1.
Shitty Ikea furniture is what I have to return to after all work has been done. Hair covers the hardwood floors like a flimsy carpet. My bed hasn’t been properly made in ages, the wrinkles in the cover etched in like the scratches on the desks at school (penis, i'm bored, fuck). Hair from my head, dust from my skin coats negative spaces. My roommate tries to sweep up the mess from the floor but our bodies are in continuous decay, shedding hair and dust and god knows what else.
2. An hour ago, the noise had been of a different quality: overlaying the whirs and bangs of the espresso machine was the roar of a crowd, multiple voices competing with their companions or their neighbors the next table over for a fair share in the conversation. An hour past one, the café had cleared considerably, groups of couples and families leaving lone stragglers who clung to single tables strewn with empty mugs and newspapers and books with the tenacity of squatters. The music had been turned up, a surprisingly contemporary Spanish rock; the jolly voices of the baristas could be heard with much greater clarity.
And me, back bent weakly, shoulders hunching in concert as I slumped before my laptop. Posture often betrays me. The statues of the noble and heroic are portrayed victoriously upright, spines reaching for the sky like pillars, like the monument to George Washington. I could barely keep my forehead from leaning into my keyboard.
3.
Been spending too much time Facebook-stalking, bugging my friend with stories about the creepy men that accost me down the streets and in the buses of Berkeley, buying yogurt for a meal when there's food at home. I do the laundry every other week but only feel inclined when I've run out of underwear; I don't like the idea of wasting time on the chore. Sometimes my right wrist aches from using the computer for too long. I get dressed in the morning but by the afternoon, feel deeply dissatisfied by the outfit I've chosen. I sing while I get dressed if my roommate's already left. The bus passes by twice and I sneak into class ten or fifteen minutes late.
