endless corridors and in the emptiness you'd think no-one was sick, that all was just an office for health and as I head for the lifts, with the quiet lulling me into a false sense of security and the heat actively sucking water from my cells, the lifts seem further and further away - The laws of probability have enjoyed their sleep and are now ready for me - Lift 1 = 'blank', Lift 2 = 5, Lift 3 = 7 and Lift 4 = 4 (but this is for trolleys, wheelchairs and anything but me anyway). So, I press the button and the fruit machine of ascendancy rolls into action; 'blank'/6/6/3, 'blank'/5/5/3, 'blank'/4/5/2, etc. - Eventually, after what seems like the timespan of planet formation, Lift 2 opens, belching forth hot dry air that makes the hospital seem positively arctic - I step in - the door closes, enveloping me in its thermal cocoon and I shed the last few drops of moisture from my body leaving a desiccated husk - Is the day over?


rustle



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