The best laid plans of mice and men...and me.

The job today was incredibly tedious. I had 97 emails with addresses that needed to go into an Excel file. Then, I had to design a label file with their logo and address that I could use for a mail merge. I did finally merge the mailing list after six trial runs. That meant everything was ready for assembly. The CD's got stuffed into the mailers, the mailers were taped shut, the postage was applied, and the labels adhered. 97 times. Since they had spent several days with the administrative assistance typing them one by one, they were elated that I got them all done before 2:00. So, they had me type up the handwritten list of the previous mailings (126 names, the same names that she typed twice, once for the first mailing and again for the second mailing) and clean out the server room to boot. All of that for $86 dollars.

The most difficult part was that I was actually patted on the head TWICE! Good Girl was the comment of the day. I AM TURNING 40! Why do I give the impression that I am just a girl?????????

On the way home, at L'Enfant plaza, where I had to change trains, this man began blowing a whistle and telling everyone to stay exactly where they were. Then a train pulled up and there was this mad rush of humanity all determined to board the train and get away from the crazy man. He had his hand in is pocket, and I kept thinking about was getting shot in a rage spree.

The train turned out to be the green line. I needed the yellow line. So, I got off at the next stop and hopped on a green train going in the opposite direction. Then, back to L'Enfant plaza. Nearly all the people were gone, including the crazy man, so I waited for the next yellow train and somehow ended up all they way at the north end of the line. I had to get off the train and wait for one in the opposite direction again. Back to L'Enfant plaza. Two hours...I spent two hours coming home when it should have taken me about 40 minutes.

I did try to keep to my plan and get the Armstrong Tiles from The Home Depot. Choosing the color was a bit agonizing, but I finally made a decision. Then I tried to pick up the first of the six boxes I would need for this project. I had absolutely no idea how heavy they were.

I grew so incredibly frustrated as I struggled to get those boxes into the cart, push them through the store, and then put them in my car. I asked for help. Again, I didn't get any, although there were plenty of men standing around. So, the down side is that I had to go straight from The Home Depot to the ER because of my asthma. Those ER cubicles have to be one of the loneliest places on earth.

On top of this day is the fact that I am taking nine different medicines right now and FIVE of them have side effects of nausea, dizziness, and intense headaches.

Needless to say, I guess I will have to start my project tomorrow and do it a lot more slowly than I thought so that my lungs can recover. Somehow, I will have to figure out how to get the boxes to the basement or take them down a few tiles at a time (way too many trips).

Given this day, I am trying to reflect upon the positive: I rode the train without losing a cell phone. I earned some money. I didn't have to order the tiles.