I'm having a crap few weeks. My jobs being really hard and I'm dealing with some very difficult and exacting customers.
Colleagues all seem to be unable to do anything without asking for my decision or approval and the burden of responsibility is getting pretty heavy - too many things to juggle at once and to much at stake it I make a mistake. Ok so no-one will die (its computer systems) but the stress levels are pretty high.
At home, my wife is generally great but is a bit fragile at the moment for various reasons and needs a lot of reassurance and attention - something I have very little brain space for although I do try hard. She gets the priority but that then makes work all the harder.
To take my mind off work I run a small sideline in fixing car keys on eBay. More fool me I suppose but I try very hard to give good service and go over and above what I have to do - getting to the post office fast if someone has an urgent repair, replacing extra parts at no cost if I see they are faulty, giving free advice instead of trying to flog a repair if they don't need it. Today someone complained that I had replaced the battery in his key when the one in it was already new. I don't test batteries as they are almost always knackered: I fling them in the recycler and fit a new one every time. Because he had bought it at sainsburys for £5 he thinks he should have a £5 refund or else, even though I've fitted a brand new one and the exact brand he bought is available on ebay for £1 including postage. Even though I've offered to send out or pay for a same-brand replacement.
It just makes you wonder why you bother being good to people in general when they can be such bell-ends back to you.
Ok, its a wallow of self-pity I admit that. And nothing on what some of you might be going through. But sometimes you just need to vent and sometimes you just need a kind word.