Typical Day
Hallie Mark wakes up at her usual time: 11:00AM. In her college years, as an English major, Hallie would often wake up at this same time. Then, it was because she was partying the entire night. Now, it's because Hallie works the late shift at a parking garage. Yes, by night, Hallie is a parking attendant but by day (more precisely, mid-morning), a budding greeting card poet.
By noon, Hallie has showered, thrown on a fresh pair of pajamas (no suits necessary), and sits down for breakfast—"lunch" to everyone else in the world. Chomping her way through a huge BLT sandwich, extra pickles, Hallie gives a little thought to a new card she's been planning. This one, she thinks to herself, will use three-dimensional petals to make the design really POP on the page. And maybe she can make a pun with pop. "My heart popped..." No. Yuck. "Just popped by to say..." Hmm, she thinks, that's a little better.
Fifteen minutes later, Hallie sits down to her computer, an old Asus Intel. She's had her eye on a sleek, new Macbook Air, but can't afford the investment just yet. Maybe after her masterful new line of cards sells. If it ever sells...
Pushing those thoughts out of her head, however, Hallie cracks her knuckles and gets to work. She begins to type.
"Just popped by to say hi!"
She pauses.
"Just popping by to say hi?"
She's unsure. While deliberating whether "popped" or "popping" adequately conveys the message of her card, Hallie finally decides it's all too much and she could use a drink. She fixes herself a tall glass of freshly squeezed orange juice from the kitchen.
Returning to the computer, Hallie decides she has writer's block and answers emails for the next four hours instead. Though she technically has no boss, one of the emails is from a publisher who clearly, from the tone of his email, doesn't think highly of her or her work; they won't publish her. Another—Hallie groans—begins with those awful words: "I regret to inform you..."
The writer of the email, a shopkeeper, apparently no longer has the floor space to house her cards. That's one less merchant for that month. Hallie is upset to see the sale fall through. Oh well. Onward and upward?
By 5:00PM, Hallie, still upset, begins to make dinner for her and her partner, who typically returns around 6:00PM. Her husband works as a paper salesman. They sometimes joke that, together, they are the most old-school, pen-and-paper folks out there. One of them sells paper, the other writes for paper products. Typically they laugh, and Hallie smiles at the recollection of their joke.
Tonight, Hallie keeps her disappointing news to herself. She'll keep trying. In the meantime, Hallie and her husband pass an easygoing and pleasant meal together.
After dinner, Hallie clears the dishes and changes into her parking attendant vest. Suddenly, after yet another rejection and more bad news, Hallie is feeling thankful for any job at all—even if that job does mean working hours from 7:00PM to 3:00AM.