|
Stress causes nosebleeds. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
I'll elaborate on that as I tell the story of today.
Okay. So, I got a collective 5 minutes of sleep last night, if it was that much at all. I spent most of the night watching infomercials on why a sausage maker would make my life better and being told to "call now, supplies are running out!" with these overly happy people who seem to be absolutely thrilled to have this sausage maker. As if any one of us in the real world sits at home and grinds up meat to make sausages.
So I get up and, go through my morning routine and head out the door, as usual. By some miracle, I get to work early. I'm supposed to be in the passport office by 8, and I was there a little over fifteen minutes early, so I stop by a push cart and get some breakfast. Bagel with cream cheese. It wasn't anything special, but when you're friggin' starving, the guy handing you that bagel with an accent you can't place is suddenly a world-class chef. I had my breakfast and, thankfully, there was barely a line to form. I only had three dropoffs, so it wouldn't take me that long to get my work done. I went on upstairs to the 10th floor and waited for my number to be called. They were on A-1016 or something... and I was A-1032. So, I had some time to close my eyes and catch a few z's. My body, however, was not going to settle for a two-minute nap. Instead, I could barely open my eyes when my number was called and I damn nearly stumbled towards my designated window. Still, I didn't have too much to be processed, so I got back to the main office around an hour early. Fantastic. That meant I could take a nice, long lunch break.
Not so.
I was too tired to go out and get lunch. Hence, I went upstairs and tried to sleep. But Berto, one of the guys I work with, asked me for five dollars for lunch because he forgot his wallet. I was so out of it, I agreed and handed him the only five I'd brought. I barely get five minutes in when my boss calls me and tells me I have to go deliver some visas to Kazakhstan, then pick up a visa at Finland. First of all, that's my uncle's job, and he hasn't been coming into work lately, which means I have to pick up his slack. Secondly, I'm pretty ******** tired of Kazakhstan. The guy there has a nasty attitude and I'd have punched his stringy throat in if he weren't protected by bulletproof glass. So, after I deal with that jerk, I head off to Finland. I like it in there... It's always cool, quiet, and the woman there is pleasant to deal with. Her features are really sharp, which I like. Her skin is really, really pale, and her eyes are a sort of ice blue, but her hair is pitch black. So, as she's looking for my passport, I decide to help myself to a Finnish newspaper (though I can't read it at all) and a bunch of little travel guides and brochures. I put them all in my bag, get the visa from her, and then head off to Switzerland. I pick up the visa from Switzerland without incident and head back to the main office. It's around 12:45 when I get back, and I'm usually sent back to the passport office at 1, so I have maybe 15 minutes to relax. So I head to the back, gather a bunch of newspapers and lay my head down on them and try to fall asleep.
It wasn't long before I woke up to a very unpleasant wet feeling. I pick my head up and find that I'd come down with a nice, big nosebleed. Soaked completely through the papers. Luckily, no one else was in the back with me, so I grabbed some tissues and wiped up the table and my face before anyone could notice. I thew the papers into the trash and kind of just sat there for a while, holding my nose and being pissed. My boss called me then, and handed me the rest of today's passports to drop off and pick up. Oh, joy.
I got my work at the passport office done in around half an hour. As I'm expected back around three, I had damn near an hour and a half to kill. But I didn't want to hang around the passport office, so I head back to the main office. At least I could sleep. When I get out of the train station at Rockefeller Center, this big, hideous purple truck was sitting across the street. It's the Willy Wonka truck, and there's some guy in a Willy Wonka outfit taking pictures with everyone. Everyone except small children, though... They mostly clung to their mothers' legs in absolute horror. In any case, I decided to go into the Nintendo Store since it was on the way and I couldn't forgive myself if I walked past a game store and didn't go in. So I walk inside and I'm disgusted to learn that I had to walk through a Pokemon Poke Center in order to get to the games and the DS demos. I just... swallowed my pride and did just that.
That whole "Nintendogs" game is damned adorable. I had these dogs play jump-rope, catch a frisbee... they sniffed each other and jumped all over one another and chased the tennis ball... It's cute. But would I spend $30 to get a fake dog? Nu-uh. No way.
I get back to work, thirsty as hell only to find that the water cooler's nozzle had broken off and they let all the water drain out into the garbage pail and threw it out in the bathroom sink. Damn them all. When I get back, though, my boss hands me a visa to drop off at Polish consulate. That's good, they have water fountains there. So I go to the Polish consulate, do what I have to do, and on the way back, I see an old college friend, Maggie. We talk a little while, until her bus comes, and then I head back to the main office. It was one of the receptionists' birthday, and they had a chocolate and vanilla Carvel ice cream cake brought up. I had a piece although I didn't want one, because I hadn't eaten anything else all day besides that bagel. And, after that, I went home.
So... today had a lot of ups and downs. It hit the 50% mark, I guess. If I don't see my uncle tomorrow, then I can be sure he was fired. Yay. More work for me. Still, now that I'm home, I guess it's time I loaded up on water and calories. I'm starving. Maybe there are some cookies in the pantry.
 Bleeding Apocalypse · Thu Aug 25, 2005 @ 01:11am · 0 Comments |
|
|
|
|
|
