a day in the life of LB

I was thinking tonight about how perspectives change, schedules change, bodies change. Three years ago, I was in college and practically nocturnal. I slept from 4am-8am and 12pm-4pm because I could not sacrifice fun with friends or my obsessive study habits. Now, I can barely peel myself out of bed if I'm not asleep by eleven.

So here's what it's like to be me. Someday I will look back at this and laugh at how much I took for granted.

6:26 a.m. - Wake up! I've learned that If I wake up right when my alarm goes off, I am much more productive the entire day. If I'm really busy at work, I will get ready for work right now, but usually I enjoy a leisurely morning checking blogs while my oatmeal cooks, putting on makeup while my pants steam in the dryer, or if I'm really lucky, snuggling with my husband.

7:45 a.m. - I usually leave for work between 7:45 and 8:00. It takes me about 20-40 minutes to get to work, depending on what time I leave.

8:30 a.m. - My workday officially starts, though I've probably been working for almost an hour. I don't have an official job title because nothing quite encompasses what I do. But it's somewhere between officer manager/book publicist/director of publicity. My job responsibilities are great!

Any given day I'm in charge of writing 25-30 press releases a week (hopefully divided with a co-worker!), managing in-house needs and answering employee questions, dividing/managing/monitoring the workload, and communicating with our clients. I'm also the media-liaison, meaning I'm the contact person on all press releases we send. So if a reporter wants to get in touch with an author, I will relay contact information, answer questions, or work to schedule a time that works for both parties.

All kinds of situations arise where damage control is needed. Our client will call with a disgruntled author and I recommend how to rectify the situation and who in my office should accomplish the task. If there's a problem in my office, I let our clients know. If our client needs us to do something differently, I let that person know and provide examples as to how they can change. I compile weekly reports to send to our clients, which usually takes the better portion of my Monday. Also, I place job ads and interview potential employees, but don't fire people.

A day at work is never the same for me -- and I like it that way. I'm usually super busy, get tons of work done, and the day goes by super fast all the time. I have a great boss, love the people in my office, and work great with our clients. Even though I've been promoted to pretty much the highest position in our office until my 35-year-old boss decides to retire, I constantly feel like I'm challenged and growing and thinking of new ways we can do things better. I am blessed. Who would have thought that an English major would end up in a job like this?

5:00 p.m. - Hopefully I'm leaving work at this point. About three days a week, I go to my parents' house to swim or work out, or I go for a run at our house (I'm still sidelined at this point, though -- four weeks and counting. Boo hoo.). If I don't work out, I go to the store or come home and clean. Or I totally veg. Also, about once a week, I will bypass the rest of my schedule and go out for a girls' night. I like those, too!

7:00 p.m. - I make it home. Two or three nights a week, I will cook dinner. Then we eat at 8:30. If I have nothing planned, we eat cereal, JT makes eggs, or we pull out the leftovers. We NEVER eat Ramen. No way :)

8:00-10:00 p.m. - JT time. We watch TV together or go for a walk. Sometimes he will take me out for coffee or ice cream.

10:00 p.m. - I usually start getting ready for bed at this point. I will read blogs or books until I'm sleepy.

12:00 a.m. - JT takes off my glasses, picks up my book, covers me up, and kisses me goodnight. I've been asleep somewhere between 30 minutes and an hour. Sometimes I wake up for this, but other times I wake up with a smile on my face when I find my book safe on the floor and my glasses folded neatly on the bedside table.

I love my life, especially everything JT adds to my day. Sometimes it depresses me that I can map out my days so easily, but plenty happens to mix things up and I've gotten to where the little things in life genuinely make me happy. I treasure these moments in their own little way, because I know that someday kiddos will be added to this equations, and realistically, I will be a working mom. Which is okay. I can fit them in somewhere, I suppose :)

That's what it's like to be me in 2009!