Friday

It is Friday before a three day weekend. Where I work, we do not get blow-off days. I don't think I've had more than two or three in my four years at this job. That is not a bad thing. It keeps us on our toes. it is not for everyone. Not every one can be 'on' every day. I didn't think I had it in me at first.

first thing this morning I did the whole routine. When I got around to my contacts, the left contact refused to cooperate. I made it out the door and across the street before aborting and heading back to the house to get my glasses.

Nat heard me sneeze and offered me a ride to work. "Sweet." says I.

Elle needed a shower before school so Nat pried her out out of bed early. While they were occupied I tried to order contacts.

There are fifteen trillion web pages to order contacts. I took the first ten and narrowed them down to five, then two, then one. by the time I had entered most of the ordering information I decided to go with a different web page. Why do they need my doctor's information? It isn't like they are going to call and make sure I didn't screw up the order. They all charge a price per box based on the number of boxes you order. I just know contact lenses are cheap to make. it is the liability that costs money. so if they can charge you for 1 box or 10 boxes, they have about the same liability expense. I only need two boxes.

I ran out of time. I didn't get the contacts ordered in the thirty minutes I had to do so. It takes longer. I've pretty much decided whether to buy. That took most of the time. It is just a matter of plugging information in to a form at this point.

Nat tried to convince me to have little pancakes with Elle at school. I have been craving pancakes, but I want to get some real pancakes this weekend somewhere. Nat didn't tell me that she had intended to join Elle for breakfast this morning without me until we were pulling away from the school. Dang-it. I felt two inches tall. I didn't mean to keep her from sharing that time with Elle. We are going to have to schedule time next week for breakfast.

In the elevator, a guy was complaining about being sued. His lawyer was a dip shit. It made me never want to sue or be sued. It would be a better life for me if all that could be avoided.

I was pulled aside to help with one project and missed the meeting for the other. My role comes in to play at the end of things so I'm quite in demand at the moment. This was not a big deal because all the information said in the meeting was useless and changed by lunch time. Then changed some more.

The thing I do was due to be done early in the day today. I wish that meant I could take off early or a half day or something. That is not in the cards. I need to stick around in case there are troubles with the thing I do.

By the time I got my 'big task' done, many people were headed out for the weekend. it was 14:00 or so.  I sat for a moment listening to a podcast that contained fiction. it was a disturbing, but fascinating. I was adrift for a moment. Some things worked and some thing broke. I had to work more before I could go home.

Go home. Nothing sounds better to a working stiff. I fear I will work until I die. I have no retirement to speak of. I fear not being able to work even more than working for ever. That makes me a working man.

A Cure song came on and took me back to the late eighties. I was a waste of a human life. No prospects. I was not even any good at digging ditches. That is how I felt at the time anyway. I'm a bit more confident now, but not a lot.

Nat called me right before I was ready to leave for the day. She asked how work was going and offered me a ride. Hey, I'll take you up on that any time. I said my goodbyes at work. It is a holiday weekend after all. I have been watching Dead Like Me a lot lately and they hang out in a diner and the lead character Roob cares how his eggs look. That makes me want pancakes. I've mentioned this to Nat.

Nat and Elle were in the car of course. We turned right instead of left at Westhiemer. "Where are we going?" asks I.

"Crazy. And you are along for the ride." says Nat.

"Where are we going?" asks I.

"Crazy. And you are along for the ride." says Nat.

"Where are we going?" asks I.

"Crazy. And you are along for the ride." says Nat.

"Elle, Where are we going?" asks I.

"Don't you dare or you are grounded!" asserts Nat. Elle remained silent.

We took a right on the Beltway. Are we headed to my parents? No ... We ... are pulling in to I-HOP!! Whoo-hoo! Pancakes. I also got fried eggs and toast because I wanted a fried egg sandwich.

Our server was in pain. She did a great job.

Nat and I both went home and crashed. I really hope Elle got to bed at a decent time.