Dawn

I'm reaching the upper limits of my stress and frustration levels today.

I couldn't sleep last night. I just started staying at my new apartment. I finished my house-sitting gig in LoDo (Lower Downtown for you non-Denverites) and am now adjusting life in Cap Hill (Capital Hill). Every noise is a new sound, the apartment smells different, feels different, looks different. Even though it has all my stuff in it, it just doesn't feel like MY place yet. I know that will happen - probably in a matter of days - but for now, sleeping has become a chore. If you know me, you know I am a good sleeper. It's one thing I do really well. I can sleep just about anywhere - cars, planes, trains, couches, floors, tents, benches, movie theatres, you name it, I've slept there. And I sleep like a log. I mean, I've slept through heavy arms and simulated mortar fire. So for me, NOT sleeping is a huge indicator that something is wrong in my world. Plus, I am much less capable of dealing with all the little daily crises.

For example, I've been on and off the phone for the last three hours with two different systems to try and get one document filed in the Denver County Court System. I was given the impression (three weeks ago) that it was a very simple process of taking the document to the Court, putting it on their desk, handing them a check and getting them to put their stamp on it. So I take my happy little self down to the Court only to find out that it will only be accepted through their electronic filing system online. Then it will take a few days before they notify me to bring in the original document for the required stamp. So now I still have the original document with no stamp, and I'm less than a week from the deadline with at least half a dozen steps to follow. It turns out that the hold up is a simple error in the attorney's name that prevents me from being able to file the documents under the appropriate case number. Silly me, I was spelling his name correctly! In order to correct this mistake, there has to be a written request sent to the Court. Of course, the Court then notifies me that it's a problem with the online service provider, and they can't make any changes because of the way the attorney is registered with the State Bar Association. The online service provider tells me I have to request that the Court make the changes and it will automatically update in their system. The Bar Association will only deal with the number associated with the attorney, not their actual name. One of my co-workers asked me, "on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 meaning you could take a nap ('ha ha') and 10 meaning you want to pull your hair out by the roots, what level of frustration are you at?" I think I'm at about a 25. When I finally got through the long-hold and voice activated Customer (dis)Service phone line to an actual person I was so sickly sweet he had to sense the sarcasm. I'm passive-agressive when I'm tired. When the clerk at the Court told me for the third time that the speed at which they process my file will "depend on how busy" they are, I thanked her profusely for all her help in my best (and loudest) "thanks for nothing" tone. It's been downhill ever since.

So my day has become much like my night: tossing and turning until I can reasonably quit trying.