“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 749 (Monday) – treasures and stuff

The snow-covered Monday morning was a surprise and had a tardy start due to the required cleaning of said snow from the transportation vehicle before the commute could commence. The route to work was riddled with heavy volume, school buses, and cars blocking intersections after the drivers decided to boldly roll into the grid behind a line of stopped vehicles and hope for the best.

City Hall.

The chilly walk from the garage included found treasure. Someone is missing a dangle earring with a metal dream catcher and feather hanging from it. After grabbing a coffee, another shiny spot in the parking lot turned out to be a nickel, so it was a solid two-fer treasure walk.

At lunchtime, a walk was taken in the chill to City Hall. The day’s mission was to pay the excise tax on the Jeep and pick up new stickers to replace the one peeling and curling from the yard waste barrel. The excise tax payment was easy, as the door to the appropriate office was labeled. 

Finding where to get the stickers was another story and was the real reason for the personal visit, as the excise tax could be paid online. While making the excise payment, I asked where to get the sticker, and the clerk gestured with her head to the main lobby and said “Sometimes there are some on the main desk.” There was a reception-type desk with no stickers visible, no clerk, no sign, or anything else useful.

Poor bat.

The City website was consulted on my phone to check about the stickers, but my phone couldn’t get a signal to access the website. After wandering around the first floor past a series of doors marked “Private” and “Employees Only,” I finally got in line at the City Clerk’s office to ask for direction. Luckily, they had the stickers in the office and I was on my way back to my own office. I asked for two stickers and the clerk gave me four. Success!

At 5:00, after a day of progress on projects, the walk to the garage included another surprise. Outside a shop on Merrimack Street, there was something brown and black and furry on the sidewalk against the building. I couldn’t help but stop to have a look. It seemed to be a deceased bat, which made me sad, just like the random expired birds and the various highway roadkill sometimes seen. 

Despite the surprise snow and the poor dead bat on the sidewalk, it was still a pretty good day. Things were accomplished and the week is off to  a good start.