If you were looking for me today, I hope you didn't look in anyplace fun, because I was right here working all day. I did listen to the ballgame, but that wasn't much fun either. The Giants are trying to play at the major league level with a team depleted by injuries, and it's not a pretty sight. It's especially ugly to see them losing to the hated Dodgers.

But I digress. I was going to tell you how much fun I didn't have today.

Wait, let me digress yet again, because why should I share my lack of fun with you? You deserve better. Let's start over...

If you phoned me today, I might have missed your call, and it would have been my mailman's fault. I think.

The first time I went to check the mail at about 2:30, I was surprised nothing was in my mailbox. Surprised but not discouraged. I just checked again at 3:30. When there was nothing there at 4:30, I could no longer just sit and wait. Unfortunately, there wasn't really anything else I could do.

So I walked halfway down the driveway, to where I could see the mailbox. That way I'd be ready when he came. I didn't turn on my answering machine, because I wasn't going to be out there very long. If I thought I was going to have to wait long enough to bother with the machine, I wouldn't have gone out at all. Turning it on would have been admitting I was going to go stand in the driveway for a long time, waiting for the mailman to show up. And that would be stupid.

After a few minutes I started pulling at the weeds growing near where I was standing. I had no gloves and nothing to put the weeds in (because of course I wasn't going to be out there long), so I just pulled up whatever I could grab with two fingers and whatever I could hold in one hand. It wasn't until I couldn't hold any more weeds that I realized I was forgetting to watch for the mailman.

Then I dumped the weeds in the container, strapped on the gloves, and went to work for real. I didn't give up completely on the mailman. I'd look up every so often to see if I could see anything, but mostly I worked. Gardening by default, because it keeps me from walking up to the mailbox and kicking it over.

The last time I checked for the mail was at 7:00. I knew I wasn't likely to find anything, but I had to check. There just isn't a day when I don't get mail, so when this happens I always wonder who's reading my mail (and watching the DVD of Blow-Dry that Netflix sent). I can't help it if not getting mail depresses me and ruins my day. It wasn't as if I was having that great a day already, what with not having any money and working on spreadsheets and the Giants losing and all.

This entry would have been longer (if not more interesting), but I have to post it the same day I'm writing it. That's something I haven't done in over three weeks, since before I left on vacation. I didn't really have much choice about what I did today. I had to work, I had to obsess over the mail deficit, and I had no money to do anything else. Tomorrow, though, watch out. It's going to be a great day!