random thoughts – Day 1,319 – (Friday) – real life

 A two-day work week is pretty sweet. I could get used to it. Same for eight-day vacations.

There was the usual easy Friday wardrobe – jeans are allowed with a bank logo shirt, and it takes about three minutes to dress in the current "favorite jeans (Vera Wang) and one of three logo polo shirts in the drawer. There is a lot to be said for the time- and stress-saving properties of uniforms. There is great comfort in knowing what to wear to work and it's one big reason why I like being in the office on Fridays.

It was quiet in the office, but at least I wasn’t the only one there. There is comfort in knowing others are nearby, even if we aren’t interacting with each other. One admirably even-keeled  colleague said I seemed vacation refreshed and now I’m totally paranoid about how I usually seem because I didn’t really feel any different. All the usual work bull-crap is still weighing on my shoulders and another  promotion list came out that my name wasn't on, so yeah, all is normal.

The weather seemed nice, and my weather thingy on my computer toolbar read 78 degrees when I remembered to look at it. Despite my best intentions, by 4:00 I realized I had neglected to take a walk outside and by then it was too late, so clearly everything is back to so-called normal.

Get to work wine
and "relax" candle.

Further evidence of life being back to its stellar level of mediocrity was thrust in my face after work. The TV received channels because the cable box was just reset (again) on Wednesday upon my return, but Netflix wouldn’t load from the apps module. This is a situation that occurs every 14 days or so and today was the day (again).

As I sat in the living room, a hot slice of pineapple olive pizza was beginning to cool on a glass plate and a crystal wineglass of cabernet sat on the side table not far from the quietly flickering “relax” two-wick jar candle. And the latest television entertainment reckoning arrived. 

The TV worked but the show I am currently addicted to is on Netflix, which claimed to be loading, but reverted back to the guide channel. Three, four times, until I finally consulted the app for troubleshooting.

System refresh taking forever.

The system refresh initiated through the app started. A text arrived that it was complete, but several minutes later, the TV screen still said otherwise. The app message was responded to with “no, problem not solved.” 

A call was received from an xfinity rep who thanked me for my six years of loyalty (except it’s seven), checked some things, and rebooted the box again. After a lengthy process, she declared it a hardware situation, said the box needed replacement, and transferred me to the hardware group.

After a few minutes, the hardware rep was on the line, thanked me for my six years of customer loyalty (except it's seven), and after a few questions already answered with the first rep (so much for a warm transfer), wanted to transfer me to yet another group. I had hit the wall by then, having already spent 26 minutes on the line. The wine glass was empty. I was annoyed, and said I’d call back the next time the TV won’t come on, likely in a couple days. 

If I was any manner of calm, collected, and vacation refreshed at 10:00 am, it is gone now. That “relax” candle and glass of wine had better get busy. They’ve got some work to do. Real life is back on stage, large and in charge.