I hate the feeling of the pre-work morning rush, because I always have a list of things I want to do, and as I run out of time, they fall off the list one by one. Nope, no time for doing last night’s dishes with the cereal bowl. No time for the cereal bowl, even. I guess I won’t be sweeping up the floor since I took that extra two minutes to try to fluff up my bangs. Oh, and I’ll have to read the paper later since I lingered by the radio listening to the news. (I’d hate to miss the feed of some jerk from Idaho cry, “I’m not gay!!!” as if he had been cornered in the boy’s room by the school bully.) There’s no time to hang up my clothes from yesterday because I took a little too long picking out the ones to wear today.
This morning, it seemed like there was also going to be no time to make the coffee, but it didn’t seem like the kind of day that would work without coffee. So what I did was grind the beans and pour the water and set up the pot to go as soon as I got downstairs. I decided that there was no point in turning on the pot yet since it would just sit there warming for a half hour while I did all my other morning stuff. So I did all my morning stuff and about an hour later I was ready to hit the road. Of course, there was my pot of coffee sitting in pre-coffee parts, water, filter and grinds all separated, waiting for the magic to happen.
I noticed this snafu at exactly the time that I need to leave the house to reach work by 9:00. So, I decided that I would make the coffee and be three minutes late, but make the most of my time while I waited for the brew. The first thing I did was turn off the radio and unplug it like Al Gore told me to do. Then, I emptied the litter box and took out the trash. A walk to the garbage can should take me exactly the time of the brew. On the way to the garbage I dropped off my Netflix rental (Splendor in the Grass) and said hello to the neighbor. While I was out, I had a nagging feeling that there was a large flaw in the plan. Upon entering the kitchen, I realized that the flaw was that in my haste I didn’t just unplug the radio, I unplugged the entire surge protector that also included the coffee pot. So, no coffee is waiting for me, just water, a filter, and grinds. Thanks a lot, Al Gore.
So long story short, I’m a dofus, and I just stood there waiting for the coffee to finish because there was no way I was going to do the dishes. I mean, I was already 10 minutes late for work for goodness’sake.
Posted by -R- on August 29, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Heh. At least you (finally) got your coffee!
Posted by Kirsten on August 29, 2007 at 2:53 pm
aci used to live life with a pre-work scramble. but since i moved back home, Dad’s early morning nose blowing, the slamming of the back porch door, my stepmother’s need to empty the dishwasher at 6:30 am keeps me from sleeping in… leaving me with a grand 2 hours for early morning preparations. and what a joy i am, during those 2 hours.
Posted by Kirsten on August 29, 2007 at 2:54 pm
i should note: my parents make my coffee for me… so i better just shut up now.
Posted by lizgwiz on August 29, 2007 at 3:10 pm
I have my pre-work scramble down to a fine art. I’m cutting it pretty close, though, so if one thing goes awry–a cat went crazy spewing hairballs in the night, for example, or I don’t like the outfit I picked out once it’s on–it’s all over as far as being on time to work. Thankfully, where I work, “on time” is a pretty relative term.
Posted by 3carnations on August 29, 2007 at 3:17 pm
I’ve got a pretty good morning routine, but it was altered for the first time in a couple years when my son woke up early today. I convinced him to “rest” for 20 minutes more, and he ended up falling asleep until his regular time an hour later. I’m glad for him, more than I’m glad for my routine remaining unchanged, because a three year old waking up at 5:30AM makes for a very grouchy three year old by 5:30PM!
Posted by Meghan on August 29, 2007 at 6:01 pm
Because I’m a brat about coffee, I try to work in a stop at Starbucks on my way to work every morning. Not even the Starbucks kiosk that we have at work will do, because it’s fake, crappy Starbucks and my delicate palate can tell the difference. The downside is that it forces me to leave the house ten minutes earlier than is absolutely necessary (and costs me $3 a day.)
Posted by rdl on August 30, 2007 at 2:36 am
Too funny! You’re a better woman than I – I just drive thru Dunkies and I’m late everyday.
Posted by Aaron on September 1, 2007 at 12:05 am
It is pre-work scenarios such as these that result, day in and day out, in me not making my bed pretty much ever. Because it seems there’s always something more important to do (eg. lay on my bed staring at the ceiling for five more minutes).
Posted by mermu on September 1, 2007 at 6:55 pm
My life has changed completely since I discovered “Senseo”.
Single serving coffee pods rocks. There’s even a refillable, reusable pod you can buy at amazon.com that allows you to use any coffee you like and not harm the environment. Al Gore would like that.