BZZZZZZ

Morning.

I sat up.
Ugh.
Another day.

Roxy peers up at me with that guilty look...
the one that begs me not to make her get out of her warm bed just because I have to work.
Were our roles reversed, I would make the same face.

The chill of morning air requires that I put on my clothes as rapidly as possible...
and my room is the warmest in the house.
They are cold...
but only briefly.
I top it all  with a hoodie.

I put the last night's coffee into the giant Starbucks container

 and shove it into the microwave.
Next stop is the bathroom.

This is the routine;
put hair in pony tail, brush teeth, use mouthwash, beat the toothbrush on the edge of the sink and replace it in the cup.
(No worries... deodorant is next to my bed in my table drawer and part of getting dressed.)

I reach over and click out the light.
Bzzzzzzzz... zzzz...zzz...
I turn the light back on.
zzzzzzzzzzzz....

Its an insistent little buzzzzz.
I put my hand on the light box.
No vibration.
I look at Randy's beard trimmer, then touch it.
No vibration.
I pull open the drawer and check the old shaver.
Not only is it silent, but it is unplugged.
Oh yeah.  Duh.
Still... zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I feel the wall.
What if it's a short or something electrical?
The wall feels normally cool.
zzzzzzzzzzzz
I touch the light again, like that will help.
I feel the counter.

Meanwhile the phone in my pocket begins to play its morning swan song...
my alarm telling me that if I want to get to work on time that I need to leave NOW.
zzzzzzzzzz

Well crap.
No hope for it... I'm going to have to go to work.
I rush to the kitchen and write the man a note.
"There's an electrical sounding buzzz in the front bathroom...."

I lock the front doors behind me hoping that my home will not burn down.
I think about the buzzz all through the first two hours of my day at work.
By break time I can't stand it....

"Its me" I say cleverly, as if he did not know.
My phone announcement on his phone is the William Tell Overture.
"Did you figure out the buzzz?"

"Its okay.  Only a little fire.  Its out now..."
I feel relief!
He would never sound that calm if there had been a real fire.
"It was your toothbrush Silly Rabbit!"

Ok.
Mystery solved.
Then he says

"Now you want to tell me how to shut the damn thing off?"

SLUMBER

I've been sleeping.

A lot.

I have done little else.

Only what was required to keep my home clean

and both of us in clean clothes.

Then I sit for a second and fall asleep.

 

 

I've needed it.

I've been working a lot of hours and days.

My job is physical.

Basically I lift weights all day long.

I don't just hang up clothing...

I hang up groups of clothing at a time.

Ten coats can be pretty heavy for an old silly rabbit.

 

Not that I am complaining.

Its good for the "bat wings" that form under the arms.

And it is exercise.

 

But its the mental part of my  job that exhausts me.

Answering questions like

"Do you have battery operated gloves?"

Or

"Can I speak to your Twinky department?"

Or

"Are you real... I mean a real person?"

 

 

Its the work politics.

Tush is an older woman with ego issues...

she can't stand Mike and Ike...

who are young women...

 telling her what to do.

It does not matter that they have worked there longer.

She imagines Mike and Ike plots against her.

Sigh.

Mike and Ike ignore and avoid her.

 

 

I am so sad that I cannot do the same.

I am locked into working with her and have to hear plots all day long.

Ugh.

Mike and Ike are not plotting.

They are doing their jobs. 

 

 

I try to do what I can to avoid work conflict.

I let my mind wander to other interests.

Let's face it...

my job is not demanding of actual brain power

so mine is free to play.

 

 I watch people.

We have an endless supply and variety.

I find the homeless particularly interesting.

They do some odd things.

 

There are grazers.

These are the folk who come in and graze off the shelves...

then hide their wrappers and opened packages, etc.

in the merchandise.

I found a half eaten chicken breast tucked between two purses.

(We have a hot deli.)

An empty can of Red Bull in a pair of boots.

 

But the ones that amaze me most are the ones who do their laundry

in our store.

No, not the kind where one uses a washing machine.

One pair of boxers is replaced in a package with a used pair.

Oh yuck.

Same with pairs of socks, shirts, pants, shoes, etc.

 

 

Everyone needs food and clothing.

I get that.

But seriously... ick!

 

Or they become angry when they cannot do or have something they want...

and defecate on the floor or benches.

I have never been that mad.

I am afraid it is out of my scope of understanding. 

 

 

I see homeless women in the public bathrooms putting on their make up

in the morning...

or taking  sponge baths in the sinks daily.

It makes me feel both sad

 and 

admire them for not giving up completely.

 

Some walk the store all night...

imitating shoppers.

Filling their carts with all manor of clothing and items...

that they never take to the check stand.

Slowly making the time inside out of the cold last as long as they

can go unnoticed...

abandoning full carts when they attract attention...

to flee back out into the dark.

 

 

I don't mind the lifting of clothing and moving them around all day.

That is a good kind of tired.

That is a day of good honest work.

Its watching work place pettiness...

and watching the sad lives of homeless human beings...

that exhausts my soul.

 

But there are highlights too...

a tale for another day.

Right now,

I'm feeling sleepy again.

Sorry I've been gone so long.

I have missed you all.

 

=:]