Riding the Roller Coaster

I think we all know what the title refers to but let’s save that for later. First we have to dig into the happenings of the morning hours. It wasn’t a quick start out of the gate and I found myself pressed for time. Staying up late to get punched in the heart started me down a dark path right from the first leg swinging out over the edge of the mattress. Every little thing was an amplified personal slight against me. With less than normal time I felt I could get the mail, put the garbage out and McBreakfast. First two errands went well. Waited in the drive thru line for ten precious minutes to be told they don’t have debit at the moment and if need to pay cash when I rolled up on the window. Not only was I not going to get served, I had to gut out the incredibly slow lineup. With a meeting looming, I was in a rush to get home. I was eventually able to go wide and sneak out around the other cars. I needed to put something in my guts before work so I fired up the coffee maker. The stream it produced was akin to an elderly man with a swollen prostate trying to piss in the night. It was fine the day before, just out to get me. I only had enough time to make a half dose. I joined the meeting as it started. I didn’t get a chance to say hello and didn’t speak for the next ninety minutes. To be consistent I didn’t say goodbye either. I was just hiding in the crowd. I actually still had my face covering on the entire time, not over my face but on.

I was able to open some files today and spent the better part of an hour on the phone with IT. No fix and empty promises of elevating to a more specialized team again. The worst. I had a good chat with a former colleague before the lunch bell rang. Campbell’s Chicken Thai soup answered the bell. Rather than take my summer hours, I just hammered down once back at the helm. The inability to work hard the previous day bothered me so I made up some time and went right to the limit. I outsourced dinner and ordered a pizza and sides. Most of it was fridged. By the time it was all cleaned up and put away it was game time. Game four of the Leafs and Jackets with the CBJ squad owning a 2-1 series lead in the best of five. A loss here means the end of the line for the beloved Leafs. The boys had scheduled a group call so some of us were going to gut it out together, like a support group. Things started terribly and got worse. When it was 3-0 for the bad guys with half a period to go I freaked and turned it off. Instead I started watching YouTube on the big screen. I stayed on the call with the boys, although my mic stopped working when I turned off my headphones. Eventually I sorted my issue out. Moments after I switched what I was watching the Leafs scored. Then again! 3-2! I couldn’t switch back, I might jinx it. So I continued with my fishing videos. The best part was that several guys were at different timings with their streams. The guy with cable was ahead of the rest. His eyes would go big then down the line another guy or two before they’d erupt. It was comical to watch the delayed reactions. They tied it up and we talked about how much worse it would be if they lost in OT. The previous night they lost in overtime but it was a much, much worse experience, this would hurt much less. We’ll never know though because they did it. They forced a game five, a final and deciding game five to determine who gets into the actual playoffs. I was a bit ramped up so it was nigh on two in the morning when I finally snuffed out the day. Tomorrow should be interesting.