:::A Series of 'Are You Kidding Me?' Events:::

1. Today at work I realized that I still hadn't returned some books that we didn't need to the publisher. West has a 45 day return policy, and the 45th day was on Saturday. Fun times. I got to spend my lunch hour strongly discussing the situation with a customer support rep. Living here has made me much more assertive. Also, my behind was on the line.

Once the situation was finally resolved, I spent the rest of the hour packaging the books and putting together a FedEx pickup because I had to get everything back to them within 10 days or we wouldn't be credited. Blurg. Double blurg. I couldn't risk messing with the USPS. I wonder how much that shipment is going to cost us.


2. There were too many people on the platform tonight for the first train that I take, so I couldn't make it into any of the cars. Thankfully, I got on to the second train that came.

When I got to my transfer station, the board said that the next three trains coming were all for my line. At some point, however, those trains magically changed color into the other line. All three of them. Seriously?

I decided to take the train in the opposite direction because I had a wait ahead of me and there were no free benches on the platform. Plus, there's a better chance of getting a seat if I take the train to the next stop up the line, then catch my train down from there.


3. The escalator at my home station was out of order. I had to w-a-l-k up the equivalent of like five flights of stairs at a steady clip without stopping. My legs were jelly by the end and I almost collapsed three steps before the top. Seriously? Breathing wasn't too much of an issue, thank goodness.


4. When I was right outside the gate to my complex I realized that I had left my keys at the office. NO!!! My worst fear realized. I was able to sneak through the gate with a group of people, then follow them into the building. We have electronic cards that we have to swipe at both points.

Once inside I ran over to the office, but it looked like no one was there. When I finally saw someone, I tapped on the glass and made a key turning motion. The lady shook her head no. BLURG! They have a policy that they don't do after hours lockouts, but it was like 3 minute 'til! I stood there stunned, then started rifling through my bag again to double check that my keys weren't there.

She eventually came back and mouthed for me to go stand by the maintenance office. When she opened the door she agreed to give me a key so I could go unlock my apartment, saving me an expensive call to a locksmith, or a panicked call to a friend for a couch to crash on. This is why I'm always soooooo nice to landlords.

I ran upstairs, unlocked my door, grabbed some tape and covered the lock catch (learned that at BYU), triple checked to make sure that all my locks were unlocked, then ran back downstairs and turned the key in.

I would have gone back to the office to get my keys, but the electronic key that I need to get into the building, make the elevator work, and get past the security door upstairs is, you guessed it, on my key ring, which is on my desk.



I'm hoooome now, sitting on my couch, eating eggs and potatoes. What a weird day. I was in a rare, 'It is what it is, just roll with it,' mood throughout all the transportation and key issues. I credit this to my new iPod and the three relaxation CDs that I loaded onto it this morning. Ah...goodbye commuting stress and chest pains.