This has been a day that’s been happening faster than tweets, and I know that because I couldn’t even finish the first one before things started to happen.

Friday. Nothing on the schedule. It’s been a busy week and a while since I had a day with nothing to do, but there was a lull between events that require responses on Saturday, possibly Sunday, Monday, and definitely Tuesday. The rains are back. I settled in with a cup from a pot of a home-mixed herbal infusion (what some folks would call tea) of nettles, mint, lemon balm, chamomile, and honeybush. That’s a tea that likes to steep for an hour, but I usually stop it early to keep it warm in a thermos. Laptop open. Tea beside me. Emails checked. Begin a tweet, which I can’t complete.

Shh. I’m hoping to work from home today. That’s a plan, so laughter is – and before I finished typing that line there was an urgent non-emergency with a senior citizen in the neighborhood. A few of us helped resolve that. My pot of nettle tea got a bit cooler. Plans? Ha! #TomTea

— Tom Trimbath (@tetrimbath) October 5, 2018

I hear slow footsteps on the deck. The door bell rings. Instead of a ding-dong, mine usually goes one bing, one bing only. This time it goes dingngngngngngngn. My neighbor accidentally jammed my door bell, but was so upset about locking themself out of their house that they didn’t notice the constant tone. Free the buzzer and go help a friend. Pardon the discretion, but all I can say is that it was more than opening a door. This time it was easy. Their door was actually open, but they were trying to unlock an unlocked door with their car’s key fob. At least it was easy to get them out of the rain. Various elderly people live in my neighborhood; so, a local senior protective services organization appreciates hearing about repeated memory lapses, so I make a few phone calls. (The story is more involved, but discretion is involved.)

Settle in to complete the tweet, and find an email that may massively disrupt a contract between two people I am working with. Emails and phone calls begin flying out into a rapidly expanding network. While finally on the phone resolving a key and fortunately enabling possibility, the UPS truck drives up. I didn’t order anything. I rarely order anything. Just check back to one of my prior posts (Frugality Computers Twitter). No time to investigate. Accept the package and continue the call.

Get done with that call, and a subsequent few others, and get interrupted by a call from the office of my friendly naturopath. They’ve instituted an innovative health care model that I was happy to be one of the first subscribers to, but evidently I forgot to click a button on the online form, or something. I’ll blog about that later, but first…

Remember to deal with the emergency services person who called about the elderly person who got locked out of their house. Evidently, I should expect a clarification call from a social worker or a deputy sheriff or both.

Meanwhile, I’m fielding emails and private messages about Tuesday’s talk at the Langley Library. A friend and I are giving a talk on self-publishing, and there are logistics and details to work out.

Finally, weary from a complete change from my original plan of quietly sitting for the morning, I decide to counter my naturopath’s advice by having pizza (gluten-free) and beer (Guinness is good for you, they say) for lunch. Pre-heat the oven and find a knife to open the very large box that has the right address, name, and nothing to tell me why it arrived.

I can tell it’s from Lands End, so that’s good. Did I accidentally order something? Click a button without realizing or remembering it? Inside the brown box was a cheerful Christmas-themed, gift-wrapped surprise. My previous fascinating failed shopping experience that was resolved by Lands End resulted in a few tweets and that blog post I mentioned. Along the way I mentioned that the purchase was for new clothes for my new career as a real estate broker. You’re welcome to speculate on Lands End’s motivations, but I was surprised, pleased, and definitely in need of such a gift. They sent me a new briefcase and polo shirt, and a sweet card. You know how uncommon that is, especially from someone who will probably never meet me. Thank you, you sweet people that make up a company that listens, and responds.

Lunch is over. The emails and phone calls have quieted. My neighbor should be warm and dry. The large disagreement has greatly benefited from the wisdom of experienced advisors, and a two or three day delay. There are details to resolve with my health care system, as well as those logistics for Tuesday’s talk. My beer mug is almost empty (I don’t gulp) and I’ll soon switch back to that nettle tea. Maybe I can find some of that quiet time this afternoon.

Life laughs at plans. A few hours of turmoil are followed by several hours of peace. Along the way there are unexpected gifts, whether they come in boxes, or advice, or in helping someone get something done. My plans didn’t include any of that. For now, I plan to publish this post, click on a few social media notifications, try on a new shirt, and wonder what’s next. Oh yeah, and have a cup of tea. (By the way, thanks for the suggestion that I somehow brand, trademark, or copyright #TomTea, but I think I’ll let the hashtag suffice, for now. And, I’ll definitely continue to tweet about things that happen in real life. Really.)