Category: Slice of Life

A Tale of Two Earrings

I lost one of a favorite pair of earrings last summer. I searched everywhere for it. Every placed I’d been that day at Day Job. My car. Every place I’d stepped or sat at home.  I tossed the widowed earring into a container on my bureau. Periodically I would see it and think I should dispose of it, but I somehow managed not to.

The seasons changed. I wore my fall/spring coat when temperatures required it. I drove to work everyday. I had the car inspected. I made a road trip to a friend’s house in a nearby city for a writing day. I made another road trip to another nearby city with my husband to visit a museum of interest to us.

One chilly morning late this summer, I pulled on my jacket, hopped in my car, and drove to my parents to take them to an appointment. When we came out of the house to get into the car, I discovered the missing earring hanging through the fabric on the back of the driver’s seat. Facing the steering wheel. You know, where I’d sat nearly every day for a year.  Yes, it had been a couple of months since I’d worn that coat, but I had worn it. Repeatedly. Through fall and spring.

Perhaps there’s a black hole or a time warp in my car. Regardless, the earrings are happily united, and I wear them with pleasure.

 

First World “Problem”

Maybe this isn’t a problem, but rather an annoyance. And in the grand scheme of the COVID-era, it’s downright ridiculous.

At my day job, I wear a headset to talk on the phone.

I wear eyeglasses, too, but I’ve never developed the habit of wearing them all the time. On and off, depending on what I’m doing. Yes, I have bifocals. Can’t see the computer screen with either “setting”.  Plus I have a habit of wearing my glasses on top of my head, too.

Since COVID, I also wear a face mask when not sitting in my cubicle.

Three things on my head.

So when I get up to speak to my manager or use the restroom or refill my water container, I need to put on my mask. Sometimes, though, I put on my glasses instead. Or my headset. Because the brain is thinking, “your head needs something on it” and I grab the first thing at hand. I laugh about putting on my mask to read papers. Or my glasses to answer the phone. Or, and I did this just yesterday) my phone rang, so I put on my mask.

I am not saying I run around without my mask. I always catch myself before leaving my workspace.

Maybe old age is setting in.

 

MJ Monday-Music: Boomer!

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If you’ve followed my blog at all, you know that I have been slowly converting my home office into a sanctuary/retreat. I still have a long way to go, but one of things on the never ending list was music. Yes, I can play music through my laptop, but the sound stinks and computers are temperamental. My little red tablet laptop has some of the worst speakers I’ve ever encountered.

I own a couple of “boom boxes”. One is so old, it plays only cassettes. The other originally played both cassettes and CDs, but the cassette portion died years ago. Time for a new “sound system” for my haven.

It plays CDs and cassettes and (allegedly) mp3s, although I need some kind of cable to plug into a jack or something. It’s small. Is the sound awesome? Nope, but it’s a vast improvement over my computers.

Since I unboxed it (it sat untouched for several months), I’ve been listening to a lot of old favorites while I write. I light a scented candle, put on some mellow jazz or New Age music and my stress seems to melt.

This is an investment I do not regret.

Thursday Thought-The Ultimate Custodian

People rarely think about facility managers, or as we used to call them, custodians. I had the privilège to meet and work with a man who set the standard for the best of the best when it came to caring for the building that housed the TV station for which I worked.

Tom was a retired air traffic controller who played ice hockey. His brother worked at the station, so I think that’s how Tom got the custodian position. Now, Tom didn’t mop the floors or clean the bathrooms–we hired a cleaning service to perform those functions at night. But he took care of the building.

Tom arrived at work before anyone else (pre- 24-hour TV era). He went into every single office and checked the lights. Every single morning. A burned-out bulb was a personal affront to him. Once a week he flushed out the drains in the restroom floors to make sure they were clear.  We never ran out of toilet paper, paper towels, or soap. In the winter, he tooled around on his little tractor keep the driveways and parking clear of snow. In the summer, his little tractor converted to a lawn mower, and he kept the grounds immaculate.

His wife Bea was a sweetheart and always made the best ham loaf for our potlucks.

He eventually retired from the job, and although we had some great guys in the position afterward, no one ever reached Tom’s level.

I thought about him the other day when I was getting ready for my daughter’s wedding and pulled out the table cloth his wife made as a wedding gift for me.

Office Update: Oct 2020

My office redo is coming along–not as nicely as I would have liked, mostly due to the fact an airline is holding my money hostage–I had to cancel a trip due to the pandemic and Delta Airlines won’t give me back my money. Thieves.

But I digress.

This book case is now behind the door.

I moved the printer into the office from the hall.

Did some more rearranging of books.

 

And brought in the white board I hope to hang at some point. I have used it several times.

 

I spent a lot of time here this summer, including a four-day virtual conference. It’s much more comfortable now than it was a year ago. More user friendly.