We’re past the age of heroes and hero kings…most of our lives are basically mundane and dull, and it’s up to the writer to find ways to make them interesting.
John Updike
Challenge accepted, John.
I’ve always thought of my blog as a chronicle of the mundane. I don’t mean this negatively; after all, life is just a series of little moments sprinkled with bigger, dramatic events. But the weddings and vacations and graduations and new mattresses are outliers. Most days, nothing exceptional happens. Those little moments make up 95% of our lives. You might even say they shape our very existence.
And so, I write about mowing the lawn. Putting on my shoes and socks. Feeding crows. Drinking Bloody Marys. And sometimes, moving to a new state. But it’s not every day you pack up your whole life for a fresh start halfway across the country!
(We just happen to do it more often than most. Ahem.)
I often travel back in time, revisiting old blog posts. And while it’s fun to read about my wedding, or my 13-day road trip to Ohio and back, or hugging Bruce Springsteen, I’m most fascinated by the daily minutiae. What was I eating for lunch or watching on TV in 2015?
(Lots of grilled chicken wraps and The Walking Dead, it turns out.)
You might say I’m more interested in the grains of sand than the hourglass. So, taking inspiration from NGS — who got the idea from someone else, who got it from another person, who probably didn’t invent it either (okay, so it’s been around the block a few times) — I decided to double down and take a “Snapshot of My Day” as she does. Imitation, flattery, sincerest form, blah blah blah.
Last week, I decided that day would be yesterday. I might as well have thrown a dart at a board; most any day would suffice. NGS has a whole series of these posts spread out over four years, and maybe I’ll do the same. Future Mark will find it fascinating to look back on these humdrum moments and recall The Way Things Used to Be on a Typical Day Once Upon a Time.
And so, without further ado…
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Sunrise: 5:38 a.m. | Sunset: 8:25 p.m. | HI: 93° | LO: 68°
Morning
I have an alarm set for 4:55 a.m., but I almost always wake up automatically at least 10 minutes earlier thanks to a weirdly efficient internal clock. Today is no exception. I tiptoe out of the bedroom so as not to disturb Tara, brush my teeth, feed the cats. Make my way to the basement, change into workout gear (shorts, t-shirt, tennis shoes, wireless earbuds), check my weather app. It’s 71° — one of the warmest mornings of the year. The radar shows a thunderstorm complex to the west, the nearest lightning strike 35 miles away. I figure this shouldn’t impact my walk, so I head out the door at 5:15 a.m.
Now that the days are gradually growing shorter, I’m able to enjoy some nice sunrises. Today’s paints vibrant orange and purple brushstrokes across the sky.
This being rural Wisconsin, my walk takes me past cornfields. The stalks are already towering above my head.
I’ve been listening to a podcast (All Fantasy Everything, Episode 415, “Pies”), but I pause it 50 minutes in because the clouds are piling up to the west and the sky is growing darker. Sure enough, I hear thunder rumbling in the distance. Luckily, I’m five minutes from home.
Once there, I shower, change into work clothes, grab my lunch, say goodbye to Tara (who is tending to the garden), and hit the road. Driving down Main Street, lightning is flashing overhead; it looks like the heavens are about to open up.
I swing by the Dunkin’ drive-through to pick up a medium iced latte and turkey sausage breakfast sandwich. Fort Atkinson fades in my rearview mirror and I take U.S. 12/18 the rest of the way into Madison.
Within minutes, the heavens do open up. I contend with heavy rain and frequent lightning the entire drive. My windshield wipers get a great workout! Makes for a pretty wild ride.
Once I hit the Beltline, traffic comes to a crawl, because the flex lane — the inside median shoulder, which doubles as an additional travel lane during peak travel periods — is closed due to the weather. This is rare; I’ve only seen it happen a handful of times, usually because of snow or ice. We inch along slowly as the storm continues to rage.
Finally, I make it to CheeseGov one hour after leaving home, just as the rain is puttering out. My commute normally takes 45 minutes, but the storms and a brief stretch of road construction add extra time. It’s 7:40 a.m., so even with the delays, I’m still technically five minutes early. Walking across the parking lot, it feels downright tropical outside.
My first order of business is creating messaging about a new sales tax exemption on electricity and natural gas consumption for Wisconsin residents. Mid-morning, I meet with my supervisor for our weekly one-on-one. At 11:50 a.m., I grab my lunch from the fridge; I can’t help but laugh when I spot a big ol’ jar of sauerkraut in there.
Only in Wisconsin!
Because it’s so hot and humid — there’s a Heat Advisory and they’re predicting the heat index will reach 105° — I’d planned to eat in the lunchroom, but there’s some kind of official-looking reception taking place, so I hop in my car and drive to Olin-Turville Park, five minutes from the office. I come here frequently when the weather is nice, often grabbing a picnic table in the shade and enjoying picturesque Lake Monona.
But it’s downright steamy today, so I stick to my car, engine and A/C running, and read my Kindle while eating.
(Garlic herb chicken sandwich on wheat, 28 Cheez-Its, 15 cherries.)
Lunch is over; it’s time to get back to work!
Afternoon
It’s a pretty quiet afternoon. I’ve got two more meetings this week, but both are scheduled for Thursday. I take care of some odds and ends and prep an article for tomorrow’s internal newsletter.
With my workday nearly complete, I’m able to prop up my feet for a moment. Yes, I wore my SPAM socks today. I love sharing my enthusiasm for the canned meat product with the rest of the world.
At 4:15 p.m., I pack up my stuff and logout for the day. I’ll be working from home the next three. Adios for now, CheeseGov!
My drive home is considerably less eventful than my morning commute. For one thing, there isn’t a cloud in the sky! You’d never guess the morning had been so stormy.
After a quick stop at the grocery store, I’m home by 5:15 p.m. Laverne and Shirley greet me as they usually do, e.g., begging for food.
Once I take care of the princesses, I pour myself a glass of wine, adjourn to my recliner, and work on this here blog post. How meta.
Evening
While Tara cooks dinner, we listen to Blizzard of Ozz on vinyl. I crank the volume when “Crazy Train” comes on (and never bother turning it back down). RIP, Ozzy.
We have a rather vast collection of cookbooks we rarely use, so tonight’s dinner is a treat. Tara thumbed through Instant Pot Cookbook: 1000 Day Instant Pot Recipes Plan and marked a bunch of promising recipes with Post-It Notes. Tonight, she does honey and mustard pork chops with a side of crispy broccoli.
We watch an episode of Dexter (Season 6, Episode 9, “Get Gellar”). I’m a huge fan but it’s all new to Tara. I decided to binge the whole series again and was surprised when she said she’d check it out. I figured it would be a hard sell, but she was hooked from Episode 1.
After Dexter, I retreat to the bedroom at 9:18 p.m. while Tara stays up to watch The Price is Right (Bob Barker’s an easy sell). I try to read for 45 minutes or so before bed most nights, but often I only make it a few minutes before nodding off.
According to my Fitbit, I persevere until 9:44 p.m. before sleep takes over. And just like that, the sun has metaphorically (and actually) set on a typical Wednesday in my life circa summer 2025.
Mark My Words 
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