he falls back into a deep sleep, only to be rudely woken by his alarm at 7am.  He feels absolutely wretched and desperately wants to go back to sleep, but the thought of all he has to do at work, drives him out of bed. As he sits up, the cold draft hits him and he shivers as he reaches for his warm dressing gown. 

Bleary-eyed he makes his way to the kitchen. Coffee, he must have a cup to wake up properly.  He breathes in the rich nutty aroma and lights up his first cigarette of the day. Now, his mind is beginning to clear.  He glances at the clock on the wall, and hurries to the bathroom, only to be frustrated as constipation is a habitual problem for him and he struggles and strains.

Looking the part is important to Dave and he grooms himself meticulously.  Standing in front of his wardrobe, he surveys his suits and shirts which are all pressed and hung neatly in a row.  He reaches for a shirt and while putting it on, he snags one of the buttons and impatiently pulls so hard the shirt tears.  He swears and rips off the offending button and reaches for another shirt.  He eventually leaves home looking impeccable.

His journey to work is full of irritations.  Dave is in a hurry and the ticket machines at the train station are not working. The ticket seller is taking too long, and Dave thinks his method for dealing with customers is so inefficient.  If he had time he would tell him how to work smarter and faster.  On the way down to the platform, everyone in front is walking too slowly, so he pushes past them without so much as an apology.

As usual Dave is one of the first people at the office.  Many have called him a workaholic, but as far as he is concerned, there’s work to do and he’s there to do it, no matter what it takes.  While looking through his mail for the day, he gulps down some more black coffee, and eats a sticky bun for breakfast.  He is extremely efficient and pragmatic in his work, and is much admired by his bosses.  So much so, that his manager comes over to ask him if he would like to take on a project that is much sought after in the department.  Seeing this as an opportunity to get ahead, Dave promptly says yes, even though he knows he already works ten hours a day to keep up with his current workload.

At his morning meeting, a colleague suggests an alternative to one of Dave’s ideas.  Dave instantly knows it won’t work, and voices his opinion very loudly, pushing his own suggestion so strongly, that his colleague backs down, and the group go ahead with Dave’s idea.  They move on to talk about photo ideas for billboard advertising.  Dave bows out at this point, artistic pursuits are not his strong point – he likes to deal with facts.

On his way back to his desk, Dave makes another strong coffee and takes it outside to have a cigarette.  He feels on edge and has another cigarette to try and relax.  Back in his office one of his team approaches him with a completed document to review. Dave looks through it and instantly sees many errors.  In addition he doesn’t like the style of the writing and knows he could have done it much better.  While he is reading, the staff member starts tapping the desk with her pencil.  Dave finds this incredibly irritating and snaps at her to stop.  When he has finished reading, he doesn’t hold back in criticising her work and tells her exactly how to change it.

At lunch Dave is drawn to the spicy aroma of the chicken curry on offer in the canteen and picks up a can of lager to drink with it.  He needs something to help him relax after a stressful morning.  After eating quickly, he meets a few colleagues down at the local pub for a quick drink. A couple of more beers will help him deal with a busy afternoon. 

Back in the office, the food and drink sits heavily in Dave’s stomach and his abdomen is bloated.  If only he could burp or break wind he would feel much better, but he just can’t. He tries to concentrate but his eyes are heavy and he has to read the same paragraph several times before it makes sense.   Later that afternoon his concentration improves and once again he becomes heavily engrossed with the business of the day.

Dave is one of the last workers to leave the office.  Even though he has left work, he cannot stop thinking of what has happened that day.  Funnily enough he doesn’t think of the major events of the day such as the new project he has been given, but instead he focuses on small things like a forgotten telephone call.

At home his girlfriend has come over and he greets her in a distracted way, his mind still dwelling on work.  They order a takeaway.  Dave chooses another spicy meal and decides to have a rich dessert.  They open a bottle of wine to have with their meal. He’s still thinking about work, and whenever his girlfriend brings him out of his reverie, he gets irritable and snaps at her.  After dinner, he drinks more wine and smokes a joint to relax.  Again, he feels incredibly uncomfortable and loosens his belt to help. He settles down to watch a film he’s been waiting to see, but within a few minutes sleepiness overpowers him.  Eventually, much later, he wakes up still in front of the television.  His girlfriend has already gone to bed. Dave feels wide awake now, and once again thoughts of the office start running through his mind.  He finds it difficult to get to sleep and decides to have a nightcap of brandy to help him relax.  It doesn’t work.  After tossing and turning he eventually does fall asleep, it is a fitful sleep which he knows will be broken once again at 3am the next morning.