It’s Friday in the Teepee: on your mark, get set—go!

 

Friday morning, 7:00 am.  I start work in a half hour, but I’m in no hurry…this is a ‘work from home’ day.  It’s been a long week, but yesterday I pretty much got caught up with everything (aside from a ‘code generator’ process I’ve been working on in my spare time) so I’m anticipating a peaceful day.  I finish dressing and turn down the volume on the tv, I’ve heard quite enough news chatter.  Ah, that’s better.

As I’m pouring a cup of coffee, I think “why don’t I gather up this week’s laundry & take it downstairs?  I’ll avoid the weekend rush for the washers & do my folding at lunchtime.”   It’s fifteen minutes before I sign on to my work account.  I start at 7:30 sharp, and we have a lot of eagle eyes in our group.

I quietly close my front door behind me as I head down to the basement with my laundry basket.  Everything is very still, and it feels like 3:00am more than 7:20.  But when I get downstairs and walk into the laundry room, I see Jim & Theresa, two retired people from the second and third floors, standing by a pair of chugging washing machines and shouting at one another to be heard over the noise.  Jim sees me.  “DOUG!!  WHAT ARE YOU DOING DOWN HERE?  SHOULDN’T YOU BE AT WORK?”  

I reply “No—NO I’M WORKING FROM HOME!  NEVERMIND, I’LL COME BACK LATER!”  Jim says “DOUG WAIT!  TELL THERESA ABOUT THE DAY YOU SAW THAT WOMAN FROM #209 DOWN HERE IN HER UNDERWEAR!”  Theresa yells “HER NAME IS BRENDA, I HEARD SHE WAS A HOOCHIE!”  I shake my head & point at my watch—“I GOTTA GET BACK UPSTAIRS, TALK TO YOU LATER!”   Jim says “DOUG WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW, ALL THE OLD FOLKS DO THEIR WASH ON FRIDAYS!  HEY LOUISE, C’MON IN!  DOUG WATCH BEHIND YOU!”   (I almost knock over some old lady when I turn to leave, where’d she come from?)

I have five minutes to get back upstairs with my basket of dirty clothes, get online & log in to work.  Rats.  Aside from that hiccup in things though, I still anticipate a quiet day.

No sooner am I signed on though, my work-screen begins flashing—I’m getting instant messaged by 4 people.   “Doug remember the OTP stuff you did for us?  Guess what we’re sending you!”  “Doug priority, call me ASAP”   “Doug can I call you?”  “Doug are you in the office today?”   Sigh!  

Around ten minutes after I get into things, someone knocks on my front door.  It’s not even 8:00am, what the heck?   It’s Bill Morris from the second floor.  “Hi Doug, Jim says you’re working from home today…chuckle!”  I like Bill, he’s a quiet man in his seventies, but ends every sentence with a chuckle; maybe it’s a nervous thing.  I tell him yes, I am working from home, what’s up?

He says “Can you set me up so I can send email from my computer?”  I tell him yes, sure but he has to wait until I go to lunch.  He tells me it should only take a minute.  I tell him it will take several, but it will have to wait until noon.  He says “That’s fine, no rush…chuckle!  I want to send this drawing I made to Ridell Sports for a new football helmet.”  Wait, a drawing?  I ask him if he has a scanner.  He tells me no, he has a modem.  “Bill, maybe you’d better send it by regular mail.”   He says “What’s your degree in?”  

It’s now 8:10am, and I’m ready to call it a day.  This weekend can’t get here soon enough!