My so-called sanity...priceless

So, I'm at work (hi, ICL!). I've been here almost 3 hours and have just wrapped my mind around my morning.

7:35--Left to take Sparky to his algebra class. He's wearing the crappiest shirt he owns, the one he's only supposed to use for painting and desperate measures (i.e. nothing else in his shirt pile). And he's going to spend the afternoon with C. at Gameworks.

8:10--Stopped at Rec. Dept. to fill out forms for next week's canoe adventure (this is his third year straight, though I forgot to say anything at all about it last year, I guess). Stayed and talked to one of the long-time employees about her daughter's thoughts about going to library school at my alma mater.

8:40--Returned home and called ISP to report crappy service, mostly lack of (though, clearly, there were windows where I could, sorta, access the net...or parts of the net...for whole minutes at a time!) This was the arrangement the ISP owner and I made last night, at 9 p.m., when he'd finally called me back: I would call this morning at 8:30 to report. I think I woke someone up. {sigh} He'll have to call me back. {grrrrr} I warn her that I'll only be around for an hour or so.

9:30--Gave up on waiting by the phone. Showered and dressed. It's raining, so I dig out an umbrella.

10:05--Left on errand to Circuit City: battery backup for wireless router (woo-hoo, don't I sound smart?) and a gift card for Sparky to give C. for his birthday...today. On the way, I stop at the library bookdrop near my house; it's my day to empty it. Yesterday: 4 items. Today: 20. Go figure.

10:40--I'm on my way back to pick up Sparky; I will arrive at 10:58 according to my GPS. I love that thing, and I really love that I'm timing everything out so well. Plus, I've got the CD for "A Chorus Line" in the CD player and I'm enjoying that, too.

10:50--I run off the road on a curve at 45 mph, head directly for a large elm tree, miss it, careen across someone's yard, manage to get the wheels of the truck turned left, and gun the engine back up the embankment to the (mercifully empty) road I left 3 seconds ago. Somewhere in there my heart stops and restarts at least twice. "What I Did For Love" indeed. Off goes the CD player. I drive the rest of the way to pick up Sparky in silence, and mental reruns.

11:05--I lose my mind and take Sparky to buy a new T-shirt. We've got an hour after all, right? Except the store has rearranged everything, AND they have a new computerized payment system that is on Valium, so I wait for 10 minutes for the guy in front of me to pay. First, he doesn't have the right credit card, so he hauls out his checkbook to write a check (borrow a pen). He's a farmer, he has an account with the store, the checker can't figure out his phone number (different area code) to access the account, he has exemptions, and the automatic thingy isn't working. They don't have a fucking clue how. We wait. And wait. And wait. And eventually, finally, hand over $10.27 for the fucking T-shirt.

11:35--Stop at Culver's for lunch for the Starving Child. It takes forever. Team B is working EVERYwhere today!

12:00--Pull into C.'s driveway, whereupon he bursts out the door and says, "I thought you forgot!" Sparky goes inside, I leave Beast's cell # and my work # and head off to work.

12:08--My cell phone tells me I have a message. I hate when it missed the call but tells me when the message comes through. It was Beast; he'll be later than expected this evening, won't be around to pick up Sparky after all. Of course, that throws everything into chaos, but there's nothing I can do about it because SHIT I just realized I was supposed to be at work at noon! I hurriedly call and blame my tardiness on the aforementioned store's computer system, and then I call Beast back ... and reach his voicemail. Technology hates me this week.

12:15--I blunder through the employee door, drop off my Culver's Garden Fresco salad in the fridge (hello dinner), grab a bottle of pop, head to my desk...realize I forgot to grab the bag with stuff from the bookdrop...apologize to everyone. My boss, of course, is standing right there when I fly into the workroom. Shit. And I just realized...I was supposed to drop Sparky off at C.'s at 11:30. Not at noon. I hate when I'm late. I really hate it when I'm clueless AND late.

3:00--Almost all the Demand stuff that appeared this morning is cataloged. I have craploads of other stuff to do still. And I just overheard Schedule Nazi telling someone that she won't be around tonight: yup, sho 'nuff, I'm at the Ref Desk from 7:30 to 9. Glad I dressed up today, spent time on my hair in spite of the humidity and am having an all round "Special" day. That translates as "blue jeans, flat hair, lousy mood, not sure when my son OR my husband are coming home".

Moral of the story: Do not try to get any help with anything electronic from my library tonight for the last hour or so. I will break it, short it out, kill it, and/or otherwise render it unusable in new and frightening ways. You've been warned.