Log 19 (pt.2): Drab as a fool, aloof as a bard
Everything was going smoothly when I left for work in the morning, until I merged onto the freeway and realized I had not only left my headphones at home, but also had forgotten to bring a hair tie with me. Against my better judgement, I turned around at the next exit, went home, grabbed my missing essentials, and headed to the office.
When I arrived, the clock read 7:22, which meant I was twenty minutes late. Not bad, I thought to myself. I had brought three bags to work: one contained my lunch, one held miscellaneous workplace necessities (chapstick, gum, coffee, etc.), and the third held a couple sweatshirts and a pair of sweatpants (the temperature in the office is so inconsistent, layers are a must). Hurriedly, I set down my bags and went to clock in. Before I go find somewhere to work, I made sure to get some lotion from the communal dispenser. Even though I have my own container in my bag, I use that one to remind everyone that it’s there - or maybe it’s to make myself feel better about the fact that no one else in the office has ever used it. Ever.
Later that day, I spent some time helping Preston in shipping, wiping down frames with lacquer before they’re sent out to customers. My uncle walked me through the exhibit packing process, which began with the lacquer, and ended with taking pictures of all the components of the order and putting them in the shipping cases. I was trying to pay attention, but honestly was having a hard time concentrating - my head had been killing me all day, which is kind of unusual for me. Then, as I wiped a frame down, I remembered hearing my dad mention that inhaling too much of the lacquer thinner would result in - you guessed it - headaches. I couldn’t tell you why, but upon this realization, my first instinct was to bring the bottle I was using up to my nose to smell it. I wish I hadn’t done this for a couple of reasons. First, directly inhaling the lacquer seemed to instantly intensify my headache. And second, I somehow let the bottle slip out of my hands after smelling it, and although I successfully caught it in midair, I spilled a generous amount into a cut I had gotten on my hand earlier in the week. It hurt. A lot. Bad enough that I just kind of folded over and held my hand until the pain subsided, trying not to cause a scene. After that, I abandoned the shipping area and relocated to metals.
As I started working with the rivet gun in the metals area, listening to a new episode of my favorite podcast, Mike approached me to clarify a few things about the job. I popped one of my airpods out and set it on the work table to give him my full attention. You can probably see where this is going. About five minutes after our conversation ended, I remembered my unfinished podcast. However, when I scanned my work table, my other airpod was nowhere to be found.
This is not the first time this has happened to me. In fact, I lose and recover many things quite often around the office, including, but limited to, AirPods. Just yesterday, I found my favorite coffee thermos in the set up area after three weeks without it. I also know that there are at least three pairs of my safety goggles lost somewhere in the office that i have yet to find.
When you lose your AirPods, I’ve learned it’s best to stay calm. So, I calmly got down on my hands and knees and started searching all around the work table. Soon, I expanded my search perimeter to include most of the metal room - never underestimate the distance an airpod can bounce once it hits the floor. As I continued to crawl around, Gary, who’s chatting with Robbie about something, called out to me, “What are you doing?”. “I’m looking for my airpod!” I responded. He looked concerned, whether it was for my loss or due to my crawling, I couldn’t be sure. “Do you want help?” Robbie offered. “Nope, I’ve got it. I always lose them and I always find them,” I replied cheerfully. And after a few more minutes, I indeed found my lost AirPod and was back at my work table like nothing happened.
Highlight: At the end of a long day, I popped into the bathroom to wash the grease off my hands. I was a bit taken aback when I noticed my lips were stained a purplish/blue color. Frozen blueberries are one of my favorite snacks, and for whatever reason, they always leave aggressive, toothbrushing resistant stains on my lips and teeth. I hope nobody noticed!
