Twas The Night Before Xmas ...
I decided to sleep in until 6am after a rather late night. Besides, this was Xmas eve and work, at least I hoped, would be a bit more laid back than usual. I felt pretty good all things considered and went about my routine like any other day. I exercised and then walked Ykraps. It was a beautifully clear Xmas Eve morning with a full moon. I was looking forward to my run - likely the last under the guise of darkness for some time. But before headng out to run, I first relaxed with a cup of yummy coffee and then about ten minutes of meditation. During meditation I contemplated how blessed I am to have good health, family, and resources. There are many with much less.
I readied and left for a run around 7:05am. It was still dark but the pre-dawn sky was quick to brighten. It was a quiet run. There was little traffic or movement of any kind save for a bunny or two darting across the street. Mindy was awake whenI returned from my run preparing for a busy day of wrapping gifts. Already having wrapped several dozen, she still had the lions share of the kids gifts to do. Before I showered and dressed, Mindy had the kids piles organized in such a way that she/we could compare for equality. I reminded Mindy that the equality was more of her own doing rather than the kids. In all, There were five piles: a pile each from Santa; a pile each from us, and lastly a joint pile from Santa. Anyway you stacked it, it was a lot of Xmas!
I left for work just after 8:30am. The lot was almost empty save for the few NOC'ers working in our two centers. The work day was almost completely void of stress. I chatted with the the team about their holiday plans and about my dead hard drive. Lots of computer geeks on board. I was encouraged with the many options available for restoring my PC and possibly even my hard drive. In the end, though, I decided to simply replace my hard drive. I shopped Micro Center's webpage and found the perfect drive - 160 gig for $57.99. I figured come lunch time I'd drive over and pick one up. One of my guys said he had one at home and would charge me only $20. I opted for new. Come 11:45am I left for lunch. I drove east on Hayden Run/Bethel to Micro Center. Micro Center was bustling wiht shoppers. I went right to the hard drives where a gentleman helped me find what I was seeking. I found the one I had selected online. He tried up-selling me to a 250 gig for just another $15 but I opted not. I hindsight that might have been a good idea. Still, the 160 gig was 33% larger than my original.
On my way back to work I stopped at Giant Eagle to pick-up some IPA. I already had plenty of beer at home but most of it was Xmas & pumpkin ale. I was craving hops! Giant Eagle was even more crowded than Micro Center. The lines were all very long. With just two six packs, I opted for the self-checkout line. That was unusually slow too, but faster than the only other option. I was back at work by 1:15pm. The afternoon moved swiftly. I allowed staff to depart early as the workload dictated and as the mid-shifters trickeld in. I left myself at 4pm. I had hoped to leave closer to 3pm but had things to do. Either way, I was still on-call so it was either do at home or at work.
Mindy reported having a crazy day herself wrapping presents and running last minute Xmas errands. She had to replace the missing candy and return a couple of broken nutcrackers. She was home only minutes before me, and the kids weren't far behind. With quiet time running short, I took a much needed power nap in the living room recliner using Mindy's new neck massager. It was incredible, knocking me right out. Just before Jimaken retuned withthe kids, I got busy installing my new hard drive. It was very easy but I wanted to be careful just the same. I took my time. After only ten minutes I was powering up and loading XP. Jimaken brought the kids home a short time later after Xmasing with he and his family for most of the day. The kids were excited but also noticeably worn down. It was almost time to leave for church. Mindy would be choiring. Meanwhile, Windows was still updating when we left and the approximate load time was 2 hours. I figured it'd be finished when we returned.
We offered to pick-up Gloria but she opted to drive herself. We arrived at 7:15pm on the nose. Mindy needed to be 15 minutes early to prepare for choir. Mass was crowded but Gloria had saved us seats. The kids and I sat alongside her. The service was similar to most Xmas eve services where the story of Joesph and Mary's trek into Bethlehem was told. Karen, the local pastor, used an unusual amount of ethusiasm to help the story along. For me, it was bit over the top, but hey, who am I ?. She's added a bit of a baptist flavor to her ministry since her arrival. Still, the service was decent inspiring cause and relfection upon what's right in my life and what good I might yet be able to offer the world. Too, there was communion at the services end. All attendees were offered the opportunity, unlike a Catholic mass where only practicing members are supposed to participate. :) There was a candlelighting at the end as well where the electric lights were turned down. Not sure the intended message, but what came to my mind was how one turns into many having lit all our candles from one orignal flame. Perhaps the message was influence?
There was a brief reception following the service where many socialized over Xmas goodies. We stayed only about fifteen minutes. I was anxious to get home to a cold IPA! :) Mindy was anxious to get home and get the kids in bed and help usher in Santa Claus. We didn't get home until after 9pm. Geesh! I cracked a beer and rebooted my PC. Everything seemed to be working fine save for my internet connection. At first I assumed it to be a Road Runner issue but after calling them they assured me that it was an operating system issue since Windows could not see my NIC. Crap! I tried everything that I could think of including looking for its drivers on the handful of CD's originally supplied by Dell. Meanwhile, Mindy played Santa. Exhausted, she headed to bed while I continued fooling with my PC. After she went to bed I figured that I better bag it for the night and get busy placing her gifts under the tree. I had them arranged in about five minutes. There was absolutely no room under the tree so I had to stack them on the chair. I took a couple pictures of the excess and headed up to bed. Turns out, Mindy was still awake. I talked her into watching the pope usher in Xmas from St. Peter's Basilica - something I've enjoyed watching for years and years.
I readied and left for a run around 7:05am. It was still dark but the pre-dawn sky was quick to brighten. It was a quiet run. There was little traffic or movement of any kind save for a bunny or two darting across the street. Mindy was awake whenI returned from my run preparing for a busy day of wrapping gifts. Already having wrapped several dozen, she still had the lions share of the kids gifts to do. Before I showered and dressed, Mindy had the kids piles organized in such a way that she/we could compare for equality. I reminded Mindy that the equality was more of her own doing rather than the kids. In all, There were five piles: a pile each from Santa; a pile each from us, and lastly a joint pile from Santa. Anyway you stacked it, it was a lot of Xmas!
I left for work just after 8:30am. The lot was almost empty save for the few NOC'ers working in our two centers. The work day was almost completely void of stress. I chatted with the the team about their holiday plans and about my dead hard drive. Lots of computer geeks on board. I was encouraged with the many options available for restoring my PC and possibly even my hard drive. In the end, though, I decided to simply replace my hard drive. I shopped Micro Center's webpage and found the perfect drive - 160 gig for $57.99. I figured come lunch time I'd drive over and pick one up. One of my guys said he had one at home and would charge me only $20. I opted for new. Come 11:45am I left for lunch. I drove east on Hayden Run/Bethel to Micro Center. Micro Center was bustling wiht shoppers. I went right to the hard drives where a gentleman helped me find what I was seeking. I found the one I had selected online. He tried up-selling me to a 250 gig for just another $15 but I opted not. I hindsight that might have been a good idea. Still, the 160 gig was 33% larger than my original.
On my way back to work I stopped at Giant Eagle to pick-up some IPA. I already had plenty of beer at home but most of it was Xmas & pumpkin ale. I was craving hops! Giant Eagle was even more crowded than Micro Center. The lines were all very long. With just two six packs, I opted for the self-checkout line. That was unusually slow too, but faster than the only other option. I was back at work by 1:15pm. The afternoon moved swiftly. I allowed staff to depart early as the workload dictated and as the mid-shifters trickeld in. I left myself at 4pm. I had hoped to leave closer to 3pm but had things to do. Either way, I was still on-call so it was either do at home or at work.
Mindy reported having a crazy day herself wrapping presents and running last minute Xmas errands. She had to replace the missing candy and return a couple of broken nutcrackers. She was home only minutes before me, and the kids weren't far behind. With quiet time running short, I took a much needed power nap in the living room recliner using Mindy's new neck massager. It was incredible, knocking me right out. Just before Jimaken retuned withthe kids, I got busy installing my new hard drive. It was very easy but I wanted to be careful just the same. I took my time. After only ten minutes I was powering up and loading XP. Jimaken brought the kids home a short time later after Xmasing with he and his family for most of the day. The kids were excited but also noticeably worn down. It was almost time to leave for church. Mindy would be choiring. Meanwhile, Windows was still updating when we left and the approximate load time was 2 hours. I figured it'd be finished when we returned.
We offered to pick-up Gloria but she opted to drive herself. We arrived at 7:15pm on the nose. Mindy needed to be 15 minutes early to prepare for choir. Mass was crowded but Gloria had saved us seats. The kids and I sat alongside her. The service was similar to most Xmas eve services where the story of Joesph and Mary's trek into Bethlehem was told. Karen, the local pastor, used an unusual amount of ethusiasm to help the story along. For me, it was bit over the top, but hey, who am I ?. She's added a bit of a baptist flavor to her ministry since her arrival. Still, the service was decent inspiring cause and relfection upon what's right in my life and what good I might yet be able to offer the world. Too, there was communion at the services end. All attendees were offered the opportunity, unlike a Catholic mass where only practicing members are supposed to participate. :) There was a candlelighting at the end as well where the electric lights were turned down. Not sure the intended message, but what came to my mind was how one turns into many having lit all our candles from one orignal flame. Perhaps the message was influence?
There was a brief reception following the service where many socialized over Xmas goodies. We stayed only about fifteen minutes. I was anxious to get home to a cold IPA! :) Mindy was anxious to get home and get the kids in bed and help usher in Santa Claus. We didn't get home until after 9pm. Geesh! I cracked a beer and rebooted my PC. Everything seemed to be working fine save for my internet connection. At first I assumed it to be a Road Runner issue but after calling them they assured me that it was an operating system issue since Windows could not see my NIC. Crap! I tried everything that I could think of including looking for its drivers on the handful of CD's originally supplied by Dell. Meanwhile, Mindy played Santa. Exhausted, she headed to bed while I continued fooling with my PC. After she went to bed I figured that I better bag it for the night and get busy placing her gifts under the tree. I had them arranged in about five minutes. There was absolutely no room under the tree so I had to stack them on the chair. I took a couple pictures of the excess and headed up to bed. Turns out, Mindy was still awake. I talked her into watching the pope usher in Xmas from St. Peter's Basilica - something I've enjoyed watching for years and years.
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