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| I've never been a good actress. |
Friday, a full day, was much more than it pretended to be
when I awakened broke, but in a good mood due to my kids, my son’s grandma, and
the request for an employment interview, which I turned down. Still, I figured
I’d dress in case I found someone to deliver my resume to. A single mom does everything!
At 4:00 I started my writing, took a shower at 6:00, got my
daughter up and thanks to my new approach it was worry-free. I’ve divided her
morning up in 15 minute increments, posting signs in each place to let her know
when her time is up for that segment.
Waking up at 7:00, Nikki’s sign says she needs to eat at
7:15. By the table, a sign says she must dress at 7:30. In her bedroom is a
sign stating she must brush her teeth at 7:45, and in the restroom is a sign
stating she must do her hair at 8:00. She can do any of these things earlier,
if she chooses, but no later. If she goes to school unfinished, she’s had the
opportunity. Unlike the other mornings, when we fight at 8:30 to get her out
with tangled hair, she was finished by 8:00. Hope it keeps working!
My day was off to a roaring start. I dressed nicely in
casual/professional, reverse French braided my hair, and even without makeup
(‘cause I hate it) I looked pretty great.
I took Cameron to see his doctor and worked in the lobby on my laptop. Afterward we called Grandma, but there was no answer. I decided to
go to the downtown library and make a couple of copies of my resume, although
they wouldn’t look really good, it was better than nothing. I had a few coins
in my wallet, and that’s all.
At the library, the parking garage below was free for the
first half-hour. Thank you Diamond Parking (tongue in cheek) for giving me
enough time to get in, make a couple of copies and get the Hades out. We’d
recall Grandma and see if she still wanted to go to her library today.
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| They care -- eventually |
Once inside, I received the little white card in the
darkened basement. I couldn’t see the print, so I examined my dashboard to see
11:08 a.m. “Okay,” I told Cameron as we pulled through the raised barricade,
“we’ve got to get in and back out by 11:30, just to be safe. Think we can do
it?” He nodded his head, we parked, hit the elevators, went through the front
door, past the stores and into the library. I handed him the flashdrive and
opened my computer to make sure the resume looked correct, for about the
twelfth time.
A few minutes later, he returned to tell me it was .10 a
copy. “No problem,” I said, reaching down to my purse. “It’s almost twenty
after.” I reminded him, checking out the time on my computer screen. I opened
the change purse and he plunged his hand inside, grabbing a few coins before
darting off. Moments later, he returned with one horribly faded copy. “This is
what I got, so I stopped at one,” he said. I figured it would do for today and
thanked him. We packed up, headed to the garage, jumped into the car and headed
to the barricade to get out. Pushing the ticket in, the display told me I
needed to pay $1.50 and they only took bank cards, not cash.
If you recall by the first paragraph, no monies in the bank.
I threw the car in reverse, drove back and parked, ran back up to the library,
waited patiently in line, and spoke to Michele at the front desk. I explained
that I deliberately made sure we were on time and that I live in Ogden, not
Salt Lake where we are now, and I would need to pick my daughter up from
school. I won’t have money until Wednesday. She looked up Diamond Parking on
the net and gave me the number.
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| Salt Lake City Library |
I called and got an answering machine. Figuring I’d probably
get a call back the next day, if I was lucky, I listened to the message to
derive another phone number. When I called that one to speak to Sally in
Washington, she told me there was nothing she could do. I went back to Michele,
nearly 7 months pregnant, and told her my frustration. She called another girl
over and told her she didn’t know what to do, but there was a banking machine
in the lobby that only charged $1.50. I reinstated I have no money in my
banking account and if I did, I doubt it would deliver $3.00.
Finally, I pulled the ticket out and it gave my clocking in
time at 10:59, 9 minutes short of the actual time. More people would catch on
if it wasn’t so dark. The other girl said we should call security. After a
spell, a security guy came out and told me they have problems with Diamond Parking all the time. This is just another day, but he’d go down with us and
see what we could do. It’s been nearly an hour. He took us to the teller and
told me I could use it to get money. Unfortunately, to get money you must have
money. Now it will cost $4.50 to get out. By Wednesday, when I get money, who
knows what the cost will be? What will happen to Nikki? This is ridiculous. Think. Think! Think!!!!
I asked the guard if he would mind if I followed someone
else through. He said he would not mind at all. We stopped the next person and
asked. She said she was in a hurry, but if I was fast, she would let us. But
then another guy pulled behind her. “I can’t wait,” she said and took off.
I asked the guard if he would stop the next person. “I can’t
do that,” he said, “It would be illegal.” I have a hard time knowing the
differences between him asking or watching me do it, but whatever. I asked the
next guy and he said, “Sure!” I ran to get my car and Cameron followed. I got
in and squealed around the corners just a turn away. The last car pulled
through, the security guard walked away, and I sat there looking at the
barricade.
The reason this is such a big deal for me is because I’m
sickeningly honest. Like, to a fault. But now it was past 12:45 and it was
obvious no one was going to help. I don’t get it! If I were standing on the
street corner with a cardboard sign begging for money, I’d have it falling from
my pockets. Do they really think I’d still be there for over an hour for $1.50
if I had it? So I got out and lifted the barricade. “Come on!” I motioned for
Cameron to come and take it. When he did, I sped through, receiving dirty looks
from the people going in. Diamond Parking called back about three hours later. Needless to say, we will not be returning to that library.
We took Grandma to the library where she could checkout a
mystery. She left with a book about St. Bernards and a “mystery” by Stephen
King, even though I reminded her he is a horror novelist. She shrugged and told
me how much she loves reading Stephen King mysteries. Okay, Grandma, sleep tight!
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| "Stephen King? I love mysteries!" |
I took Cameron to his father’s, when he told me he forgot
his soccer outfit for the game Saturday, but had to shrug and tell him his dad
would need to bring him early to change. I raced to get Nikki, hopped out of
the car and ran to her school, just as she came out the doors.
This is a movie. Just throw a few more coincidences out there,
really riling it up and you’ll have a different day of my life. Despite having
seven reviews to give, of a minimum three paragraphs each, between the time of
10 a.m. and 7 p.m., including a soccer game to attend, I managed.
Today has been noted as an official “Pajama Day” where I
will work on Vermill!on Beach and put
my charity work, etc. on hold, as I am not equipped to perform it well enough
to be worth the effort. At the library yesterday, I loaded up on Disney movies
to keep Nikki entertained beside me while I work. Whoops! Guess I’d better back
to the script.
All in all, I think I’m past the point in my life where I
should just take what I can get for a career. I haven’t the time for that. Now
I need a position that will propel me into the future. A career I want. I am
going to write professionally.
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