TGIF Revisited

I haven’t had much opportunity to write about anything lately. My recent entries have boiled down to the occasional "weekend assignment" from John Scalzi, the Saturday 6, Sunday 7 offered by Patrick and not much more. Maybe I’m just written out for now but I really don’t think that’s the case. The assorted challenges at work consume my time and energy these days; by the time Friday afternoon rolls around, my legs are so tired from all the walking I do all over the Spring Lake campus.  It’s been many a year since I’ve been able to join in and at 4:30 pm on Fridays, you can bet my voice is part of that time-honored collective cry of TGIF.

One of the things I dreaded the most involving my new job has turned out to be not so dreadful after all. I had great trepidation over having to drive on the freeway during the rush hour and for a greater distance. As is usually the case, in my cases at least, the mental anguish I build up for myself about the unknown almost never comes to pass. It’s nice to be able to listen to more than a couple of songs on the way to work. The distance I travel now usually gets me through most of a CD. It’s even nicer to be on the road long enough for the engine to generate enough heat to warm me up on these chilly mornings we’ve been having. I’m not exactly known for my "Pollyanna"" outlook on life but at times this approach works out well.

This past Friday I experienced one of my worst-case scenarios while driving. Even though I don’t live that far away from the city in which I work, I make it my business not to drive around in it. I don’t really have much reason to do so but this turned out to be a huge mistake. I only know of one way to get to work. Traffic was moving along swimmingly, the lights were going my way and I was thinking happily that I’d get to work nice and early–early enough to snag a parking space in the ridiculously tiny employee parking lot. Such was not to be. As I was about to turn right onto a street which connects me with the street on which I work, I was unable to do so because police cars and a huge blockade were set up across the street. Great! Just great!! Now what was I supposed to do? I hadn’t a clue as to an alternate route and I had foolishly removed my city map from the glove compartment. At that point there wasn’t much more I could do than be carried away with the sweeping traffic which was quickly becoming a major snarl due to the closure of this street. Once I mentally slapped myself upside the head and told myself to get a grip, I decided the best thing to do would be to go into some store and get specific directions to where I needed to go.

Before long, I found a small market, went inside and headed for a small café area in a corner of the store. I got the attention of a young lady working there and explained my situation to her. She was extremely kind and sympathetic and gave me a set of fairly clear directions to get me to my work. Meanwhile, the clock was ticking...no way I was going to get to work on time. Now, my emphasis was getting there at all and in one piece. Which I did, despite major clogged roads, an early morning sun, relentless in its brilliance, shining right at my eye level and a heart beating like a trip hammer throughout. Once I finally did get to the clinic where I work, things seemed awfully quiet. Enter worst case scenario at work in a new job. The receptionist who works the extremely busy front desk (plus a million other things because she’s been working there forever and knows everything) called in sick. Sigh. We’re shorthanded as it is at the moment but somehow, the nurse, the department head and I got through the day. It was one of those days that I thought would never end but, of course, it did and my mind was screaming "Thank God it’s Friday!" at the top of its lungs.