9:43AM My body lurches, as if I just met the ground after a long fall, and I bolt awake. The contractors will be here any minute now! I peek out the window and don't see any trucks parked out front. In a series of events that I am unable to place in chronological order, I grab a Deviant Dale's, check my phone, and hop into the shower. 10:11AM Oh no. I did it again. I got lost in the shower and I have no idea how much time has passed. Barely drying off, I run to the window. Good, still no truck. What is more concerning is that there is no message on my phone. The contractors were supposed to be here at 10. No, they did the siding last week. But then why did I take today off work? The hangover is messing with me. I finish the beer, get dressed and stumble downstairs.

10:36AM Breakfast helps, but eggs and hot sauce is getting old. I really should change it up sometime. Are the contractors late? Did they already finish? Ugh, this hangover isn't helping. At least I don't have to hear the racket and banging as the workers tear down and replace the siding this morning. I'm so thankful that they finished the job last week, or was it yesterday? E-cig in hand, I walk into the back yard. The siding on the chimney still looks awful. OK, so they are just late. Great...

11:26AM Now I am getting worried. These guys have delayed and put this job off for six months! I remember how loud it was in the house while they were working and my head throbs in anticipation. As I look for the foreman's phone number, I realize that I shouldn't know what it will sound like since they haven't started yet. Voice mail. Inbox is full. Fuck it. I grab another beer.

12:46PM I put on Magma and pop the top on the Deviant Dale's. I drink this beer too much. I can taste it before the glass even reaches my lips. I'm getting behind on my top ten metal albums of the year reviews, and I realize that Gojira has to be on the list. It's an obvious choice since I listen to this album so much. I know every line and riff. Not that it's a bad thing, this album is great, but anything can get old. How many times have I listened to this album? Come on! google music is never reliable with it's "listened to" count. I know it is more than 25 times.

3:16PM BANG! What was that? Was I asleep? BANG! Oh, the contractors are working. I guess they assumed I was at work and just got started. Opening the back door, I am greeted with an aluminum ladder that I duck under and wander onto the patio. "Oh, don't walk under the ladder. Bad luck!" They laugh. I'm not ready for this. Glancing up at the workers I mutter, "looking good." "We didn't know anyone was home. We should be done today if we can work a little late. Is that OK?" The sun is bright and I haven't left the house all day. "Uh, yeah. I can't wait till this is all over." The foreman walks up to me and awkwardly shakes my hand. "Hah, yeah, well, we just got started. We'll finish up today. What a beautiful day! I was up at the butt crack of dawn and I knew it would be a wonderful day. As soon as I saw the sunrise I prayed that this day would never end! I have a lot of jobs that I could finish if today would just go on forever, heh. Will you be around this evening? You can give me the check as soon as we wrap up." BANG! BANG! The Christmas stocking hanger! I run back under the ladder and open the door, shouting, "Yeah, I'll be here!" Too late. The reindeer stocking hanger is on the base of the brick fireplace an the metal antlers are bent out of shape. This happens every time! Why do I remember this? As I bend the thin metal back into shape I slowly realize that I have been having one déjà vu after another all day. I walk over to my laptop and open reddit. Why are these links still blue? I've already seen all these. It's like that episode of Star Trek The Next Generation where Crusher keeps remembering the poker game. Could I be stuck in a time loop? 4:00 I realize now that all of this has happened before. The only question is for how long. I glance over at google play and it says that I have listened to Magma 25 times. Did the album play on repeat 25 times today? Have I relived this day 25 times? I need food. I know I shouldn't drive, but Taco Bell is right around the corner. "Whatever," I mumble to myself, "worst case, I'll die in a car wreck and wake up again this morning." 4:04PM I slam on the brakes as a giant SUV launches across 4 lanes of traffic in a valiant attempt to turn left out of the Home Depot parking lot. I knew that would happen. I need to get out of this loop! I need to change sometime! I can't go to Taco Bell again, the cycle will never end. I slam the gas pedal to the floor and make an illegal u-turn. My head is pounding. I have to end the cycle! I have to make a change! The car door doesn't close all the way as I run back into the house, but I don't care. BANG! BANG! BANG! Make it stop! I can't go through this for even one more day! Tears begin to stream down my face as I drop my knees and grab my ears. "MAKE IT STOP!" I manage to choke between gasps for breath. 4:56PM Silence. They must be painting now. What do I do? Pounding another imperial IPA sounds like a good idea. 6:14PM Empty cans surround me on the floor in the front room when my phone rings. "Hello?" I can see the foreman's smug grin in my mind when his insidious voice comes through. "We are just wrapping up now. Are you home? I'm out back if you want give me that check." I assume he can hear my breathing because he doesn't hang up during the awkwardly long pause. I stand up not knowing what to do next. "Yeah, I'll be right out." Walking through the kitchen, the glimmer of a passing car's headlights reflect off the blade of the Cutco chef's knife that I got from my mother-in-law last Christmas. I slide it into my back pocket and feel the point cut through the denim as it slips down until the handle catches on the top of my jeans back pocket. The ladder isn't in the way anymore and foreman is standing in the middle of my back yard looking at his cell phone. My mind is blank as I close the distance, draw the knife and drive it into his throat. "Se lo chingaron!" one of the contractors exclaims as the warm spray of blood soaks my face. One, two, three... I'm keeping count with each thrust. Twenty-four, twenty-five, and I'm finished. The knife is still stuck in the foreman's chest as he lays, motionless, on the grass. I stand up, take a deep breath and look up into the darkening sky. I did it. I broke the cycle. Back in the house, my finger slips as I pop the tab on another IPA, but it's okay. My hangover is finally gone.

