7 MILES IN THE SNOW

There are days when from the very first moment you open your peepers you know that you would be better off just snapping them shut and pretending to still be asleep. Today was a mother one of those.

Firstly I nearly slept through the alarm. Then in my mad dash around the apartment I lost track of my employee badge. Goodie. Once at my desk, wearing my sticker badge of shame, yay!, I started to sneeze. And sneeze. This was not a good sign. When my nose starts going it is next to impossible to stop. Next on my to do list, was exploding soup in the office microwave. At this point I knew the whole day was shot. It was 8:27am.

By lunch I was in an allergy fog while trying desperately to pre-press files and keep my nose attached to my head. Then my computer which had been finicky all morning, began to act up in earnest. Every time I saved a file it crashed. If I opened an email, it was a 3 minute waiting game with the spinning color wheel. All the while used kleenex were floating down and making drifts at my feet.

At 6:30 I made my escape after fashioning snow shoes out of used X-acto blades and glittery thread. I followed out a fellow office mate who commented on my nasal noise. Lovely, the whole office had been getting an earful. As we exited the building I realized that all my evening plans would never materialize. I would not get my Christmas tree before the rain predicted for tomorrow. A trip to Whole Foods was out of the question and the laundry was going to spend a few more nights on the bedroom floor. I got it together enough to stop and put gas in the car. I am not entirely sure what came over me, but somehow I got confused and only bought 4 gallons. Not even half a tank I realized as I drove away.

Home, James. I am a menace even to myself. I pray for tomorrow.