Location: Work
Time started: 7AM
Time now: 9.45AM

Picture the scene.

The pleasant orangey/reddish hue to the sky as the sun rises and spreads it’s welcoming glow over another cold morning and in through the window onto your desk.
The soft whirring of your laptop as it cools down from the serious workout you’ve just given it.
The steam rising gently from your second cup of tea and wafting it’s sweet smell round your desk.
The warm glow of satisfaction that comes from knowing that you’re just about finished compiling “that” report.
The feeling of pure unbridled rage coming from deep within your stomach as you struggle not to tell bloody Cabbage Patch Face* on the other side of the room to “shut the hell up!”

Yes. Another day where madam waltzes in and fails to be able to talk in anything less than an annoyingly loud whine.
Another day where she sits telling all and sundry the latest drama in her life for 25 minutes before even attempting to log in to her PC.
Another day when her supervisor rocks up at 9.40 and thinks that her team have been working hard since 8AM.
Another day where I close my eyes, count to ten, and say Ho, and indeed, Hum

*Name changed to protect the victim innocent

Ever wondered what you look like to other people?

Example:

Line manager comes in today (all smiles ’cause it’s her first day back at work after the holidays) and says “Hi Ed, Happy New Year! Good Holiday?”. I’m in the middle of something and didn’t really notice her coming in so she gets a kind of mumbled (in my usual half awake/back at work a day before you and been in for 2 and a half hours already/monotone sounding voice) “Yeah thanks, happy new year”.
Nothing totally obvious here but the look on her face changes ever so slightly – it changes enough to tell me that i’ve just taken a wee bit of the shine off her morning already.

Now i’m thinking that she’s thinking that i’m a grumpy git. I’m not all that bothered about it to be honest but it did make me think just for a second about what she can see through her eyes just at that particular moment……

She comes in all smiles and sees this guy (that she doesn’t particularly like by the way) sitting staring at his screen, tries to be overly cheery and nice (probably because she’s decided as some sort of new year resolution to be overly nice and cheery to everyone) and gets a mumbled/dull sounding reply……

Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realise she’s just thought to herself “What a grumpy bastard” 

Ah well. You can’t please everyone.