Late to Work

The other day CQ made me a salad for lunch.  Isn't that awesome!  So nice yah!  Thank you CQ!



It had tofu with furikake, avocado, tomatoes, mandarin oranges, corn, and candied walnuts in it. Just the kind of salad that I like.  It was such a welcome treat, especially after the rough morning I'd just had.  



As you can see from the title of this post, I was late getting to work that day.  It started out as a typical morning . . . nothing unusual. I woke up. Went outside to water my plants. Made myself a cup of coffee. Got Aunty ready. Waited for the Handivan to come and pick her up.  Got myself dressed. When the time came, I gathered up my stuff, said goodbye to Kona, locked the door and headed to the car.   I totally wasn't prepared for what happened next.

As I got into the car, I felt a prick on my upper thigh by my left pants pocket.  It felt like getting poked by one of those prickly burs that sometimes get stuck on your socks. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my cell phone. Then I reached in again trying to feel for the bur.  I felt another prick, but this time it was on my left index finger . . . and this time it was more than a prick. It felt like a stab. I automatically squeezed my finger 'cause it hurt so much, and a little drop of blood appeared.  Within 2 seconds both my finger and the area on my thigh started to throb. I remember thinking . . . this feels just like a bee sting. WHAAAA???? A . . . BEE . . . STING!!!!  OMG THERE MUST BE A BEE STUCK IN MY PANTS, AND THE ONLY THING BETWEEN ME AND IT IS A LITTLE BIT OF MATERIAL.

One thing I was sure of was that it was that big, black carpenter bee that is always flying around where I hang the laundry.  Another thing I was sure of was that I wanted my pants OFF OFF OFF, NOW NOW NOW!!! 

I fumbled around for my keys, ran back to the house, frantically unlocked the door, flew it open, and in mid run, tore off my pants. I then dashed into the bathroom, and not knowing what else to do, ran some cool water onto my finger which by now was just throbbing.  

You will not believe what happened next . . . as I stood there in my panties, holding my finger under the tap . . . with pain coursing through my finger and my thigh . . . 

The doorbell rang.

For real . . . the doorbell rang. 

I knew that in my haste I had not shut the front door, but I was pretty sure that the screen door had closed behind me. I wondered who in the world it could be.  Kona started barking, barking, barking (good boy Kona).

I grabbed for my stay-at-home shorts, which is actually Wendell's hand-me-down shorts, but I like it 'cause it's big and comfortable, and I put it on.  The guy at the door had mistakenly thought that our neighbor's mango tree was ours, and he asked if we would be willing to sell him some mangoes.  I think I might've been a little less than hospitable when I said, "Whaaa??? We don't even have a mango tree."  He apologized profusely and then left. Looking back, I feel bad at how I reacted, but at that time I really didn't care.

The pain started subsiding, which was good because I still had to deal with that bee. I took my pants outside to the back yard.  Of course I took my camera too . . . 'cause you know . . . you always gotta document these things.  I turned my pants inside out and slowly started to peel away the pocket material.  I saw it.  Sure enough, it was that black fuzzy bee.  It wiggled itself free and suddenly, before I could snap a shot, it flew off.  All I managed to do was scream.

And so that's how come I was late.