Power Mongers Delight

I was out of bed and downstairs by 5:35am. It was quite nice waking up with power and subsequently being able to see to brush my teeth. It’s the little things. The clock wasn’t set on the coffee maker but I did have it loaded. I hit the go button to begin the process. The coffee was ready by the time that I finished my calisthenics. 

Ykraps and I headed out the door just before 6am feeling relaxed and eager for a stroll. On our walk back towards the house I noticed that Mindy was already up and getting ready to enter the shower. She had all the bathroom lights on – her way of celebrating the luxury of power, I guess. Either way, she was up early. 

I poured our first cups of coffee and then delivered Mindy’s to the bathroom where I placed it on the lingerie dresser. After notifying her of its whereabouts, I quickly headed back downstairs to relax a little. I spent some time on the PC before dedicating about ten minutes to meditation. I left for my run around 6:30am. It was almost totally dark and a tad chilly at the outset. I wore shorts and a long sleeved running shirt. I warmed up quickly. I ran the full four miles with no trouble at all. 

It was daylight by the time I returned. The sun was just beginning to creep up on the horizon. Mindy was already backing out of the drive since she was leaving early in part to drop some things by Al & Rosemary’s for daughter Courtney. I’m glad I got to see her before she left. Jacob was standing at the door, and according to Mindy, fearful of being home alone while waiting my return from a run. 

I was ready to leave for work by 7:50am. We still don’t have the bus schedule fully resolved, apparently due to the power outages. Hopefully that’ll be resolved very soon. I drove Jacob down to Crissy & Kenny’s in the BM’er. He insisted on a ride. The BM’er is very dirty, and I really hate to drive it looking that way. However, this was golf night and gas prices being what they are, I drove it anyhow. 

Work went well. I was in meetings for a lion’s share of the day. That made it go really fast. I exchanged emails with Bob Imber regarding golf. And because he missed the two previous days due to the power outage, he was out. However, given that this was the three year anniversary of the day Mindy and I met, I viewed that as minor blessing and  made alternative arrangements to have dinner with my wife. 

Later, Bob Bolyard emailed letting me know that he could still get away for golf, but by then it was too late. I had plans with Mindy. I apologized to Bob B. Since I skipped lunch I still left work for home at 4:30pm. However, I made a brief stop at Home Depot to get more wooden marking stakes to quarantine the newly seeded area of my front lawn. A bundle of 24 was on sale for $2. Great price! 

I arrived home just before 5pm. Mindy must of heard me coming in because she was scurrying about to get my anniversary card placed on the island just as I entered the house. I left hers on the island before leaving for work this AM. I won! J The kids were alredy gone with their daddy. We haven’t had a Wednesday evening dinner date ever since golf season began. It was quite nice. And since I was home a little early I asked if I could sneak a quick nap. Mindy didn’t mind. It gave her a little time to catch up on a few chores. I slept for no more than fifteen minutes. We left for El Vaquero by 5:35pm. Mindy really wanted Ding-Ho but that didn’t sound good to me at all. Besides, the Vaq was the first restaurant we visited together on date September 19^th, 2005. 

It was a very lovely evening – probably about 74 degrees with no humidity. We asked for a table outdoors even though it was currently full. The inside was nearly empty. We decided to visit the bar until our table was ready. Mindy ordered a margarita on the rocks. I ordered a jack & Coke. My drink was extremely strong. It was more like Jack with fiz. J We enjoyed a basket of tortilla chips and salsa too. They’re complementary. 

Our table was ready in short order. They kindly moved our bar tab to our table. Cool!

We enjoyed another basket of tortilla chips & salsa before ordering our meal. Mindy ordered a second margarita while I continued nursing my extra strong Jack & Coke. Being creatures of habit, Mindy ordered the same dish she usually orders – something with sea scallops and shrimp. I, however, went out on a limb and ordered beef chimichangas. While dining, I noticed three sets of Scioto Woods neighbors enjoying dinner there as well. We approached Susan, her kids, and Brian (her new live in boyfriend) as we exited. She’s recently divorced and probably 43. Brian looks to be 25 tops. Go Susan! Fire Chief Steve, who lives right down the street, was waiting for a table just outside the front door along with his date. 

I asked Mindy if she’d help water in the new grass seed when we got home. She willingly agreed. That way I could focus my attention on driving in the new marking stakes. Watering in the new seed took about thirty minutes. Afterwards, since we still had time, she helped me replace two outdoor spotlight sockets. Because they face up, they’re prone to water damage. After about two years the brass tabs corrode down to nothing and bulbs begin burning out at a much faster rate than normal, probably due to excessive heat. Don’t get me going about the life expectancy of light bulbs. Most fail in less than a quarter of the time stated on the box – some even less. 

The kids got home a short time later. I was out in the garage unpacking my new compressor when they arrived. I didn’t get it totally ready, and never planned to. I headed in shortly after 8pm to tuck in the kids. I used the quiet time to update my blog. I was sitting on several days of entries. We headed to bed separately – me first. Mindy wasn’t far behind, however.