Jo

●      6?? am: Ben woke up at 6?? am to go to his job at Princeton. I woke up from his alarm after I dreamt about making him and I lattes in bed. He gave me a kiss and left, I rolled back over and went to sleep. 

●      8~ am: I actually woke up at 7:50 after having dreams about fancy houses, going away parties, and monsters with too many limbs. I had a song stuck in my head so I played it while I made coffee.

●      9:19 am: I sent Ben a picture of myself in his hoodie to “ask” if I could wear it. Then I walked to coffee shop (not the one I work at) and worked on my international programs job for about an hour while listening to dumb podcasts about reading dumb things. I feel like maybe I have regressed by doing so, but I like when people tell me stories while I make powerpoints about exchange programs.

●      10:30 am: At some point my laptop battery will die and I will get up to leave but for now im still typing about riparian areas and combing through ArcGIS maps, soil surveys and public information about the Wissahickon. Anyone with a car wanna go hiking today? The Wissahickon has been identified as impaired since 1996 due to sediment build up and run off (according to the Montgomery county government website). I was also born that year. I wish you could just swim in the rivers around Philly without worrying about getting sick. I love looking at maps of parks, too.

(Sourced from the Montgomery county website)

(Sourced from Boston Public Library)

●      11:15 am: I love looking up from my computer and seeing people I recognize walking around outside. They don’t know I saw them but I said hi in my head. :-)

●      12 pm: Went back home and let my cat sit outside with me for a little bit. She’s an indoor cat but loves the sun and never leaves my side. She just turned 11 the other day. It’s nice when it’s sunny in the winter time.

●      12:58 pm: Looking at pictures of seeds and thinking about springtime. Motivation to continue working is slightly lower now that I am at home and I kinda just want to go on a walk but have more work to do!!!!!

(Sourced from https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics6020023)       

(Source Minnesota Wildflowers Guide)

●      2:48 pm: ok I’ve done enough writing for now. Writing two different case studies and an ecological vignette paper and scholarship essays make my brain feel wrung out. I got up and started cleaning the house, starting with finally taking down the wreath from the holidays that is still on my front door. Do some laundry, do some yoga, now I’ll go get laundry soap and walk around my neighborhood.

●      3pm-6:45pm: Walking around many things so I will just bullet point them:

○      Stray cat pooping in a pile of leaves (funny)

○      Cedar burning smell while walking by my favorite house in the neighborhood (very nice smell, pretty front gardens)

○      Bad driving around bikers (why do people drive so badly??)

○      Sat by the fountain while reading Macunaima and am smelling cigar smoke. I got cold and went to my favorite fountain bar for fries and beer.

○      From bar window, I could see into salon where man was having his haircut. According to bartender they also shave backs there. Not from experience, but she's seen them do it through the very open salon window.

○      Leaving the bar after 1x beer and I am a little drunk for some reason, I am a lightweight. I listened to “my barn, my rules” while walking home and now I’m having only one more beer at another bar on the way then actually going home to work.

■      I love going to my local bars and talking to bartenders about their lives. People are so interesting and I love hearing about things I don’t know about.

●      6:48pm: now home, writing more essays for school, waiting for Ben to get home so we can eat dinner together.

●      Evening: Ben is home and I am happy to see him. We sit together in our living room while eating and talking about our days. The best part of my day is always the time I get to spend with my little family. My stomach started to hurt earlier, likely from the excitement from the day, and so I’ve changed into comfy clothes and plan on relaxing for the rest of the night. While I got some things done, I still have so much more to do - but that’s the nature of the beast I guess. My laundry is dry and I’m going to try and fold it before bed.

Jo is a natural resources student and barista that lives in South Philadelphia with their partner and cat. They love putzing around their neighborhood, talking to strangers, and reading about ecology/biology/mycology etc. You can find them at @_.brune.lli on Instagram or sitting around like a Sim in a local park.