Reason #1: Work. This of course is two-fold so...
Reason #1a: My client does not know how to work a fax machine. And she has no concept of deadlines. And when she does know that there is an impending deadline, she plays impossible-to-get with me the day of the deadline. Thus resulting in me calling the publisher of pick-your-favorite-major-publication and *begging* for an extension, knowing that the best I'll get is until tomorrow at noon, as I pulled this same routine yesterday and got the extension until today.
Reason #1b: My first major tangible project is a competitive analysis deck. It's "freakin' awesome" according to my boss, which was a major ego boost (did I mention my boss was fabulous?). But crazy woman (or a 5-letter word that begins with B) who runs the agency apparently finds fault with it and addresses her comments to my boss' boss, who, for whatever reason, told me not to worry about them and he'd just let my boss take care of it - effectively taking me off the project before I can perfect it, or make whatever necessary changes and leaving me totally confused as to what he (my boss' boss) thinks of my work. And his opinion counts. For a lot. At least to me it does. I don't give two licks about crazy woman because she finds fault with everything - like last week when she 86'ed logos already approved by the client!!! That was a fun explanation. "Oh and yeah, about those logos, one of the most fundamental aspects of your brand, yeah, about those...ummm...well, we're going to change them. What? Oh yes, I know you like them. I know they're everything you dreamed of and more. And yes, I know you're willing to pay us obscene amounts of money for those logos. But you can't. Because we're changing them. The work we slaved for weeks on and discussed ad nauseum with you, well, it's crap. And we're changing it. And your opinion doesn't count. But we love you because you're our client. Have a nice day!"
Reason #2: I had to race home early to beat the Comcast guy who came and fixed my internet. Of course, after he fixed it, there were still two more calls to Comcast before all was right in the world. And somehow, despite all the credits and you-just-signed-up incentive deals, I still owe them $7.95.
Reason #3: I don't drink enough. Advertisers are alcoholics for a reason. (By the way, Dry by Augusten Burroughs is a fabulous book about an alcoholic advertiser. Thanks, Elle!)
Reason #4: After racing home to beat the Comcast guy by exactly 47 seconds, I find that one of my smoke detectors is low on a battery. Of course in my ridiculously large apartment, it's not enough to have just one smoke detector. I have to have at least three (there's probably one or two more that I have yet to find). I'm not sure which one is low on battery as I disassembled all three in a fit of rage. I'll let maintenence figure it out tomorrow. That is if my apartment doesn't burn down tonight.
Reason #5: Ken is not here. And the past 18 days have seemed like an eternity. And it's 31 days until I get to see him again.
Reason #6: My fish died. Both of them. Alfred, the unphotogenic yet intelligent one, died of unknown causes. Fluffy, the cute orange one, lost his reason to live shortly afterward. I kid you not. I always thought fish were without emotion, but as I knew Alfred was dying, I separated him because I didn't want Fluffy to have to being in a small bowl with a dead fish. As soon as I took Alfred out (and placed him in a smaller jar right next to the big fish bowl) Fluffy got distraught and started to feign death. Then he found Alfred in the bowl right next to him and decided to live again and once Alfred "passed on", Fluffy went right back to the death routine, only this time he was successful. Sad, pathetic, yet ridiculously interesting. I'm sure you all are thinking I'm making this up, because there's only so seriously you can take someone who names their fish Fluffy and Alfred, but I swear it to be true. You know your day sucks when both your pets die. (Many thanks to Benji though for the beautiful eulogies.)Reason #7: I just spilled lemonade all over myself. Awesome.
