Phi

7:47 am Is the exact time I manage to roll out of bed. My first thoughts are about how I have to document my day and I almost immediately get too in my head about it. My cat Pasha body slams into my folding door in an attempt to open it with no success. In the summer I keep the AC running in my room at night, and in an attempt at preserving the cold I must unfortunately lock him out. He does not like this. He wails and cries until I eventually slug my way over to the door and let him in for a brief sweet moment in bed together. I partake in my morning routine: walking back and forth between my rooms (one that only fits a bed and the other where all of my other shit is) and get dressed. Pasha partakes in his routine: positioning himself in front of the crack of the window and my AC unit looking at nothing in particular.

I make a mental effort to open my notes app and write down different times of the day things are happening, such as when I wake up and when I managed to leave the house (8:05). I had forgotten my cheese-shaped hair clip so I hopped and skipped back to my apartment to grab it before going right back out the door. I walk to where my car’s parked and thank the higher powers that I was able to park so close to my place in the hellscape that is parking in my neighborhood.

I get in my car and peel out at 8:11 am. I think about how my best friend Dylan recently regarded that it’s strange how I get in my car and immediately start driving. They emphasized they need a few minutes to adjust to the change, I think about how I’m only in the car to drive and go to my destination. I find myself thinking too hard about my journal entry for today. As I’m getting onto 95, I spot a bumper sticker that says “KIDS ON BOART” with a picture of Elmer Fudd. I giggle. Traffic isn’t particularly bad or good this morning. I get on my speedy way up I-95 and take the Aramingo exit to work. As I wait for the light, I notice the van in front of me is a PPA booting vehicle. I think about how quite literally everyone hates PPA and how terrible it must be to work a job knowing everyone hates you. I scowl at the van and remember my unpaid parking ticket. Work is conveniently located right off the exit, so I park and sit in my car for a second. It’s 8:25 am. My coworker Vinny is already here just sitting in his car before heading into the shop. I unlock the door, unarm the security system, open the garage doors, turn on the dryer and the automatic press, and start to settle into the beginning of my work day.

Today's work fit!

A shirt run we completed for an organic farm in Michigan

I put on Instrument Soundtrack by Fugazi. I begin to print an order for an organic farm that reorders from the shop quite frequently. They ordered totes and two different color ways of tees and ink. I’ve been operating the auto for the past two months or so and it’s finally begun to feel like an extension of my appendages. Make the machine work for you! Jamie, my boss, arrives at work around 9:00. He yells out hello to us and proceeds to trip on something I cannot see. The record I put on finishes and Vinny plays 23 by Blonde Redhead. We finish printing the job and move onto the next.

I get a notification that my dear friend Matt tagged me in a picture on Instagram. He had just goten back his roll of film from our trip to Seabright, NJ for his birthday at the end of June. I am so blessed to know and to be loved by my dearest friends. Here’s to many more memories and pictures!

One of the film photos from Matt’s roll. From left to right: Isabel, Me, Willow, and Colin. Isabel’s family dog Korra lounges on the porch with us. June, 2024.

On Thursdays we get company lunch, and today’s choice was Mexican. Jamie passed around his phone for everyone to place their order on DoorDash, and I reordered one of the restaurants burrito bowls I’d previously gotten a few weeks ago. We finish the next job (which I think is for some pianist on tour?) and start discussing our plan to print shop shirts. The conversation quickly segues into todays Wordle (PRESS!) and the Connections puzzle. I am usually terrible at Wordle and only turn to the game when I have nothing better to do on my phone. We all commiserate our different NYT game shortcomings.The food arrives and everyone eats. I reach out to a friend from college I hadn’t talked to in a while. We start chatting as I finish my lunch break and continue to catch up throughout my shift. I play Computerwife’s self-titled EP followed by my anti-aircraft friend by Julie.

Ever since starting at Print Natural, Jamie has talked about printing us new employee shop shirts to include the new hires (just me and Dylan). Every time he predicts for us to slow down to print them, we wind up receiving large orders for important clients. Earlier this week we decided we’d finally print them on Thursday as to not put them off for any longer. I made a design for one of the shirts with two tardigrades on the back that I’m pretty proud of. Screenprinting has been such a rewarding career path to explore and I am beyond lucky to be doing what I do. Although the medium is highly process based, we are always prepared for any issues that may arise during printing.

Fortunes taped to the press interface

What I kinda expected to be a fun and chill day at work turned chaotic. As we started printing employee shirts, Jamie was doing laps around the shop finding different blank shirt samples he’s been saving for years to print on. In an attempt at organization, we focused on printing all of the shirts with back designs first and finishing whatever designs were left over for the next day. We were all overly ambitious with the amount of design and color combos… I think that was our downfall.

I finally found myself not thinking about documenting every tedious detail of my day. When I woke up I was too conscious of my movements and decisions. It felt like when you have to focus on manually breathing after becoming too aware of the need to breathe. At this point of journaling, I stopped logging exact times.

Although I was an active participant in most of my day, I often found myself gaining brief awareness of my task at hand. Vinny plays Into the Heart of Love by Woo. As we print shop shirts I can sense that the excitement for shop shirts has turned to exhaustion. I play More Songs About Buildings and Food and Speaking in Tongues by Talking Heads. We throw in the towel and decide we should just finish the rest of the run tomorrow. My coworkers filter out, but I hang around work slightly longer to prep us for the day tomorrow.

I leave work at 4:30 and drive home, finding gratitude in light traffic and excellent weather. I snatched up a parking spot in my usual location and walked across the street to my apartment. Pasha and Boo, my roommates cat, begin the pre-dinner dramatics of circling me and wailing at my every move. I feed them and head back out the door to take a long evening stroll. I continue chatting with my old friend whilst walking and take in the warm sun with low humidity. Middle to end of September is the prime time of summer where excessive sweating isn’t as frequent and bright skies are cherished. I make my way back home and scrounge up some ingredients to make a sandwich for dinner. The sammy was satisfactory

I reach out to some friends and propose a night walk. Mellvin and Dylan join me along with Tobi, Dylan’s indescribable dog that’s more creature than canine. He enjoys the evening stroll by ruffling around in the grass and kicking up clouds of dirt at the park. His erratic movements and overall demeanor confuse and delight me. He’s the hyperactive nephew I never had… While on this second walk I miss a call from my reconnected friend and decide to depart from my pals to take the call.

I get home and begin to get ready for bed as we chat on speakerphone. It was one of those reconnections that feels as if you’ve picked up right where you left off paired with the dissonance of having not spoken in two years. We share life updates back and forth and reminisce on different events we shared in his final year of college. We chat for almost two hours before I suggest both of us head to bed, but we continue to chat 30 minutes more before signing off. I start typing some details of my day on my phone so I’m able to fully flesh out my journal entry once I find the time to translate my notes app nonsense. I turn the light off and flip back and forth in bed until I eventually slip into sleep.

Phi is a Screen printer and artist living in South Philadelphia. You can find him on instagram at @potionsella