It must be Monday

So it's been a hell of a day already, and it's not even 9:30. Sigh. Where to start? Perhaps with the cats and other beasts who kept us up all night ... not our cat, but the one(s?) from next door, who are allowed to roam free. Last night they got into it not once, not twice, but at least three times with something else (I think it was raccoons, but I'm not sure), apparently over garbage can rights (they were knocking the cans around). Every time I had just drifted off to sleep the caterwauling (what a perfect word) began again, driving our own cat crazy (she was plastered to the window for most of the night, begging us to let her out) and making us come awake with a start. Then I would just get settled back down and my heart would stop racing and I would drift off to sleep and ... again. Our next door neighbours appear to be trying to turn their backyard into some kind of nature reserve (I think it just looks overgrown and messy, but what do I know?) and they have a backyard full of wildlife, birds, and their own cats (at least two different ones I've seen, there may be more). One night recently my friend S dropped me off after a girls' night and as we sat in the car chatting we saw both a skunk and a family of raccoons waddle across the road and disappear into the wilderness of the neighbours' backyard. So, you know, enjoying nature and wildlife is not a bad thing (although I would have more respect for their efforts if they weren't doing serious damage to the earth in other ways, like the vehicles they have rusting away in their backyard, but I digress) but if you want to establish a wildlife preserve in your backyard perhaps downtown Ottawa isn't the best place for you to be living?

Anyway. So I finally rolled out of bed this morning and headed out to work. Serdic is off today (the Ontario civic holiday, but as I work in Quebec I don't get it off) so I had the rare pleasure of taking the car (driving instead of taking the bus slashes my commute by 40 minutes, so it is a nice treat). And I was enjoying my drive immensely until I was rear ended at a red light -- I was turning right, stopped to yield to oncoming traffic (since I had, you know, the red light), and the guy behind me didn't stop. Sigh. Fortunately, no damage was done to either car, or driver (although I'm feeling a bit stiff and sore now, but I imagine that's just the tension), so we just got back in our cars and went on our way.

Arrived at work still a little shaken and spent ten minutes looking for parking -- the city has been slowly chipping away all the available parking around our building. The closest municipal lot has been closed (and is being torn up), the next closest has been changed to a park and ride for the bus system, and is by monthly permit only. All of the street parking is by permit only. Our building doesn't provide any day use parking, it is all by monthly permit as well. I finally found a municipal lot a ten minute walk away, where the meter ate up all my available change (usually those things have a credit card slot, but this one didn't). Fortunately it's a nice day and I can use the exercise so the walk is not really an issue, but it was just one more frustration this morning (and one more frustration in general about working in this location, but that's a rant for another time).

So I got to my desk, called Serdic to tell him about the car (like I said, no damage, but I wanted to check in with him), and promptly burst into tears as soon as I heard his voice. Sigh. After a good cry and chat with him and another cup of coffee, though, I'm feeling a little better and ready to start work. And the best news? Is that Monday only comes once a week.

When I was little, one of my favourite books was Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Poor Alexander has a terrible day where nothing goes right, and he keeps threatening to move to Australia. At the very end of the story his mother reminds him that "some days are like that, even in Australia."

Just call me Alexander today.