Today I had ‘one of those days’. It started from the moment I was blasted out of my nest by the alarm clock at 5.30am. I hate being woken by the alarm – I seem to spend the rest of the day startled! Usually I wake up just before it rings but this morning I was sound asleep when it freaked me awake.
It was dark still with howling wind and pouring rain lashing against the windows. I had a long day ahead so had to carry my large Macbook with me. I took the big umbrella so it covered my bag and figured maybe a two minute wait for the bus and then warm and cosy all the way to my final destination. But no….
The 6.33 bus did not come. Neither did the 6.48. After standing for going on half an hour in the pouring rain with icy drops dripping off the back of my umbrella down my back as I tried to protect my computer, trudging commuters coming in the opposite direction informed us that there were no buses leaving the terminus due to a combination of technical failure and a huge traffic jam . So I walked the 3 kilometers to the underground station. Only to be stuck in a tunnel on the train….with icy cold and sopping wet feet from the puddles.
I finally got to my first meeting about fifteen minutes late (good for me on days like this that I always anticipate delays so always arrive very early). Ran from the station in the lashing rain. Dashed into the lift. Which then got stuck one floor below where I needed to be.
I finally burst out of the lift straight into reception like a cartoon character Had to show my ID as normal and shot into my first lesson. Then up two floors and the next one. Then down four floors and the next one.
Back out into the pouring rain to my next meeting. Only to arrive and find I have no ID. Cannot get in without it as I work in secure environments and need security clearance. Have to ring all the places I have been. Finally one lets me know they have found it. Back in the pouring rain to get it. This time the lift is out of order. Up 8 flights of stairs, collect it, down 8 flights of stairs, out into the rain, underground two stops, 2 more meetings.
And the day is finally over. Plus, the rain has stopped. It takes over an hour to get home via a stop at the supermarket where there was a queue almost to the back of the shop, but heave a sigh of relief as I start up the final 126 steps to my flat where I can finally close the door behind me on this awful day.
Realise as I climb the last steps that I had left my computer charger (my only one) at work. And as I am working at home all day tomorrow I have to have it. I leave my huge sopping wet bag at home, just take my Filofax/wallet, and my umbrella with me. Ooh and the parcel slip I found waiting for me.
Down 126 steps, then the bus, then the underground, then a fifteen minute walk, then up four flights of stairs. Only to realize I had left my office key behind at home in my handbag and the office door is locked. *Tantrum alert* Luckily a teacher was still in one of the teaching rooms for a late lesson so I could get in using his key *PHEW!* Something went right for me today! At this point it was about 7pm.
Collect charger, all the way back via underground. And a stop at the post office. Not expecting a parcel. Wonder what it is? Mmm, kind of soft and squishy but with a hard centre. Open it in the bus on the way home as curiosity overcame me.
OH
MY
It could, quite literally, not have come on a better day. I was so tired and so defeated that I almost sat down on one of my 126 sodding steps and cried tears of happiness that someone out there was thinking of me.
It is just perfect. So perfect. A bug and a bag and a Filofax!
People often ask me why I named my blog as I did. Three reasons really.
Firstly my family has alway loved bugs – I have cousins who have had butterfly and dragonfly-themed weddings. My family worked at a café called The Butterfly Snack Bar. I love bees – especially bumblebees, and ladybugs. So it has been a theme in my life. People tend to give me things with bugs on them and I tend to buy things with bugs on them so it is a self-perpuating thing. They make me happy.
Secondly I have had a tough life. A very difficult one. People often say to me ‘you are a survivor’. And yes I am. I don’t want to be. Sometimes I would like to just lie down after life has knocked me flat yet again, and never get up again. But my survival instinct kicks in when things are at their worst. Even when I feel like a bug squashed under the shoe of life I have this urge to struggle and kick my legs until I can hopefully flip myself over again and start moving forward. Kind of like a cockroach that can survive a nuclear meltdown that wipes out every other living thing on the planet.
And thirdly, I have a small bumblebee tattooed on my hip to symbolise the fact that bumblebees cannot fly but they do it anyway. I have always given things a go, even when people told me I would not be able to.
The name of my blog came before the blog itself actually. I was blogging sporadically under another name on TypePad as well as doing the social media for my company. I had no thought of starting this blog. One day someone asked if I had written my life story down and asked what the name would be. The perfect name just suddenly popped into my head. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, discovered that the domain name was available, and bought it immediately. It felt like it was meant to be.
And incidentally, I saw the A Bug’s Life movie in early 1999. It was the first movie I ever saw in Sweden with my then husband and stepson. It was very cold and snowing and I was not sure how much of the movie I would understand. Until I discovered that Swedes do not dub movies, they use subtitles. So everything is left in the original language. Another reason for Swedes having such excellent English!
I write about all kinds of things. Things I like and am curious about. It is my pampering, my little part of the day where I can write about my loves. I am still amazed people read me. And enjoy my blog. So from the bottom of my heart I want to thank all my readers and give a virtual hug to those who brought this very squashed bug some sunshine today on a very rainy day!
I’m so sorry about your bad day, but I think you should write a book. I was so sad the blog came to an end, although it was a happy one. But you really have the makings of a great author…
What a terrible day!!! Fortunately it ended up on a positive note.
l notice that post offices stay open after 7 p.m. in Sweden. Lucky you. Here they close ar 6 p.m. latest. Only two remain open until 10 p.m. in the centre of Paris.
My one post office stays open till 8pm, the other one 10pm. In Sweden in 2006 or so the national post offices closed and they moved into the supermarkets instead so they are open supermarket hours, 7 days a week.
I realized I was literally holding my breath when I got to the end of your post. What came to mind was an eCard I saw a few months back that said “Dear Whatever Makes Me Stronger, I’m strong enough. Thanks.” I’m with Gill. Bad day is pretty much an understatement. 😉 I am so glad you took the time to pick up your parcel so the day wasn’t a complete “wash”. Suffering makes many people bitter, but it has obviously made you better. What draws us to your blog is your heart.
I was having a bad day today and then I read this post. My mood changed immediately and my spirits lifted. I simply loved this paragraph: “Secondly I have had a tough life…… living thing on the planet.” Perfect words!
The phrase “a bad day” really doesn’t cover it. So glad you had something at the end of it to make you 🙂
Yes it was a horror all right! with a lovely ending though 🙂
What a brilliant post! Sorry you had such a bad day, but I love the timeliness and aptness of that kind person’s gift to you. May there be less wriggling of the legs to try and turn over in the future.