Is Mercury in Retrograde?

I don’t dabble in astrology any deeper than to understand that my personality is pretty much aligned with my zodiac sign. Last night I reached out to a former band mate who is deep into the subject, and discovered that Mercury is in retrograde for the next couple of weeks. This affects transportation and communication. Yesterday was so bad I felt aphasic.

The day started with intentions of incredible efficiency (a friend pointed out that this was my downfall) and immediately went to shit.

• Our alarm system access is akin to choosing what salad dressing to buy… Too many choices. I needed to update some access codes in our system, and started with the app on my phone, where I’ve updated codes before. This feature is no longer available on the app. I went to the alarm panel to update the codes. I got to the part where the panel asks for the Master Code, and evidently did not know the master code to my own alarm system. I tried a couple different obvious codes to no avail. Next was to call the alarm company. I cannot relate the entire conversation I had with the gal who was helping me, because neither of our days is long enough… Highlights were: her thinking I didn’t think she knew what she was doing (I assured her it was all me, not her), needing to reset the master code on the panel, log into the system via the website, but not on the iPad (that didn’t work), but on a computer, after resetting the login password, then finally making the updates, but struggling for the correct password to make the updates stick! Each access point to the system is independent of the next, and each has its own set of passwords, and each access point has updated its technology 3 or 8 times since I’ve used it last. Oh, and I have 57 new logins and passwords since taking over my mom’s financial and medical life. I have recently been diagnosed with Passworditis. It’s a modern disease that makes you want to frisbee your laptop into the deep ravine surrounding your property. Treatment is still being researched. The phone call took most of an hour.
• Next up was to run errands, efficiently. Obviously, this didn’t happen. I left the house equipped to mail a package, return an item, and get my truck ‘smogged.’ I forgot to take items to place in the safety deposit box, and a cooler for grocery items. I decided this was OK, as I’d return the truck to the house, and drive the more fuel-efficient car for the remainder of my travels.
• As I attempted to pay for mailing the package, I used the alarm system’s new master code for my debit card’s PIN, and the actual debit card PIN evaporated from my head. The post office gal ran the transaction as credit. By the time I walked out to the truck, my PIN was planted back in my head, but WTF?
• The return went fine, but I turned south rather than north to get to the state’s smog station, and ended up driving in a huge circle to get back on track. 
• The truck passed its test. Huge work vehicles are given big emissions leeway in our state.
• I swapped the truck for the car, grabbed my missing pieces, and went to visit a friend in the hospital. He’s been in for a week, is looking ever so much better, and hopes to be home in a day or two.
• Groceries at Trader Joe’s were unremarkable. However, getting back north turned into a fiasco due to detours. I ended up on roads I’ve never seen before, and while sometimes that can be rather lovely, this time I took the Wrong detour, ended up heading back south, cut through a strip-mall parking lot to realign my trajectory, and powered onto the bank.
• I took my key and ID out, answered 5 too many questions about how my day was going, and walked into the vault with the gal. Suddenly I didn’t have my safety deposit key. I rummaged my purse while the gal went back out to see if she had it at her station. She didn’t. She then went to the lobby side of the counter and found where I left the key. It took 12 seconds to place the documents into the box.
• Meanwhile, everything in my purse was in the wrong place.
• The next grocery store went well, except finding anything in my purse when it came time to pay.
• During all of the above I’d been trying to get in touch with my mom regarding her Visa, whose bill arrived yesterday with fraudulent charges on it. A new card is on the way, and she needed to know the card in her wallet was inoperable. I soothed her ruffled feathers, “It’s nothing you did, The crooks are smarther than the rest of us, Some vendor’s data was compromised…” got her laughing, and signed off. Mom called my daughter four times, called the house twice, and called my cell phone once. Each call to me was to figure out which card had been canceled, and included the 16 digits from both cards in her wallet. In her situation, it’s to be expected, but it pushed my buttons more than it should have. I called her back letting her know which card to toss, and she said, “Oh, I figured it out!” 🤪 
• I hopped back in the car and went to visit a friend who is housesitting locally. She thought I’d enjoy the gardens, which I did. It was good to sit for an hour. I shared the above with her and she said, “You’re human!” I replied, “This shit never happens to me!” Again, “You’re human!”