New habit: Reprogramming frustration
Staying quiet when things go wrong does not even have to take you longer, but is worth it...
A usual Saturday for most of us. The sky was grey, but nature needed the rain. I started the day mindfully, first having a good breakfast. Despite my curiosity, I avoided checking my mobile phone straight away and only checked my social media updates after breakfast.
A LinkedIn post caught my eye: Someone needed my empathetic tips on organisation and remembering names, which I am always happy to share. I DMed them, then scrolled a bit down through the feed, just until the rain had stopped. Then I set out to do the one thing that couldn't wait: go to the supermarket and get some newspapers. Better weather at least, so it was a good opportunity to make the most of it. I took the returnable bottles that had accumulated with me and went to the deposit machine to return them.
On one of them, the deposit machine gave up, making some strange noises. For me as a developer, it looked as if the swing-top bottle had caught it somewhat off-guard and raised an exception.
”Beep, beep, beep …”, it went on and on.
But no one complained, because there is a second machine. I could see the
All the cashiers were busy ringing up purchases, and once again I could not see any staff in the aisles. Indecisive, defensive, unwilling to push my way in anywhere, I turned around and left.
The story could have turned out differently.
I could have thought: ‘Oh dear, I'm in a hurry and now this **** thing isn't working. Another messed-up day that's going nowhere. Such gloomy weather that nobody likes. I got up on the wrong side of the bed, didn't get enough sleep because everything is always so annoying.’
I could have shouted, “Hello? Sorry? Is there anyone who could help me with that one?”
Instead, I decided: ‘Oh well, I'll just redeem the 97 cents at the newspaper kiosk next door, which belongs to the store. I wanted to buy a magazine there anyway, so I can let them know at the same time.’
So I entered the newsagent's and picked the magazine from the shelf. There was now a considerable queue in front of me, but everyone was patient. In the background, I could clearly hear the bleeping alarm signal of the deposit machine, which was unable to help itself. A lady, slightly shorter than me and considerably older, pushes a shopping basket filled with empty bottles in front of her. A somewhat broad-shouldered gentleman, dressed entirely in muted colours, taller than me, stands in front of me at the checkout and wants to buy a lottery ticket. Perhaps a scratch card. It must have been something like that, because I couldn't see over his shoulder.
Instructions from the cashier on how to open or scratch the ticket: ‘Yes, just like with a woman.’ I smiled to myself. During this one minute of waiting, which could have felt like an endless minute impatiently, I let my mind wander, thinking of a film I had seen, some friend’s text messages waiting there for me, to then getting back to the here and now.
The lady had finished and walked away. Now it was my turn, so I said:
“This was the last deposit slip that came out. One of my beer bottles must have got stuck in the machine's mechanism, which set off the alarm. Maybe it was the non-alcoholic bottle with the swing top, the second to last one. And there was no one inside whom I could quickly inform.”
“How many do you have left?” – “Just these three, but I'll sell them somewhere else, no problem. Just so you know, you can let them know inside...” – “I will. We don't want to cause you any inconvenience, so we'll do it this way and give you the remaining 1.53 euros for the magazine.”
I was baffled. I thanked him and went on with the rest of my errands, smiling.
Thanks for the restack, Karen!