I woke up as any other day

[NAL123]

It was November around Thanksgiving. I woke up as any other day, but that all changed when I looked in the mirror. My left eye was red and swollen. I didn’t think much of it. It looked like a stye or maybe pink eye. Not having insurance and being in a new area made this all difficult. After home remedies failed, I opted to go to a walk-in clinic. I was told it was an allergic reaction. I had cut pepper trees along the property line. I was told pepper trees are very toxic. So, $150 later, I got a steroid shot.

 Link here

What does "I woke up as any other day" mean?
Is the "as" here functioning as a preposition? If so, is its meaning in the above sentence the same as what its meaning is in:

She works as a waitress.

What about this:

I woke up as on any other day.

Here "as" is functioning as a conjunction.

 

[Tarheel]

I woke up the same as any other day. In other words, there was nothing special about it. It was the same (or similar) as any other day. There was nothing remarkable about it. There was nothing unusual about it.

Would knowing what part of speech "as" is in that sentence help you understand the sentence better?