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On the way to the office, I was thinking about what I have on my agenda today. When I get to my desk, there is a stack of new memos and papers in my inbox. When I turn on my computer, I see at least two-dozen emails I need to go through. Just as I start in on the email, my phone rings. It’s my project manager, Julie, asking me to come in for a conference call with our head office. I don’t get back to my desk for nearly two hours. By that time, I was ready for a break.

At 10:30, I head down to the break room and get some hot water at the water cooler to make some tea. There were a couple of other people on break, having snacks out of the vending machine and reading the new notices on the bulletin board. I run into Sam, one of my friends at work, and we chat a little before going back to work.

Before long, it’s time for lunch. I usually bring my lunch with me to work and eat it at my desk. If I don’t have time to pack a lunch, I sometimes go across the street for some take-out. The only trouble is, it’s always so busy during the lunch hour and I always have to stand in line. That’s usually a pain. On Fridays, I usually go out to lunch with a few friends from work. On casual Fridays, we can kick back a little and take it easy.

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I open my car door and throw my briefcase in the back seat, and get comfortable for my drive. I put my coffee mug into the cup holder, put the keys in the ignition, find the gas pedal, and start the car. My wife drove the car last night, so I have to re-adjust the rear view mirror and the side mirrors. I turn on the radio to listen to the drive time traffic report. I take the transmission out of park and into reverse, back out into the driveway into the street, close the garage door, and put the car into drive. I used to drive a stick shift, but as I get older, I like my automatic transmission more and more.

I usually take the freeway to the office, so I get on the onramp for the freeway and drive to where I have to get off. My office is only a few miles from the exit. I pull into the parking garage, swiping my key card to get in. I park, grab my briefcase and coffee, and head toward the elevator. And that only took 40 minutes!

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I go back into my bedroom and open up closet door. I have about 30 dress shirts, 10 pairs of pants, a half-dozen ties, and some sweaters, suit jackets, and t-shirts. I pull out a clean pair of socks and underwear, and then decide which shirt I’m going to wear today. I’m terrible at color coordinating, so I usually bring my wife in at this point to help match my shirt and pants. I put on my belt with the silver buckle and polish my shoes. I put my cell phone and car keys in my front pocket, and my wallet in the back one.

I put on my glasses and check myself in the mirror to make sure I look okay, and then go into the home office to get my bag. I used to carry a more traditional briefcase, but now I just use my computer bag to hold my laptop and my papers. Now it’s back into the kitchen to grab my Thermos on the way out the door. I lock the door and then hurry to my car in the garage. I’m usually running late and today is no exception!

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Complete Transcript
Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 4: Eating Breakfast

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode number four. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

In this episode, the third of our 10-part special series on daily English, I’ll talk about eating breakfast in the morning.

Let’s get started!

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