Free Gift

It's been a week since I last posted and for good reason, on Monday I put my back out shifting an excess order of copier paper at work. I was busy fixing a printer jam when my team leader flagged up the arrival of a delivery driver in reception. Knowing her dislike for matters of the administrative variety I hotfooted it back to my desk to be met by a scowling driver and thirty hefty boxes of paper. I exclaimed at the quantity, the driver shrugged and gruffly proclaimed to be parked on 'double yellas'. He urged me to sign the docket and told me to call their office, which I did and was told it was a 'free gift' for loyal custom. I would rather they have sent a fuzzy pom pom with googley eyes to stick on my PC monitor than ten extra boxes of paper. With a reception full of clients, young, old and inebriated I had no choice but to shift the whole lot to an upstairs store room. As my team leader looked on I began loading the trolley, slowly and taking every precaution I could. I saw her look of anxiety as reception got busier still but there was little I could do, other than pile one extra box on the trolley and carefully manouver it on. She commented that I should pick up my speed, so I hurried on but no sooner than you could say 'risk assessment' I was whimpering with pain and clutching at my back. The trolley came crashing down, narrowly missing my toe and reams of paper spilled across the floor. I was sent home in a taxi. My doctor says I have to rest but I'm finding it a struggle.