Veronica Bennett
7:30 — I wake up (not to my alarm) and am herded to the kitchen by my two cats, Bernadette and Chainsaw. I feed them and make the executive decision to, instead of returning to the warmth of my duvet, crack a coconut Redbull and head to my office. My office is what I call my sofa. During a little wake and bake, I text my friend Arjun, who lives in LA but is visiting. He and I are supposed to grab breakfast but the place I wanted to go (Comfort & Floyd) is closed today, so I send him some other options. Then I open my laptop to start working. I run a poetry magazine and press called Bullshit Lit. I’m the only editor/designer/reader/ etc., and it is a lot of work but fun. I currently have about 300 submissions (of books and packets of shorter pieces) to read, but my priority is finishing the formatting of a couple of books due out soon. And taking stuff to the post office. And planning a giant reading that I decided to throw at the FU Church in about a week. And and and!
8:30 —I’m still working (just published an online feature on the Bullshit website) and am now listening to music (Billy Idol, because my friend Serena DMed me a reel on Instagram memeing on him and now i have “Rebel Yell” stuck in my head). Arjun hasn’t texted me back yet. I’m thinking about doing dishes (past necessary for me).
9:00 — I actually get up and do some dishes, and then return to my sofa with a fresh french press of coffee. Arjun texts back and we make plans to meet at a restaurant off of Passyunk. After drinking some coffee and answering some emails, I get dressed.
10:15 — I walk about 5 minutes from my house to a bus stop, and I call my mom while I wait for the bus to arrive. It's so beautiful outside today, I report; she tells me it's going to be 100° in Houston.
10:35 — Arjun meets me outside the restaurant we'd agreed to meet at, but the ~vibes are off~ so we agree to walk down the street to a second location.
11:00 — Arjun and I are seated at our second location. We order a pitcher of orange juice and a bottle of wine and eat two different kinds of Benedicts, and catch up on the past 8 months. Arjun and I have only known each other for maybe a month total, but we get along like we've known each other forever. When we're done eating/drinking, we walk to Arjun's car, except he can't remember where he parked it so we wander up and down 11th Street for about ten minutes before we find the ride.
12:30 — We drive back to my apartment so that Arjun can say hello to Bernadette and Chainsaw. Earlier, Arjun said that he wants to go to a South Philly dive while he's in town—that, I can make happen. From my place, we walk to McCusker's, a favorite bar near my apartment. As expected at just before one p.m. on a Tuesday, we are the only bar patrons. Arjun and I each get a High Life (McCusker's has 'em on draft) and shot of Jäger (because the bar is out of OGD and never has Fernet) and sit at the bar shooting the shit for a little bit.
1:00 — Another bar patron has hit the McCusker's.
1:12 — I walk home from the bar with Arjun. We joke about being on summer vacation (which is true for Arjun, who is in film school, and not at all true for me). I think about all of the work I need to do.
2:00 — I am back home sitting on my sofa watching Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. This is only the second piece of Bravo media that I've consumed (the first was Vanderpump Rules) and it is riveting to me.
For the rest of the day, I alternate between watching RHOSLC, napping, and answering emails. I've been so, so tired lately, inexplicably. I'm out like a light by 9.
