Tuesday, March 28, 2006

One of those days

Yesterday was like one of "those days". When everything goes the wrong way with laser precision. It all started the previous night when, instead of setting my alarm for 7 am, I accidentally set it to 7 pm. Now, that was the first night I was spending in my new apartment, so I could barely sleep till past midnight, when I surprisingly dozed off into deep slumber.

9:00
As it had to happen, my alarm didn't ring, and I didn't realize the reason when I jerked open my eyes into the glaring sun (Told you, first night, didn't know east from west). It was 9 and I was expected to be at work at 8:30. I ran into the shower with gusto and was scrubbing when I heard my cell ring. I grabbed it and regretted my doing so the moment I pressed the green button. It was from the rental office reminding me I hadn't given them the check. Dammit! I rushed out as fast as I could to the bank nearby, got a cashier's check and dropped it off on my way to work.

9:55
Well, the bad streak continued when I realized I was lost and didn't remember how to get onto 270 N. After a couple of miles, I decided to ask and pulled into a gas station. The lady there sounded a little peeved at my query for no reason (probably she was expecting I'd buy something) and reluctantly showed me the way. I drove off at top speed, only to realize the fuel indicator on my car was hovering below the
E-for-empty mark. I was in a gas station a minute ago dammit! Another exit and 10 minutes wasted in filling up my new baby - a sleek Saturn Coupe.

10:12
I drove the 25 miles to work at the top speed my car could make, thankfully all the cops were on the other side catching cars going in the rush hour traffic (I was going against traffic, the sole reason for living on this side of town rather than that!) ..

10:45
Sliding into the first spot available in the lot, I rushed towards the building, all the while thinking that I should take the entrance farther away from my boss' cube. But it was "the" day, and I had to be a dimwit. So, I took the wrong entrance, and there she was, coffee mug in hand talking to one of my teammates. She smiled. I smiled. She smiled again. And I muttered I got lost on the highway and it was my first day in my new house and there was no gas in my car and I had to drop off a check at my rental office - you know, all the standard reasons that anybody would have given to escape a late entry, except that I gave all of them in one go and that made it look all the more fishy.

10:55
Sweating, I slid into my seat thinking what else could go wrong in an already cracked-up morning, when this cup of coffee landed on my neighbor's table from his hand, spilling half of it on my laptop.