Less Hustle More Coffee

Quick pop-in here. After my dentist cleaning, I was turning left into Chic Fil A at the main intersection when my car started bucking a bit, and then stalled out. I was able to start it and get out of the intersection and it stopped again on the mall road, started again, stopped again at Chic Fil A, and finally started again to pull into a spot and out of the way. I mean, if you are going to break down, do it in front of Chic Fil A.

I went in and ordered and made the table my temporary “office of crisis” while calling George, the auto repair company, the tow truck. While talking with the tow truck driver as to how and where to settle up, he asked where I heading and said he could drop me off at my house after we dropped off the car. That was nice. I gave him a $20 for the ride home. It was more than an Uber would have been for that short of a distance, but kindness needed to be rewarded for this kind person who probably was not supposed to do that and also had a line up of people afterwards.

When I got home I took the old RAV4. Close to 300,000 miles on it so I DO NOT want to drive far in it, but it started so I took the chance to driving it to work. Mom messaged me at work after seeing my stories on Facebook about it and told me to come get her car after work. So I did that.

My chevy equinox that was towed, has about 102,000 on it already. But she can go a long while yet, maybe. It’s supposedly only $670 to fix which includes oil change, fuel cleaning, and having to relearn the computer – retrain it. I didn’t know a car had to learn how to drive all over again, but it does now with the computer. So they have to drive it some and re-teach the computer. Weird. It was a timing solenoid – I do not know if I’m spelling it right.

So I popped in here real quick but I cannot stay. I was given the information to do unemployment reports finally with about a week to do them all in and already that is not enough time. However, even if I had been given them early with this month’s interruptions and extra work and not getting to stay over as much due to life responsibilities, I’ve just not had much of a chance. So it’s likely I will not finish on time. So I’m going in early today too but I get off early half day (hours already worked as I go in early every Tuesday to cover it). It’s Mom’s eye injection today that she gets monthly. Next week it takes about 3 to 4 days to do the payroll job and then on Thurs and Friday I usually have some payroll responsibilities but in the afternoons is when I get returns done. So that means I’ll have some time next Thurs and Friday but I have upwards to about 50+returns to do and that is not enough time. I normally get unemployment returns to do the 3rd week of the month and transport the last week but getting it all at the same time. I left home early Wednesday as I’d done all I could do while waiting on the info.

I won’t be able to work this weekend. We will be taking care of some of Mom’s things/needs, taking care of the car situation, packing for next weekend’s trip so I need to get laundry done. We have some appointments that we need to for personal care and dog grooming that I made for the weekends so it wouldn’t impact work, and we want to go to church. So there is no time to work this weekend and of course we are gone to Knoxville next weekend. So I can’t work the weekend due to these other responsibilities I’ve committed to – which are family and I’m not changing them as they have all been scheduled in advance for my off time. I’m struggling with this “too much” work to do at the last minute but I am getting too old to worry about such nonsense any more – especially when it’s not set up for success. I’m going to do my best, and yes- I’ll throw extra hours at it, and I will do what I can, but I tell you right now, it won’t be finished in time. Unless there is a miracle. It just will be what it will be. We are down to the wire and there is only so many hours and only so much of me to spread around to all the duties and all the things and all the people and payroll and returns. It takes more time to do it than I have been given. And that is that.

Enjoy your weekend. I have started the next video. It’s late fall and I filmed us making beef bourguignon! Take care. Maybe a post sometime this weekend. I will pop in as I can this next week. This is just nuts.