Everybody has one of those days every once in awhile.  I'm having one of those weeks.  Case in point, I actually first composed this blog post last night but before I could hit "submit", something funky happened on my laptop, I lost the page and the post evaporated before my eyes.  Even though I'm a dedicated blogger, I was just too tired to write the whole post again at the time.

That was just the end of a strange day filled with little screw ups and odd events. 

I've been dressing myself for over 40 years.  Overall, I think I do a pretty good job.  So, I was a little put out with myself when I noticed a sizeable red stain on my t-shirt yesterday while I was eating breakfast.  How I didn't spot it before I put on the shirt, I can't imagine.  So, I trudged back to the bedroom and changed before taking the pups out for our morning walk.

Usually, I run into at least a few neighbors on these little strolls.  They're up and about, doing things around their homes when we pass by.  Thank goodness nobody was out yesterday morning.  I was about a half a block from home when I felt a distinct draft against my posterior.  No, not a cooling breeze from the harbor, an actual draft where I shouldn't have felt anything but the soft whisper of my shorts fabric on my skin.

I stopped, twisted around to look while reaching back with my hand.  Did I find a small rip in my shorts?  Heck no.  The back of the leg was torn nearly in two!  Nothing like hoofing around the neighborhood with your upper thigh and underwear flashing.

If this rip had happened in between dressing and walking, I darn sure would have noticed.  I would have felt it for sure!  This leaves only one alternative -- the shorts were already ripped when I put them on! 

Did I wake up on the wrong side of obliviousness yesterday morning?

Thankfully, I retreated home without running into anyone or hearing someone call out, "Hey, Mary, do you know your shorts are ripped?"  Wardrobe change number two for the day.

The hours at work were largely uneventful.  I had a productive day, for the most part . . . right up until 3:30.  I've been expecting a large shipment of copies of my two books.  The shipping company was supposed to call me in advance to schedule a delivery time.  Oh, the driver called all right -- when he was already in town.  When I said something about the timing he laughed and said, "I did call you in advance.  I called you when I left Duck Key."  Duck Key is 20 minutes from my house!  Very funny.

At least he didn't have a problem waiting for the half hour that it took me to shut down things at work and tell my boss that I had to go.  I could handle this minor glitch.

Got home, the huge truck pulled up to my house and the guy said, "Two pallets of books, right?"  "Two pallets?" I responded.  "All I know is that there are supposed to be 49 boxes."

He shrugged, climbed up into the truck and used his dolly thing to wheel out the first large pallet of boxes.  Four feet high and about that wide with All Keyed Up printed on the side of each box.  After maneuvering the pallet up close to the door and the side of the house, he returned to the truck.  Soon after, he wheeled out the second, equally large pile of boxes.  I signed his paperwork and off he drove.

It was in the low 90s yesterday in the Keys and now I had to move 49 boxes of books -- most into the house and a dozen into the car to stow in my storage unit.

That's a lot of lifting and moving to do on a hot day, but I got to work and then I saw the extra printing that said there were 48 copies of books in each box.

Uhhhh . . . I ran the math in my head.  1000 copies of each title, divided by 48 copies per box = A Hell of a Lot More Boxes Than Expected were sitting on those pallets!

37 extra boxes, to be exact. 

Quickly I ran inside to call the publisher.  Thankfully, they immediately told me this was not my problem and they'd call to get the excess boxes picked up.  I spent the next hour storing the boxes I meant to keep and then pulled out a tarp from the shed to protect the remaining stock in case it rained.

We haven't had rain in a few weeks, but the way my luck was running yesterday, I wouldn't have been surprised if a monsoon blew in without warning. 

Labor done for the evening, I took a shower and collapsed in a chair to watch the American Idol finale.  I'd voted for David Cook to win, but given recent events in my life, figured that wouldn't happen for me either.

I'm happy to say I was wrong.

I'm happier to say that I tied for second place in the AI pool!

I'm even happier to say that this morning I managed to dress myself in unstained, untorn, clothing.

The publishing house has already called to say that the books should be out of my driveway before the weekend.

Perhaps the weird, wacky week will end positively.

I hope I didn't just jinx myself!