The day started with me waking early and leaping from my bed, full of joy and ready for action. I’m not sure why, and I should have suspected it was too good to be true.
Breakfast was good – cold sausage sandwiches with brown sauce. Not to everyone’s taste, I know, but I like them.
The journey to work was fair and I managed to park outside the shop, though some idiot had parked so badly they had managed to use two spaces. I’ll skate over the next few hours. The shop was hot and airless, we’re having a few problems on eBay and I have a co-worker with the acquisitive habits of a pack rat. If I put anything down on the desk – pen, tape, ruler, stamps or scissors – it mysteriously disappears and reappears in his work space. It’s an annoyingly inefficient way of working.
This all paled into insignificance after the horror that was “doing the laundry”. I managed to get out of doing it yesterday but Julia cornered me tonight and we ended up in the launderette. It was hot. Someone had three driers going. And the woman who looks after it came in halfway through kept moving us so she could clean.
This was bad enough, but when we started to unload the machine at the end we found we’d ruined two of my pens by putting them through the hot wash.
I was devastated. They cost me 99p each. However, I’m a happy-go-lucky sort of bloke and am trying not to let it upset me too much.
Julia, on the other hand, is taking it quite badly.
It seems that black spots on white work blouses and brown linen tops are Bad Things. Very Bad Things.
I am not popular.
I’ve used a picture of Tim Hunkin’s dog from Southwold Pier – if he had a house we’d be sharing it tonight.
I love the way you share stuff we’ve all been through. But, from your vantage, there is a smile and a cheeky grin. Thank you for brightening my day. Hope you’re not in the doghouse long. I invest in those colour catch sheets, but I’m not sure how effective they are with Biro ink. Perhaps we should run a test? 😉
I’m forgiven at the moment but throwing a couple of pens and a colour catch sheet into the laundry could easily see that situation reversed. 🙂
I used to work with someone like your co-worker. Every so often, in the interests of fairness, she’d empty her desk and distribute the contents randomly on everyone else’s. And then the process would start over.
After 25 years working by myself I’m finding it quite instructive. 🙂
I freelanced for a while, so I think I know what you’re talking about. I found I missed casual conversation. However annoying other humans can be, I missed them.
Yes, they can be annoying. However, on balance I think I’ll persist – just under seven years to pension!
Hmm, that’s why in our house my husband is pretty much forbidden to do laundry. The real reason is because he will ruin it, waste water, maybe waste hot expensive water, maybe wash pens and receipts and used kleenex and many other things, and he will wash only a couple of things while he is at it, so it all adds up to PLEASE DON’T DO IT. However, he does try to be helpful, and tries to sneak it past me so I don’t notice and get upset, especially if my health is poor. When the water gushes out the back of the machine and floods the hallway or similar though, it’s harder to hide.
I’m usually not to bad – having many disaster free years of laundry behind me. I’ts probably part of the ageing process. I’m just not as good as I used to be.
Same in our household–mistakes happen and we cut each other some slack, but Sharp Words Do Get Said at times.
That’s why I ran away and read a book on piers. Sharp Words have a habit of escalating.
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But on the upside you won’t be asked to do the laundry again!
Oh dear oh dear. But it made an excellent post. When my last two children were younger, they and their mother would appropriate all my equipment such as you mention from my desk. One Christmas a client gave me a little bag she’d made with scissors, pens, pencils, etc inside. I must have made the odd comment when looking for stuff.
Excellent present! It’s hard not to comment when looking for the stapler for the third time in three days isn’t it?
You got it. I even had my name on it 🙂
🙂
Oh, oh! Not sure if I should “like” this one. Sounds like quite a bad day, especially the ending.
Yes, I really liked those pens! 🙂
I bought her some bleach and she got most of it out of the work blouses. Sadly the linen tops weren’t so easy – we’re thinking of dying them.
Sigh.
That was what Julia said too. 🙂
Oh, wow. As soon as you said you washed the pens, I thought, “What about the clothes?” I have heard hair spray works on ink. If you can get to it before you dry the clothes, that’s all the better. Good luck!
Unfortunately we’d dried them before we realised.
I like the dog. You need to empty your pockets…
Normally I do. In fact I’d go so far as to say it;s normally Julia who leaves stuff in her pockets!
The washing catastrophe is something I can identify with.
Glad it’s not just me. 🙂
Ooops!
These things are sent to try us… As Julia said as she glared at me meaningfully.
😀
Perhaps tomorrow things will be better.
It was sort of better – could have been worse thanks. 🙂
Oh dear Big hugs.
Thank you. I was less popular than Theresa May for a while last night.
Oh dear.
🙂 It has passed…
That is good. 👍🙂
It is. Though I still have to replace the pens. 🙂
Could be Worse I suppose.
Could be a lot worse – I might have lost three pens. Or it might have been my clothes that got stained. 🙂