Leopard Day

I had an early-morning (8.30) physiotherapy appointment at the hospital, and was so anxious not to be late that I was up in time to catch the dawn and was seated in the corridor outside the door to the physio annex by 8.10, first in line. I had plenty of time to muse about what goes in behind this door right across from my perch, and then had more time ... and more time ... and still more. The Fracture Clinic seemed to be unusually busy this morning, and this may have been why the physiotherapist wasn't able to set herself up anywhere near the stated time. I waited until 9.20, gave up, and left to keep a work appointment.

After that it was on to the bank, which I got to before they opened, so had time for a quick coffee and orange juice (though nothing more substantial which I'm sure this guy would have had on offer. Meeting over, bank sorted, it was back home, stopping off at a local shop for the usual grocery essentials, among which was this pack of cheese slices which I was rather surprised to see described as being 'ready to eat'. (I mean to say, how can cheese not be ready?)

The slight rush was all because I'd pre-ordered Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) and it was scheduled for delivery today. I contacted the courier company to see what time I might expect the door bell to ring, and was assured that my package was in the warehouse and would definitely be delivered sometime during the afternoon. Definitely. Absolutely. 3.15 arrived and still no sign, so I phoned the courier company again --

Them: That's from Apple, right? Hold on while I check ... Eh, that's strange, there's a note here saying the customer is to clear delivery first before the package can go out.
Me: Huh? I was told earlier it was in the warehouse and would be delivered this afternoon.
Them: Let me check ... Who told you that? ... I'll contact the driver ... He's already past your drop-off point. He has lots of Apple stuff in the van, but nothing for you.
Me: Boo hoo!
Them: Let me check with the transport coordinator.
Me: Dum de dum de dum ...
Them: Okay, your package is here alright. Is there any way you can make it to the depot by 7.00 pm?
Me: I'm on my way!

Back home forty minutes later, I tore open the surprisingly small pagkaging and began installation. That finished an hour ago (I opted for an Upgrade install). I haven't had time to do much more than open a few apps, so I can't even give an off-the-cuff assessment yet. The important thing is that I got it today. I would have been absolutely gutted if the courier mix-up had left me in limbo for the long weekend. Things are pretty hectic socially from tomorrow morning until Monday night, so I'm off now to check out some of the much-touted 300+ new features.