And again--

Work brings in new surprises every day. Sometimes they are related to people you see, the aligned smudges on the windows, or even the occasion bug on the sills of the window that stand upright flailing their little legs trying to communicate some foreign sign language.

Today just started on the wrong foot. Not only did I wake up on the wrong side of the bed, I woke up about 40 minutes after my alarm went off. First, of all, I am not the kind of person who turns their alarm off unconsciously or to snooze... I just get up when it rings usually with no problem. Second, if I wake up late, I am the type to panic.

The alarm was set to go off at 7:50, giving me an hour to get ready for work. I got out of bed at 8:36, giving me 14 minutes to get ready. I called down to my mom to call Mrs. Black to tell her I would be a little late (another thing I hate having to do). Mom told me rather to skip the shower and just get dressed.

At 8:57 I walk into the church with greasy hair sticking, no... glued to my scalp and unshaved leg hair. Never preferable. Cleaning the auditorium is always the first on the agenda. Great, I thought, something easy to start out with.

Ha. Not only were there no hymnbooks in the right spot, they were missing. After (much work...) finding some spares I resumed the straightening and arranging of chairs and books, picking up trash and lost-and-found items as I go. I saw what looked like a (c)Reeses wrapper behind a chair leg. I picked it up.

It was not a (c)Reeses wrapper. What I held in my hand was a huge dead cockroach. I feel for the people who had to listen to my scream of terror due to coming upon this insect.

The second episode of today started with the offices. My boss, Mr. Stouffer had just gotten one of the vacuums from the office maintenance closet repaired and ready to use. So I plug it in and start cleaning. About five minutes into the job sparks start flying out where the chord connects to the actual machine and the vacuum cleaner goes ablaze around the chord.

So, there's this three inch flame coming out of a vacuum that was repaired the same day in the church office. Anyone other than me see something wrong with this picture?

Sarah and I were panicking as to how to turn it off yelling for help and screaming FLAMING VACUUM, FLAMING VACUUM!! as the office personnel came into the hallway to watch. I finally turned it off and Sarah unplugged it. An uneasy silence settled. The building smelled of smoke for about a half hour.

So yeah, that was my day... I still haven't showered...

~chris~