A Comedy of Pains
So I’ve been away for a few weeks on radio silence. This has been for a number of reasons, the most important one being that nothing has happened to me in that time that was worth blogging about. It’s been a quiet time. This week was looking to be much of the same but then fate decided that it had had enough of me having a decent and normal life and threw me a curveball. Or three. Or a half dozen.
I’ll just preface by saying that I can safely call this week one of the worst of my year so far. One of the worst in recent months, too. Now that that’s out of the way, let me explain.
Monday.
I work in a bookstore that is part of a large shopping mall in the Eastern Suburbs of Auckland city. Since I started there in November last year, I have been parking in the public parking area without any repercussions or issues whatsoever. This week, however, the security traffic officer from hell (called by my workmates “The Nazi of the Parking lots”) returned from her apparent 3 month vacation and promptly landed me with a fine. Of $150. Yep. $150 for parking in the place I quite happily parked in for the 3 months, no warnings no nothing.
Well fuck.
Ok, sure, whatever, bad things happen. I paid the fine. Signed, sealed, delivered, all finished.
Tuesday.
I wake up and check my account as I always do on a Tuesday, because that’s the day student allowance goes through and I can check that my rent is paid properly. Today, no allowance.
I give it three hours. Six. Nothing. I call them. Nothing. Just a message claiming that no one can take my call and not even an option to hold the line and listen to cheerful lies about how “my call is important to them”. Bugger. Ok. Whatever. Work pays me on Wednesday, I can survive on $2 between both accounts till then.
Wednesday.
Today I moved my car to a place where there are NO signs dealing with time limits and where no other cars have ever been busted ever. After work, I come back to – you guessed it – a parking fine. $150. Allowance still hasn’t gone through. Work pay is just enough for rent this week. Somehow this doesn’t seem to be my week at all.
Thursday.
I wake up to an email claiming that the flowers I sent to the states for Valentine’s Day were delivered, received, enjoyed… and my card bounced so they need to charge me again. $76. From an account that I have nothing on pretty much due to the aforementioned parking fines and rent. I reply with a desperate attempt at placation, receive a rather soft and understand reply and go about my day.
Towards the end of my closing shift I yank a nerve in my right wrist (my writing hand, mind you) and spend the last 4 hours cradling the thing to my chest wrapped in a stretchy bandage.
2 hours before closing I get a migraine. Aspirin decides it doesn’t want to dissolve for me. I have no other pain killers.
Upon closing the store I bash my left wrist against a wall and bruise it. Now they match. Also have to trudge up three levels of staff parking since the lifts have helpfully closed for the night and I have no choice but to walk up the ramps (which, apparently, I can get fined for).
Friday.
So this brings us to today. After a week of no allowance, two fines, rent from an account I usually don’t use, two injured wrists and a bouncing visa debit I come to work prepared for the worst.
I’m not disappointed. Whoever has it in for me this week decided that I desperately needed to smash my fingers in the safe (the thing weighs about twice what I do… meaning the door not the full damned safe) 2 hours from closing.
In good humor I strap a mini ice pack to my finger with Whitcoulls tape and go about my business till closing time. Can’t say I’m not a trooper. Truth be told, though, it hurt like a mother.
Part of me was kinda disappointed that I hadn’t fractured or damaged anything. After all this pain I have nothing to show for it but hysterical laughter brimming on a breakdown.
-
So that’s been my week. I’m typing this a lot slower than usual because the index finger of my left hand is throbbing and protesting every time I hit the keys (which is a few times a second), my left wrist hates moving, my right shoot electric hot nerve pain up to my shoulder once in a while, I have a grand total of $1 to hold me over for 2 weeks – since I’m not holding out a hope for Studylink to get their ass into gear before next payday from them – and I still have two full shifts of closing this week.
It’s weeks like this where all you can do is laugh really.
Songs this week:
-+- Пока Горит Свеча – Машина Времени (While the Candle Burns – Time Machine)
-+- Heavyweight – Infected Mushroom
-+- Without You I’m Nothing – Placebo feat. David Bowie
BLOGS
|| Collecting a Library || Jack || Lochinvar ||
LINKS
||| 1001 Books || The Midnight Screening || Random Acts On Campus ||
Bandit, out.
