Today was a tumultuous and emotional day. I awoke to the same high winds to which I had fallen asleep. Most of the hike from Overmountain to Elk Park, NC was over balds, mountaintops with no cover. With winds around 70 MPH blowing me off the trail, ultra fine mist stinging my skin and soaking my clothes, and a wind chill near freezing, it was not terribly enjoyable.
As I was hiking through this torrent of foul weather, I found myself stressed over work, one of the things I sought to escape on this adventure. Apparently, human resources had cancelled my health insurance before I left for Georgia. As a result, the insurance company refused to pay for a visit to my dermatologist, an appointment that came only two days after I last worked and well within my last pay period at work...for which I should have been covered. Now, I have an outstanding bill of $590, which I cannot currently pay and which will deleteriously affect my credit.
In addition, I'd received a call from payroll, stating that I would not be receiving my $450 medical reimbursement. The woman from payroll claimed that I hadn't submitted any receipts. Of course, I had submitted them, but I made arrangements for my dentist to fax copies. And, I mailed a receipt from Walgreen's for prescriptions, which I had to physically get from a Walgreen's in Tennessee because of HIPPA.
After speaking with my parents, they informed me that they received a check for me from my employer, totalling $357 and change. Unfortunately, this isn't the total of the receipts that I had faxed. There is no way that the Walgreen's receipt arrived before this check. And, clearly $357 is not $450. I have no idea what the check represents, but it better not be my medical reimbursement.
So...there I was, hiking through this nasty weather and pondering WHAT THE HELL goes through these people's minds. I thought, "I'm soaked, freezing, sore, and being blown every which way on a mountain in Tennessee, while on a six month 'leave me the hell alone' adventure, and I'm supposed to concurrently deal with the ineptitude of coworkers?!"
I was seriously pissed off. Not only are these people screwing me out of over $1000 and killing my credit score but they're ruining my adventure. (I can't believe payroll called me like I could just pop in and drop off some paperwork.)
Then, I heard Hammy's voice in my head, "Align yourself with source."
My mood immediately changed, and I found myself at peace. I assessed my situation and reminded myself that I've often enjoyed walking in the rain. My shell jacket kept the wind and water away from my core, and my situation could have been much worse. I began to once again enjoy the hike, and I playfully yelled into the wind, "Is that all you've got?!"
The A.T. crossed Route 19, and I hitched a ride into Elk Park, NC. At the Times Square Diner, I gorged myself on two Times Square Burgers, a double order of French fries, a slice of cheesecake drizzled with caramel, and several cups of hot coffee. (Yes, my appetite is really that large, now.)
I hitched a ride back to the trail and set off to make some more miles before dark. My mood soon turned to melancholy, as I missed hiking with Hammy. I recounted all the subtle things that had reminded me of her over the past few days: a JNL (her initials) Fitness infomercial on television at the Super 8 in Erwin; a fortune from a fortune cookie that I found at Curley Maple Gap Shelter which said to focus on the color purple to bring luck; blue glass along Route 19 on the way to Elk Park; Billy Joel's Always a Woman to Me on the radio at the Times Square Diner.
As I plodded along, sore and blistered, I had my first encounter with a SoBo hiker, a fellow by the name of Sherpa Chief. We exchanged pleasantries, and he told me that he had started in September but had been lucky enough to miss all the major snowstorms. I was in awe. No matter how rough I thought my trek had been thus far, it couldn't be as rough as a SoBo through the dead of winter.
Hiking further, I came upon Isaac Cemetery. I sat to rest my feet, letting my mind wander. Once again, I began thinking about work. I thought about how life is so very short, every moment so very precious. And, it occurred to me that I have some serious reservations about returning to work. The thing that bothers me the most isn't that I'm severely under paid, particularly for someone of my educational background and work ethic. It isn't that the clients are often times difficult, because I expect that. What bothers me most is my coworkers; adept only at shirking responsibility and deflecting blame, they are the source of most stress.
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