Difficult Day

Today was a difficult day. I wouldn't call it a *bad* day but it was unbelievably challenging. I thought perhaps halfway through that maybe I had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed, but I never do that so I don't know what was to blame.

I was wired last night. I hadn't consumed a large amount of caffeine but I had been studying all evening so I guess my brain was full of physics, biology and science in general because I just couldn't turn it off. This made getting out of bed this morning especially difficult. I finally pulled by ass out of bed at 6:00 a.m. and raced around the house to be ready in time to meet my ride at 6:40 a.m.

Upon arriving at work I quickly discovered that the email server was down. I started on my usual tasks thinking to myself, "I'll just hold off any emailing until later." But you don't realize how often you use something until you don't have it. A few hours later our IT guy showed up and we were all forced to log-on which meant NO work for nearly 30 minutes. There is nothing worse than being stuck at work with a task list the size of Texas and no way to do it. Just when it began to be unbearable the announcement came that it was up and working. And it worked perfectly, but only for about 45 minutes, until it crashed again (just 10 minutes after the tech left the building). I finally gave up attempting to work and decided to devote my time to prepping for our company potluck.

My colleague and "brother in a former life" and I had decided to combine our forces for our potluck contribution. Kipp brought his Weber grill into work and I brought the chicken. He was stuck in meetings so it fell on me to light the coals and grill the chicken. He had given me specific instructions to use the Match Light bag of charcoal first and then the other if needed. I started the grill about 10 minutes earlier than planned and could not get the damn briquettes to light. I solicited the help of several colleagues and none of us could get them lit. Finally after 40 minutes of trying we got them started, but slowly. Everyone that walked outside to check on the progress offered their opinion about our technique, which just irritated us rather than helping. We all assumed that the bag of charcoal must have been old and when Kipp emerged from his meeting he told me that the bag had been given to him by a friend and he wasn't sure how old they were. AAAHHH!

Finally at 11:50 a.m. (ten minutes before the potluck was scheduled to begin) the grill was hot enough for the meat. I made the executive decision to only cook half of the chicken because most of my co-workers would be done eating by the time the chicken showed up in the buffet line. I spent the entire lunch hour grilling and carrying finished chicken and beef (another colleagues contribution) into the kitchen. By the time I headed in to make myself a plate there were just 3 people left in the lunch room. The good news is that the chicken turned out really well.

About thirty minutes after eating I was sitting at my desk and trying to be productive when I was struck by painful stomach cramps. I am always careful about what I eat at potlucks and avoid anything that may contain foods that I am allergic to or that upset my stomach but I failed today and spent the next 45 minutes making trips to the bathroom.

While waiting for a meeting to begin an hour later I listened while a colleague explained the recipe for the her contribution to the potluck which included coconut milk and I suddenly I knew what had made me sick. Thank goodness that it was so rich that I didn't eat the whole thing!

The meeting finished just in time to log off and head for home. The majority of my colleagues, including my car pool partner were headed to a dinner celebration so I got a ride with the one that was headed to save the table and he dropped me about 10 blocks from home on his way to the restaurant.

It was a beautiful afternoon and I enjoyed the walk home, except for the phone call I received in which my *study buddy* cancelled our evening study plans. Upon arriving at home I lit the grill to cook the chicken that didn't get cooked during the lunch hour. About halfway through the process the grill ran out of gas. And I got to figure out what you do with 3 pounds of half cooked chicken tenderloins... FUN! As I was walking into the house from the deck my phone was ringing, I missed the call but returned it immediately only to have my mother tell me that a family member had passed away earlier in the day and another was in the hospital following a moderate heart attack.

I sat down with my dinner and tried to study for the MCAT (which is just looming a few days away) but couldn't concentrate. I thought about the events of the day and decided right there and then that I was done with having a crappy day. Following dinner I decided to color my hair and take a hot bath. I feel like I have washed the bad *mojo* away and am now soothing myself with a hot cup of tea. I am going to go crawl into bed and put a movie in the DVD player and hope that tomorrow is better. It's gotta be, right?