Adventures of a Non-Binary Author – Three Days, Three Tasks
First proper day off since we moved. I’m not counting the morning after, since we were still settling. I’m also not counting Saturday, as we spent all of that out and about. This is the first day off, where I can just go at my own pace. I have three things I need to accomplish before I’m back at work on Saturday. Cleaning out Zelly, the laundry, and the food shop.
Three things to do, three days to do it in. The first day will be tacking Zelly’s enclosure. I wake up around six-thirty. This feels like a relief. At least when I don’t have anything to do I can still lie in. Or at least as much of a lie in as I’m used to. I never set an alarm on my days off. Or at least I stopped setting one five-ish years ago. Maybe longer. Trying to tackle this ever present fatigue. The doctor didn’t exactly listen to me. Heard the words tired, and odd sleep cycle, and boom insomnia. ‘Is something stressing you out currently?’ No, and even if it was it was a problem before that. ‘Well what was happening at the time?’ Well, this was. But it was a problem before that. But. No. She wouldn’t have it. No listening to the idea my sleep has always been an issue. No chance for me to talk about twitchy legs, or the way I’m basically meditating at night. My sleep’s not restless, it’s just not restorative. But, no, must be insomnia. Chronic insomnia. Nothing we can do. Good luck with that. Yeah, thanks, now I have a diagnosis which allows other doctors to ignore me. Just what I always wanted.
Still, there’s not much I can do there. I’m used to being tired all the time, so it doesn’t stop me from functioning. It does allow my colleagues to tease me when I’m having a attack of the yawns though. But that’s fine. I’m not in work for three days, so who cares how much I’m yawning?
The first morning is well paced. My plan is to clean out Zelly today. I set out to pick up Zelly’s bedding around half ten. There’s a pet store not too far away. I’ve not been in there yet, but they should have the right sized bail of sawdust for my needs. Hopefully they’ll have some paper bedding too. It might be getting warmer, but I know Zelly likes to use the paper stuff exclusively for her nest. Gerbils need a large amount of substrate, and I’ve always provided. The enclosure is probably a little too big for a single gerbil. But she wasn’t always on her own. I normally clean her out every three to four weeks. It’s been a little longer than that this time, because of the move. Didn’t want to clean her out before, so her enclosure would smell safe. Didn’t want to clean her out right after, so she had a chance to settle. Now though, just over a week post move, is the perfect time.
The pet store carry the size bales of sawdust I need, even if its not my normal brand. They also have some paper bedding. So I grab both, and take them to pay. The person on checkout is surprised I need all this for one clean out, for such a small pet. But she also understand enrichment is important. Especially for the welfare of a lone, elderly gerbil.
Before heading home I pick up some lunch. Cleaning out the enclosure will take at least an hour. Better I have something ready to eat once I’m done, so I can just chill out. The process takes a while because of the setup itself. There’s a cage within the enclosure, always left open, which needs to be cleaned first. In both the cage and enclosure are enrichment items. Toys. Cardboard tubes and boxes. Stones. Anything still salvageable needs to be separated out, so it can go back in after. You also need to mix some of the old substrate in with the new. I have a large plastic container I use for this. It can be hard to know exactly how much old substrate to save each time. I usually make sure it’s from the top layers, as I can guarantee this will have her scent on it. I can also guarantee I won’t see much of her the first few days after I’m done. I’ve just destroyed all the lovely tunnels she’s built the last few weeks. And now she has to start them all over again. What a monster I must be.
Still, first day off task completed successfully. Day two’s task is the washing. It’ll be my second time using the launderette downstairs. I’m used to doing more frequent smaller washes, then leaving them on the airers to dry. Cost of living crisis stopped me using the tumble dryer. Also prompted me to set my washing machine to cold wash, and use a laundry sanitiser. Going down to one wash a week is daunting. And, with my uniform to factor in… there will definitely be weeks when we’re doing more than one. Still, we have to give this a genuine shot. It’s not like we have much of a choice.
I don’t take the wash down until the afternoon. I’m a little self-conscious because there’s work being done on the launderette’s boilers. Still, it needs to be done. So I push myself to get on with it. I mostly stay with my wash, save a few short time frames. This is still new to me, and I don’t want to blindly trust it like some others do. Not at this stage. I’m sure eventually I’ll be fine with doing so. Maybe. We’ll have to wait and see.
With little else to do, waiting in the launderette is the perfect place to game. I pause long enough to switch from the washer to the dryer. I also take another little walk at this point to stretch my legs, then return to game some more. I think I’ve put in the right amount to get the full wash dry. If not I’ll take out anything that is dry, and go for another cycle. That’s the plan at least. Although in the end it’s not needed. I fold the wash as I take it out of the machine. Then its upstairs to put it all away. My partner’s evening of socialising is no longer happening. So now I have just the right amount of time to sort dinner before they get home. All in all, a successful second day off.
Third day, food shop. First one using the local supermarkets. Also having to tackle it alone. It’ll be fine. I know roughly what I need. It’s just a matter of getting it. I’m used to Sainsbury’s, so Lidl’s layout is a little perplexing to me. I eventually find everything I plan to get in here, pay, and make my way to Iceland. This is where I’ll be getting the frozen stuff. The selection is just better. Our meal plan also needs a little modifying to suit our new setup. So I end up spending a little while uming and ahing over what to get. In the end I’m relatively happy with the choices. Now back home to unload.
I’m just about to make lunch when I see a message from my partner. They’d mentioned not feeling great earlier, and now they’re coming home. That’s fine. It’ll give me a little more chance to see them, considering I’m working Saturday. I don’t work many Saturdays, which means that’s usually our day. This is a rare week where I’m having to work one. It’s fine. It’s not like I can do anything about it.
Instead I settle into an afternoon and evening of watching stuff with my partner. But as the evening draws to an end, there is one big question on my mind. After three days of waking up after six, will my alarm actually be needed tomorrow? Has my body clock had a chance to settle? Right now, there’s only one way to find out…
To be continued…
