Day in the Lyfe of Aaron
Thursday rolls around and, lo and behold, Robert’s camera has my new Z8 waiting for me. I've been in desperate need of this camera, and the timing is perfect to trade in my old gear to fund this acquisition. Then there's also this yard work I must tackle. To top it all off, the new gimbal is defective. Imagine my surprise when the electronics I bought from Amazon failed to function properly. This throws a wrench into my video production plans for Saturday. So, I start the return process and decide to buy the next model up. I really need a gimbal for the action camera and phone to get this content right. So, the return process is started and a new one is purchased.
Friday
Come Friday morning, I start work as early as possible to finish early in the afternoon. I call my friend and reschedule - it turns out to be a good idea as a mutual friend needs help. So, he's going to detour there and lend a hand. But now, Amazon requires me to repackage the item, print the labels, and tape it all up. Thank you for the inconvenience, Amazon!
When I go to print my labels, the HP printer I hardly ever use is out of ink. After rummaging for extra ink and waiting for the printer to recalibrate, I'm finally ready to print these labels. To add to the frustration, Amazon has put every label on a separate sheet of paper. Thanks, "Bezos", for making me waste paper.
Just as I'm about to print the labels, the power goes out. Blue skies at 11AM and no electricity - what on earth is going on? About 10 minutes later, the power comes back on. I fire up the computer, log back into work, and return to the task of printing three simple pages to return an item! Finally, the pages are printed, the box is packed. I've got a 12:30 meeting and I plan to hit the UPS store after that.
But no, the power goes out again! After 30 minutes, I decide enough is enough. The A/C isn't working, I can't work, and I'm irritated that someone would schedule a meeting during lunch hour anyway. I message a coworker to explain the situation, head to the UPS store, and grab lunch, hoping everything will be okay when I get back. I'm determined to make the best of a rocky day.
Friday - Lunch
I drop the box off at the UPS store, which conveniently located near a café. Their breakfast is okay from what I remember, so I decide to try lunch. When I order coffee, the waitress tells me, "We’re not serving breakfast now!". I assure her that I just want coffee with my lunch. I settle for a Ruben and fries, but it's underwhelming and overpriced. As I leave, I spot the cook looking smugly over his customers. I consider telling him to either quit or take some pride in his work, but I hold my tongue, vowing never to return.
Back to Work
Thankfully, the power's back on when I get home. Work takes priority, and I want to finish as quickly as possible to get a head start on Saturday's tasks. But just as I'm about to log out, everything goes haywire at work. There's a major production issue and I must go into triage mode. What was meant to be an early day now extends into the evening. My friend, who I'm supposed to go camping with on Saturday night, calls me about the chicken I'm supposed to use for our tacos.
I tell him I'll come over - I need a break from work and a beer sounds perfect. Beer:30, albeit late, is a welcome reset. Back home, I prep the chicken, marinate it, and move on to other tasks.
Now, I must pack up all my old gear to take to Robert’s first thing Saturday morning to pick up my new Nikon Z8. Cleaning and boxing all that camera gear is a lot, especially finding the original boxes. It's 12:30 am before I can check in with work to ensure our issue is still resolved. Exhausted after a 19-hour non-stop day, I finally go to sleep, only to wake up again at 3 AM, for no apparent reason!! Ugg!
Stay tuned, more about this weekend is yet to be written
