Day 6, 6/28/21 - Monday

Actual Journal Entry:

“Another rough night of no sleep. At least I found out why: I haven’t been taking Seroquel at night but Wellbutrin, which I guess is a stimulant. They are going to switch it to morning, hopefully for the next dosage, but what I am learning about the SHU is that everything here happens on its own time and sometimes not at all. Standard breakfast but Pizza for Lunch. I wrote letters to Mom and MyT. I hope T. picks up her mail. Chicken, rice, carrots, beans, except for all the onions in the rice. Gross.

Feeling decent. I hope tomorrow is better sleep-wise.”

Notes for Day 6 (Four Years Later)

Well, here we are, not quite a full week in, and some of the same issues and repetitions are already starting to stand out. Problems with basic medical care, for instance, and how much of my journal will inevitably focus on the prison menu. I hope to add interesting context through these notes, but I'm perfectly okay with the fact that much of my original journal was boring—because boring is what prison is mostly about. A "Forced Vacation," indeed. My goal is to make this prison journal as authentic as possible.

One thing I kind of regret is not documenting more of E’s and my conversations. We talked about just about everything. As I remember details, I will try and record as many of them as I can (with some minor omissions to protect the innocent and, well, I would say, the guilty, but nobody is guilty in prison; just ask them!). Back to the menu: this was my first exposure to the infamous CHICKEN FRIED RICE, the staple of any nutritious prison meal.

If you’ve done any time, anywhere, then you already know, and there’s not much more to say about that!