And behind you, I have warned you, there are awful things

This year has not started off very well for me. Yesterday's fear of losing my job coupled with today's car issues, has left me pining for the simpler days of 2007, which wasn't exactly a banner year. Anyhow, here's the skinny on today:

--Took my car to the garage. No problems yet.

--While there, I was asked if needed to take any keys off my key chain with me. I thought about it for a few seconds and said I didn't. This lack of foresight will come back to haunt me.

--At work I tried to instill in my staff the need to step things up a notch in order to finish inventory and other assorted tasks in a timely manner. They didn't feel the sense of urgency I tried to convey. Ryan acted like the petulant child he's prone to act like, questioning every single fucking thing I told him to do, and Kim, well Kim is usually my right hand woman, but she wasn't much more effective than Ryan today.

--Around ten, I got a call from the mechanic asking me to come down and take a drive with him. He couldn't hear the thumping noise I complained about and wanted me to point it out to him. I hopped in the pickup and drove down immediately, spurred on by the desire to have this matter put to bed as soon as possible. I took the mechanic, a dead ringer for David Caruso in looks and demeanor, for a drive and, in keeping with Murphy's Law, the thumping sound that had been prevalent only hours before, decided to be shy and not make an appearance. I shook my head ruefully and just as we were pulling back into the garage, the car made the noise. Finally.

--Back at work, I got a call around eleven from the mechanic explaining that I needed new ball joints, an alignment, tire rod, blah, blah, blah, which would cost me close to eight hundred smackers. Perfect. I wondered if I'd ever see a bill lower than seven hundred where my car was concerned.

--I took the pickup home for lunch and looked forward to a nice meal and a little quiet time. As I got out of the truck, I realized I didn't have my house key with me because it was with the other keys at the garage. I called Marie, my landlord, and asked her with a little embarrassment to let me in the house. She came down and tried a bunch of keys. None of them worked. She went upstairs to grab another set of keys. They didn't work either. Fuck! I drove back to the garage, which fortunately was close to my house, and grabbed my house key. Needless to say, my lunch wasn't very relaxing.

--We were without heat for most of the day at work because we ran out of oil. Good timing, considering today was one of the coldest days of the winter. Kim and Ryan complained incessantly, chiming "It's cold, it's so cold" over and over again like a couple of hatched Robins. Short of telling them to shut the fuck up and stop being whiny little pussies, I told them to focus on other things, like work, to distract them from the cold. When they started up again with the complaining, I told them to shut the fuck up and stop being whiny little pussies. Then they shut up.

--Kim took me to the garage after work. I pulled out a check and was told they don't take checks. Foolish me, I had it in my head that a check represented money. My bad. Since I didn't have a credit card handy (don't ask), I was going to have to leave my car there until I got the cash together. Having sympathy for me, the owner said he'd take five hundred in cash and I could pay the rest in check. I had to walk about a half mile before I found an ATM that would dispense the proper amount. Good times.

So today was frustrating, but I didn't give up and I'm not about to slit my wrists or stuff glass in my eyes, which will disappoint some of you, I'm sure. Even though there were points during the day when I felt the level of stress that spawned the thought, "Oh, so this is how people end up having heart attacks", I still came out on top. I'm going to take a nice hot soak and will relax for the rest of the night. Sometimes that's enough.