random truths – Day 1,043 (Tuesday) – whatta day

Winston “oofed” me awake at 4:00 a.m. so I could let him outside to potty, but in a few minutes I was back in the still warm bed. At 5:00 a.m., I was awakened by the sound of barfing, which is probably the fastest response alarm sound available. In a matter of minutes, I had run downstairs and grabbed some cloths and was cleaning it off the puffy comforter, the handmade quilt, the duvet cover, the dust ruffle, the carpet next to the bed, and even the wall next to the bed. There was a case of simultaneous annoyance, feeling bad for Win, and wonder at how the dog that didn’t eat most of his supper had so much to expel. 

The little patient at rest.

While logging in for work, the system prompted for an update which felt like it took forever, but at least it provided time for quiet coffee sipping. Later in the morning, I couldn’t access the program to send large files, then I couldn’t get into the program to submit a service ticket to the tech folks about the first program problem. The programs that were working were as slow as pond scum and kept freezing. There was a lot of slow deep breathing alternating with sweary words.

Questions came in from every direction via emails, chat messages, and phone calls. It was non-stop problems, administrative crap, and a whole lot of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot all morning and into the afternoon.

For two days there have been calls on the office number from someone saying they are returning my call, except I’ve ever heard of them and hadn’t called them. The robocallers were busy today and my cell phone received three calls in one hour, which is more than I get in an entire normal week. While at the office-office, my phone is almost always on “Do Not Disturb” but for whatever reason, the ringer was on today at the remote office and I was stupid/curious enough to answer it. The day was already so annoying, what was a little more aggravation piled on?

One caller claimed to be from the generic and scammy-sounding “police association fundraiser.” In the past few weeks I’ve blocked three numbers from three callers claiming to be raising money for “police relief.” A caller from a Colorado number asked for “Nancy.” Calls come from that number every two to three days, and today I finally answered. Points for persistence, Colorado caller.

It was challenging (polite code for total pain in the arse) from the get-go and the trend lasted most of the day. It reached the point of being laughable. The maniacal crazy kind of laugh, not the lighthearted, cheery laugh. Thank goodness it’s over. Winston slept all day and his stomach seemed quiet, but for the third day, he didn’t eat all his food. Fingers are crossed for a vomit-free night. That's today's measure of success. My, how life has changed.