Taryn Painter
5:23: I wake up briefly and check the time on my phone. I’m grateful that it’s not yet time for me to get out of bed; I have about an hour until my alarm goes off.
6:30: my one alarm of the morning goes off on my phone, and it takes me a second to roll to the other side of the bed and hit stop. I linger in bed for about 10 minutes; usually, I have enough time in the morning to do what I need to do as long as I start moving by 6:45.
6:43: I force myself to get out of bed. It’s harder than usual, since there’s a chill in my room. I gather a pair of light wash, high-waisted jeans and a long-sleeved white shirt and head to the bathroom to wash and moisturize my face, brush my hair, swish around some mouthwash, and (most importantly) but on some deodorant (Old Spice) and roll-on perfume (Geneveive—bought from my friend’s shop, Bodie, on Corinthian and Fairmount—go visit!). On the way to the bathroom, I put on an Indie playlist on Spotify that I will listen to throughout the morning.
6:58: I leave the bathroom and head to my office. I spend about half an hour doing my makeup; my eyebrows take the longest because I am very particular of how they look. I continue to listen to my Indie playlist on Spotify.
Products used:
L’oreal color riche anti-feathering lip liner in “Forever Rose”
Anastasia Beverly Hills eyebrow duo powder (which is now 6-7 years old at this point)
ELF brow gel
Tarte tease mini-palette (also 6-7 years old)
Joah Cosmetics duo spoolie and angled brush (to fill in my eyebrows)
Royal & Langnickel crease/smudge brush
Physician’s Formula Diamond Mascara (travel sized—running low and need to get a new one!)
7:37: I go to my kitchen to make breakfast, pack my lunch, and wash some of the dishes in the sink. My partner, Zach, starts texting me around this time. They worked overnight last night at CHOP and let me know that they are on the way home. Sometimes we miss each other, and I have to end up leaving early before they even make it home, but today is not one of those days. They’ll be home at 8:05.
Breakfast: sesame seed brioche bun with plain cream cheese and honey; 1 sliced granny smith apple
Lunch: Limonata San Pellogrino with chickpea salad and homemade dressing, 1 peach, and a bag of pretzels as a snack.
8:06: Zach comes home from work. They tell me a little of their night and some of the tasks they had to do with their patients, including cleaning up a baby who projectile vomited and pooped at the same time. We talk about our plans for tonight—the Phillies game—and agree to meet each other at 34th street station to go to CBP together.
8:23: I’m running a little late, as I lost track of time talking with Zach. I try to leave my house by 8:15 on days that I decide to walk to work (which is about 1.3 miles). It’s sunny and 70-some degrees out with no humidity, so I enjoy the walk and continue to listen to the Indie playlist. Locust Walk looks beautiful in the morning sun.
8:55: I make it to work in the nick of time. I get my laptop set up at my desk, put my lunch in our small fridge, start typing some notes on how this morning has progressed for me, and make a plan for what I need to complete today.
9:30: Tuesdays are the days were everyone in my office is all on campus. It’s also when we have our weekly staff meeting. My co-worker, Shannen, brought in apple cider donuts from Linvilla. Though I’ve been here for 8 months or so, it still makes me somewhat anxious to share updates on my work with my colleagues. But once I start speaking, I realize that everything is all in my head and I’m just overthinking.
10:45: Staff meeting over; sent 1 email.
11:00: Short, 15-minute meeting with a student who is working with my program on public speaking and communications. It’s the first time I’ve met with this student, and I find that he is a pleasure to speak with. He is from Brazil and is moving to Chicago after he graduates this fall.
11:30: More emails and printing of resources for an event I’m hosting tomorrow with undergrads.
12:30: I help my colleagues with poster mounting. My office is preparing for a big undergraduate research event, where over 350 students are presenting their summer research. Once students deliver their posters to our office, we are in charge with taping their poster to a posterboard and alphabetically organizing each one. Sounds easy enough, but it is a tedious process that becomes overwhelming when you have so many coming in all at once. My coworkers and I talk a little about research, and the classes that we are taking this semester as part-time graduate students. (The number one benefit of working at a Penn—getting tuition assistance.)
1:00: Lunchtime! Read some of the Life & Death, the gender-swapped Twilight retelling. Since it’s (almost) autumn, it seemed fitting to start reading this.
2:00: I return to work. Send a few more emails and review some of the things I have to do for a luncheon I am hosting for my program on Friday.
3:00: I join a virtual quarterly staff meet for my part-time job at Eastern State Penitentiary, and listen in as I update notes and student records.
3:30: I hopped off the staff meeting to join another meeting with my colleagues at my day job. We have questions about adjusting catering orders for a recurring event I have with students in my program—who knew that ordering food could get so complicated! After, I express some of my worries to my co-worker, Erin, who reassures me that I’m doing just fine and am controlling what I can.
5:00: I leave work to meet Zach at 34th Street station. They are coming from 52nd street, and I meet them at the final train car when it pulls into the station. We worry for a moment that we won’t be able to get off at 15th Street and transfer to the BSL because of a shooting that happened earlier in the day. But, we were able to get off with no issue and transfer to the BSL.
5:36: We make it to CBP in record time. We head to Ashburn Alley and split a Campo’s cheesesteak (with American and onions) and s Diet Coke in a Phanatic souvenir cup. Then, we walk to the 3rd floor to get Chickie & Pete’s. We head up to our seats in the 400s along the first base side right after.
9:45(ish): Another Phillies win secured! My favorite parts: seeing another Schwarber lead-off homerun and a bench clearing fight in the 8th inning. We head to the BSL and see a man on the sidewalk selling Trump shirts. “Who needs a Trump shirt?” He asks. “Not me,” I say, loud enough for the two men in front of me to overhear. We talk a bit about Trump, his foolish, incoherent, and dangerous policies and the debate—mostly about how late it is, having started at 9:00 on a Tuesday. Zach and I take the BSL to the El and get off at 52nd street to get home.
10:30: Arrive home, pee, and enjoy some dessert (a warm brownie with pecan ice cream on top). Watch some of the presidential debate and tried to figure out what the hell Donald Trump is trying to say. (Undocumented migrants in prison are receiving transgender surgeries? Still trying to untangle these things.)
11:00: turn off the TV, go shower, and go to bed before doing it all over again tomorrow.
Songs played from Indie playlist (from most recent to oldest)
Gooey by Glass Animals
Slide Tackle by Japanese Breakfast
Bloom for Me by Pearly Drops
Kokomo, IN by Japanese Breakfast
Have You Got It in You? By Imogen Heap
Some by Steve Lacy
Drifting by Night Tapes
You Wanna Know by Don Broco
Nangs by Tame Impala
Take Me Back by Foster The People
Intermission by Strawberry Guy
Real Life by The Marias
California by beabadoobee
Angel by NewDad
Electric Fell by MGMT
Post by beabadoobee
Real Love Baby by Father John Misty
Eyes on Fire by Blue Foundation (hoa hoa hoa hoa hoa)
A Lot’s Gonna Change by Weyes Blood
Romanticist by Yvez tumor
From the Subway Train by Vansire
Paris (Ooh La La) by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
High by Slow Pulp
Bags by Clairo
Disciples by Tame Impala
Wildflower by Beach House
Hamptons by The Marias
Beaches by beabadoobee
Paradise State of Mind by Foster The People
I’m Your Man by Mitski
Master of None by Beach House
Relax by Vacations
Crush by Ethel Cain
Taryn is a full-time Program Coordinator and part-time grad student at Penn. She grew up in Montco and went to college in Baltimore, but has lived in Philly for over 2 years—first in Francisville, now in West Philly. Taryn likes baseball, the marching arts, and reading in her spare time.
