thoughtnot

Last Friday was a crappy day. It started like any other day except… it didn’t. I had to drive myself to work, which isn’t a problem excepting it takes me 20 minutes to warm up my truck this time of year. And that in itself isn’t a problem, except I somehow overslept by an hour. I messaged my boss and said I was running a bit late. Not too big of a deal, but that was Strike one.

After a rush-hour drive in pouring rain, work that morning wasn’t too awful, just busy. I had a lot to do to get ready for my vacation (I’m off for 2 weeks… yea!!). Around noon, my co-worker Tim asked a couple of us if we wanted to go to the Seelbach for lunch. He had some free meal vouchers that had been given to us by our trainer during a recent course we attended. He had some kind of issue and they had given him a handful of them. It was pleasant enough outside, so we walked there (about 10 blocks). I enjoyed a very tasty Angus burger ($10) and diet coke ($2.50), and then chased my meal with a slice of cheesecake ($6). In fact, the meal was great until the manager came over and asked to see the vouchers Timmy had informed our waitress about. See where this is going? The fine print said “Valid for Breakfast Only.” Strike two.

After lunch, I went back to my desk and wrapped up everything I could. Then the calls streamed in. People needed/wanted this or that ASAP. A flurry of emails and calls ensued, and I finally managed to put everything to bed around 6pm. I had phoned in a pizza for pick-up, so I had to skip my workout (it was a weights day). Dang. I was hoping to work off the cheesecake. And I was running about 10 minutes late picking up the pizza. Strike three.

Think it stopped there? Nope. Knowing I was going to be away from the office for a couple of weeks, I tucked my black leather folio (a $60 zippered binder with pockets that I’ve had for nearly 10 years) between my duffle bag straps and headed out. I was almost to my truck when the pizza place called, wondering where I was. Instead of stopping at the truck, I walked on down the street to pick up the pie. Back to my truck and on to home I went. It wasn’t until around midnight that I realized I’d lost the binder. And to put icing on losing it (and I used it frequently), I had lost the forms and receipt for the $30 rebate on my contact lenses, which I had tucked inside. I also lost a really nice pen on which my name was engraved. And the pizza was cold. Strikes four, five, six.

What a day. It’s not that it was really a ‘bad’ day while it was in progress. It’s just that looking back, I essentially was late to work, spent $20 on what I thought was going to be a free lunch, lost $100, and had to eat cold pizza for dinner. But on the plus side, my old truck ran well in low-30° temps, I came home to a nice warm house, and my family greeted me lovingly (of course, I had pizza). So I guess it wasn’t SO bad. Many people probably wish they could be so lucky.

But if anyone has seen a black leather folio with a bunch of my business cards, a pen engraved with my name, and the receipts for my contact lenses in it, please let me know. I’ll see if I can come up with some kind of reward. Cold pizza, anyone? =)

Update: I found by folio! Well… SOMEONE found it, that is. They turned it in to security where I work, and security turned it over to Tim. Tim forgot to tell me about it ’til I returned from vacation in January, but everything was there! My faith in the existance of honest people has been renewed! =)