Bear With Me

It's in here somewhere.

I'm off from my 9-to-5 today.  I have an iMac that needs memory and returning.  My plan for today was simple:
* get memory, go to the bank, pick up groceries.  If all went well, I'd be done with the bank and Safeway and at the computer store as it opened at 10.
* install memory, return iMac.

The iMac owner is near a mall I sometimes go to.  I wanted to go to the Sephora and/or MAC store and/or department store there, and look for primer.  I'm still looking for some.  Maybe this time I won't be so coy about who it's for.  And maybe I can look for some clothes.  I still have the list of things I was looking for before the holidays.

So, return the iMac, go to the mall for an hour or two, head home.

I'd be all done by 1 or so.

Instead, I got a frantic phone call from a customer.  He's in the middle of a three-generation customer set.  His MIL, who lives between me and Microcenter was having problems.  It should have been a quick fix, but there were some problems, and some other issues I wasn't told about, and she's incredibly chatty, and I was there for well over an hour.

I picked up memory but the other errands were pushed aside.  So I had to do them after I drop off the computer, and skip the mall entirely.

But that's not why I'm telling you this.

Usually, when I'm at a customer I have a pad and pen and I can write down info as needed.  Today, the son-in-law said he'd take care of the bill, so I didn't bother.  I know the house, so I didn't need an invoice with an address.

I had to write down the network information and all I had was some receipts in my pocket.  Then I found a sheet of paper that I used when I was shopping pre-holiday ~ the sheet I mentioned earlier.  It has information on what I was looking for, for Meg: primer, passable shirts/slacks, camis, some other items that are clearly for women.  There was nothing horribly incriminating, but hard to explain maybe.  Especially to chatty customers who knew my whole family.

I made a mental note to keep an eye on that piece of paper.

I was working in the room where the router was, an office on the same floor, and one upstairs.  I already misplaced a router because I wasn't paying attention.

And then I misplaced the sheeet of paper.

I had already been up and down the stairs several times, trying different machines and configurations.  I went up and down again, looking everywhere, wondering what would happen if one of the customer-type-people found it.

As panic set in, I discovered it was in my inside jacket pocket.

I'd love to say I learned something from this, but I'm going to do it again.  I always do.  But I AM going to shred this sheet and keep a blank sheet of paper in a pocket.

For next time.

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