One more day till the weekend

The morning looks promising - looks like it's gonna be another nice hot summer day. Yeah, that's right, uh-huh, that's two in-a-row. In turn, I decided it would be another "convertible" day. And like I have almost all week, I took a more leisurely approach to my morning ritual and didn't press to be out of the house by 730AM. I have worked pretty late almost every night and for that reason I've been tired in the AM's, so I gave myself permission to sleep a little extra long. Thanks Jim! Nothing out of the ordinary... exercise, walk Sparky, coffee, meditate, email, shower, to work. It's amazing how after just two days you lose some of the details surrounding the day. My work day was pretty uneventful. No new drama. In kind, my afternoon run was uneventful too. It was warm and sticky, but not too hot. Over the years I have become accustom to running in the varied weather conditions of central Ohio. Running in the extreme heat or extreme cold is really no big deal. I will tell you this though, on a Monday, about three weeks ago when the heat index was around 110 with no breeze and direct sunshine, I was a little freaked out about overheating. That was the second time in all the years I've been running that I actually worried about my health while running. The other time was self-inflicted. That time I pulled a real "Jimmy". I thought it was a good idea to put on some tan accelerator before running. I effectively clogged all of my pours so I ended up rendering my internal cooling system inoperative. Smart move!! That day I felt like I might explode! On the other hand, two winters ago, I ran one early AM when the actual temp was -7 and the windchill was -20. Truthfully, that's cake comparatively speaking. The biggest factor for extreme cold weather running is out-the-door motivation. Once running, the lean mean fat burning machine within takes over, and before you know it, you're cookin' like a team engine! You'd never know it's freezing outside. Thursday would normally be my golf league night, but I had a scheduled bye this week. So, instead of golf, I planned to meet some old friends and co-workers at the Winking Lizard in Worthington for a few cocktails. I hadn't been there before but had been meaning to stop by. Now they have a new one much closer to our office and close to the BW3's on Bethel Rd. Still, we planned to meet at the Worthington branch. I left work with my top down even though the sky admittedly looked threatening. By the time I had gotten to Tuttle and 270, it was raining. Certainly I'll get stopped at a light or two and then I'll put my top up, I thought to myself. Of course of all times to NOT get stuck at a light, it would be now, and it was! So, I had to stop on the freeway on-ramp and put my top up. Good thing I did too, cause by the time I was on the freeway headed north, it started raining hard. This is the first time that I can recall ever driving my Z in the rain. I'm sorry little Z!! Once I got to the 23 N exit, traffic was a complete mess. We were in gridlock. A quick glance at the traffic snarl was all I needed to motivate me to think/find an alternative route. If I wanted to get off on 23 N I'd be waiting an awfully long time. Plan "B"!! Exit to 23 south, then turn around first opportunity. That is what I did, and the results were good. Before you knew it, I was back headed north Too bad I didn't take a better look at the directions to the bar though. Once headed north, I realized that I didn't know exactly where this place was. I got a little lost and ultimately had to do the unthinkable...pull in and ask for directions! I stopped at Domino's Pizza and asked for directions. Sure enough, I passed the place up. So I had to back track, but in the end I found my destination. ( notice this....guys only get "a little lost") One thing about the Winking Lizard that you'll learn right away, they have over 100 brands of beer. I looked over the menu and decided that I wanted to try their Honey Raspberry Ale. When Jen brought the beer I was excited to see the distinct label of an old fave of mine that I thought was extinct. I used to buy this beer at Kroger probably 8 -10 years ago and then suddenly it disappeared from the shelves. It's Spanish Peaks, Black Dog - Honey Raspberry Ale. I had two of them. They were as good as I remembered them to be. Over the years I have looked for a good replacement but never found one. Many imitators out there but in the end they all were nothing but glorified wine coolers. This was a true dark Ale with a hint of raspberry! Those reading this probably know that I have a thing for raspberry and have resorted to making my own! Anyway, had some of their 911 wings too. As I thought might be the case, the 911 was really not all that hot, but it was their hottest. Additionally, the wings, themselves, were mediocre at best. Not that I'm critiquing the place, though. It's the company anyhow, so no complaints. I stayed for about 1 1/2 hours then headed for home. I don't really like to drink and party on a "school" night because it takes a little air out of the weekend anticipation. I have weekend envy! The sky looked to have cleared so I put my top down for the ride home (about 20 miles). By the time I had got around to my Hilliard exit, the sky began to cry again. Once again I found myself in a predicament. I had no choice but to come to a complete stop on Wilson Rd to put my top up as the rain started coming down pretty hard. Once home, I spent a little time organizing myself for the following morning and putting Sparky's needs at bay. He's such a good dog! He holds it longer than any other dog I know. Nothing exciting to share about my personal life at home tonight - sorry!