Snubbed by the man in the can...

Monday again...it seems like it is always Monday! I woke up at 4:00 a.m. this morning worrying about work, jobs, future, past, and life in general and never did go back to sleep. I know...stupid huh?! That nasty little thing called 'sleep deprivation' made for a really long, tired, day! Work was alternately slow and busy...! I decided that a brisk walk might perk me up a bit, so I went to the Mall during my lunch hour and did about three turns around it, then ate half of an Arby's roast beef sandwich. Believe it or not...it actually did help!

There is something odd going on at the mall though...I'm beginning to take it personally. Spaced all around the food court are new trash containers, the kind that work on motion sensors. All you have to do is push your tray toward the door and it automatically opens, as a soothing male voice greets you with an almost sultry "Hello". However, the trash can won't talk to me. The first time it happened, I assumed that I had approached it too soon after the last patron and it simply hadn't had time to reset. So, the next time, I made a special effort to wait about 30 seconds after the person ahead of me. Approaching the trash can slowly, I pushed my tray toward it ...waiting for my greeting. NOTHING...NOT A WORD! I pulled my tray back and tried again, this time from an angle...alas...nothing! Totally frustrated, I turned and dumped my tray into one of the few remaining manual cans. As the trash slid off my tray, an elderly man approached the unfriendly can that had just snubbed me. He pushed his tray toward it, it opened wide, and that little voice inside said "Hello!" What the heck??? I'm thinking that perhaps I need to take a peace offering of some sort tomorrow...or maybe I need to speak first...what kind of gift does one take to a trash can?? If I do speak first...should I lean down and speak directly into the door...or is that too familiar...???

Be well!