A Day in the Life

I woke up this morning intending to go grocery shopping
and perhaps do some laundry, but you know, it's summer,
and my hours of productivity range anywhere from
6 in the morning to 3 in the morning because
there's more sunlight and because
your friends are happier and available at more hours of the day and
that's just the way that it is sometimes,
so I didn't get up right away and
instead lay in bed for a while but
I had breakfast with Lenny, and
he helped me clean the apartment a bit and
Sometimes your best memories come out of those late mornings when
it's just you and your S.O. in an empty apartment
cleaning
and
that's just the way that it is sometimes.

And then we left for work and school and
we thought we were going to be late and
I did not want to inconvenience a colleague eager to end their shift and
It was my first day working the front desk and
I was a little anxious but
I wasn't late, my colleague was not inconvenienced, and my anxieties were calmed
That's just the way it is sometimes.

My shift came to an end, and then my colleague was late but
I didn't mind and
I stuck around for a bit while he showed me his bead work and
Told me about his family and
His plans for the summer;
I was hungry and eager to get to the rest of my day but
I learned about him and
He asked me if I was busy later and
I think it was worth it to get to know him because
I made a new friend and he made a new friend and
I was too busy to hang out tonight but
We have all summer and
That's just the way it is sometimes.

So I started to walk home in my feaux hawk and work polo
I got a few stares but
Not too many
Funny how that works - I dress to stand out, in all the right ways, yet
In Berkeley it doesn't matter all that much because we all stand out in all different ways and
That's just the way it is sometimes.

I walked down Shattuck and saw a candy wrapper on the floor
Butterfinger
Bright yellow paper, crumpled and torn and
Right away I thought of my childhood
In those days, I'd be torn myself between
A bright yellow wrapper holding a delicious Butterfinger and
A papery blue wrapper holding a less delicious Crunch bar which
I always thought was Shaq's favorite bar
After all, he was in those commercials and
I wanted to be just like Shaq - my man -
But the bright yellow was always so inviting and
After all, Shaq wore yellow and I'd even get the Butterfinger in King Size
Just like my man
Because when you're a kid, everything makes sense like that, even if it really doesn't and
That's just the way it is sometimes.

So I went to the store, now craving some candy and
They didn't have the regular sized bar that I was looking for but
I bought a King Size bar anyway and it didn't used to cost so much but
I guess that's just the way it is in these times
I told myself I'd only eat half the bar anyway and save the rest for later
I paid for my candy to the lady cashier
I said "salamat po" and she smiled in surprise
She reminded me of my Lola and maybe I remind her of someone too.

I left the store, and saw the 9 bus coming,
I ran to catch it and it stopped but
Just as I approached it, the bus driver drove away and
I'm not sure why but
I guess he didn't see me and
I guess no one on the bus said anything to him and
I started to curse the driver in my head and
Continued on home but
Then I remembered that candy in my pocket and
Then I was happy again.
Sometimes you think bad of people, even after meeting nice people and
You might forget the nice people that you just met and I guess that
That's just the way it is sometimes, but
It doesn't have to be.

And sometimes you'll find a remedy to your small problems and
Sometimes you provided that remedy to yourself and
Helped yourself before you even knew you'd need it but
That's just the way it is sometimes, like
When you wake up and decide to do something else good for yourself instead of a different thing good for yourself or
When you kick yourself for almost being late but know that there wasn't anything you could do about it and you
End up not being late but are understanding to the guy after you that was late or
When you stick around even when you have other things to do and
Listen to someone about their family and their life and
Realize you made a friend in the process, or
When you're drawn to the beautiful yellow even on the side of a dirty street gutter and
You're reminded of your childhood and
You spend a little extra on something you don't need and
You can't wait to tell a certain person what a wonderful average day you've just had
Even though you just saw them that morning and, well,
I guess that's just the way it is sometimes