Sooooo tired. Like, bone-deep tired. Sometimes I think back to my twenties when I was all “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” and wonder if my current exhaustion is just karma cashing in. Back then, I’d leave work, close down the bars, stumble into some afterhours rave, take a three-minute shower, power nap, then drag myself back to the office like nothing happened. Now? I stay up past 10 p.m. and need a full recovery weekend. How the hell did I ever pull that off?
Work has been… meh. Busy season is here, which means endless phone calls. Yesterday I was stuck from 10 to 2:30. Today looks the same. And if you know me, you know I hate phone calls. Hate them. I’d rather wrestle a goose in a Walmart parking lot.
Speaking of torture, last week was the Kansas State Fair. Every year we do a booth, Kansas City helps, and we hand out enough freebies to fill a landfill. We said we didn’t have the staff this year and maybe should sit it out. Did that happen? Of course not. So me and a coworker got volunteered as tribute. Four days. Four straight days at the fair.
Let me tell you, fairs are not my thing. The food smells good until you realize you now smell like funnel cake for 72 hours. And the worst part? Adults acting like the free swag is the Holy Grail. Watching people sneak back for their third pen like they’re masterminding some great heist, please. Kids I can tolerate, kind of. But grown adults hoarding tote bags? By day two and a half, I was about ready to start handing out side-eye as a freebie.
And then the flat earthers showed up. At first, they seemed semi-normal… then they explained how we could solve lake siltation by “just taking away the slope in the land.” Two hours later, I was eyeing the Ferris wheel like, yep, that’ll do it. My only strategy was repeating “you’ll have to take that up with the money people” like it was my personal mantra.
Parking was its own comedy show. Apparently, the big bold number on my pass wasn’t my spot. No, the real number was hiding on a tiny sticker at the bottom. Obviously. I drove around looking for spot 420 for far longer than I care to admit. The parking attendant had no clue. So I circled around until someone in the open parking area left.
Then came Monday. Storms rolling in, I thought, “Hey, maybe it’ll be quiet.” Wrong. It was free entry day. Schools dumped busloads of kids at the fair. Then the thunderstorm hit. Thousands of soaking wet, screaming humans crammed into buildings. Parking lots flooded, people stuck in the mud. Me? Wondering if I should start carrying a flask.
By Tuesday I’d had enough. Drove back, felt awful, thought it was just from shouting all weekend. Took a COVID test—positive. Luckily, it was more like a bad cold this time. Worked from home, slept all weekend, tested negative Sunday. Still tired, but functional-ish.
And just when I thought life couldn’t get weirder… surprise! Found out I’m getting a Civilian Service Award tomorrow. At an actual award ceremony. Why? No clue. I know for a fact it didn’t come from anyone in my office. Can’t wait to find out who decided I deserved this. I’m half convinced it’s a prank, but hey, I get an actual plaque and medal. Guess I better dress like a grown up.
Meanwhile, Dennis’s mom gave us all a scare with what looked like a stroke. Ambulance, ER, the whole deal. She stayed overnight and then they just released her Sunday like, “Congrats, you lived, go home.” His sister that lives up north is going make a rare appearance next month and wants to do a “family meeting” but Dennis said nope, because he knows whatever he suggests will get overturned anyway. Their brother, who I’ve hated since day one, says when he visits it’s his “vacation” so he shouldn’t have to help. Boo hoo. Honestly, the man’s lucky I haven’t throat-punched him.
And the kicker? His mom now claims she didn’t even have a stroke. Told Dennis, the neighbor, even the PT that her droopy eye is just because of a surgery she had a year or so ago. The PT literally pulled her records and said, “Nope, ma’am, you did in fact have a stroke.” Her follow-up appointment with the eye doctor and PCP said it was because of long term effects of diabetes (in denial about that too) and hypertension. But she’d rather pretend it was something else and keep rolling. Our moms could not be more opposite if they tried.
Something I heard over the weekend really hit me as spot on to what is going on right now. "How you die doesn't redeem how you lived"
Sorry the 'rona revisited you. I was sick the week we left for Spain but it was never more than what felt like a mild cold. I didn't bother getting a test kit. It didn't even qualify for man flu. 😅 For the record, not complaining either.
ReplyDeleteOh and we're starting to head towards fl shot season looking at the calendar. There was talk of it being an all-in-one jab, flu plus 'rona. I had my latest 'rona booster 2 years ago. I think the combined jab is optional though so I'm not certain I'll get it or not. Then again I've had pneumonia and am not eager to go back there again so maybe I'll opt in.
Congrats on the award! "Deserve's got nuthin' to do with it." 😅 Name the film that line is from.
And yeah, your body is now cashing checks your wrote in your 20s. I remember the up drinking until 2am, home, bed for 3 or so hours, up and off to work. I have no desire to repeat any of that though. None.
I think the levels are the same, yes. The rules in Germany aren't straightforward because ... why make it easy when you can complicate it? For "normal" drivers the limit is 0.05% unless there is an accident or a traffic penalty (like running a red light and getting pulled over), then it's 0.03%. New drivers and drivers under 21 is 0.00%, the same with any professional driver even if they're stopped while driving privately. I'm usually pretty careful about driving and really didn't feel buzzed but I apparently was.
ReplyDeleteTransportation here of late has been a right pain in the ass whether its in the car or on the train. It's not getting better either. Actually the regional trains are getting decidedly worse. And yeah, I have a speed camera alerter in my car "just in case". Spain and France aren't this bad, at least not for cars. Spain does have a love of speed bumps and traffic circles though.