Austin Albright
8:00: I wake up with my alarm this morning. I am sleeping well again. My ability to sleep peacefully fell victim to a deviated septum and crushed nasal cavity after taking a softball to the face last year. According to my medical records, my “best friend” committed the act—and while true, I do enjoy thinking of him as my “medically accurate best friend.” Regardless of how I describe my friends, I had a nose job four weeks ago to fix everything wrong with my nose, both internally and externally. I’m breathing and sleeping much better, even if my nose looks wrong when I stare at it for too long.
8:24: My perverted cats watch me while I shower and think about my day. Should I work from a coffee shop? It’s been a bit.. I’ve felt less socially inclined lately and am trying my best to save money.
8:43: I feed the cats to a chorus of screaming meows. I have more cats than any single man nearing thirty should have, but I only adopted one intentionally. The other two sort of ended up with me. I love them all.
9:02: I sit down at my desk and open both my work and personal laptops. I manage social media for Jefferson Health. I like my job. I like my coworkers. I wish it paid more; it should pay more. Sitting at the top of my inbox is a message sent by an Executive Assistant from Jefferson Lansdale Hospital asking me to post pictures of the MS4 nursing team for Nurses Week. Also, it’s Nurses Week.
9:11: After agreeing to post the MS4 pictures, I pivot to my personal laptop. Fantasy Baseball. It’s a dynasty league called Kaz Matsui Avenue. My fellow leaguemate, Dan, from Niskayuna, New York, sends a video of a raccoon in his backyard. Three weeks of good luck.
9:44: Get into a weird argument with a coworker. I am, obviously, correct.
10:41: I walk to Hello Donuts to work even more remotely. On Monday night, I shadowed an overnight nurse from Jefferson’s 9/10 Thompson nursing team in Center City, and I need to finish editing a video I made for it. Too many distractions at home.
10:49: I am greeted by the smiling faces of two baristas who have been serving me coffee for who knows how long, now. Two years? Three? “Just the usual,” black iced coffee. It must be three. Lauren immediately asks me if my power went out (it did not) and Casey asks if I’m moving (I am not). I haven’t been coming here as often recently in an attempt to budget, but it’s very nice to be a regular somewhere so close to home.
10:56: Enough distractions. I need to finish this video.
11:11: Make a wish.
12:04: Video finished. I send it to the nurse for her approval before I post it on the Jefferson Health social accounts, and she says, “I am CRACKING up, I’m so glad I got into nursing, not acting.” I really picked the perfect nurse to highlight for this video.
12:31: My boss asks me to add music to the video so I use my own music because I will never miss an opportunity to shamelessly promote my art.
2:02: Electric. I make a trade in my fantasy baseball league. Hector Neris and a 4th round draft pick for a 2nd round draft pick.
2:45: I decide to finish the rest of the work day at the coffee shop, so I’m only just wrapping up to go home. I tell Casey (the barista in case you lost track) about this project. She says that she loves to see a “peek into other people’s lives” while refilling my black iced coffee.
2:47: It’s time to walk home and it’s pouring. I will persevere.
3:11: The worst part about having a nose job is the amount of gunk that you need to manually remove. It’s slowly gotten better over the last four weeks, but I still find myself staring in the mirror, trying to blow out a viscous concoction of mucus, blood, and other mysterious debris.
4:22: My big goal for 2023 was to go to the gym 200 times. I hit 200 on New Year's Eve and rewarded myself by forgetting to eat dinner and getting very drunk just a few hours later. I set the same goal for myself this year. It’s currently day 131/366 or 35.79% of 2024 (it’s a Leap year) and I’ve gone to the gym 75 times, which is 37.5% of my goal.
4:26: Don’t tell my boss, but I’m leaving work early to go to the gym. I’ll take my work phone with me.
4:35: I have arrived at the gym. Day 76, 38%.
6:15: I need to go grocery shopping tomorrow, so tonight’s dinner will just be some wings that I’ll bread and bake myself. I came across this recipe in late 2020 and used to make them often during the peak of COVID.
7:17: Wings done and delicious.
7:51: I wanted to go to a show at Cambria House in Kensington, but I think I’m going to walk down to Johnny Brenda’s instead for a different show. My friends Dave and Danielle invited me. I met Dave in 2014 when we both worked at the old Jimmy John’s on Temple’s campus. We’re seeing a band called Heaven Man which features another one of our old Jimmy John’s coworkers, Zach, on bass. The legend of Jimmy John’s continues.
9:26: Left for Johnny Brendas. It’s a 22-minute walk. I’ve always wanted to write a song about Philly but I’ve never quite figured out how to do so. I’ve written a song about how my family came to Pennsylvania generations ago and pretty much never left, but that’s it. My mom doesn’t like that song.
9:52: Make my way upstairs at JB’s and immediately find Dave and Danielle. Danielle just got back from a nearly month-long trip to Japan with one of her best friends. She brought back some sort of charm for me which is supposed to help with matchmaking. She knew I’d respond by saying, “I’m going to kill myself,” and she was right.
10:56: We miss the first band but the second band just finished. They were older than I expected, probably in their 50s or 60s. They seemed to be loving every second of it.
10:57: I turn 30 in less than 5 months and have found myself thinking about age often, lately. I think I’ve figured out a lot of things that I never thought I would, but have a few new things to figure out now.
11:42: Heaven Man plays their new record in full. I identify a few people in the crowd that I know but no one with whom I actually want to socialize, so I stick with Dave and Danielle.
12:08: The crowd begs for one more song. I don’t think it’s coming.
12:11: It’s not coming.
12:23: Dave, Danielle, and I discuss what the next move should be. There’s talk of going to McGlinchey’s but it’s late enough that I’d rather go home than Center City.
12:49: They’re going to a different bar in Old City; Dave says the name but I’ve never heard of it and therefore do not retain the information. They prepare to call an Uber and I prepare for the 22-minute walk back to my house. I’ll wait with them until they’re picked up.
12:59: I love a nice little stroll home to end the night. Far more relaxing than an Uber or transit. I love biking, too, but I need to get my bike tuned up. Maybe this week.
1:24: Home. Bed. I stare at the ceiling and think: most of my days end like this.
1:33: It feels good to breathe as my eyes close.
You can find Austin playing bass in local bands, photographing everything he sees, and drinking cheap beer all across the River Wards. Follow him at @aus_ight.
