A day in the life of...

Students in Janine Myers’ fifth-grade class at Christ Episcopal School in Rockville imagine living for a day as an inanimate object. This is the second installment of their work.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

A laptop

by James Gallagher

The name’s Inspiron. Dell Inspiron. I am a common laptop. My job is rather fun. My job is to help my owner who is an accountant. Otherwise, I’m just used for everyday chores. My job has a few drawbacks, but I lead a good life anyway.

Every morning during the week I am rudely awakened from my sleep mode. I am shoved into the laptop bag and taken to work. Then comes the fun part: being used. The feeling of having my keys typed is a rather strange, ticklish sensation. It’s a bit like a massage. My least favorite part is when my owner is not completely awake. Whatever possesses him to drink coffee with the same hand he’s typing with is a mystery to me. I’m still a bit stickyyyyyyyyyyyyyy from the lllast spiiiiiil. (See what I meannnnnnnnn?)

In the evening I am usually left alone to chat with my friends the desktop computer and the Macintosh. The downside to evenings, however, is evenings are when any operations happen. I once had a brain transplant because I got a virus. I never liked my old motherboard, anyway. Then I drift out of my screensaver into sleep mode to be awakened the next morning.

After a tiring week with no battery recharges, the weekend is a welcoming break. It is my favorite time; I am not used much, except for a few personal matters. I’m left alone. I hate it when my owner tries to win on eBay. He always gets outbid with two seconds left in the auction and slams his fist into my keyboard.

Overall, I like my job. It makes me feel like an important piece of hardware. I’m glad my owner doesn’t replace me with a pocket PC. They are so rude.

I enjoy helping my owner and have fun with the PC and Mac. My job is challenging, but I wouldn’t give it up to be anything else at all, especially not an iPod.

Sorry, I have to go. I’m going to meet the new laptop that’s going to belong to my owner’s wife. That’s nice, now I have a new companion, an Apple Powerbook, to make my job even more enjoyable.

A kayak

by Sean Maguire

I have an incredibly difficult job. Even so, I am quite enjoyable. I am the kayak. Let me take you on a trip through my life. Don’t worry; I float.

In the early morning, I am allowed to rest peacefully on the shore of the river. All the people who might use me are still lying in bed. It is bitterly cold outside. After awhile, it warms up. I still lie unnoticed on the shore as my owners get up.

At around noon, it is blistering hot. I get pulled off the ground and launched into the water. It is annoying to get a face full of water. My semi-ally, the paddle, catapults me to the destination of my owner. My enemy is the water, for it’s always pushing against me. I really find it annoying to get pushed around by the natural forces.

As the sun is setting, I come speeding between the waves to get to the dock. I am incredibly tired. I get pulled up on land to get a good sleep, for I have to do the same tomorrow. I can put up with this lifestyle because it is the only one I have been made to do. Sometimes I wish I could be a bicycle. It seems to be an enjoyable life.

After everyone has gone to bed, I can finally relax. I can hear my owner’s snores carried softly on the wind. I slowly dry off while thinking about tomorrow. It is very peaceful at night. I realize now that I have a very important and exciting life. I need to get ready for tomorrow.

A teddy bear

by Carly Campbell

I have an extremely lazy life as a teddy bear. Being a teddy bear is not just being lazy, it is fun!

In the morning I always wake up at eight because the girl who sleeps with me has to go to school. Then I fall back to sleep until the maid makes the bed and moves me all around. That really bothers me!

In the afternoon around 3:15 the girl is home, and she slams the door so hard that I wake up once more. Then the girl sits on her bed and does homework while I watch her. Next I will fall back to sleep until I smell the wonderful aroma of dinner. That means my owner will be eating, and I can do whatever I want!

At nighttime I sit in bed and talk to all my friends for a while. Next my owner gets in bed to go to sleep, and hugs me to death, until we both fall asleep.

While I am asleep, I am thinking and dreaming about the day ahead of me. I am also happy that lazy day was over.

A guitar

by Elizabeth Jorgensen

Being a guitar is hard work. I never get appreciation from my owner. I am always held and shaken around. I can be put upside down and sideways. It is challenging being a guitar.

Saturday morning is calm and quiet. That way I can get some sleep. It is dark in my case, and I am relaxed. It is also quiet in my case, so I don’t have to listen to people or to myself. When everyone is gone, I get very lonely, but sometimes it’s nice.

Saturday afternoon is my favorite time of the day. My owner has to practice, and it is fun. She does rock and roll and. I love rock and roll. She also plays hip-hop and I like that, too.

Saturday evening is a nice time of the day, too. I can be loud, but I am fine with that. My owner plays more music on me. She plays some slow music that calms me down. She also plays jazz, which makes me happy. After the day is over, I am put away and go to sleep.

It is fun being a guitar. I play a lot of music and I love it. It is an accomplishment for me.

A sock

by Grace Choi

Being a sock is a very hard job. I have to go around feeling the pain on my face about every day. Also, this job is tiring. I get tired after being right under somebody’s foot each day. It’s very disgusting because it smells very bad and I have to deal with all that sweat.

In the morning I am snuggled up in my sock drawer with all my other friends. Suddenly, my owner pulls me out of my sock drawer and forces me to get on his⁄her foot. Isn’t that rude?

When my owner starts walking I can feel the pain on my whole face. After a while my face gets numb, and I don’t feel the pain anymore. When it’s time to go out, my owner puts on those dirty and smelly shoes! There’s sweat in there from days ago, and it is just gross.

Sometimes my owner takes off his⁄her shoes in the afternoon and usually plays. I enjoy watching the kids play, but I always wonder how dirty the floor can be. Sometimes as they play I get holes in me and it hurts very much, It Is also very disturbing when the dirt starts getting into the inner part of me. It is very smelly and dirty and it is just very gross.

At the end of the day I get thrown into the hamper on top of a pile of soft clothes. But all those dirty cloths stink. Sometimes my owner misses the hamper and the dog tries to tear me into pieces! Again, this is very painful.

Later, I fall asleep. When I get thrown into this big machine, it is terrible. I never look forward to going in this big machine, which has water coming out of everywhere. It’s like a monster. It spins around and around forever. I get wet and can’t breathe. Then, I have to get into another big, scary machine, and it gets very hot in there. I get dehydrated. I get twirled around just like the water machine. They are both a nightmare.

At times my job can be fun and rewarding. I can travel to many special places, like New York, Las Vegas and even to a different country. Sometimes it’s so exciting. I think I have a hard job, but it’s a very important job. If I weren’t around, my owner would have cold, smelly feet.