I’m having an “off”
day. Nothing major, just stupid crap.
I apparently cannot read a
calendar because four meetings have been scheduled for the next six work days …
and I didn’t know about any of them. “They’re
on the calendar,” I am told. Yes, this
is true, but I’ve been without Internet access at work for two days, and I’m
just too damn busy to pull up the cyber-calendar. My bad.
Then, I run out of sugar
for tea that I desperately need in order to sit through another meeting. Okay, there’s one sugar packet left, but I
know my teammate needs it, so I overcompensate with extra honey, instead.
Last, but not least, as I’m
trying to get out the door from work, I whack my hand inside the cabinet where
my coat is, and I cut my knuckle wide open.
It bleeds … and bleeds bleeds bleeds bleeds bleeds bleeds all over
everything. My desk is covered with
bloody tissues that make it look like a crime scene. All I have are fingertip bandages. I make do with one and start cleaning as if I
belong on a hazmat crew.
When I finally get to the
parking lot, I realize that it’s not so bad outside, and by “not so bad,” I
mean it’s 31 degrees, calm, and the sun is out.
I rush home, change into sweatpants, sweatshirt, and a fleece, don my
sneakers, fill up a water bottle, and take off for a walk.
For some odd reason, I don’t
take my usual route (or the start of my usual route) heading through the heart
of town. Instead, I cross the train
tracks and maneuver toward the high school.
This route involves a sharp downhill to cross the river, followed by a long
and steep uphill climb .
Before I reach the school,
I turn toward the post office and re-cross the river via another bridge. This route is not so great because the sidewalks
still have snow and ice on them. Stupid
me. And the traffic is crazy, so I won’t
be able to cross the road anytime soon.
No problem. I make a sharp right, head up the hill, and
walk up past the fire department. My
intent is to walk through town, but the traffic is too congested, and I hate
hitting the pedestrian light. First of
all, I know it annoys the hell out of the drivers, and it makes me feel inept
(Walk light is on for all crossings!!!!!) as it blares out over the speakers.
I scoot by the library,
head down the hill past a couple of churches, then swing back up toward town so
I can inspect the progress of the construction at the Catholic school at the
bottom of the road and the new youth center at the top of the road. More uphill trekking toward the prep school,
but halfway up my lazy Achilles tendons are screaming at me, so I hike through
a side street, do a quick circle around part of the academy campus, then it’s
down, down, downhill almost the whole way home.
When I get home, I
discover that my injured finger is still bleeding, so I change the bandaid then
start puttering around the house. I take
out a container to bring some sugar to work.
Laundry goes in. Dinner is made.
I decide there’s no point
in spending the rest of the evening correcting essays because I suddenly feel
better. Well, not completely better
because my muscles ache, but I don’t feel so much like the day totally sucks
anymore. Of course, the circuit I walk
today is loaded with cars and trucks, so I’ve probably negated all the health
benefits by sucking down a ton or two of carbon monoxide via vehicle exhaust,
but I manage to escape the brick and cinder block Land of No Internet and Full
Calendars and Ungraded Essays for a while.
Now if I can just get my
finger to stop bleeding, this might turn into a good day.
