A day in the life of Mars

I start the day at around 5:30 am, but I only get to my senses halfway through finishing my breakfast… the first part of which is spent in half a daze and staring in space 'til my father yells me back to the kitchen.

By the time I get out of the bathroom though, I'm already full of energy as I start doing my morning rituals. By 6:30 am I'll be found rushing to the pickup point of our shuttle service, which leaves by 6:50.

I always like it when the morning traffic is heavy, because that means I'll get to listen to my favorite morning radio show (Good times with Mo, Magic 89.9, which always leaves me laughing out loud to the bewilderment of whoever chances to sit next to me), or I could listen to more rockin' good music at NU. Our company always excuses bus lates, no deductions.

By 7:50am we're already within company premises. I'm a process engineer in a semiconductor company (subcontractor) which lives and breathes pressure and has an unforgiving work schedule and pacing. So before I get into the battlefield, I try to unwind and laugh with a few co-engineers for breakfast at the canteen. I see to it that I get to give my friends a high-pitched, cheerful "good morning!" =D

I get into the production line by around 8:20am, and start working my ass off, taking a peek at yahoo messenger and blogs and my other online vices (all forbidden in the office) every once in a while. We only take a 1 hour break from 12-1pm. We work 10hours a day, 5 days a week. If you're lucky, that might stretch to as much as 14 to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and you can't even guarantee that you'll get a complete overtime pay. That's for worst case scenarios.

I'm quite new to it because I just had a lateral transfer from product engineering, so I still have lots to learn. Thankfully I'm starting to enjoy it. There's never a dull moment. Action action action… but after a few months or so, it can really burn you out and eventually it will be a test of endurance. (not to mention the disappointing pay that comes with being in the manufacturing industry)

So on a normal and not-so-busy day (which I hope just stretches til forever), I get to go home by 6pm, reach the house by 7:30. eat dinner, do the dishes, watch Tayong Dalawa and Only You, or try to finish up on my pending books to read. By 10:00 pm, my mother would be incessantly nagging me to sleep. It goes on til 10:30, when I start putting out my bedroom lights and turning off my computer. But I don't really get to sleep until 11:00pm.

During that time before I sleep I'd be daydreaming or pondering on how one day is just never enough when you have to work for 10 hours, (I always rant at how I never seem to get to do anything else at all because work just drains the shit out of you), how and when I'll get my lifelong dream of independence, if this crap of a schedule will ever get me a boyfriend, if I even want to have a boyfriend at all at this point, I think of my dreams I think of my plans and I fear that they might be too big or I might be too weak … what I can do to be a better person, and the list goes on and on and on…

And then I pull the sheets over my face and scold myself that I should sleep earlier next time… and then I dream once more…