Have You Ever Had One of Those Days?
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Well, yesterday was one such day. I don't think a day could get any crappier. Not that yesterday was the crappiest of any day I've ever had. Nothing too major happened. We're still healthy and doing just fine, so I don't guess I can really complain. But, I just have to list what all went wrong yesterday.
It started out with Matthew having to work an 11 hour shift. He had to be at work by 7 and didn't get off till 6. He did get to pull this shift from home, but he didn't even get a lunch break. I ran and got lunch and the poor guy couldn't even leave his office. He'll be doing 11 hour shifts for the next couple days too, so that should be fun for all involved. You wouldn't think his working an 11 hour shift would be bad for me. But, it is. If either of us is having a hard day, both of us end up having a hard day. That's just the way it goes.
When we finally come out of the house around 7 p.m. in the drizzly rain, we notice that our mailbox is missing. It was sitting on our porch in several pieces. No the person who hit it was not kind enough to leave a note or offer to fix it. They just brought it to our porch and obviously were not concerned about us having to pay for something we didn't tear up. So, it is off to Home Depot and Lowes. We tried both stores to find a cheap option for a mailbox that looks the same as the ones we have here in our neighborhood. None to be found under $50. Now we aren't cheap skates. We don't mind paying for something that WE want. But, we didn't tear up the mailbox. Someone else did. They should be paying for it, not us. I was way more upset about this than Matthew was. He just wanted to buy it and be done with it. I on the other hand, talk him into trying to glue the support back together (the box itself wasn't badly damaged). He says fine, he'll try. We leave the store empty handed.
We decide to try to have a nice dinner out. Matthew orders a steak and broccoli which he seems to enjoy. I order a grilled ham and cheese sandwich and hashbrowns after asking at least a half dozen ways if they have onions in them. I hate onions. Nope, no onions, I am assured. The hashbrowns are really finely chopped up and look pretty tasty. Little do I know that what I think is 100% potatoes is at least 50% (you guessed it) onion. I miss the onion half on the first couple bites, then chomp down on one of the offenders. So, no more hashbrowns for me. The ham and cheese sandwich left a lot to be desired too. So, I dined on a half dozen dinner rolls and Sprite.
After dinner, we head to the house to try to fix the mailbox. We gather up all the pieces, half of which I had already put in the trash and Matthew tries to put the puzzle back together. A few minutes later he announces that not only are the pieces broken but they are also bent. There is no way to bend the hard plastic back into place, so our only option will be to replace it. We weigh the pros and cons of what to do. Should we call the development company? We are sure it was one of their construction trucks that did it. They have already ran over our box at least 3 times. But, the other times we actually busted the person when they did it and ran them down, so they had to pay for it. This time we couldn't catch the guy in the act. Matthew says he'll do whatever I want him to do. I say I'll do whatever he wants to do. He agrees to make a decision if "I won't second guess it" as he puts it. I say, fine, whatever. He decides to just replace it and make another trip to Home Depot or Lowes. You can imagine the scene when we discover that both stores are already closed for the night.
What happens next is a scene right out of National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, except this doesn't involve a deranged father with a chain saw and an over sized Christmas tree. This scene involves a deranged father-to-be, a mailbox, and a cordless screwdriver. I don't dare follow him outside. But, I can hear the screwdriver buzzing away from the safety of the garage. I see him coming back in and try to act casual in the living room. He doesn't come in the living room. He goes into his office, is in there for less than 5 seconds, slams the door shut, and goes back outside. This time, I don't even dare watch from the garage. I am tempted to go look out the front window, but lose my nerve. He is armed with a power tool after all. He comes back in about 5 minutes later, looking quite pleased with himself. He said he "just made some new holes and screwed the mailbox back onto its broken support". Hummm, doesn't sound too bad...Then, I find out he has also used an entire roll of packing tape (which is what he had gotten out of his office when he briefly came back in the house). What in the world did he do with packing tape? He wrapped the tape around the mailbox to hold it onto the support! Oh yes, I am serious. If you happen to drive by our neighborhood, our mailbox will be the one that is sporting an entire roll of packing tape. Hey, at least the tape is clear. Maybe no one will notice.
After getting up this morning and seeing that the sun was shining and reeling in the fact that today could not get any worse than yesterday, I remember that today is Thursday. Trash day. Pick up is early in the morning. Guess what we forgot to do last night? Yep, put the trash out for pick up. I haven't had the heart to break the news to Matthew yet. I'll wait till he's done with his 11 hour shift, I guess. :)
It started out with Matthew having to work an 11 hour shift. He had to be at work by 7 and didn't get off till 6. He did get to pull this shift from home, but he didn't even get a lunch break. I ran and got lunch and the poor guy couldn't even leave his office. He'll be doing 11 hour shifts for the next couple days too, so that should be fun for all involved. You wouldn't think his working an 11 hour shift would be bad for me. But, it is. If either of us is having a hard day, both of us end up having a hard day. That's just the way it goes.
When we finally come out of the house around 7 p.m. in the drizzly rain, we notice that our mailbox is missing. It was sitting on our porch in several pieces. No the person who hit it was not kind enough to leave a note or offer to fix it. They just brought it to our porch and obviously were not concerned about us having to pay for something we didn't tear up. So, it is off to Home Depot and Lowes. We tried both stores to find a cheap option for a mailbox that looks the same as the ones we have here in our neighborhood. None to be found under $50. Now we aren't cheap skates. We don't mind paying for something that WE want. But, we didn't tear up the mailbox. Someone else did. They should be paying for it, not us. I was way more upset about this than Matthew was. He just wanted to buy it and be done with it. I on the other hand, talk him into trying to glue the support back together (the box itself wasn't badly damaged). He says fine, he'll try. We leave the store empty handed.
We decide to try to have a nice dinner out. Matthew orders a steak and broccoli which he seems to enjoy. I order a grilled ham and cheese sandwich and hashbrowns after asking at least a half dozen ways if they have onions in them. I hate onions. Nope, no onions, I am assured. The hashbrowns are really finely chopped up and look pretty tasty. Little do I know that what I think is 100% potatoes is at least 50% (you guessed it) onion. I miss the onion half on the first couple bites, then chomp down on one of the offenders. So, no more hashbrowns for me. The ham and cheese sandwich left a lot to be desired too. So, I dined on a half dozen dinner rolls and Sprite.
After dinner, we head to the house to try to fix the mailbox. We gather up all the pieces, half of which I had already put in the trash and Matthew tries to put the puzzle back together. A few minutes later he announces that not only are the pieces broken but they are also bent. There is no way to bend the hard plastic back into place, so our only option will be to replace it. We weigh the pros and cons of what to do. Should we call the development company? We are sure it was one of their construction trucks that did it. They have already ran over our box at least 3 times. But, the other times we actually busted the person when they did it and ran them down, so they had to pay for it. This time we couldn't catch the guy in the act. Matthew says he'll do whatever I want him to do. I say I'll do whatever he wants to do. He agrees to make a decision if "I won't second guess it" as he puts it. I say, fine, whatever. He decides to just replace it and make another trip to Home Depot or Lowes. You can imagine the scene when we discover that both stores are already closed for the night.
What happens next is a scene right out of National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, except this doesn't involve a deranged father with a chain saw and an over sized Christmas tree. This scene involves a deranged father-to-be, a mailbox, and a cordless screwdriver. I don't dare follow him outside. But, I can hear the screwdriver buzzing away from the safety of the garage. I see him coming back in and try to act casual in the living room. He doesn't come in the living room. He goes into his office, is in there for less than 5 seconds, slams the door shut, and goes back outside. This time, I don't even dare watch from the garage. I am tempted to go look out the front window, but lose my nerve. He is armed with a power tool after all. He comes back in about 5 minutes later, looking quite pleased with himself. He said he "just made some new holes and screwed the mailbox back onto its broken support". Hummm, doesn't sound too bad...Then, I find out he has also used an entire roll of packing tape (which is what he had gotten out of his office when he briefly came back in the house). What in the world did he do with packing tape? He wrapped the tape around the mailbox to hold it onto the support! Oh yes, I am serious. If you happen to drive by our neighborhood, our mailbox will be the one that is sporting an entire roll of packing tape. Hey, at least the tape is clear. Maybe no one will notice.
After getting up this morning and seeing that the sun was shining and reeling in the fact that today could not get any worse than yesterday, I remember that today is Thursday. Trash day. Pick up is early in the morning. Guess what we forgot to do last night? Yep, put the trash out for pick up. I haven't had the heart to break the news to Matthew yet. I'll wait till he's done with his 11 hour shift, I guess. :)
