And On The Third Day...

I was up at 5:35am and felt extremely well rested even after staying up after 11pm last night. I noticed right away that the sky was more than partially clear giving way to what I hoped would be a bright sunny Friday. It’s nice to be headed into a weekend and not be on-call, sick, or with a ton of to-do’s. We do have a concert to attend tonight and Bella’s birthday party this Sunday, however. Additionally, I am hoping that the weather Gods will have erred relative to their Saturday forecast, and instead of rain, we’ll end up with non-threatening skies so that I might be able to continue staining the deck. We’ll see. I finished my exercise routine in no time flat and was out the door with Ykraps under a blanket of stars. I had a warm settled feeling about my life as I walked this morning. Despite all of life’s little bumps, I’ve got it pretty darn good. I couldn’t wait to get back home and get that first cup of coffee. I didn’t need to wake Mindy since she was taking a sick day today. She has a doctor’s appointment, several errands to run, and finally the closing on Echo Park to attend. She told me she didn’t need up until 7am. So, after some coffee, meditation, and a little internet surfing, I slowly began prepping my lunch and breakfast. Some time around 6:40am Mindy found her way down stairs with out my wake up revelry. She woke happy and chatty. I’m not used to sharing my morning space with anyone on work days. I just grunted and growled back. I sat for my breakfast at 7:00am sharp. Soon Jacob found his way down stairs and into his mother’s arms. He doesn’t have school on Friday’s so he’ll be going to Grandma Sharon’s while Mindy does her thing. That made him happy. I headed for the shower around 7:15am an emerged a new man. I dressed very casual today – stale blue jeans and a worn but clean brown t-shirt. I like to do that on Friday’s. It was a little different leaving for work with Mindy and the kids still home. I hollered up the stairs before departing in an effort to give Mindy a chance to hug the prince before leaving. She doesn’t like it when I sneak out. :() After a hug goodbye I was out the door and on my merry way. I arrived at work right on time and got right down to business. Within the first hour of work I was given some bad news from one of my best team members. He’s moving on. That dampened an otherwise happy day. I understand, however. I talked with Mindy just before my run. She was heading to Target to fill her prescriptions. She has a sinus infection. She told me that she’s going to lunch with her friend Teri. I encouraged her to ask Teri if she’d prefer to attend the Christian concert with her tonight. I don’t know that I’ll be able to tolerate two hours of music for which I know none. I hope they serve beer! She seemed sad that I stated that but also understood. I love Mindy but honestly, I’d have way more fun at Barley’s. I left for my run at 12:50pm. The temperature looked to be around 60 degrees and the sun was shining. I chose not to wear a wind shirt over my already long sleeved running tee. That proved a bit chilly. There was a rather brisk chilly breeze blowing out of the north. I was cold for the first time since spring time. I retuned to eat my lunch by 1:49pm. After eating I spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on a few dangling issues and then readied myself for a weekend. I arrived home before 5:30pm. Lindsey and lil' Rocky were already there, along with Jacob and Bella. Lindsey brought them home from Grandma Sharon's. I began tending to my Friday evening chores. Mindy arrived minutes later excited after completing the closing on her home. Today ends a long frustrating process for her. Tonight we're heading to the Schottenstein Center to see Third Day (Mindy's idea). Our plan is to stop at Barley's on the way to sneak in one drink with friends, and for me to prime myself before receiving a belly full of Christian rock music. I slipped upstairs around 5:55pm and jumped in my bed. I figured I needed some quiet, down time before launching head long into the night. I fell asleep even though I didn't really plan to. I slept for about 25 minutes. I woke more refreshed and ready. I got up and brushed my teeth and changed into appropriate concert type attire. I dug out my 25 year old Godz t-shirt and my 27 year old jean jacket. What's cool is that they still fit. The only difference is that I now have a much more muscular frame, so consequently my muscles bulge from the tight sleeves. Arrogance? We left for Barley's shortly after 6:30pm and arrived around 6:50pm. The concert wasn't set to start until 7:30pm so we had a hour or so. Barley's was packed beyond belief. In part because we're never there this early and because tonight is Oyster's and Stout, which routinely is a big draw for Barley's. It took Lee a while to get our drinks. Bob was gracious enough to put my beer and Mindy's wine on his tab making good on a bet he and I made about a month ago and one I had admittedly forgotten about. We bet on the first week's NFL game. If the Browns won & the Vikings lost I owed. If the opposite occurred, which did happen, then he owed me. The wager was two beers. If we both won or lost then the it would have been a draw. We stayed at Barley's until about 7:40pm. Mindy was comfortable with that because there was an opening act and how many shows start on time anyhow. Onto the Schott. Thanks to Mindy's poor navigation, we took a round about way of getting there but ultimately did. I was careful not to criticize, however. We arrived in the lot at 7:53pm - I checked. Parking was free and we parked rather close. I had wondered whether they'd be serving beer in the concessions, and hoped they would. Mindy thought not since it's a Christina show. Didn't or don't Christians drink beer? Have you not been to a Catholic festival? Upon inquiring about the availability of beer, I was denied. The taps were dry tonight. Just as well. We found our way to our lower bowl seats. Luckily we had to end seats so that afforded us easy access to concessions or even the restroom. But as it turned out, we took part in neither. Still, our seats were very good. The First band, The David Crowder Band, was exceptionally talented and very diverse - a little rock, punk, and blue grass. The lights were good too. The audience was doing a little bit of the Christian revival thing. You know, look up, close your eyes, raise your hands to the sky and sway. I found that amazing and even a little annoying, but whatever works! There was a break between bands (we learned there were three but we missed the first entirely - Hyper Static Union). The bass player for Third day came out before the start of their show and shared a story of the bands trip to Rwanda to help the children that are often kidnapped and made to fight and kill for the rebel forces. I learned from Mindy later that most of these Christian bands partner with a cause and use their captive audience to drum up some financial support during their shows. Good idea! Soon the show started. Just like any big name rock concert, they had lots of lights and video features. Musically speaking, the band was very talented and unless you listened attentively, you wouldn't know that each song carried a deep spiritual message. The show ended close to 10:30pm. Mindy and I hurried out an to our car only stopping to pee. Unlike many large concerts, there was no traffic jam to leave. We had to exit by the tour bus area and could see four very large, and high priced tour buses apparently owned by the three bands. There was also two semi's to haul the gear. Looks like financially they're a success too. We headed directly home opting out of more beer and fun. Lindsey and the kids were already asleep when we arrived home. The house was a little upside down with plenty of dirty dishes scattered about. While I woofed down some leftover pizza, I cleaned up and loaded the dishwasher. Before heading up to bed, I ran it. I like to wake to a clean house. We were in bed by 11pm almost guaranteeing a headache-free morning for no drinking.