March for Babies

Thursday, June 10, 2004

I am NOT the Master

My friend S thinks that I am a master of time management and organization. I will use the events of this afternoon to illustrate the fact that while I do embody a little of each of these characteristics, I am not, in fact a master of either.
My car was in the shop today getting new brake pads and rotors installed. This required me to take my husband to work this morning and leave him stranded while I drove his car to work myself. He was able to get a ride home with a friend after work where he would wait for me to get home and we would go pick up my car from the garage. Sounds simple enough right?
As I sat down at my desk this morning with my first cup of coffee (decaf for those of you who are keeping track) I powered up my pocket pc to see what was on the schedule for today. I realized then that I had completely forgotten my 5:30pm massage. This was a problem. There is no way that T will remember my standing appointment (every other Thursday from 5:30 to 6pm) especially since I had forgotten it myself. I would have to call him to see if he wanted me to cancel or just wait until later in the evening to go retrieve my car.
At lunchtime it occurred to me that not only had I not called T about the afternoon scheduling conflict, I had also forgotten to call my Tupperware lady about a couple pieces I needed to fulfill an order from the book party I had hosted a couple weeks ago. Damn. I have to remember to do that.
Sometime around 3:00 I realized that I still had not called T and immediately did so. His response was "So". We decided that I would go pay for the car right after work, go get my massage and we would pick up the car later in the evening. He also reminded me to put gas in his car since it was getting low. OK, good we have a plan.
Around 4:00 I got to thinking that there may not be time to get down to the garage and then out to my massage in the 30 minutes between quitin' time and my appointment time. hmmm. Maybe I should leave a few minutes early to give myself that extra time, 4:40 should be good. Great, that's what I'll do.
At around twenty after 4:00 I decide it is time to let my boss know (whoops, I mean ask him) that I wanted to leave a early this afternoon, say in about 20 minutes or so. No problem. Whew! So that's all set. (Maybe I'm not so bad at this after all)
So, at 4:40 I hit the road and get to the garage and pay for my car. I asked if they had taken the old car batteries out of the trunk that T wanted them to dispose of, no. This question also reminds them that they were supposed to realign my headlights which have been whacked out ever since November of 2001 when I hit a deer. The passenger headlight was replaced but not aimed correctly and I've just put up with it ever since. They can take the batteries and fix the headlight right then while I wait if I would swing the car back around in the shop. Ok, this shouldn't take that long, right? It didn't take long actually, I was still in good shape. I could definitely get to my appointment by 5:30.
I pull my husband's car back out onto the road and the low fuel light comes on. Oh No! When this thing is empty it means it, my car you can squeeze out a few miles on fumes but not his Firebird. So, I have to stop for gas on the way to the massage. How long does it take to fuel a car, 2 or 3 minutes? That shouldn't be a problem. Except I got stuck at every red light between the garage and the gas station. Stopped at one of these lights I think maybe I should call K (massage therapist and fellow Endo sufferer) and tell her I'll be just a couple minutes late but I'm on my way. I reach for the phone and realize that I'm down to my last bar on the battery. I could probably dial her number before it quit. If only I had grabbed the phone charger out of my car while I was still at the shop! I returned the phone to my purse and said "shit"!
All fuelled up and ready for my massage and now having to pee really badly I headed off trying to think of the quickest way to get there and also the best way to explain a)why I was late and b)that I wanted her to wait a few more minutes while I relieved myself before we got down to business. I was stopped at a few more red lights which gave me time to swear a little more and also realize that though this is a standing appointment to which I am rushing, neither one of us had confirmed the appointment this time. hmmm. I hope she's there.
I finally pull onto the street and search the street and driveways for her car. (She does massage out of her parent's house so they can watch her daughter while she's working. They just moved last month and this was only my second time going to the new house.) I think I picked the right house but I didn't see her car anywhere. I check the clock. It is 5:40. Shit. Was I too late? Did she get a ride from someone else? She's had some issues with her dad lately, I wonder if she's not doing massage here anymore. She called me last time she had to reschedule, she didn't call me this time. Did she wait, decide that I wasn't going to show and leave early? Was 10 minutes fashionably late or a no show? I was thinking that it just required extra apologies and maybe the time deducted from my massage. Well, she wasn't there, according to my visual search for her car and I still had to pee and I still wasn't sure she remembered and I really didn't want to go knock on the door and ask if K was home. If she wasn't and I thought she was supposed to be that would make her look irresponsible to her parents and not help her situation with her dad. Shit.
I have to pee. Fuck it, I'll go to the library around the corner and use their ladies room and then go home.
So, lets review the skills in which I need improvement.
1)Communication (calling those I should, confirming appointments, checking with my boss about leaving early before I actually have to go,etc.)
2)Time Management (actually using the damn pocket pc, going to the ladies room before leaving work)
3)Organization (keeping my phone charged, actually using the damn pocket pc, etc.)

Sorry S, it looks like you've got the wrong gal. You'll have to find the master elsewhere, and let me know when you do, I need some pointers.

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