Und wieder - Nacht abstreifen, Nacht abwerfen, Träume zurückspulen, ihre Bilder und Töne noch einmal vorüberstreichen lassen, unsicher, ob sie auch Düfte in sich tragen könnten. Wieder jede Menge lose Enden, jede Menge offene Anfragen, und dazu die Unsicherheit, Muster an Stellen zu sehen, an denen es keine gibt. Durchatmen unter kaltem Wasser. Kaffee kochen. Auf den Tag warten, und der Stadt vor den Fenstern in ihrem Schweigen zuhören. Habt es mild heute.

Closing in on 8am, quite aligned with the speed of day again. Meetings prepared, mailboxes emptied, windows of different kinds opened wide. Another mug of coffee, a short moment in between to appreciate the silence before the construction site is completely waking up. And preparing for people, contacts, communication, always trying to find the right mental suit for the next team on the list.

Dawn and that particular shade of blue unique to early hours. Morning stars, white red green, gently moving south. The singing of birds in the backyards, the waking city. A veil of thin ice coating the reality of that new day.

(Kurze erste Wege nach draußen, Nachbarschaftskontakte, nonverbale Kommunikation, eine Traube von Pendlern zwischen Haltestelle und Bäckerfiliale und mehr Blüten in allen Bäumen. Musik aus kleinen Lautsprechern. Bildschirmzeit. Kälte reibt über die Wangen.)

☕️ Books at arms length. Collecting paragraphs and perspectives. Coffee and other sides of fences. 9am, sunny horizon.

Infrastructure cleaned up, task logs and issue trackers, too. A second mug, window opened wide to let the day wave in. Sparrows crows magpies on roofs, a woman wearing a bright flower-coloured coat and expensive-looking sunglasses is rolling expensive-looking suitcases down the road heading for the bus stop, a few kids are late for school, the janitors across the street conclude their brief exchange and return to their basements. Morning before 8am, tiny steps.

Same hour, half awake, frantic motions already, still in some fallback mode. Listening to the neighbourhood slowly waking, hearing a the bus engine idling near the platform and feeling very much alike for a moment.

Morning passing slowly, day's quiet and city seems unwilling to wake up. 9am, setting some waypoints to steer through the hours. Always in between feeling the desire to get things done and wanting to not hurry.

City trips, empty trains, cold backyards. Seems that other neighbourhood is still mostly asleep, in both day and year. And still first contact in the elevator, a few seconds of uncomfortable silence while the self tries to find an appropriate means for handling this situation. Office kitchen, another coffee, fountains in rest for the winter and the small pond all frozen. Cloudy moments before sunrise.