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Community Corner

Having A Grouchy Day

It's just been one of those days when nothing went exactly the way I planned.

I’m grouchy.

Maybe I got up on the wrong side of the bed. (When I was a kid, my father used to ask me if that was what happened if I appeared at the breakfast table in a grouchy mood.) I didn’t wake up that way though. I was in a good mood at breakfast. It’s just been one of those days. You know the kind–a day when nothing goes exactly the way you planned, a day you wish you could start over.

My printer was Problem #1.

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It had a mind of it’s own this morning. I think it knew I was in a hurry, trying to finish a project at the last minute and it balked. I swear it took twice as long for a single page to print and I had 56 pages to print. It took forever! The entire time I checked my watch calculating the minutes until I would have to admit, I was going to be late for my class.

While the printer took its sweet time and I waited, rather impatiently I must say, I multitasked. I folded laundry and put it away, unloaded the dishwasher from last night’s dinner party and vacuumed a rug. However, none of the jobs I tackled were seamless because I had to keep checking the printer’s progress every few minutes to reload the paper feeder for the double-sided pages to come out correctly.

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With the papers in my briefcase, I hopped in the car and backed out of the garage.

Problem #2 was blocking the end of my street. (My street is actually a narrow lane not wide enough to easily make a u-turn in.)

A FedEx truck parked squarely across the end, no driver in sight, made it impossible to exit. I honked once, then twice to no avail. My choices were to wait or to back up the length of the street and exit the other end. I elected to wait, after all FedEx ads claim their service is always first. My guess was the delivery person would be quick. Wrong. It turns out he had four deliveries in my complex. He apologized when he returned to the truck five long minutes later saying he thought he had left enough room for a car to pull out. I was definitely going to be late.

Not wanting a ticket, I drove the speed limit, and, you guessed it, I hit every red light possible. Then, Problem #3 kicked in.

Because I was late, there were no parking places left when I got there and I had to park two blocks away. To my surprise, the instructor had elected not to start on time, so my tardiness went almost unnoticed. I relaxed figuring now my day could get back on track.

Close, but no cigar.

I had an appointment for a haircut right after class, and had allowed enough time to get there without rushing–hopefully enough time extra to grab a latte once I got there.

I didn’t plan on Problem #4–road construction on El Camino Real.

A trip that should have taken 20 minutes took 33 minutes. Now I was up against the downtown lunch crowd and the lot allowing two-hour parking was jammed. Once again, I was up against the clock. Once again, I was in luck, because when I got there my stylist was on the phone trying to reschedule another client. By the time she finished, I was in the chair waiting, and she was apologizing to me. Whew!

Okay, so aside from rushing a little and hunting for parking, you’re probably wondering why I’m so grumpy. Keep reading.

I like to stack appointments together. It makes for one or two busy days a month, but that works better for me than spreading appointments out on multiple days. I like having appointment-free days. After my haircut, I planned a manicure. However, not in the same town. I wasn’t late and parking was a breeze. I checked in at the salon, and since I was early, I decided to walk around the corner for that long overdue latte I mentioned earlier.

At the coffee place, I encountered Problem #5. My wallet wasn’t in my backpack.

No wallet meant no latte. Mentally I replayed the last time I had it. I paid for my haircut, made a new appointment and left. I must have forgotten it or else it fell out of my pack somewhere. I decided to call and ask, and that’s when I discovered I didn’t have my cell phone.

Fast-forward: My wallet was safe. They found it on the counter right where I left it. The woman at the nail salon told me not to worry, I could pay her later.

Sporting a new French manicure, I braved rush hour traffic, retrieved my wallet and went home. A day that should have been pampering and relaxing was frustrating and stressful. I never did get my latte. (Now you know why I’m having a grouchy day.)

I'm fairly certain deleting that "good luck" email last week had nothing to do with what happened today.

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