Eric worked today, and he had to be there by 5:00am (yes, 5:00am), so he got up at 3:30am and left around 4:15am. I fell right back to sleep, but there’s this guy who coughs really loud every morning (it really sounds like he’s throwing up). The first time I heard it, I figured he must have had a rough nite and was paying for it the next day. But then I heard it again, and again, and again, and again! Either he’s a raging alcoholic who throws up every morning, or he’s a smoker who wakes up with a hacking cough. Either way, it’s disgusting! It’s also amazing how loud you can hear it through the floor. It sounds like he’s in the next room. Then, I hear him flush the toilet and go into the shower. Nice.
My ride picked me up and I got to work a little before 8:00am. First thing, my computer wouldn’t turn on. I called Tech Support and this guy came and fixed it by just fiddling around with it. As soon as he got back to his desk, I called him again, because now I couldn’t log onto MICROSOFT OUTLOOK. He came back, checked a port in the closet and said my plug was plugged into the wrong port. Huh? How did THAT happen?
Then, I had to call him a THIRD time (immediately following the first two times), because it was taking 5 minutes to launch a 2-page document! I had no idea what was going on, but he “took over my mouse” from his location (it’s weird how they can do that) and figured out that something was running in the background, which was causing the delays.
By 8:30am I had my decaf coffee, my NUTRISYSTEM cereal was ready to eat and my computer was up and running. NOT the way I like to start my day, but at least the problems were resolved quickly!
I knew this morning was going to be crazy, because I was preparing three different packets of presentation materials my boss would be using in St. Louis on Thursday. I had to be sure they were shipped out this afternoon, for delivery tomorrow, so he could use them on Thursday.
I worked with him on getting it all put together (he told me what should go where in each packet and I made up 3 copies of 1; 6 copies of another; and 1 copy of a third. It was all very confusing, but I'm pretty sure I got it all done correctly. I'm sure I'll hear about it if I didn't!
He left at 11:15am to catch a plane, and I spent the next few hours getting it all done. I stopped for lunch – NUTRISYSTEM vegetarian chili and a small salad -- and then got it all finished by 2:30pm.
I had a few other projects from other people in the department, and then by 4:00pm I was done. I had done everything I could possibly think of. Nothing left to do. Not a thing. The last hour of the day seemed like three. I went on YAHOO and sent a few emails and read all the news.
At 5:00pm I got a ride home. Eric was in bed when I got home. He worked almost 12 hours! I didn’t want to bother him, but he did wake up long enough to say hello. I told him to take a nap and I'd wake him for dinner.
I set about making our dinner – chicken cutlets for him; a piece of salmon for me, with asparagus and some of my soup. We ate together while watching TWO AND A HALF MEN. That’s a really funny show and one of Eric’s favorites.
After dinner I washed all the dishes and then got a call from one of my customers, who became a friend. Sabrina was a regular in my shop. She would come in once or twice a week and almost always bought something. She has a wall in her apartment with about 15 different works of art and most of them were purchased in PEPPY’S DREAM! She asked me about work, about Eric, and about our lives here.
Sabrina said something that really struck me. She said it’s like we moved to another country. She said that we should be proud of ourselves, because except for the fact that we spoke the language, we were in a completely strange and new environment and didn’t know anyone and managed to find jobs and get settled in an apartment. She said it was a big accomplishment and that most people would be afraid to even try. I never thought of it that way, but it made me feel good.
After I hung up the phone I continued my hunt for pink jewelry to make the commissioned piece for Gili Anna. I’m kind of disappointed, because I can’t find as much as I had hoped. I’m going to have to mix some creams and beiges in there with the pinks.
I watched a new reality show called GIRLICIOUS with 15 gorgeous young women competing to be in a new girl group put together by the same woman who put together THE PUSSY CAT DOLLS. I love watching people sing and dance, so it’s interesting to me, although there’s always a bitch in the crowd! I hate that people have to be so mean. Can’t they all just get along?
At around 9:30am Eric went to bed. He has to be to work a little after 5:00am tomorrow. He was actually in a pretty good mood tonight. He didn’t speak much about his day, but I think he’s happy that he’s working. I think he made the boss realize that he was going to lose him if he didn’t give him more work. We’ll see if it lasts.
Tomorrow is probably going to be REALLY slow for me at work, because my boss won’t be in (he won’t be back until Friday), and there’s just not that much to do when he’s not around! I wish I could do my crafting, or at least read a book while I’m sitting there, but I don’t know how they’d feel about it. Maybe I’ll just try reading, and see if I get in trouble! What’s the worst they can do? Tell me to put the book away? I can handle that! At least I’m not on the phone, or away from my desk. I’m there if they need me – ready, willing and able!