“Remoted - Hybrid” – Day 553 (Monday)

Many months ago, the bank announced plans for our newest branch. This is not earth-shattering news, but today it was at least groundbreaking. In a ceremonial sense anyway.

Shovels ready.

There was a gathering at the site chosen for the new branch, with a small amount of speechifying and a large amount of food. It was fun on many levels, starting with being outside on a gorgeous morning, and seeing fellow bankers who have been seen only via social media for the past 18 months. There was fellowship. There was camaraderie. There was coffee, yogurt parfaits, bagels and donuts, deftly chosen by our dedicated events specialist. There were golden colored shovels and representatives from all the parties involved in making a new business structure happen. And there were photos. So many photos. 

There was also a brief, blood chilling, panicked moment when I was ready to leave. While approaching the car, phone in hand, I realized there were no keys in hand. And thanks to the rocket scientists who design women’s clothing, there were no pockets to check, just decorative, narrow, useless welt trim where the front and back pockets would be if they were men’s pants.

The car door was definitely locked, verified by the highly scientific and rational test of trying to open it. As my heart rate increased, I peeked in the window, looking for the keys on the seat while running through the mental list of who might be called for rescue. The nice folks at Triple-A seemed like the best, most productive call, and thankfully, since previous distress calls for a jump start and a tow, the number is in my phone. There were no keys in the car and also no bag containing wallet and other stuff. 

That was when I remembered carrying a bag with me and setting it against a pole near the catering table upon arrival. There was a near record breaking speed walk back to the ceremony site, partly to burn off the sudden surge of stress and partly to get to where I thought I had left the bag more quickly. The bag and I were reunited, exactly where it had been left, keys safely inside, and no distress call was needed.

The ride to the event had been pleasant as the Waze app directed me down a peaceful, curving state road. If all drives were like the quiet back roads taken to New Hampshire at 9:00 this morning, I might be one of those people who enjoy driving. Oddly, the same driving app set me on an entirely different path for the return to the home office, and I was almost immediately deposited onto a major Interstate. Perhaps it was because I was already stressed over the keys/bag incident, so what was a little driving stress? Of course, that assigns a creepy level of awareness to a driving app. The Interstate turned out to be a good transitional phase between the calm morning and the rest of the workday. Not that it was a rough workday, it just required a different, more actively engaged mindset than was needed during the morning.

Canine Overlord Winston
in a quiet moment.

While escorting Canine Overlord Winston outside during the afternoon, he somehow slid down the stairs on his belly, the second time he's done that in a couple days. Then, he proceeded to run, like he did when he could see, smack into the downspout mounted on the side of the house, which he did not do when he could see. Maybe he forgot he can't see. If he's going to start running and crashing into things, the stress could kill me. I checked for injuries and saw none, which was a surprise, because it seemed like he had hit it hard, and a relief that he wasn't bleeding and seemed unaffected. 

Winston had another outdoor incident a few hours later and was barking at the place under the shed where the woodchuck comes out and I was afraid it might end up in a close encounter of the animal fighting kind. Thank goodness there was no altercation, and once inside he chilled out. For now.