I Don’t Like Monday’s

I think I need to look up my horoscope for today and find out why it all went so horribly wrong. There must be some retrograde Mercury thing happening to certain unlucky Virgoans as my communication is up the spout – be it verbal or virtual. Of course, this would be the day of Tight Deadline, Must Be Finished Today On Pain of Death. Of course it is.

Wrong Things

Up at six to beat Three Mobile Broadband’s usual paddy from 10am onwards

The computer system I am uploading to dies from 9 – 11am. This is my prime Internet time, and now it is wasted.

Three Mobile Broadband starts crashing every half hour from midday. Cannot upload any of my work

Decide to pack up and use free wifi at British Library. This is the nearest reliable source of wifi that has plug sockets available, as my lap top needs plug power

Train fare today is £6.50, yesterday it was £4.50. I query why when it is the same journey. Ticket man shrugs and shrugs, and then finally says it is because I am not travelling direct today (as the trains only run direct on weekends) and am using the tube. I was practically purple with rage at this point. My ‘thank you’ was said through gritted teeth.

Buy a bottle of fizzy drink that fizzes all over my hand and down my canvas carrier bag

Get to British Library and there is not a spare plug anywhere in the building.

Share someone’s 4 plug adapter for 10 minutes before I get told off by jobsworth security man as I have moved my table 2 inches to the left and am running a cable across the floor. I get the cable; I don’t get the tiny table movement. Damn the man.

Work on battery power. Cannot access job website, password’s not working

Manage one section when get new password from tech bloke, and then battery on lap top dies

Cruise British Library desperate for a plug socket, trailing power cable

Find one, but it means sitting on cold marble floor like a looney

Internet falls over half hour later

I give up, and decide to go back home

Get home and Internet works, for an hour only

Make boiled eggs in anger for tea

Internet then crashes at 20 minute intervals until 8.30pm

Right Things

Internet occasionally worked

Kind man at British Library let me share his 4 plug adapter

Found a plug socket of my very own

Deadline extended for me until midnight

My boiled eggs were done to perfection

My mum knows not to talk to me when I am in a snit

I read my ‘Bedknob and Broomstick’ book on the tube

I finally finished my work by 10pm, so I can crash out in bed