• Location: Home and on my corner of the couch
• Mood: exhausted
• Music: L&O: Girl Most Likely

Eiyee. What a day.

Finding the water heater leaking was an unwelcome surprise, but not particularly stressful. I knew it was a matter of time before it broke and I knew what type of service to call to have it replaced. Stressful was having Hamish, the younger of our two indoor-only cats, vanish for three hours. The plumber had propped the door open while he was hauling things inside and we didn't know whether the cat had escaped or if he was hiding somewhere inside the house. We tried to stay calm while the plumber was here, but once he left we repeatedly searched the house and couldn't find him. We looked outside too, checking under cars and behind shrubbery and anywhere a scared cat might try to hide. I sent the spouse for a walk around the block while I tried sitting quietly in the living room, hoping that if the cat was nervous and hiding somewhere inside, behaving normally might coax him out. The spouse came home cat-less, and the cat hadn't reappeared while he was gone. The spouse went down to the basement while I continued to sit here in the living room. A short while longer he called to ask if I had a cat with me. I couldn't see Hector and said so; seconds later Hector jumped up from behind the couch, I shouted to jebra that I had one and heard him coming up the stairs. I looked up expecting to see him enter the living room, but instead Hamish skulked in.

I got so wound up worrying he'd escaped and would never be found I developed a migraine. And we forgot to stop and pick up something to eat on our way to the office.

It being Monday, I did my weekly check for chargebacks. Happily, we don't get them often. Unhappily, we got one today, and from a previously trusted client too. American Express has overly restrictive rules concerning file sizes and file types for electronic submission of claims and once again, no matter how many hoops I jumped through, I could not get my files accepted by their server. I spent the entire afternoon researching the charges, locating proof of service, and preparing my response.

I'm damn glad to be home. If anything else goes wrong today, y'all will undoubtedly hear my scream.