[i]
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At a bank. I run into James's dad, Richard. For some reason it's understood in the dream that we are always running into each other in random places. I'm not even surprised to see him. "It's like ad nauseam. It's not even interesting anymore," I say to Richard. He grins and we exchange a handshake. He leaves. I'm still at the counter with the lady clerk. I'm supposed to make a cash deposit but I need to count all my money first. I start dismantling this old school calculator because it's broken – and until it gets fixed I can't count my money. I don't know why I can't just manual count the bills but it feels important to me. The lady clerk patiently waits while I use a screwdriver and take apart this ancient counting machine.
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Waking up at 10:50 a.m.
Strawberry Honey Bunches of Oats with Almond Milk. Tangelo.
All day shift at China Wok.
Tortilla Chips with Homemade Salsa. White Green Tea with Honey. Banana.
Today's one of those days where almost every customer ordering for delivery lives a billion miles away. Order after order in complete opposite directions – racking up the miles on my odometer.
Fiberful Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bar.
Apple.
At the most fragile hour at the restaurant Ana appears. She can tell I'm super preoccupied behind the counter. It's the dinner rush. She understands. Eventually, I grab four orders and we hit the road.
I tell her, "Man, you showed up at the most stressful time. Cecily was yelling at me to get more fried rice from the back – Janice [the 6-year-old] is taking her precious time punching in the credit card numbers – and I have to adjust the price because she can't read where it says the customer has a $2 off coupon – then the phones are ringing non-stop – people are walking in for pickup orders – and that's when you walked in."
Her presence while I'm working provides a breath of fresh air but sometimes I wish she didn't have to see me like this...when I'm stressed.
While dealing with general traffic problems it starts to rain and the windows fog up a little making it difficult to see the road.
I explain to Ana, "It's never just one thing; it's always one thing after the other."
Delivering to Hill Meadow. Two dudes about my age answer the door. One of them is sitting at the bottom of the stairs holding a brown-haired pit bull – the dog is upright with his legs in the air and his stomach showing – and licking the air in desperation for affection. One of the guy's comments on my purple Rockingham basketball shirt and explains they're both from Rockingham. I explain that I'm not and that it's just a t-shirt.
After the late-night deliveries die down Ana and I are able to share our meals together. She gets orange tofu and I get Garlic Tofu, all with Broccoli, Onions, Carrots, and Rice of course.
Milk Chocolate.
Sleep at 3:30 a.m.
[i] Friden EC-130 Electronic Calculator (1963).
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