Why am I wearing my wrist watch?
I hope this post finds you well.
Even though I have a happy expression, I am experiencing anxiety, it was a day of waiting and waiting, and waiting. This morning there were three cars in front of me at the bank drive thru, this caused me to be late.
Work today, was hectic due to the quarterly sales meeting. There must have been twenty of us, all crammed into a room designed for ten. The wait was uncomfortable, I didn’t know anyone. Eventually, the president showed up a half hour late. At lunch, I was last in line, they were out of mayo by the time I got to the condiments table.
On my drive to Katies apartment, I encountered two road construction crews. Both with flag people that were slow as molasses. So, my drive ended up being twice as long as usual.
Katie usually does all the planning for our weekend nights out. She likes to do this, but now she seems agitated, and it was taking her longer to make up her mind. Ruminating in my anxiety, I distance myself. She asks me to make plans this time. That’s not normal for her.
I try to calm myself with this breathing technique I was taught, but it doesn’t work. I want to connect with her. I am tired and hungry, so I decide we should go to a restaurant. I have been wanting to go to this Venezuelan restaurant for a while. Maybe this will help me forget about my anxiety.
I call the restaurant. the phone picks up but there is silence. It must have been 10 seconds, I’m waiting again. This is killing me. A man with a Spanish accent starts talking, “Thank you for calling, … … How can I help you?”
It’s 6pm now, I think I can get there by 7pm if we leave now. So, I ask, “Do you take reservations?”.
Silence again, this time about 5 seconds. He say’s “No. … … we don’t take reservations.”
I’m thinking, it’s Friday, there might be a line. I abruptly reply, “If I get there by 7pm, will there be a line and how long do you think it take to get a table for two?”
Silence again, this time it was an agonizing 10 seconds. It seemed like forever. “I don’t know. It’s Friday, … … sometimes a lot of people show up sometimes not. … … “
At this point I am really starting to fume. He starts talking again, “… Tell you what, why don’t you leave your watch behind and come in and have a good time. …”
My jaw dropped. I sat there with my mouth open thinking, what’s going on. Wow! What am I doing? Now, I am silent. I don’t know how to reply. I hesitate, I say with a soft voice, “OK, I’ll see what I can do”. And I hang up.
I turn to Katie. “I’m sorry, would you like to eat at a Venezuelan restaurant tonight? It’ll be fun, it’s on me.” I then proceed to take off my watch.
Note: This is a true story. It happened to me. Names were changed.