Another Lousy Day, Daily

By Rob Christopher in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 20, 2010 5:00PM

Neofuturist alum and theatre genius David Kodeski is a voyeur of the highest order. He doesn't just peer into the lives of strangers, he also uses what he sees as raw material for his fascinating monologues. One of these, Another Lousy Day, grew from a pair of diaries he randomly came across in an antique store. They were apparently written by a young Chicago woman in the early 1960's and meticulously detail her day-to-day life: her job, the movies she saw, when she played cards with friends, even the stuff she bought. The accumulation of minutiae is really cool.

Kodeski is re-posting the original diary entries via e-mail: every entry - from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1961 - one a day through December 31, 2011. Not only that, he's enlisted a variety of women to read the entries, and these recordings are attached to each email. To subscribe just drop him a line with the subject line "Yes, I want Lousy every day."

Check out an example of what you can expect to arrive in your in-box -- should you choose to participate -- after the jump.

January 16, 1960, Saturday

Couldn't hardly get up for work today. Dad drove me to Damen and Congress so I was early for work. I was in such a stupor all day and I first couldn't seem to wake up. Jim wasn't down so it was pretty dead. Joe came around in the afternoon so that perked me up a bit. He said Jim didn't go on his date because his hand hurt. I think Ann suspects because she made a crack. After work Jenny drove me to Chicago Ave. I went home and watched the movie and straightened out my bedroom. At eight o'clock Mary and Habebe and Julia came over and we played cards. I lost about $5.00. We quit about 12:30. I don't know but I don't get the kick out of it that I used to. I guess I really fell away.