If you are expecting life-altering drama or humor, then you’re going to be disappointed.
I noticed at lunchtime today that this day would probably be lost among thousands of others as typical, uneventful or just plain forgettable. This is not a bad thing. I could be sitting on the edge of some high drama, a tense family situation, unrest at work, a crisis of obligation or responsibility. Though I do not claim a trouble free life, things are at least for the moment at a relative calm.
Nor is there any high glee.
This morning was typical, though my brain seemed to be a bit scattered. I had spent the night’s dream cycle running from tornadoes and waterspouts, though not really with a sense of imminent peril, more of a duck out of water, deer in the headlights sensation than fear. The morning was dark, but not too dark, cool, but not too cool. The weather and traffic reports were unexciting, the news was lacking high drama, the most critical issue seemed to be whether the first lady should have initiated physical contact with the Queen, followed by an update on that freeloading freak in California with all the babies.
The scattered brain situation did not ebb during my commute as it often does. This happens once in a while. At work I was not working on a specific project, with a specific goal, so my hopes for focus were diminishing. That is not to say I didn’t have anything to do. Some follow up work on some scheduled batch jobs that had gone foul, a few checks of the more minor systems just to see if any computer cancers or volcanoes were welling up. A call or two about some printers refusing to do the only thing they are ever required to do. (a few clicks later and they are happy again.) Email, email, email, wading through the pile separating the wheat from the chaff.
By lunchtime, still no focus, the day was turning into a not-unfamiliar disjointed exercise of doing those things that the day's issues required as they occurred.
I listened to a talk radio show at lunch as I drove around for a couple of minor errands. I stopped at a park and listened further while enjoying a package of off-brand cheese crackers. Today’s topics were meandering, something about the G20 conference, and even more about the queen / first lady protocol crisis. I drifted.
Back at work I scanned email, checked and tweaked those batch jobs again, took care of some more printing issues and reviewed the document for the upcoming system copy. I replied to a couple of emails that seemed to be asking questions I specifically remembered answering already. It seemed as though I wasn’t the only person suffering day torn from the pages of a Kafka novel.
Chad stopped by to ask talk about dog training for his six month old Boston terrier. He asked me to quote a price, several times. I refused and told him to contact Angel since I did not feel qualified, ever, to price her services. He seemed reluctant, I think because he’s afraid of my wife.
Vicky was back form her trip to Jamaica, all tanned, happy and chatty. She stopped by to say hi, or boast, or ask a question, I didn’t really pay that much attention.
By mid-afternoon, I reassessed my day. Nope, no change. Disjointed, lacking in theme, color and melody, merely a series of unconnected minor events. The rain had moved in, a light, misty sprinkle really, not threatening in any way. The sky did not darken enough to affect my already neutral mood.
The rest of the workday was equally uneventful, which as a system administrator is a good thing. Some days you boldly fight fires, some days you heroically rescue kittens, some days you just wash the truck and check the hoses.
The commute home was better, simply because it was the commute toward home joined with the realization that I had no pressing plans or requirements for the evening.
The dog count at home has been at eight all week. Our five, two fosters and one boarder. The boarder is either Stella or Bella, depending on which Vet document we look at. We stuck with the latter. Bella’s owner is the mother in law of Jim, a guy I work with. She’d had the curly haired lapdog only for a short time before she had to go to the hospital for hip surgery followed by a few weeks of recovery and recuperation.
Bella progressed rather well in training and thoroughly enjoys the attention and company of all the other dogs. She loves to play fetch, preferably with a toy that is half her size or more, dragging it, dropping at Angel’s feet, then sitting, smiling and panting expectantly.
Dinner was sandwiches, deli roast beef. I sautéed some onions and peppers for mine. Store bought potato salad, a kosher dill pickle, we’re talking a near perfect meal. As usual we ate separately, dinner time being reading time for me, a couple or three chapters of a cop/psychologist novel.
Myster, my pit bull, hung around at my feet, waiting for me to drop some crumbs, then checked my chair and the table’s edges when I was done. It was then time for his first evening walk. Since spring has arrived, it’s his favorite walk of the day; It’s still daylight and we can go into the woods. Plenty to sniff, plenty of birds and squirrels.
Soon it was time to join the family in the living room for our nightly ritual of poetry reading, quilting, scrap booking, charades and sing-alongs…. Actually, we just watch TV and talk about the shows, but the bonding experience is exactly the same I assure you.
None of us are very chatty when sober and we rarely even bother anymore to ask each other about anything that will just end up being answered with “fine”. Instead, if anyone DOES happen to have anything new or interesting to report, on any subject, including how work or school was, the floor is always open. It is each individual’s own responsibility to initiate the conversation.
We laugh together, mock the people on TV, tease each other a bit, and generally have a good time. Then some wine to initiate drowsiness and a perfectly typical, forgettable day is over.
It is days like this I think, that I actually enjoy the most.
