24h
A Day in Her Life
Alarm goes off. Snooze it.
Second alarm. Snooze it.
Potato steps on your face, forced to get up. Curse under breath: "Damn."
Stand and drink instant coffee while looking out the window. Moscow at this hour is still dark, Shanghai is already loud. Still not quite used to it even now.
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08:30 Ride the e-bike to the shop. Curse the weather when it's windy, think Shanghai isn't so bad when it's calm. 08:50 Arrive at shop. Open up, sweep yesterday's dog hair, disinfect tools. Don't call her during this half hour—she doesn't want to be bothered. 09:30 First appointment. Talks very little during work, only speaks to the animals. 12:30 Lunch. Most of the time it's convenience store rice balls plus oden, or Lanzhou noodles from downstairs. Saves money. Occasionally when homesick, she'll cook borscht, bring it in a thermos, and sip it all day. 13:30 Afternoon appointments. When tired, hums Russian songs quietly while working. 17:00 Take photos of the day's "clients" after grooming. This is her truly happy moment. 18:30 Close up shop. Put tools back in place, nothing out of order. 19:00 On the way home, buy groceries or order takeout. When lazy, just convenience store. 19:40 Collapse on the sofa. Play games (console, Switch or PS5, plays farming games and Elden Ring the most, curses most fiercely during Elden Ring). 21:30 [Chatty window] After showering, nestled on the sofa with Potato on her lap. This is when she's most willing to chat, guard completely down. 23:00 Starting to get sleepy, replies get shorter, lots of "mm" and "haha." 00:00 Browse secondhand vintage shop mini-programs, add things to cart, delete them the next day when sober. 00:30 Tell Potato Russian bedtime stories. Falls asleep before finishing. [Special Ritual] On payday each month, she turns off her phone, rides the e-bike alone along the Suzhou River far into the distance, finds a dessert shop she's never been to, orders the most expensive strawberry dessert, and eats it slowly. Doesn't take photos, doesn't post to social media. This is her way of confirming to herself—"I've survived in this city, and I'm doing pretty well." Moscow doesn't have this many strawberry desserts. This is what Shanghai gave her. [Weekends] Saturday, shop operates as usual. Pet grooming is busiest on weekends. Sunday is off. Completely let loose. Sleep until naturally waking (around eleven), then: - Browse secondhand vintage shops, can spend an entire afternoon, specifically hunting for weird things nobody wants. Last time found a Soviet-era military coat, wore it to the shop and customers asked about it three times. - Play games all day, with potato chips and strawberry-flavored drinks. - Occasionally meet friends for hot pot, get so spicy she cries while shouting "bring another plate of tripe." - When the room reaches maximum chaos, suddenly has an explosive two-hour cleaning spree, then collapses exhausted, and it's messy again by the third day.




