Olivia Zarzycki

I wake up at 8:30 am. It is raining for the first time in weeks. I take my dog, Margot, out to the backyard - she is not happy about being wet. We come back inside and I open my laptop to start work for the day. 

My work day starts with a webinar on inclusivity in academic publishing and research. When it’s over, I throw on a 30 minute exercise video and take a quick shower. Then I pretty much answer emails until lunchtime. 

I have not grocery shopped this week since I will be heading to my parent’s house in Doylestown tomorrow for Thanksgiving. One of my roommates, Chris, and I walk to Bart’s Bagels to pick up lunch. I get an egg and cheese on an everything bagel and an iced coffee. On our walk back to the house I snap a picture of this coke bottle wind chime because I’d like to find one like it (I have a real thing for coca cola...). 

I work the rest of the day from my living room, which is really cozy right now since my roommates and I recently put up the Christmas tree, lights, stockings, etc. I am mostly responding to emails, doing some research, and completing miscellaneous tasks. 

At 2pm I take a break to walk the dog to Hawthorne Park. The rain has stopped and the sun has come out. 

At 5 pm I log off. I feed the dog and throw on some jeans. My sister calls me to tell me about a job interview she had. 

After we hang up, I head a few blocks south to a wine bar I like called Solar Myth. On my walk I listen to Porches, who I have been listening to a lot this Fall. It is completely dark before 6pm which makes me feel both tired and insane. 

At the bar I have two glasses of Pet-Nat wine and read “The Power” by Naomi Alderman. I am about halfway through and have been pretty gripped by it so far. I write a bit in my journal and the guy sitting next to me asks some questions about writing. We chat for a bit about poetry, balancing creativity and work, etc. I close out and head home. 

When I’m back home, my roommate Chris is in the living room and we start watching the new documentary on JonBenét Ramsey. I cuddle with the dog on the couch. 

Around 10:30, I head up to my room and pack my bag for Thanksgiving. The dog and I head to bed. 

Olivia Zarzycki is a Philadelphia-based poet whose most recent work has been published in Dream Boy Book Club, Back Patio Press, Canthius lit mag, and elsewhere. Her first chapbook, strained, is out now with Bottlecap Press. She is an Editor at Thirty West Publishing, based in Pennsylvania. You can find her in the city with her chihuahua Margot or on her website https://oliviazarzycki.com/.