Loop

My right hand grasped my aching head, I closed my eyes and tried to shoo the pain away.

I fell asleep, right then and there, but was awoken immediately when my head dropped a bang on my computer table. My left hand is still in the middle of typing my daily report email to my supervisor.

"Oh, I'm still at the letterhead."

My fingers journeyed through the keyboard and finished inputting the letterhead but I unconsciously stopped midway through the date.

"March 17, 20... Hmm. It doesn't sound right. Is it 16?"

I skipped the date and continued to finish the recipients, the salutations, the body, and the closing remarks. Then I asked myself, "Is it still petsa de peligro? Then that would mean today is 14... Or 15 if the payroll hasn't yet processed our pay." My hand scoured my pockets in search of my wallet.

From my tiny purse-like wallet, I took out my ATM card and went to my bank's online site for a quick balance inquiry.

"57.63. Huh, so the pay is not there yet. I think today is 14", I told myself as my peripheral view highlights the farthest lowest rightmost corner of my PC monitor. "So it is 4:57 PM March 11, neat."

I went back on my document file and finished the report with the date that my computer had. I proofread, making sure everything is okay, and I click send.

Email sent 4:59 PM.

And after that, I hit our bundy clock and called it a day.

The daily commute is tedious even though there are fewer people in the streets. Well, that also means, public transport has also decreased. Who would want to commit to driving a fifty-seater bus for only a third of the usual commuters? And as expected, the bus lines are crowded, but with spaces in between, and the bus intervals are three times longer. Luckily, I bought a bike a week ago for sightseeing, but for now, as my daily ride.

Roughly, my ride from work to my house is around fifteen minutes. It is exciting because this is my first week of daily biking. Unfortunately, I can't still go to places like the province or the mountains because of heightened security.

I arrive home today five minutes shy before 5:30 PM. I put down my stuff, caught my breath for a while, and went straight to take a quick light shower to relieve the hot feeling after biking and clean myself since I went outside. After a refreshing shower, I took my dinner and watched whatever series is recommended on my favorite streaming site.

9:03 PM, I went to my bed took an early slumber.

The glinting rays of the morning sun from the seams on my window greeted me a good morning. "7:05 AM, twenty-five minutes early than my usual alarm, neat", I congratulated myself. To celebrate my great rise and shine today, I prepared my morning breakfast in a slightly grand way. I fried up some garlic rice and bacon, sunny side up eggs, and a small can of corned beef sautéed in caramelized onions. "I don't even need coffee today!", I exclaimed.

After a few preparations before I bike to work, I looked at my phone and I was amazed that work is early today. I received a small bunch of emails from my boss and the IT department. From the boss, he sent me another project that needs managing and some stuff regarding our staffs being late. I guess I'm not getting an earful from my boss today. From the IT department, they followed up on equipment requests like CMOS batteries, new PC sets, and a software upgrade for our department. I am only CC'd on these emails and doesn't care much about tech things.

I biked leisurely from my house to work and I noticed that today, there is a little increase in the traffic. I arrived at work twenty minutes after I left home. "People are lively today, huh."

My supervisor saw me as I walk along the hallway to our office. He thanked me for a job well done for the past few weeks. Well, this is unusual because I rarely get praise for my work from this supervisor. I escorted him inside our office and I quickly went straight to my workstation to start my work.

Lunchtime, as I walk out of the office to get food, the IT guy was running in the hall and when he saw me, he yelled about the deliveries will be coming the next day. I do not know what that means but I guess it is one of that stuff their department emailed me earlier.

I got fried chicken and pasta for today and went back to work.

My head is acting weird like yesterday so I closed my eyes and tried to shoo the pain away.

I fell asleep but was partly awake. The surroundings are hazy and then I was suddenly awoken when my right hand dropped together with my head on my computer table. My left hand is staying on top of my keyboard as I am typing my daily report email to my supervisor.

"Oh, I'm still at the letterhead."

My fingers journeyed through the keyboard and finished typing the letterhead but I unconsciously stopped midway through the date.

"March 17, 20... Hmm. It doesn't sound right. Is it 16?"

I left the date alone for a while and continued to finish the recipients, the salutations, the body, and the closing remarks. Then I asked myself, "Is today Friday? Then that would mean today is 13... Or 15 if the payroll already processed our pay." My hand scoured my pockets in search of my wallet.

From my tiny purse-like wallet, I took out my ATM card and went to my bank's online site for a quick balance inquiry.

"57.63. Huh, so the pay is not there yet. I think today is 14", I told myself as my peripheral view highlights the farthest lowest rightmost corner of my PC monitor. "So it is 4:32 PM March 11, neat."

I went back on finishing my report with the date that my computer had. I proofread, edited a few grammar mistakes, making sure everything is okay, and I hit send.

Email sent 4:39 PM.

And after that, I saw again the IT guy in talks with my supervisor. I turned off my PC and waited till 5 PM, clock out in our bundy clock, and called it a day.

The daily commute is more tedious because even though there are fewer people in the streets, public transport has decreased. And as expected, the bus lines are slightly more crowded, but with spaces in between, and the bus schedule intervals are three times longer. Luckily, I am on a bike as my daily ride.

My ride from work to my house is around twenty-five minutes. It is exhausting because this is my first-time biking with more traffic. Unfortunately, I can't still go to places like out-of-town or the neighboring cities because of heightened alert in safety and security.

I arrive home today fifteen minutes shy before 6 PM. I put down my stuff, caught my breath for a while, and went to take a light shower to relieve the tiredness after biking and clean myself since I went outside. After a refreshing shower, I took my dinner and watched whatever series is recommended on my favorite streaming site.

9:27 PM, I went to my bed and said to myself, "Good night."

The rays of the sun from the seams on my window woke me up. "7:38 AM, eight minutes late than my usual alarm", I said to myself as I fix my bed while still feeling lightheaded. "I do badly need coffee today", I said with lower motivation.

I looked at my phone and I was being notified by my supervisor regarding my work yesterday. I received a certain email from my supervisor regarding a few mishaps on the report yesterday. I immediately replied to his email telling him I will fix it when I get there at work. I guess I'm definitely getting an earful from my boss today. From the IT department, they followed up on equipment installation for outdated PC sets and hardware and software upgrades for our department. I cannot understand their emails and I am only CC'd on these emails and not tech-savvy myself.

I biked worriedly from my house to work and I noticed that today, there is a significant increase in the traffic. I arrived at work thirty minutes after I left home. "A bunch of people is lively today, huh."

My supervisor saw me as I walk along the hallway to our office and dashed straight to me. He told me that my job yesterday was not well done like my work for the past few weeks. He escorted me inside our office and I followed him as he went straight to his desk to show me what is wrong with my work. He told me that a bunch of dates is scrambled up and the dates of the fulfillment of some projects are either getting delayed or getting hectic.

Lunchtime, as I walk out of the office to get food, the IT guy is walking in the hall pushing a large cart of equipment boxes and the likes and when he saw me, he yelled about the installation on my computer maybe later or tomorrow. I do not know what that means but I guess it is one of that stuff their department emailed me earlier.

I got two slices of pizza and a root beer for today and went back to work.

I am having a headache like yesterday but worse, so I closed my eyes and tried to sleep the pain away.

I cannot fall asleep and my head still aches. The surroundings are hazy and I cannot ascertain a few things on my desk when I was suddenly awoken when my right hand dropped my mouse from atop my computer table. My left hand searched for my head as that jolt from the mouse increased my pain. I resumed work, trying to ignore my headache, typing my daily report email to my supervisor.

"Oh, I'm still at the letterhead."

My fingers traversed through the keyboard and completed typing the letterhead but I unconsciously stopped midway through the date.

"March 16, 20... Hmm. It doesn't sound right. Is it 18?"

I left the date blank and continued to finish the recipients, the salutations, the body, and the closing remarks. Then I asked myself, "Is today Friday? Then that would mean today is when the IT guy will come... Or 14 if the payroll already processed our pay." My hand went to my pockets in search of my wallet.

From my tiny purse-like wallet, I took out my ATM card and went to my bank's online site for a quick balance inquiry.

"57.63. Huh, so the pay is not there yet. I think today is 14", I told myself as my peripheral view highlights the farthest lowest rightmost corner of my PC monitor. "So it is 3:22 PM March 11, huh."

I went back on finishing my report with the date that my computer had. I proofread, edited a few grammar mistakes, making sure everything is okay, reread the whole report, and I hit send.

Email sent 3:37 PM.

And after that, I saw again the IT guy in talks with my supervisor. As I turn off my PC, the IT guy saw me and went hurriedly towards me. My head still hurts so I cannot comprehend why he went on my desk. Apparently, I requested a fix on my computer last week and he is here to address it.

The IT guy took out a seemingly large wristwatch battery, went on my PC unit, and opened it up. He took out a few guts of cables in there and when he replaced the large battery inside, he put back everything in place, closed it up like a surgeon after an operation.

As the IT guy boots up my PC, my boss worriedly walked to us, with some documents in his hands. He held it out to me and asked if there is something wrong with me. I told him, "To be very honest sir, I am currently having a bad time because of my persistent headaches". I looked towards him and told me that it is not a reason to mess up the whole itinerary of the company. It turns out, like yesterday, I messed up the dates on my daily report. I really felt bad, but my boss went up to me and tried to cheer me up.

"Everyone's having a hard time, especially these days. I know you'll catch up."

Those words from my supervisor lifted me and became motivated to put up with my mistakes. Then the ever-diligent IT guy exclaimed, "All fixed!"

Shyly, I asked him, "What was my service request about, if you don't mind reminding me?"

"Oh, you said the PC clock is not working properly and stuck to a certain date for a few days. We just needed to replace the system battery", the IT guy said.

"Huh, neat."