The Diary of a Nobody/June 15

It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…

Tuesday, June 15
The big news – and I’m surprised it took so long to notice this – is with the tech refresh the numeric lock stays activated…You do not need to hit the Num LK button before entering your password. 

I am not making that up. 

Next to the touch screen, this might be the most exciting innovation of the tech refresh…In the old days, every time a computer was so much as logged out, the Num Lk button resets itself, meaning the number pad on the right end of the keyboard wasn’t producing numbers when trying to enter your password, which I never understood at all because producing a number when tapped is pretty much the sole purpose of the number keys…Why we have to press another button to get them to produce numbers has never been entirely clear. 

In other news from the back office, someone has moved the 3-hole punch…For the past two years – ever since I moved it there permanently – it’s been off to the right on the back office desk, at about a 45-degree angle from the chair…That wasn’t good enuff for someone on day shift – there are no suspects – and it was moved to its original position back on top of a large filing cabinet.

This is something else ol’ Sparrow doesn’t understand at all: why move it now???…Did the tech refresh render it obsolete in its past position???…I it some sort of new company standard???…Maybe it’s a safety hazard keeping it in arm’s reach now, maybe the danger of puncturing holes in my fingers is too great now…Who knows, but rest assured ol’ Sparrow will keep moving it from the top of the filing cabinet back to the desk. 

About 0100 a working man with a crew to house came in and asked if we have two rooms for four nites…It seems they had reservations at a nearby condo, but the management company had shut down the office for the night and they were actually told they were on their own until they could be bothered to man the office again in the morning…Crap, that’s not very nice so, of course, I checked and it turns out we are sold out Thursday nite of all things, but otherwise, sure, I could do tonight, Tuesday and Wednesday, three nites at $1`50 per night, plus tax, per room…He smiled and said “deal” and while I was processing his check-in he pulled out his phone and called the guy back and announced, with some pleasure, that he was canceling his reservation at his rathole condos and staying at a real hotel…Evidently, the guy got snitty and my new guest ended up informing him that in fact, no he wouldn’t be paying for any part of the reserved stay, an argument he appeared to end up winning. 

And if you’re the dolt on the other end, you really have no complaints…Guests arrive at all hours and you must be in position to accommodate them because if you’re not, ol’ Sparrow is. 

Legion District Commander Sparrow found himself in the next county tonight attending a meeting of their Legion post…It’s a duty of the district commander to visit the posts in his district on an annual basis, a duty ol’ Sparrow has been derelict in during his five years as district commander…I was there because Tina, in her new role as district senior vice commander arranged our appearance and more or less instructed me to be there. 

Commanders have two options when dealing with disgustingly energetic, hot-running new officers: tell them to knock it off and stifle their energy and enthusiasm and see them leave the organization or grin and bear it and put it to work for you and I’ve chosen the latter…Tina knows the odd hours kept by yours truly and I told her to keep arranging visits like this and I’ll make whatever ones I can. 

After the meeting Tina and I were chatting with post members Al and Doug, both 91 or so…They’ve known each other for most of those 91 years and the chat was rather pleasant but when Doug started singing the ol’ State U fight song – which Al appeared to have forgotten sometime in the Kennedy Administration – I decided it was time to break away because I had to be at the hotel in three hours.

I checked the mail on the way back to The Shire and included was a recall notice for the new ride, something about the/an ignition coil…I don’t know, I didn’t understand it, which regular readers of this crap know is hardly the Upset of the Year…I’ll call the dealer in town and the one in the next county where it was purchased and see which one can get it done at a time most convenient for yours truly.  

Sparrow’s Sleep Log: 0900 Tuesday until 1730 Thursday…8.5 hours for the day and 23.0 hours for the week, a fabulous total. 

In deference to having to be in the next county tonite, I adjusted my treasured sleep patterns, a process that actually started Monday when I stayed up a little later than usual so I’d be nice and tired this morning…I also dispensed with coffee last night at the hotel…The plan worked splendidly, with a pre-beddy-bye shot of Zzz-Sleep doubly-ensuring a good day’s rest. 

The Diary of a Nobody is a novel. All elements are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Anything else is a coincidence. 

It was inspired by the 19th-century British novel of the same name. 

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