Connor “Cool Mama” Ranft

6am

• see red. I never turned my Cync light off last night because Alexa wasn’t working

• feel warmth

• hear the westbound el

7am

• see brightness

• smell nothing. My allergies are the worst at this time

• hear my boyfriend’s alarm

…

10am

• see lots of emails to catch up on from being off work for a bit

• feel soil under my feet. My cat knocked over a plant last night.

• hear sports podcasters from my roommate’s phone speaker. “The interception he threw, I had mixed feelings about it.” “It was definitely a miscommunication.”

11am

• feel soreness from working in my studio last night

• taste leftover golabki from mom-moms x carbon copy. so so tasty. I have to eat it standing up or else my cat will grab it right off of my fork.

• smell construction dust and smoke from the wood-fire stove at a neighborhood Polish restaurant. I could use some water.

12pm

• see too much blue light

• taste an iced latte

• hear an aspiring author explain the publishing industry to her coffee shop companion. She’s salty that Colleen Hoover has had so much success despite being a “bad” writer. This is not a career for me.

1pm

• see the bottom of my unread emails. The last one is a newsletter from Horn Farm. Maybe I’ll register for one of their workshops.

• feel that the soreness has transformed into stiff pain in my lower back. I should do some yoga.

• hear chill beats out of the coffeeshop speakers. I forgot to bring my headphones.

2pm

• see spreadsheets. This is not an interesting thing to share about my day in Philly, but it is my daily reality. Today I am summarizing data on trails built, trees planted, acres of land improved, etc, for my organization’s fiscal year reports.

• taste another latte. This time decaf. This time hot (the AC is very strong).

• hear information I probably should not be hearing. My new coffee shop next-table-neighbor is on a meeting about their company’s plans.

3pm

• see kids walking home from school. The crossing guard greets me.

• taste leftover Loco Pez

• smell laundry detergent

4pm

• feel unfocused. Stopped work early to nap and reset. Will probably try to work again this evening.

• see the back of my eyelids

• hear Elvis Presley on the Alexa

5pm

• see police activity on Frankford Ave. One side of the street is blocked.

• feel annoyed at myself for forgetting to bring my drill to the studio. Should I drive back and get it or work on something else? It doesn’t really matter. I’ll get to it all eventually.

• hear dad on the phone. I try to call him every Tuesday.

6pm

• see a dead mouse

• feel pain. Stubbed my toe as I was moving an easel around in the studio.

• hear the box fan in the window

7pm

• see the sun setting. I should start heading home soon.

• hear “Love Shack” on the IGA speakers

• feel all of the mangos in the hope that one is ripe. None are.

8pm

• feel dirt on the floor. I still haven’t cleaned that up.

• taste Dietz & Watson buffalo chicken slices on garlic bread. I’m ravenous and hangry.

• hear the Phillies game on the TV downstairs

9pm

• see more spreadsheets and emails

• smell artificial strawberry flavoring? I’m not sure where that’s coming from, but it’s making me wish I bought some candy while I was out.

• hear Jackson and Bella bicker over the phone

10pm

• see Midnight Cowboy. I’ll probably fall asleep to this. Goodnight!