Murphy's law proved today!

Pff what a day. This morning was just an accumulation of bad luck.

It all started when I woke up this morning by the noise out in the street. I live on a street corner and we have in Belgium this funny habit of "alternating parking". In more narrow streets in residential areas the city can order this alternating parking. Then you have to park in the first half of the month on one side of the street and in the second half of the month on the other side. You are supposed to change sides on the eve before between 7 pm and 8 pm again. Anyway that switching always garantees some confusion in the street, cars being on both side and other cars trying to slalom through. It's really crazy and in Ghent they are going to abandon this habit. Yeaah.

So yesterday it was happening again, although I usually come home after most of them have already swichted (even before 7 pm...when people come home they just park on the other side) and I found myself a spot on the correct side of the street as well. But some cars were still on the "old" side...and they still were this morning. That happens more often, but this morning 2 big truckes wanted to get through and with a car parked on both sides, they didn't manage to pass. So they were blowing their horn multiple times , they were screaming at each other in the street etc... Great to wake up like that.

So half asleep in the half dark living room, I stumbled to the window to check whether my car was ok and just to make sure those trucks didn't have the great idea to back up into my car or something. As I came out of bed I was bare footed and I hit with my big toe the old computer that is still sitting here next to my desk. Auw auw auw, that hurts...especially if you have broken your toe nail and it's bleeding.

So I spent my morning limping, cursing, putting bandage on my toe and trying to fit into a shoe that didn't hurt tooo much to walk.

It was way to late when I finally made it through the door and I locked my door here on the 3rd floor, put something in the garbage here just across my door and then took all my stuff (I was carrying 4 bags and my purse) and rushed down as far as I could with my sore toe. Downstairs I slammed the doors, hit the cold outside, went to my car (the 2 trucks had managed to leave in the mean time!!)...but my car didn't open...because I didn't have my keys on me. Fxxx, my keys were still inside and I had slamned the door!! So I was locked outside in -4 C, I couldn't get into my car, so I couldn't leave for work but I couldn't get back into my appartment either.
Naturally my neighbours were not at home anymore to let me into the building. Argh.

The only solution was to phone my parents, wait until my mom came home from the physiotherapist (still post surgery excercises for her shoulder) and then wait until they had driven in the fog to Ghent (= 40 min). So there I stood on the sidewalk at my door with my bags... reading a book that I happend to have with me with my gloves on. After half an hour I moved outside the bakery trying to look miserable since she didn't spontaneously had asked me in when I told her that I was locked outside. After standing for 15 min at her door, she finally figured it out that it was freezing cold and she did ask me in for the last 15 min of my waiting period until my dad showed up with my keys. Yes!

I really feel bad about my parents having to drive to me through the fog...but there was nothing else I could do. Asking Jan to fly back from Edinburgh was a little more difficult. Fortunatly that my parents do have spare keys.

So at a kwarter past ten I could finally leave with frozen feet (which was good, I didn't feel my sore toe as much anymore) to work. The fog just got thicker by the time I reached the coastal area so it wasn't fun to drive and it took me longer than usual. Pfff what a morning!

The afternoon I was giving training to telesales people and that went well, but afterwards I couldn't finish my work anymore due to my late arrival. I didn't want to sit there on my own very late and drive through the very very thick fog late at night. So I drove home (in the beginning I hardly saw something...crazy how fast some people drive through the fog...fortunately sight got better inlands), cooked dinner, ate and then continued some of my work. When I finally could mail it off to the director I promised it too... I lost my network connection with my company and I couldn't restore it anymore. So I guess I am sending nobody e-mail from work anymore. Oh well, some more bad luck had to happen before the end of the day. Arrgggh. I suppose I just go to bed now ;-). Those dishes can wait for now.

Comments

Allie said…
Yes Ellen - you are right. I did get enjoyment reading about your incredibly positive day......

After a day like that, I would have gone directly to bed without passing "Go".
Jen said…
What a day! And yes, this is indeed a soap opera of bad luck. But you handled it with your typical sense of humor. I love reading your perspective on things.

And I'm glad that day and the winter are BEHIND you!

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