Operator Error

I hate it when something is wrong with my computer and the first thing someone asks me is, "did you restart it?" Yes, I restarted it, and I've done everything I can - that's why I'm calling you! I realize that these people are just trying to combat the hundreds of calls they receive from people who know nothing about computers and whose problem can indeed be solved by restarting their machine. I like to think that I'm not one of those people. But, then a couple of things happened this morning that make me rethink that claim...

First, this morning before I left for work I needed to iron a dress shirt for Casey to wear today. I pulled out the ironing board and set it up. I plugged in the iron and then set it on the board. I proceeded to do a few other things before returning so that the iron could heat up. Upon my return, I noticed that the iron was not hot yet. In fact, it was still stone cold. What was wrong with the iron? Upon further review, I discovered that while I had plugged the iron in, I had forgotten to turn it on. That alone would not make me doubt myself but then...

When I arrived at work and unlocked my office, I was struck with a rush of cold air. (Note: I really dislike the fact that all public buildings are freezing!) We have no control of our office temperature, so I decided to go make some hot chocolate to warm up. I filled up the tea pot with fresh water and flipped the switch to get it boiling. I went back to my office to get started on some things while the water heated up. I never heard the telltale "tick" that tells me it's all done, so I went back into the kitchen to see what the problem was. Well, I had done everything but plug the the tea pot into the outlet. That's sort of necessary in this situation.

So, I'm humbled by my experiences this morning, both of which happened before 10 am. Let's see what the rest of the day holds!