Sometimes, Even a Well-Lived Life Sucks

My head is about to explode.

I have been inundated with an avalanche of niggling little problems so far this year that have added up to a lot of stress. I don't deal well with stress anyway; I get headaches and neck aches and want to cry all the time. So it goes.

We started a project back in September--hardwood flooring in our living room, hallway, office and dining room. We ordered the wood and were told that it would not get in until December. Surprise! It arrived in October. We planned on starting the project by ripping out the old flooring in the living room at the end of the month. That plan went awry when I had to go to Utah for a couple of weeks because my mom was dying. When I returned, we opened boxes--and guess what, the trims didn't match the flooring. Back we went to the store. We ordered new trims. They didn't match either. Then the salesman told us we could have the trims custom-matched! Why didn't he tell us that in the first place?

Those finally came in around the 4th of January. We ripped out the living room floor and began. Funny, though: the boards in the boxes of flooring were only about 1-3 feet long, with the majority about 2 feet. What's the deal? I asked at the store. The salesman looked it up, and oh, this is the norm for this flooring. I had originally been told that it was as long as 6 feet. So we are negotiating what to do with the store. Grr!

My house is a chaotic mess due to having ripped out the living-room floor. This makes me feel antsy.

Last week, my bedroom TV died. It started smelling as though it was burning up. I unplugged it, and, indeed, my husband pronounced the end of its life and threw it in the garbage. We've had it since my mother-in-law sold her house in 1989; it was made in 1982. I felt like we should have a funeral for it! I miss it. I want a new one.

I have an article due at the end of the month. I have not been having much success getting interviews with the people I need to talk to. Aaaargh!

One of my co-workers lost her job for not making sales goals--a wonderful woman with whom I have worked for nine years. She did nothing wrong! Things are totally stressful at work. I have had my schedule changed and I am working a lot more, just when I need some time off. Who's next?

My back has been hurting since early November.

I am worried about my kids. And I am going to have to pay the full out-of-state tuition for my daughter, who did not do well last semester and will not get her loan this one. She is trying to establish residency and this is not going well.

Someone hit our fairly new car in the church parking lot on Sunday. It's not badly damaged, but this will probably mean that the fender and bumper will not perfectly match the rest of the car. I hate that.

I had an upsetting phone call with my dad on Sunday night. Though it was not my fault and I did nothing wrong, I feel my dad is mad at me. I am still coming to grips with my mother's death.

I need to make doctors' appointments for a mammogram, my sinuses, a physical, and with my surgeon for a follow-up. I also need to find a new opthalmologist and see the dentist.

We got a new computer and being relatively tech-illiterate, I am having a hard time transitioning between the old one and the new one. (Yes, this stresses me out!)

Yesterday I took a cashmere sweater from the dry-cleaning wrapping and put it on, to discover a hole in the left arm.

But, as a wise friend says, nobody's sick or in jail. Guess I should be grateful, huh?

Gosh, this year has got to get better, right? Calgon, take me away!