Bathroom melodrama - contains nudity

After spending a relaxing Sunday walking the dogs and generally doing nothing I didn't want to, I decided to take a warm bath before settling on the couch with Husband to watch Avatar.

I spent a while sloshing about in that sedate way that defines the Sunday Bath, then unplugged the plug and got out. I heard a Glomp gloop gloop noise that didn't quite sound right, and noticed that it was emanating from the stand-in shower, and not the bath. On closer inspection, I saw that a mini-fountain was slowing building from the shower's plug-hole and my old bath water (complete with leg-hair stubble) was beginning to fill the base of the shower.

Being the resourceful person I am, I stood watching dumbly for a few seconds before yelling for Husband. By the time Husband had appeared on the scene I had gathered enough wits and had heroically abandoned my towel whilst replacing the bath plug.  Husband, having been summoned to the bathroom and confronted by a naked wife, looked momentarily hopeful until I indicated toward the shower.

Husband removed the bath plug to assess the situation and decided that a plunger was needed. He fled downstairs to retrieve said plunger. In his absence, there was still a steady flow of water coming up the shower plug-hole, which by now was perilously close to the rim. I grabbed the bathroom bin and began bailing the water out of the shower into the bath and continued in this fashion until Husband's return.

I was quite pleased with my show of initiative until Husband pointed out that perhaps putting the water back into the bath wasn't really that helpful. Conceding the point, I redirected my bailing efforts towards the toilet.

The plunger, alas, was no match for whatever was blocking the system, so we continued bailing the water out until it posed no threat to the bathroom carpet (quite why anyone would carpet a bathroom I don't know!). 

I decided that siphoning the last of the water in the shower cubicle would be a good idea - I think I was trying to compensate for my earlier lack of wisdom, so grabbed the siphon we use for the fish tank and lay with my face pressed into the floor to get the water movement. At this point, I had an image of what I must have looked like; naked, flat out on the  floor with a clear tube running out of my mouth like some drunk sophomore getting their stomach pumped.

Having averted the major flooding issue, we decided to leave the rest for the letting agent to sort out the next day and so returned downstairs to watch Avatar.

Nature Guidebook: How to spot a dog-person

Why I shouldn't be allowed to talk to people.

The latest development craze at work is having another colleague watch you work, or shadow you. So, Publisher asks me if I would mind having another member of the team shodow me. The conversation went something like this:

Publisher: Do you mind being shadowed by the new team member?
 Me: Not at all.
Publisher: Ok, so when would be a good time for you?
Me: Next week?

Refinements of timings are discussed.

Publisher: So, how long do you think it will take?
Me: Oh, not long, it's kinda boring.

Realising that I had inadvertantly called Publisher's idea of shadowing stupid, I then proceeded to mumble something along the lines of meaning that I meant it would be boring for the new team member. Unfortunately, this came out as calling the new team member boring.

This is how I managed to insult Publisher's idea, and simultaneously alienate my colleagues in one short conversaion, and why I shouldn't be allowed to talk to people.

I wasn't asked for coffee at break-time.

Gripe

The dangerous spiral of boredom

Today started pretty innocuously, much the same as any other. And there lay the problem.  As the day progressed I developed a terrible sense of boredom. It was ok at first. Whilst I worked monotonously away, my brain tucked itself away and occupied itself reading magazines, planning blog posts and generally keeping itself out of trouble.

Unfortunately, my brain soon lost interest in it's solo pursuits and suddenly became aware of how under-used it currently was. An annoying nagging began chomping at my ears and demands for proper use filled my senses.

The clock ticked slowly and heavily toward home-time, but by now my brain had reached a state of hyper-boredom rivelled only by the confined jitterings of a five year old on a long car-drive.

By the time I was leaving work I was trying to placate my brain with promises of enthralling activity when I got home - exciting trips to the local rock-climbing wall; riotous socials with friends; finally teaching myself Mandarin... (ok, maybe the last one isn't that exciting).

The thing about boredom, the ironic thing, is that when you do have free time you're so drained by sheer boredom, that you spend your evening slobbed out on the couch watching crappy soaps and starting to merge into the upholstery like some half-human half-Ikea creature.

This is the problem with boredom. It's a perpetual cycle. After a full, dull day vegetating at your desk you go home and continue vegetating there, instead of looking for more exciting careers.  Before you know it you start finding it amusing when people describe their feelings followed by '.com' (for example, 'I'm bored.com') as your own sense of creativity is a shrivelled raisin of a memory.

I don't know why I'm attracted to boring jobs (I should probably stop applying for them, that would help), but I suspect it's from a deep-rooted fear of actually getting a Proper Job with Responsibility.

Collie Wobbles