Blue Tuesday
Things didn’t go too smoothly today. It was more like a Monday than a Tuesday, and the list of things to sort out was long. The new bank card didn’t work and the messages all weekend were to contact the bank. The cellphone service provider sent an invoice for the new contract that was higher than the previous one, despite being told it would be much less. No sardines to be found on the shelves of usual supermarket, so had to split the shopping list between two malls and three retailers. In the middle of this, an appointment to meet up with a friend that just couldn’t be put off any longer. I set off from home at 8.30 thinking I could miss all the queues and be ready for coffee at 10.
I arrived at the mall and of course nothing opens until 9. I have been up since 5.30 and the day is half over. In a commercial complex next door, hairdresser was open for business and available to trim my fringe and tidy up the mop – what a stroke of luck! I had been told I looked like a Highland cow. Suitably shorn, I headed back to the mall and was third in the queue outside the bank. It was 8.59 and they were not going to open that revolving door until well into the first minute after 9. Twenty minutes later, I got to see the Enquiries lady and established that, according to her, their records were correct and I just needed to update the card in various apps. Off to do an errand or two, found the card still did not work, back to the bank, waited for 15 minutes, then time for coffee with friend.
A delightful catch-up, then time to shop, adhering as closely as possible to the badly crumpled shopping list dragged from my back pocket from time to time to remind me what I was doing there. Didn’t do too badly, with only a few extras, then back to the bank for the third time. Another 10 minutes and a different lady sorted the problem out efficiently, wishing me a good day further.
My car key snapped off in the boot lock. True, it was the plastic part, not the metal, but it doesn’t start the car unless the remote workings are connected to the key. No problem, phone one of the kids at home to bring through the spare. To say that my request was greeted with little enthusiasm was no exaggeration, this from someone who I never hesitated to fetch from various situations in the early hours of the morning in younger days, but judging from the amusing conversation I had with the lady parked next to me, all offspring find their parents slightly exasperating when they start to need help in their old age!
The key cutter in the mall will sort out a new key in a day or two, and it won’t cost the earth. I had plenty of time this morning to reflect on all the good things in life – I didn’t have a fractious 2-year-old attached to my leg whining to have a tub of yoghurt opened; all the assistants in the many shops I visited were cheerful and we could share a laugh; I had the opportunity to chat to a number of friends as I beat a path up the 700m length of the mall and back, and I got a fair amount of unexpected exercise! And I wasn’t an hour away at the Waterfront, just 10 minutes from home. It helps to look on the bright side, and the morning improved incrementally, ending with a cup of tea and a little relaxation in the garden.
