Phone Hydra & Hallway Cats (Day 3 of 6)
Monday started off with the universe deciding it hadn't messed with me enough.
Right after sending my morning message, my Galaxy A53 completely died.
Not boot looping.
Not frozen.
Not "maybe it'll come back."
Just...
Dead.
This was the same phone that had already scared me a few days earlier when it randomly decided to boot loop before mysteriously coming back to life.
Apparently it had one last joke left.
Phone Hydra had finally won.
Normally that wouldn't be the biggest deal in the world.
Except this phone is how I call my Uber to work...
...and more importantly...
How I get home.
That immediately became the biggest problem sitting in the back of my mind.
After grabbing my usual breakfast—oatmeal, a Monster, and a honey bun—I clocked in at exactly 10:00 a.m.
Like always.
The facility, however, had absolutely no interest in slowing down just because my phone had decided to retire.
Within the first hour I wrote up two clients for dress code violations.
Hallway cats continue proving that hallway cats will always find new ways to hallway cat.
Nothing unusual there.
Morning classes wrapped up, recreation started, and clients immediately began treating every free moment like it was secretly snack time.
Some wandered toward the vending machines early.
Others hovered nearby hoping somebody would magically say yes.
The answer stayed exactly the same.
"No."
The schedule says what the schedule says.
If it's snack time, get your snack.
If it isn't snack time...
Wait.
There really isn't much mystery to it.
Lunch finally came around, but my brain wasn't really focused on lunch.
Every chance I got I'd wander back into the employee lounge and check my phone.
Nothing.
A little while later...
Still nothing.
By that point I wasn't thinking about Spotify.
I wasn't thinking about YouTube.
I wasn't even thinking about the phone itself anymore.
I kept asking myself one question.
"How the hell am I getting home tonight?"
That was the real problem.
During lunch I ended up talking with a few coworkers about Android versus iPhone before finally deciding enough was enough.
After work I headed over to Cricket.
The damage:
• Samsung Galaxy A17 • Tablet • Case • Screen protector
Wallet Status:
Critically Wounded.
A little over two hundred dollars disappeared solving a problem I never wanted in the first place.
Getting everything set up wasn't exactly smooth either.
Google, in its infinite wisdom, decided security verification should become a side quest.
Eventually I worked around it.
Installed Uber.
Signed back into everything.
Phone Hydra was finally defeated.
While I was gone, Haus Morgenrot apparently decided it didn't need me to create excitement.
Depending on who you asked...
Two SACP clients either fought over a honey bun...
...or racist comments that escalated into a fight.
Either way...
I wasn't there.
Not my incident.
Not my report.
Not my paperwork.
Exactly how I prefer it.
Back at work the afternoon settled back into its normal rhythm.
Dinner came.
Groups started.
Monday's extended schedule moved along exactly the way Monday's usually do.
Then the hallway cats remembered they existed.
Around 7:20 one group finished.
A little later another group wrapped up.
Naturally, several clients immediately assumed it was free time.
It wasn't.
Back to group.
Back where you belong.
At around 8:30 we transitioned into L trays.
I was just about ready to let clients begin grabbing snacks when the SOD stopped me.
"L trays first."
"Snacks afterward."
Simple enough.
I double-checked with her before sending anybody anywhere.
No freelancing.
No guessing.
Just following directions.
The snack area immediately transformed into the usual circus.
Clients hanging around.
Trying to socialize.
Trying to make change.
Trying to buy snacks and drinks for staff.
Trying to stretch thirty seconds into five minutes.
The answer never changed.
"No."
Policy is policy.
Get your tray.
Get your snack if you're authorized.
Keep moving.
One hallway cat even tried lingering long enough to start another conversation.
Researchers continue documenting an interesting phenomenon:
Hallway Cats appear physically incapable of walking directly from Point A to Point B.
Eventually the evening settled down.
At 9:15 came the easiest write-up of the night.
Feet off floor had already been called.
One SACP client apparently believed the announcement applied to everybody except him.
I'd already warned him once.
The SOD saw him too.
He wanted to argue.
I wasn't interested.
I documented exactly what happened.
Client remained outside his assigned area after feet off floor despite being instructed to return to his room.
Witness listed.
Report completed.
Clipboard closed.
No anger.
No debate.
Just paperwork.
Earlier in the evening I'd also spent time trying to calm down another SACP client who was upset about everything happening around him.
Sometimes all you can really tell somebody is,
"Sit down."
"Chill."
"Don't make your situation worse."
Whether they actually listen...
That's their decision.
You can't save people who don't want saving.
Near the end of the shift the SOD teased me a little about talking with clients, even though all I had really been trying to do was keep somebody from digging themselves into an even deeper hole.
I wasn't interested in debating it.
By then...
I just wanted to go home.
After finishing the paperwork I took my final break in the employee lounge, sat down with my new phone, made absolutely sure Uber worked, read a little while everything finished syncing, and finally relaxed for the first time all day.
The series of events was over.
The phone worked.
The Uber worked.
Mission accomplished.
At 10:00 p.m. I clocked out right on time.
The new phone successfully called my Uber.
Researchers conclude:
Phone Hydra has officially been demoted from Final Boss to Expensive Side Quest.
Home, however, reminded me that House Hydra never sleeps.
The trash was full.
The sink was full of dishes.
Business as usual.
I let Bruno outside.
Washed the dishes.
Emptied the smaller trash into the larger can.
Ignored House Hydra's latest contribution to civilization.
Poured myself a bowl of cereal.
Finally sat down.
Somewhere during the day I also learned another member of the original four techs hired alongside me on February 16th, 2026 was gone.
One had already been fired for stealing money from a new admit.
Another had been fired after stealing from Family Dollar.
Now another was gone after repeatedly showing up late.
At that point I made another decision.
I'm done discussing staff business with clients.
Hallway cats are going to ask.
They're going to speculate.
They're going to gossip.
They can do that with somebody else.
My job is to follow the SOP.
Write the reports that need writing.
Keep my head down.
Keep showing up.
Three days down.
Three more to go.
The doctrine hasn't changed.
Stay boring.
Stay consistent.
Stay in my lane.
Because at the end of the day...
I'm not trying to become part of someone else's story.
I'm just trying to earn my paycheck, save my money, and eventually disappear into my own quiet little corner of the world—
where the only Hydra left to deal with is hopefully no Hydra at all.