Since the prompt is open-ended, I’ve expanded this into a reflective piece exploring what might have been going through someone’s mind on that specific morning in late 2022.
I wonder if everyone else is carrying this same specific weight—this 2022 brand of exhaustion. It’s not the sharp terror of 2020, but a duller, more persistent thrum. We are "back to normal," but the normal is different now. We’re all pretending the floor isn’t vibrating. Note 11/9/2022 8:47:34 AM - Online Notepad
The cursor blinks. It is the only thing moving in this sterile white browser tab. Since the prompt is open-ended, I’ve expanded this
8:47 AM. The coffee has gone from "perfectly hot" to "aggressively lukewarm," and the sunlight hitting the edge of the desk is sharp—the kind of November light that looks warm through a window but feels like a lie the second you step outside. We are "back to normal," but the normal is different now
There are things I should be doing. I have three unread emails that require "circling back." I have a grocery list that is mostly just items I forgot to buy last week. But for a second, I just want to acknowledge that I am here.
If anyone ever finds this note in the cache of a forgotten server: I was here. I was caffeinated. I was a little bit worried, a little bit hopeful, and I was trying my best to find the right words for a feeling that doesn't have a name yet. The cursor blinks. 8:48 AM. Time to start the day.