Peace

It's peaceful here on my perch. My desk overlooks City Road and I'm high enough up to watch over the building site down the way as the cranes transport who knows what to who knows where. Traffic rumbles along the Monash/Westgate link. It appears to be flowing well. I never thought I would relish being back here, bit it is  peaceful. No man with the leaf blower at 9 am on the dot. No having to listen to the couple across the way having a domestic. The sounds of my downstairs neighbours' daughter having her occasional three-year-old morning tantrum doesn't register because I don't hear it - with my obligatory eye roll and 'oh, dear' muttered under my breath.

I wonder how the cat is doing on his own.

The trip in was pleasant. The 8:14 from North Richmond is normally packed like a cattle truck. There was plenty of room, and everybody was masked up. Most people had four seats to themselves. There was nobody coughing or sniffing. I could get used to this new peak hour. It's a comfortable peak hour. Nobody was eyeing anybody with suspicion. Maybe there is some good to come out of this. 

I wonder how the cat is doing on his own. At home. Alone. 

Yes, we have to wear a mask while in the office. Yes, it's a pain. Regular coffee breaks, toilet stops and the odd fresh air breakhelp. Wearing a mask bracket under the mask helps - keeps the material off the nose and mouth, but it's fine. As as there was only four people in the office, it felt pretty safe. I'm not sure how I would feel if there really was 50% capacity in the office. But the city is still pretty quiet. And it feels okay to be there. 

And I start to wonder what the cat is up to at home, all alone. 

And now, as the day is over, I'm looking back on the day, and if I'm brutally honest, it's the most normal a day I've had in ten months. It felt great to be back at a desk, to be able to work without having a cat maul my leg at regular intervals. It was great to talk to people, other than my team - to see them, okay, with a mask on, but to actually be with people was great. Just seeing different people was wonderful - and I never thought I would say that. 

On arrival at home, I found a rather pissed of cat. It was the first day he's been on his own throughout the whole day. I was greeted with a purr. It seems he missed me, in his own, fully little way. 

And we'll do all of this again tomorrow. With a lunch and a coffee with a Sydney colleague thrown in for good measure. 

Today's Song: