Oregon Bites the Dust

I hollered out loud but nobody seemed to hear or care. No one came to my rescue. My cries for help fell upon deaf ears. … Bad Dreams

I met the morning at 5:25am. My sleep was sound. I woke maybe just once prior to my actual rise time. With each passing day I can feel my body adapting more and more to the time change . Soon, I am sure, 5:30am will feel like …well, 5:30am.

This was Friday, the day I live for. And what’s more, this was the most special Friday of all – the Friday after an on-call weekend. I cherish those most.

I wandered downstairs and got going with my morning calisthenics. I completed only sit-ups after remembering to give my shoulder a much deserved break. I liken it to the new Cadillac commercial where the occupant asks, “when was the last time you turned your car on and it returned the favor.” My body and I have a similar relationship built on mutual respect. J

Cutting out push-ups and curls netted me an extra 5-7 minutes. This threw Ykraps a curve. He didn’t seek me out since he didn’t hear the clank of the dumbbells that typically signal that a walk is near. But he was eager to go once I leashed him up. Once again, I allowed him to lead and he selected east. Our walk was brief but fruitful. He took care of his business.

Back at home I poured a cup of coffee. It was 5:50am. I retreated to the PC where I spent the next 10 or 15 minutes. I read the Daily OM and the Yahoo headlines. I saw that Oregon lost to Arizona last night, the game that I forgot was on. They were #2, but no more. Geesh! If we keep this up, the national championship game will be a joke!

Ohio State has claimed three Big Ten titles in a row, earning the last two outright for the first time since 1954-55. Its the longest streak of conference championships since Michigan won five in a row from 1988-92. The Buckeyes last won four straight against Michigan in 1960-63 and also did it from 1934-37. "It's special for our kids," Tressel said.

As you might expect, I took Mindy some coffee sometime around 6:00am. Downstairs I spent ten minutes meditating just before my run. I wore an extra layer on top of my wicking shirt. I also wore gloves and ear covers. I was very comfy for the run’s duration. Daylight doesn’t break until about the last mile, and even then it’s thin. By December I’m guessing I’ll be back to running under total darkness.

Mindy had our eggs just about finished. I agreed to handle their final minutes and topped them off with sharp cheddar cheese. Mindy and Bella left at their predictable time – 7:20am. Jacob and I talked about football. We didn’t practice his spelling words – perhaps his toughest list to date. Though, in hindsight I think that we should’ve. However, Mindy quizzed him on the entire list just before leaving.

We were at the bus stop at our usual time. There we hung out with Pat & Alanna until the bus showed up. It arrived a few minutes late. This was Michigan Friday. The mood at work was light and fun. Everyone seemed ready for the big game. I meant to wear my Bo-Busters t-shirt but forgot. Instead, I wore my customary black tee. Come lunch time, I decided to take a drive to the new Hilliard Kohl’s to do some early Xmas shopping. I say early but more and more people are completing their Xmas shopping in November. The benefits are a bigger selection and less traffic. The down side might be missing the big mid to late December deals. Either way, it’s the earliest I’ve ever started.

After purchasing a couple gifts I decided to cruise across the street to Bath & Body. Last time Mindy and I went by they weren’t yet opened for business. Today they were. I bought two “Tree” candles. They are way overpriced but smell exactly like a fresh-cut Xmas tree. Hilliard Rome road is going through a major overhaul. I decided to avoid the traffic snarl and take Trabue back towards work. And since I was close to home, I stopped in to drop off the gifts and grab a Diet Coke. I was back at the office by 2pm.

The afternoon got busy, but I somehow managed to escape at 5:15pm. It felt incredibly good to be heading home for the fun football weekend. I called Mindy along the way. She already had one of my Tree candles burning. When I arrived home I noticed the wonderful smell the instant I opened the door. We walked Ykraps together. It was chilly but under a clearing sky. It was nice!

I worked on my blog for about an hour all the while enjoying a cold beer. We planned to leave for Barley’s at 7pm – a full hour earlier than our usual. Before going we debated paint colors for the family for like the twentieth time. Geesh, just paint it!

We arrived at Barley’s just after 7pm. There was a bigger crowd than we expected, and it didn’t thin like it usually does, either. Without asking, Lee served me one of their new Breakfast Stouts. He served Mindy a St. Joan’s Revenge. My B.S. was very good! We acknowledged Mark, Dan, & Tim already sitting at the bar. Not long after, Bob arrived. M.A. was working. The 3 Jumps left a VM indicating their absence. A little later brother Tommy, Steve, and Rick arrived. Bob left for a spell to take care of walking the dog. Originally planning to go to an old friend’s b-day party, he opted instead to make a return to Barley’s. Hey, it’s hard to beat Barley’s! He told Mindy there would be no Buckeye/Michigan clubhouse. As much fun as it is for all of us, I am sure it looks, smells, and feels like work for he and M.A.

That’ll work well, I figured. We were long overdue to spend some quality time with our neighbors, Pat & Lisa. Earlier in the week Pat mentioned having some folks over for the game and extended an invite to us. We hung at Barley’s until 1030pm. Mindy was too buzzed to drive so I did. We didn’t stay up too long or late. I’ll bet that we were in bed by 11pm.