Daniel C.

8:04 AM

I'm woken up by Tootsie, the 15-year-old cat who owns my house. Usually, he wakes me up by yowling from downstairs until I get up, but today, he decided to wake me up by sitting on my chest and staring at me. Definitely not the most comfortable way to wake up, but in terms of sleep paralysis demons, he makes for a pretty adorable one. I finally wake up, follow him downstairs, and do the New York Times puzzles (preferred order: Mini, Strands, Connections, Wordle, Daily Crossword). 

10:31 AM

I'm finally hungry enough to eat breakfast, so I decide on a quick bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios and a glass of orange juice.

11:06 AM

I recently joined a barbershop chorus that rehearses out near Hershey, PA, and I have to submit a recording requirement by Tuesday for a song we're learning for our upcoming holiday show. Wanting a break from dissertating, I decide to give it a whirl. Usually, I go to my friend's house in West Philly to record since he's also in the chorus and has a whole recording setup, but he's busy this weekend and I have a deadline to meet. Behold my jerry-rigged setup. 

I'm a bit of a perfectionist with these recording requirements, even though they're meant to ensure you're learning your music and aren't expected to be completely perfect. My friend usually keeps me on track—pun definitely intended—so it takes me quite a while to get a take I feel comfortable sending in. 

1:50 PM

Lunchtime for Tootsie and me. He's having some kind of fish pâté, I'm having a half of a cheesesteak. He seems much more interested in what I'm having than what I gave him, and I don't blame him. 

2:27 PM

I submit my weekly picks for my cousin's football pool. She's got a hundred or so people that participate, and I've been doing pretty unevenly this season—just trying to emulate my hometown Eagles. In an attempt to get closer to the top of the rankings, I make some underdog picks. We'll see how that pans out. I have no trust in the Jets. 

3 PM

I get the mail. Nothing interesting, but it's nice to have a chat with our mail carrier. Super nice guy, always wraps our mail in rubber bands, so I've got an enormous rubber band collection now. 

5:30 PM

At this point, I realize I am doing this project the day after the Phillies completely choked in the playoffs, and I decide to take a walk to the stadium for some catharsis—and because it's such a nice day. I spend way too long deciding if I should wear my Phillies City Connect windbreaker or if I should wear a Flyers hoodie, but I ultimately decide on the Phillies windbreaker. No point in jinxing the Flyers yet. I didn't even consider wearing my Sixers hoodie. 

Living where I do in South Philly is nice because you can walk to the sports complex in about 30 minutes and pass by Marconi Park on your way. I even stop by the park for a second to make a new friend. 

I eventually make it to the cemetery. It's as lifeless as the Phillies offense. I notice a large truck near the loading docks, and I wonder if the Phillies are here cleaning out their lockers. I decide I'd rather not stick around and get disappointed again, so I start the walk back home. 

6:43 PM

A friend of mine from college FaceTimes me to talk about the Mets beating the Phillies. It's a short conversation. We eventually pivot to talking about the postseason more generally, and that's a much longer conversation. I'm rooting for the chaos scenario of the Tigers playing the Padres in the World Series, but I get the feeling the Dodgers will come back and win their series. 

7:28 PM

I order dinner and watch Jeopardy. I haven't watched Jeopardy regularly in a couple of years, but it's still my comfort show. My late grandmother and I used to watch it together, and watching it now feels like a way of connecting with her.

8:15 PM

I decide to watch Thursday Night Football. Thursday night games have actually been pretty good this season, which is a nice change of pace. I'm rooting for the Seahawks because I won't root for the 49ers—and because I'm playing someone in fantasy football this week who has Purdy, Kittle, and Deebo. I'm down about 60 points before the Sunday games, so I'm embracing my impending 3-3 record. 

11:53 PM

I head to bed, pretty pleased with how my day went. I hope yours was as excitingly mundane as mine was! 

Daniel is a Ph.D. candidate in music at Temple. When he's not working on his dissertation, he's walking around South Philly, practicing music, playing video games, or agonizing over Philly sports. You can find him on Instagram @daniel.carsello