I called in "sick" to work today. The circumstances which led to this fine exercise of employee rights are various and somewhat humorous, but better left to be written about after I've had a couple of beers. Needless to say I was in no mood to spend this glorious day cooped up at a crappy animal shelter. For the past couple weeks, I've thought about calling in "sick" each morning while I sip coffee. Every previous time, I'd pushed aside the thought with feelings of responsibility. Today though I had a breakthrough.
Last night I was duped into fostering a little puppy for the evening. Usually other people at work take the puppies home for the night. I have no use for puppies, especially puppies interrupting my leisure time. I was assured that this little she-devil-bitch-of-a-terrier puppy slept peacefully through the night and would be little more trouble than setting out water and walking until it peed.
I was lied to. This spawn of the devil kept me awake the entire night yipping and trying to escape it's kennel. I ended up going into the spa attached to our house at two AM, finding the room farthest from our bedroom, dragging the puppy kennel into the room, plopping down on the ground with the damn thing, and trying to keep the hellion quiet.
Needless to say, I was in no mood to work today. As soon as it got light, I drove that damn dog back to the animal shelter, put it in my bosses office, and left a note on the desk informing her that I was unable to make it into work today.
Man, I got one very angry phone call when the office opened...It was your standard "you need to be more responsible, etc" spiel that one could expect. A combination of attempted guilting and prioritize employment in your life. It just so happened that I got the phone call as I was driving along this stretch of road along the Atlantic Ocean, a sailboat was running along with a fresh breeze several miles out. I had to roll my eyes, politely inform my boss that I indeed would not be making it into work today, and continue on with my day as planned.
I read this book in California called, "The Art of Vagabonding". The main thrust of the author's philosophy was that the one truly finite resource in one's life is TIME. And the most responsible choice a person can make is to spend one's time wisely and in pursuit of your true desires. Today, the best use of my time is to nap off the memory of that stupid puppy, eat a massive breakfast, buy my wife a birthday present, walk along the wharf staring at the schooners, and then have a beer in honor of my wife's 25th birthday tomorrow.
Cheers.
