barking, but not biting

Yesterday I spent the morning deciding on the exact timing and substance of my swimming session. I would leave my apartment at 1:30 and swim for one hour. But when I got to my gym, it was closed; there had been a water-main break. I felt defeated. I had planned, after swimming, to go buy some kind of storage for my files. So I went to "The Container Store" on Sixth Ave. and 18 Street. I was feeling very tired and grumpy. The swimming was supposed to revive me, but since I had not been able to swim, I was not at all revived.

By the time I got to the store I was in a bad mood. It had started to rain and I had no umbrella. I could not see clearly because my glasses were streaked with rain. When I walked into the store, a very tall guy smiled a huge smile and said "hi!" I forced myself to say hello, and walked inside. All the employees were smiling, and each one of them said hello. "Do you need help?" a smiling woman with short brown hair asked me. "No, I'm fine," I said, not smiling. I wanted them all to leave me alone. I found my file boxes, and paid for them; the clerk put them in an absurdly huge and cumbersome bag. I was trying to imagine how I was going to negotiate my way home on the train with such a package. Feeling even more tired and annoyed, I walked toward the exit. Tall guy was still there. Smiling even more than before, he said "have a great day!"