Just that side of annoying

It’s been a bit of a funny day today. Good for the majority of the day, but with the random “Aaargh!” moment thrown in.

The day began as it usually does. Well, not quite as usual as usual; I usually wake up before my alarm but this morning I didn’t. So the annoying beepity-beepity-beepity-beepity-beepeep-beepeep-beepeep shocked me awake. I was so shocked in fact, I tried to stop the alarm but couldn’t find the button to do so. I was actually feeling around one of my books rather than my clock, so I eventually realised I had hold of the wrong thing. Well, you do tend to grab the wrong thing when you’re tired, don’t you! Or is that just me? Once that major problem had been resolved, it was time for me to get up and ready for work.

I got out of my bed in the style of a groaning mutant zombie. The beeping may have stopped coming from the clock, but it was still ringing in my ears. I also couldn’t move my head. My neck was stiff all down the left side and across my left shoulder. I could turn my head about four millimeters to the right, but it was having nothing of turning to the left. I thought that my bath would help with this.

Once my bath was full, I settled into the hot water, sliding down slightly so my neck was submerged, to let the heat gently bring some feeling back into my neck. It actually felt quite nice and relaxing, but I soon remembered I was there to get ready for work – not to drift back to sleep. I managed to bathe, still in the style of a groaning mutant zombie, and finally got myself dressed. My hair wasn’t playing this morning, so it had to stay as it was… the texturising gum I was using to style it was working fine, only not in the places where I wanted it to. ‘Keep calm and carry on’ I thought.

I finally made it outside after doing my usual ritual of tapping things about sixty times to remind myself that I had unplugged all the unpluggables and closed all the doors that needed closing. I locked the main door to Aquatom mansion, put my key into my pocket and walked to my car. ‘Have I unplugged my iron?’ I thought as I approached my car, ‘If I haven’t it has been on since yesterday, so I must have’ I answered myself. My car windscreen was slightly frozen, so I reached into the back seat to obtain a bottle of de-icer I have in there. I had to reach again, as I grabbed the broken can first, which didn’t help my neck. I de-frosted all of the windows, got into the car and threw the de-icer back into the back. As I set off, the inside windows were still slightly misty, so I had to bend and peer through possibly the tiniest of peep-holes ever until the windows cleared. I could have waited for them to clear, but I was running late. Not overly late, but just about late, and needed to call in at the local shop on my way to work. Well, if I was going to be late, a couple of extra minutes wouldn’t make any difference would they? Bending and driving also do not have a healing effect to a sore neck, but I persevered. I bought my items from the shop, and set off to work. Windows now clear, I was quite pleased, until a thought struck me ‘Have I locked the front door?’; to which I answered ‘Well, I’ve just put my keys in my pocket and pushed the door to ensure it is locked, so I hope so’. I carried on driving until I joined the traffic jam just around the corner.

The traffic wasn’t completely stopped, it was moving slowly. I imagined all of the other drivers being like zombies this morning, all groaning in the same direction.

I arrived in work on time, and had to explain why I was walking as though I had a plank of wood inside the back of my jacket. Luckily, there seems to be something going around, and some of my colleagues are off ill with it. Phew. I thought it was just me.

I started working, but every twenty minutes or so, something would happen that would take me off my stride, and I would need to start again. At one point I had to go outside to get some fresh air and walk around as I didn’t feel too good. After being in the cool air and doing more zombie-like walking I felt better. I went back to work, and things seemed to go OK for the rest of the day. Well, apart from a ringing in my left ear that was quite shrill.

Lunch was fine, nothing to report.

Home time was eventful. I was waiting patiently at a red traffic light, in the left hand lane which followed a lane round to the right. This lane is actually to turn left or to carry on, and the lane next to this on the right is just to follow the lane round to the right. The driver of the car to the right of me decided they wanted to turn left, and nearly drove through me. Luckily, I managed to stop before they did so. They just tootled away as if nothing had happened… I guess they hadn’t seen me!

Further down the road, another traffic hold up. I was waiting patiently again, for the car in front of me to move on, so I could continue in the left lane, when a four-by-four passed me on the left, at very quick speed, and carried on up the lane I wanted to be in. This driver caused me to jolt my neck, as I could not believe how impatient the driver was. So in one journey, I experienced two ‘very clever’ drivers.

At my parents’ house, they were frying sausages when I got there. They smelled wonderful, but the pan was smoking somewhat. Unfortunately, this caused the smoke detectors to activate, and for the next forty minutes I was trying to stop them from sounding. Screeching, I mean. Screech-screech-screech-screech-silence-screech-screech-silence-screech. My ears were ringing again afterwards.

Things have been quiet since, I’m pleased to say…

I still have a sore neck, but I can turn my head to the right a little further than earlier today. To turn to the left I have to look like a ventriloquist’s dummy, but never mind. I’ll be back in bed soon and will hopefully sleep it off.

I’ll probably have a random dream involving a ringing noise, but I’m used to them now.