It’s hard to dislike any day as I’m approaching the age at which FDR, U S Grant, General Lee, Alfred Nobel and Audrey Hepburn all died. The are are others, but that is enough for now. If you are of a similar morbid turn of mind you can look things up here.
However, of all the days of the week, Friday is probably the one when I am least pleased to wake up and realise I have survived another day. It’s the only day of the week when I have to go to work, so it’s tainted with the “back to work” feeling that I remember from the days I had a job I ‘didn’t like.
It started off badly when I couldn’t find some of the things I needed for parcels and ended badly when I got into a queue at the Post Office and found I was behind someone with a rudimentary grasp of parcels. He ended up having to repack it at the counter as he was returning some mail order clothing and thought it was OK to bundle it up in a plastic bag and leave the return address inside. It’s possible that postmen in his country have X-Ray vision, or just open parcels as a matter of course, because it took a lot of explaining before he grasped the idea that the return label should be on the outside.
Meanwhile, a man has just started a complaint against us on eBay as he hasn’t had an item he ordered. He ordered it last Friday, so at best it’s only been a week. A week is a bit soon to start complaining, even at the best of times. In times of COVID it’s definitely a bit too soon. He ordered after we closed on Friday, we posted it on Monday, the next day we were open and it has, since then, been in the hands of the Post Office. Words do not fail me, it’s just that they aren’t suitable for polite company.
That sums up my day. Fortunately, better weather is on the waya nd Spring is just around the corner. Six more weeks and I might try smiling again.
The night sky is a shot from January last year, when I actually used to go out and take photographs.
The post seems very variable. I received a consignment of dates almost before I had ordered it the other day. Christmas cards we sent on the last posting day have just been delivered.
Even in times of supposed efficiency we have variable results – we posted two letters to the sam branch of Argos (the customer was using them for the delivery so you have to send each item using a different code in the address. Posted together. One arrived next day, one arrived five days later. He was all over us complaining for five days – my fault, it seems, that the POst Office did not deliver them on the same day. 🙂
It is good that you are acting as an outlet for his anger and it is not being directed towards invading the Houses of Parliament with weapons in hand. You are performing a social service.
🙂 I will try to think of it that way next time it happens. I may even take a replacement round and insert it personally.
There are still people out there who have no inclination what a pandemic entails, it must be nice to be that simple!
Yes, ignorance is bliss. I was reading an article about features of highly intelligent people and it mentioned that they worried more. THey also thought they were less intelligent than they really were, because they knew how much they didn’t know. Less intelligent people over-rated themselves because they didn’t realise they don’t know, if you want to see it explained properly. It’s the Dunning–Kruger effect.
I saw my Dad’s age at death as a milestone. I believe many do, in which case you should be around quite a bit longer.
Time will tell. I really must start exercising and cutting back on fried food. 🙂
I was considering the same topic when Big Jack went to football heaven a few weeks ago, apparently it’s our age. We start considering our mortality. But I tend to consider it with a greater intensity when in a queue. 😉
Yes, all these people who were notable features of our youth, all dropping off the perch. Norman Hunter is a bit closer to our age (76 when he died). When ex-sportsmen start dying when they are less than 20 years older than us, it’s time to start thinking about eating fewer chips (in my case anyway). 🙂
I keep thinking about stopping smoking/drinking and eating less chips but then I fear Alzheimer’s and think an early finish might be a better option?
Experience with Alzheimer’s suggests that after a period of angry adjustment you enter a happy place. IT could be worse.
Hmmm didn’t know that, thought it was just anger then complete confusion 😌
No, my dad was quite happy for three or four years once he passed the point where he knew what was happening.
Hmmm that’s really interesting may have to rethink. It’s not what is generally explained
There are a lot of different sorts – when we ran the farm project we had a man in his late 40s, who cursed and swore and was generally aggressive.
My Mum had Parkinson’s and seemed to have dementia. We put her in a home because she needed better care than dad could provide and they altered her medication. She recovered a lot of her faculties and was, for a time, very unhappy at being in a home, but gradually came to appreciate it.
Very different from dad, who went in voluntarily after falling and being on the floor all night.
I’m not looking forward to old age.
During this time of Covid-19, I mailed books the beginning of December, and folks are just getting them now.
Yes, it can be slow. However, with Christmas and staff absences thy are not having an easy time.
I don’t envy you the PO queue.
Sometimes we walk in and out with no problem, other times it reaches the door. Fortunately everybody seems to wear masks.
Same here!
Hang in there, Quercus. The news continues to get weirder and weirder over on our side of the Pond, and every day can start feeling like your Friday. On the bright side, I did spend t he last two mostly sunny days working on refurbishing two barrel planters and finally planting several purple plum trees that had been patiently waiting in pots for the 2 years. That is done, and I feel better already. 🙂 On the minus side, I found the voles have eaten most of my bulbs. 🙁 They can be replanted though. 🙂
I was once told,, when discussing bulbs in pots, that grating strong smelling soap into the pot would deter squirrels. Can’t tell you if it works as I covered the tops with wire mesh, which also solved my problem. Soap might work for voles and bulbs in the open garden. 🙂
If he soap does not deter them, we’ll at least have very clean, sweet smelling voles. 🙂
I’m sure there’s another poem in there somewhere! 🙂