Bookshelf and To Do List Frustrations

Grr. Argh. I didn't get anything done today. Remember how I wasted several days waiting for Flakey McFlakerson to come get a bookcase and some other furniture? (the bookcase pickup has been discussed several times since then, by the way, but a time has not yet been set up. Heh.) Well, today was a day when someone else, let us call this person Confused and Befuddled Newbie Grad, was supposed to get the first bookcase, the one that got grabbed up first. Confused and Befuddled was smart, as this person brought along a brother and a friend and finagled somebody's truck. I think Confused and Befuddled is moving apartments and was having a very trying day.

As soon as the brother got in and saw the bookcase, he said testily, "there's no fucking way that's going up your stairs. Remember how we nearly got the boxspring stuck in the turn of that staircase? This is going to be just as bad; it's as tall as the boxspring and about as deep." Then Confused and Befuddled and had one of those arguments-you-try-not-to-let-be-arguments-in-front-of-strangers, and it sounded like they were frazzled and having a bad time of it. It also came out that they had gotten a ticket from parking in the red zone somewhere else in the moving process.

(The whole time the friend --- who may be the owner of the truck, I'm not sure --- stood silently in the middle of my living room, arms akimbo and legs spread out like he was a bouncer for a club or mafia muscle. And he never took off his shades.)

Confused and Befuddled apologized, asked to borrow my tape measure, said that maybe they would be back for it if they thought it was physically feasible, took down my number, and offered to pay me for the bookcase anyway, as zie was bowing out at the last minute. I accepted and saw them off.

When I got ready to leave on my own errands, I noticed Confused and Befuddled's wallet on my coffee table --- probably forgotten in the difficulties of finding a pen and something to write my phone # down on. I called the grad and passed on the information, and got the response that they would be back for it shortly.

Instead, several hours passed, which messed up my errand-running mojo. Not only that, but because I had called before they had scarcely left, I hadn't gone to the bathroom --- no need to be in the middle of that when they knock on the door, right? So I was waiting, shall we say, very impatiently there for a while.

So where did I have to go? I wanted to dump a load of clothes at the thrift store, drop some crap off at school, and get a jacket that I had left at a friend's. Oh, and I had cooked and eaten lunch by this time and thought that it would be a good day to buy some chips and salsa. (Now, why did I not think of getting beer to go along with it?)

And what did I end up doing? Nearly getting rear-ended at the thrift store, arriving at school after all the offices I needed were closed, and I completely forgot to stop by for the jacket. Arrgh!

At least I remembered the chips and salsa. Chomp, chomp, chomp.