A Comedy of Errors
Yes, a real comedy of a day...and it's barely 8:30am.
It all began when I remembered that I'm in for a long day; it's faculty meeting day, so after my hours-long day in my cinderblock, windowless room, I am in for at least another 60 minutes of getting things done -- and because I'm a worrier, I worry about everything new or challenging that comes up at meetings, and I want to solve those problems NOW.
The only remedy for this type of day was to stop for coffee and snacks, some goodies I could share with my friends during our meeting. I arrived at work feeling less stressed - and excited for afternoon snack time - and promptly dropped my coffee. It sprayed everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Luckily, I had shut my car door - light interior and coffee do not mix. But the parking lot looks like something straight out of Criminal Minds. Blood spatter...err coffee spatter....everywhere. A giant pool of it in the parking lot (that will surely freeze and cause someone to slip and fall -- sorry, colleagues). A Picasso-esque spray of it on the side of my car. Coffee dripping off the bottom of my coat. Coffee on my mittens. Coffee on my shoes.
I tried to brave the incident and tell myself I could go without, but truly, the only thing I could actually do was to head to the local coffee shop for a refill. I took a friend's order, hopped into my car, and thought, "I should really rinse the coffee off my car when I stop for new drinks." That was dumb. I wish I hadn't thought that.
Mere moments later, after rinsing off my car and determining that I had turned this day around with a single car wash and a plan for new drinks, I found I was stuck in the car wash. Yes, stuck in the car wash. Trapped. Marooned. Stranded. Shipwrecked. And, I had left my phone at work to charge. As panic set in, I surveyed my surroundings, hoping I wouldn't have to take what seemed to be my only immediate option - plowing my car through the carwash door. I saw an exit and walked calmly through it and into the gas station, which had to be damn-near half-a-mile from the car wash. Trying not to rage/panic cry, I sought assistance and then waited for 20 minutes as the employee tried to free my car from its prison. I didn't have my phone to call for a new ride; I didn't have my watch on. Certain I was well beyond late to work at this time, I knew I would surely lose my job. I was sure I'd never get that coffee refill. I almost swore off washing my car all together - and if you know me, you know how much I value cleanliness. Finally, the employee opened the entrance door through some magical code shared with her via the person on the other end of her phone line, and I backed my way out of that carwash and into freedom.
I'd love to think this was the end of the horrors of this Thursday, but there's a lot of daytime left and a lot of teenagers to interact with, so we shall see what befalls me next....
It all began when I remembered that I'm in for a long day; it's faculty meeting day, so after my hours-long day in my cinderblock, windowless room, I am in for at least another 60 minutes of getting things done -- and because I'm a worrier, I worry about everything new or challenging that comes up at meetings, and I want to solve those problems NOW.
The only remedy for this type of day was to stop for coffee and snacks, some goodies I could share with my friends during our meeting. I arrived at work feeling less stressed - and excited for afternoon snack time - and promptly dropped my coffee. It sprayed everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Luckily, I had shut my car door - light interior and coffee do not mix. But the parking lot looks like something straight out of Criminal Minds. Blood spatter...err coffee spatter....everywhere. A giant pool of it in the parking lot (that will surely freeze and cause someone to slip and fall -- sorry, colleagues). A Picasso-esque spray of it on the side of my car. Coffee dripping off the bottom of my coat. Coffee on my mittens. Coffee on my shoes.
I tried to brave the incident and tell myself I could go without, but truly, the only thing I could actually do was to head to the local coffee shop for a refill. I took a friend's order, hopped into my car, and thought, "I should really rinse the coffee off my car when I stop for new drinks." That was dumb. I wish I hadn't thought that.
Mere moments later, after rinsing off my car and determining that I had turned this day around with a single car wash and a plan for new drinks, I found I was stuck in the car wash. Yes, stuck in the car wash. Trapped. Marooned. Stranded. Shipwrecked. And, I had left my phone at work to charge. As panic set in, I surveyed my surroundings, hoping I wouldn't have to take what seemed to be my only immediate option - plowing my car through the carwash door. I saw an exit and walked calmly through it and into the gas station, which had to be damn-near half-a-mile from the car wash. Trying not to rage/panic cry, I sought assistance and then waited for 20 minutes as the employee tried to free my car from its prison. I didn't have my phone to call for a new ride; I didn't have my watch on. Certain I was well beyond late to work at this time, I knew I would surely lose my job. I was sure I'd never get that coffee refill. I almost swore off washing my car all together - and if you know me, you know how much I value cleanliness. Finally, the employee opened the entrance door through some magical code shared with her via the person on the other end of her phone line, and I backed my way out of that carwash and into freedom.
I'd love to think this was the end of the horrors of this Thursday, but there's a lot of daytime left and a lot of teenagers to interact with, so we shall see what befalls me next....
Comments
Post a Comment