Integration

Today was NOT a summery day. Instead, it was very November like. It was cool, gray, blustery,and rainy, That didn't dampen my spirits however. After all, it was Friday - Barley Friday. Due in part to my relaxing personal day, I was up at 510am feeling completely -100% rested. I was looking forward to the weekend. I took my dear old time exercising, walking Sparky, meditating, packing my lunch, making my breakfast, and emailing. It was just like old times. I was ready to head out of the house for work around 720am. I had ten minutes to kill. I spent that time creatively playing guitar. Once at work the morning unfolded slowly. Wasn't too busy of a day all things considered and given that often times Friday's are a disaster. It wasn't long before it was lunch time and that meant running! I was looking forward to getting out in the elements. As I headed out for my run, the drizzle kept getting heavier and heavier until it had transformed into a steady light rain. I was soaked to the bone. No worries, though, because I was like a steam engine come runs end. The afternoon went by with little fanfare and before I knew it, it was time to head home on a Barley night! Too, my buddy, Tom Clark was supposed to fly in from Bahrain and I wondered if he'd call. Although, he did send me an email indicating that he'd likely be too tired to do anything his first day home. He never did call. I decided to go grocery shopping on my way home from work. I shopped at Walmart in Hilliard. And for some reason it took quite a bit longer than usual. Maybe it was waiting on my prescription to be filled?? Nonetheless, I was feeling a little stressed. Mindy and I were planning to meet at my house and then later head to Barley's. I had several things I wanted to try and accomplish in a short amount of time. As you know, I don't like to begin my weekend until everything's in order like laundry, vacuuming, and other household chores. So the thought of hurrying home and trying to get all of that done in a ridiculously short amount of time kinda freaked me out. But on my way home form the grocery, Mindy called to let me know she was running behind too and would be a later than planned. Perfect! That would give me time to do the things I felt needed done. Somehow I managed to get everything done that I wanted to get done, but still felt tense. That's just my nature. Admittedly, I was a little more than nervous about taking Mindy to Barley's with me. After all, this has largely been my little retreat for three years or so. Mindy showed up sometime around 745pm. We talked for a while before heading out. She did a good job relieving my tension, but still, I was nervous! We arrived at Barley's sometime around 830pm. It was a rather crowded night too. All my Friday night buddies were there. I introduced Mindy to my friends with whom she quickly fit in. That felt good! Probably due to being nervous, I forgot a few folks names. That was a little embarrassing, but it does happen. We stayed until about 10pm - not too long. We also made tentative plans to go to Bob and Mary Ann's "clubhouse" for the Buckeye game Saturday night. We went back to my house and hung out for about an hour before she (Mindy) had to head home. We had a nice time. Our plans called for spending some needed quality time together on Saturday. I spent the next hour updating my blog and eating some food. I was in bed just after midnight.