Monday mornings here in Detroit, I wake up at 8am and am downstairs unlocking my bike at 8:45, or more likely a few minutes later. Chris and I bike on Cass to work along with David and Liza and Divya and Ben, our back packs bouncing from the uneven side walks and construction we navigate. We split off to our separate non-profits at Burroughs and wish each other a good day. Chris and I stroll into the NextEnergy atrium, thankful for the ac and excited for free food at the 9am company wide breakfast meeting. It's always cool to see Jean, the CEO, in action leading the meeting and all the NextEnergy employees participating in one of Kyle's ice breakers before sharing updates. At 10am, I settle into my desk and catch up on weekend emails and review my calendar for the day. Most likely, I'll have a meeting with Gina sharing my latest recommendations for how NextEnergy could better tell its story or a meeting with Charlie to learn about the latest technology updates in the NextHome. I spend the rest of the morning doing independent work and periodically finding excuses to go the kitchen to fill up my water bottle or make myself tea for an extra caffeine boost. Right at noon I grab my lunch, usually a spinach salad or dinner leftovers, and head outside with Chris to meet David and Liza who work across the street. We walk a few blocks to a sitting area in a small corner park across from the Fisher building where we find Divya and Ben. Days that we all get to eat together outside are so much fun, the perfect break from a desk job. Usually we'll vote on which restaurant to go for Tuesday's dinner outing or play around sending silly pictures in our group me. Getting back to NextEnergy at 1pm, Chris and I will meet in the atrium to work on one of our group projects such as doing calculations together for a one pager or practicing our smart city presentation. Then we'll grind out a few hours of independent work amidst trips to the snack drawer, conveniently located right by our desks. At 5pm, we shoot each other a text to see if we are ready to pack it up and then we head out to our bikes and chat animatedly as we cruise back to University Tower. Back in the girls room, I change out of work clothes and begin to map out the adventure of preparing dinner. Lately my go-to has been shrimp and veggies in sweet thai chili sauce. We all hang out while Liza plays country music and I catch up some Netflix to unwind a bit. Then most of us are off to slow roll, the Monday evening bike ride where thousands of Detroiters come together to bike through a neighborhood on all different bikes from wacky to fancy to our creaky old ones. We chit chat as we roll along, trying not to tip over from going to slow, try to follow someone with big speakers. When our roll comes to an end, I shower and eat my dinner and try to rally the group to watch a movie together. My movie choice usually gets vetoed by David, but on a good day I can usually get someone to respond to my suggestion on group me. Then its popcorn time or even better, on a girls movie night, time to dive into the cookie dough stash!
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