I am officially grumpy.

Well, first, I�ve had three quarters of a beer and am feeling somewhat tipsy. But I only had the beer because I�m grumpy and tense.

I have apparently used up all my good tradesperson karma.

I went through such a remarkable run of people turning up when they said they would that I stupidly got used to it. The cable guy, the couch delivery guys, the movers, the washing machine guy, twice. All turned up when they said they would. Were polite, helpful and professional.

And stupid, stupid me got used to it. Dammit.

So last week I get a call from my gas supplier. They point out that I haven�t received a bill from them yet - which I knew - because they couldn�t access the gas meter to do the first reading. While I had previously paused to consider this, when I did pause it did not surprise me as I could not recollect ever seeing the gas meter, so that it was inaccessible didn�t surprise me.

I told them I�d go home and find it and call them back. Fifteen minutes of searching and I did find it - though only by opening my living room window all the way and peering out to discover all the gas meters located in the courtyard of the apartment downstairs and two along. No wonder they couldn�t find it.

I called back and arranged to be home today so I could let them in the read the meter. The lovely woman on the phone advised that she couldn�t guarantee what time they�d be there but she�d ask them to come in the morning if possible. Fine. Not that big a deal. I can work from home. With broadband and my work web mail properly set up, it�s relatively easy to do. The office didn�t have a problem with it, and I told them I�d probably be in after lunch, though it might be later.

Had a wonderful morning. Sitting on the couch in jeans listening to ABBA and working on a project. Answering my email as usual. Not being disturbed by the phone. Easy.

By 2pm when there had been no sign of the gas meter guy my shoulders began to tense, though it was only in the background. By 3pm I began to notice that I�d slept really badly last night and my shoulders started to hurt. So I called my friendly appointment-arranging gas lady and got her voice mail. Okay, no big deal. She�ll call me back.

By 4pm, two voicemail messages later, when my computer ate a lengthly work-related email and my shoulders were positively sore I began to get pissed off. And realise that despite the beautiful Spring day that I hadn�t been outside at all. Things spiralled from there.

Now it�s after 8. The bastard never showed. I�m almost finished my second beer, and am now mildly pissed as well as pissed off. And my shoulders have not relaxed at all. Not even when I went out to get said beer and fresh air as soon as it got dark.

Arghhh.

I�m giving up now. I really am. I�m going to start watching my Gilmore girls DVDs. It will make me cheery. Or depressed because I need a TV non-boyfriend/boyfriend to whinge to when these things happen. But that�s a sad topic for another entry.

At least tomorrow�s Friday. And I can wear jeans to work again, even if sitting on the couch in my office listening to ABBA probably won�t work...