Wednesday, February 1, 2012

A Slightly Bizarre Day


Yesterday was a fun day, but it had elements of weirdness about it.  For starters, it was Tuesday, and, while on some level, I actually knew that it was Tuesday, I was convinced that it was really Wednesday.  (And consequently that today is Thursday.)  My work schedule has nothing definite about it, the only constants being that I work every other weekend, and never on Thursday. Other than that, it changes every week. This can lead to confusion, as there are some almost–but-not-always “not quite constants” about it.  One of those is that I usually, but not always, work on Tuesday.

I was having that delightful pair, The Twins, for dinner, and I must have checked the calendar at least three times to reassure myself that I was on track.  I kept telling myself, “Although you seem determined to have it be Wednesday, it really is Tuesday.”  At one point, I called Rebecca to confirm our movie plans for the next day (Thursday,) and then told her – “Oh, I forgot that it’s Wednesday and you’re working.”  Then this morning I waited and waited for her to call to tell me what time we were leaving, and finally called her. She said that she was at work, and had gotten the message about the Wednesdayness of that Tuesday, but figured that I had by this time figured out that it really was Tuesday. And that I was going to work, and not the movies.  Well, I hadn’t.  What a good thing it was that I called up a well informed person. I might have gone to the Family Kitchen and choir practice instead of work. Actually, at three ten, I would have gotten an outraged phone call from my job asking where I was.  I have gotten this phone call several times in the past, and I hate it. Once I had copied the schedule wrong and the other time, they had changed my schedule without mentioning it to me!!!!

On the evening previous, my kitchen light had been flickering, so in the morning I ventured out to Home Depot so as to be prepared when it actually did go out.  Not unexpectedly, I got lost – but only a little lost. Home Depot is near the Starbucks main office, and the mermaid can be seen for miles around.  This was a good landmark.  When I got home with my groceries and light bulbs, I was overcome with a nap attack.  I carefully calculated how long it would take to cook my dinner, decided I had time for a nap, set the timer for an hour, and then Margaret, Tobias and I settled down for a snooze.  I awoke an hour later, refreshed, and assembled my ingredients for the meal.  I was making Chickenless Pot Pie, and a jar of pimento is a sine qua non of this dish.  I knew that I had a jar in my pantry, but when I got it out, it looked strange.  When I opened it, the jar lid didn’t pop, and the pimento was a vermillion slime. Aaaak!  What to do.  I considered, and decided that there was time to walk to the store.  I didn’t think the closest stores would have pimento, so I had to go further afield.  The day was fine, and it was a pleasant walk.  I arrived home with my pimento and barely enough time to be ready when The Twins were due to arrive. I set to work chopping and stirring when, as I had feared might happen, the light went out.  Bummer!  Fixing it was a two person job and  I was only one person.  Also, it required a ladder and I was not sure where mine was.  This light event was sort of mystic because the very same thing had happened a few days ago when The Twins were preparing dinner.  Same sort of light bulb even.  We calculated that this bulb had lasted seven years.  So the odds were against both of our bulbs going at the same time.  I probably will be eating by candlelight for the next few days until I find my ladder and an assistant to change the bulb.  How many Joannas does it take to change an overhead kitchen light bulb? More than one!


Update:  Yay!  It's fixed.  A tall friend stopped by and did it.  

3 comments:

bex said...

Yay! Who was the tall friend?

Marta said...

One of your best. You are such a skilled writer.
It's a good thing you are not a perfect person as it would eliminate a great amount of subject matter.

Laura said...

I agree with Marta about your writing. So fun to read one of your preparing for dinner comedy dramas!