So how was your day?

Mid-afternoon, I was processing a form for a customer when I realized that my hand was sticking to the paper.

There was a palm-sized spot of ... something colorless (which is why I hadn't noticed it at first) in the middle of the page, that felt sticky the way a thin smear of jelly on a three-year-old's face feels sticky.

Eww.

Couldn't figure out what it was so I just handled the page very carefully. Couldn't start a new form, since this one had already been signed by a non-present co-applicant, & the customer didn't want to have to drive all the way across the county again....

We often get handed data scribbled on strange bits and scraps of paper to incorporate into our applications; half an old envelope, the back of a receipt, a corner torn from a sheet of notebook paper, crumpled business cards covered with umpteen other notes, and so on.

My last customer of the day handed me his info, written very neatly with a ball-point pen, on a folded napkin.

A soggy folded napkin.

Eeewwww.

There's a reason why I keep hand-sanitizer on my desk.

After work, I stopped at the credit union. While sitting in the drive-through, my attention was drawn to the SUV in the next lane, that had all the windows rolled down. The driver was a large middle-aged woman, and her passengers were three young teen-aged girls of various ages, with open bags of cheetos & too much energy. Y'ever hear that song, “I can't live... I can't take any more” (not sure of the exact title.) Better yet, ever hear it belted out by five voices (including the radio), all at the same time, with a great deal of volume and enthusiasm, but absolutely no consensus as to which key to sing it in? The tellers got an earful, too....

Afterwards, Big 5 didn't have the particular brand of weights I was looking for... drat it all, but I found something else to use in the meantime. So, not a total loss. Then, Circuit City was a pleasant diversion before heading home, browsing the DVDs until someone thought it would be a good idea to turn one of the sample sound systems up ALL THE WAY on a VERY LOUD SONG. That person suddenly had the attention of most of the store....

And we've got a light drizzle coming down, which I like, but accompanied by lightning a few miles away, which the dog absolutely dislikes. She hasn't been out since early this morning. Convincing her that it's really OK to go outside to take care of business, when she can hear thunder three counties over, is like trying to convince a toddler that yes, he really does like stewed beets and pureed liver......

It has been a very long week. I am so glad it's Friday, with a three-day weekend ahead. Gotta love Labor Day – celebrating the right to work by taking the day off!

I think, this week, I've earned it.