Up, 5.30. Creak my way down the stairs (that’s my knees creaking, not the stairs) Get ambushed in the dark by happy dog. Fight happy dog, kick him out. Switch on coffee machine. Prepare dog’s food. Make coffee. Go outside, feed dog. Have coffee with fresh air (rather than coffee with cigarette. No more choking). Secretly wish I had a cigarette. Check day, sky, beach, waves, weather, temperature. Finish coffee, cut kindling and firewood.
Build fire. Put clothes by fire. Shower. Muck around doing God knows what.
6.45, plenty of time before I walk to train station.
Breakfast. Always. Whatever there is. Make coffee for two. Wake other up, give coffee. Have coffee while making lunches.
20 minutes before I leave for train. Wake the little one up.
Feel like eating lunch. Eat some. Regret it.
5 mins before walk to train. Do all those things you end up doing at the last minute. Ready to go. Look for shades. Everywhere. All over the house. Forget more stuff. -2 minutes for the walk to train. Remember stuff on the way out the door. Too late!
Walk to station
Fast walk to station checking the sky, beach, waves, rainbow.
Listening to the Tui, a different call every 200 metres. Touch and go for making train. Stick to my ‘never run for a train’ rule.
Nothing worse than jumping on a waiting train, sweating. Gasping for breath. It’s really uncool. And you always end up with a running nose and never have any tissues. And it’s embarrassing sniffing all the way.
Don’t break my ‘ no running’ rule. Think of consequences. No bus money or ticket so it’s a 25 walk to the office. I’ll be late for a meeting, that I should have prepared for. Consider preparing on train. Consider hitching if I miss train. Consider running a little bit at a time. A kind of trot. Not hard out enough to make me sweat, gasp or sniff. A lot of considering going on.
Magnificent view
I hear the distant roar. Train! Run. Last 100 metres. Make it through the hiss of the doors to the hiss of the train guard for making him 20 seconds late. Give him an indignant look. They are late all the time. Settle into seat and begin to prepare for meeting. Get distracted by the magnificent view out the train window. The same window my meeting preparation flies out.
Check pocket for what I already know is there. The keys…
Consider hitching some day this week. Ten minutes a train pulls in. I could just hop on with no money. All they can do is kick me off at the next stop which is where I’m going. Consider the karma of being dishonest. Plus there is a chance that this will be the train I end up catching back into work
I approach the guard and tell her what I have done, I have car keys, my partner needs the car, blah blah.
Act a little dumb, stupid male kinda thing. Tell her I have no money to catch the train back and ask if I just hop on anyway. She appreciates my honesty and gives me a free ride. Ring work. ‘Train troubles, could we reschedule over morning coffee?’
I’ve already had a hard day. All that running and considering has tired me out. Arrive at my station, leave keys with Robert the coffee dude and step straight on to another to the city. i didn’t have to retell the whole saga. The guard didn’t ask me for me for my ticket.
Honesty pays for my free ride.
