Getting a Soapy

It clouded up overnight for the first time in quite a while. Rain was forecasted for later in the day and was expected to carrying into Saturday. I didn’t mind too much. I was slated to be on-call anyway.

 I was up just before 5:30am. I felt pretty good thanks to 400mg of Ibuprofen. After exercise Ykraps and I headed out the door. Somehow I broke the zipper on my black Columbia fleece jacket. The pull had been broken off for some time, but I was still able to zip it my using my fingernail to slide the zipping mechanism up the track. No more. I heard it fall to the floor as I tried zipping it before heading out the door. 

After coffee but before meditation, I took Mindy some coffee. I asked if she were going into work (school). She was, even though she didn’t feel so well. I returned downstairs to meditate and then run. I was happy that it was Friday. Even though I’d be on-call, I still enjoy my weekends.

 My run went well. Mindy had my eggs ready by the time that I made it back home. Today’s eggs were cooked in olive oil. I could tell the difference. I was happy for the switch but asked that she consider reducing the amount a little in the future. She took the feedback well. Soon she & Bella left for school. If plans went as discussed, I wouldn’t see the two of them until sometime after 8pm. Mindy & the kids were going to their  school’s Halloween open house event sponsored by the PTA after 5pm. I, in turn, had plans to meet a few peeps at Cosmos after work.

 I was ready for work by 7:55am. Jacob and I walked to the bus stop where we threw the football before the bus came. Kenny made a rare showing. He shared that he winterized his own irrigation system after the first cold snap. I reported that Nationwide irrigation was slated to come do mine in the coming days. Other than learning how to do it, I had no incentive to do my own. This year’s is on the house. 

I left for work at 8:10am. Gas was $2.39 per gallon. I still had a half tank so I passed assuming that it will come down even further by the time I really need a fill-up. 

Work was very busy. Most of my peers were scheduled off only adding to the day’s challenge. I noticed that it began to rain mid-afternoon and fairly hard too. Out the window I noticed most of the nearby trees off in the woods had already lost their leaves. The fall season’s slipping by in a hurry to be sure. 

Because I was busy, I didn’t bother leaving for lunch. I had no real need to either.  I stayed busy until just after 5:30pm. Tom Clark texted me around 4:30pm regarding our meeting at Cosmos. I planned to go but didn’t bother to respond. Too much hassle to text via cell phone.

 It was raining rather steadily as I was leaving for the day. It was chilly too. I arrived at Cosmos around 5:45pm. It’s no more than two miles up the road. I was surprised to find only two folks, Myron & Tom, already there. Jeff G showed up about ten minutes later. Used to be a big crowd would show for such events. Times are changing! I gave Steve Androw a call to see if he was planning to join us. He was in Charlotte, NC for a NASCAR race. He wasn’t going to make it – obviously! It was just the four of us. We had fun, though, listening to Tom’s stories about his vacation in the Philippines. Lots of funny stories – always has a handful to tell. Jeff shared that he’s been moved to an individual contributor’s role but still within the bank. Didn’t sound too thrilled about it either. Difficult times! 

I didn’t stay too long. I left after my second beer, which I nursed for a quite a while. Mindy & I loosely agreed that we’d meet at home around 8pm. As soon as I got rolling towards home I phoned Minelli’s to order a pizza for pick-up. Mindy called just as I was exiting the freeway. Among other things, she let me know that I needed to walk Ykraps. Good information to have. I arrived at Minelli’s fifteen minutes after placing my order. I didn’t expect it to be ready but it was. They quoted me 30 minutes. 

Mindy & the kids had just pulled up when I arrived home. Everyone was in good spirits after the Halloween party, or so it seemed. After carrying in all my gear, including the pizza, I leashed up Ykraps and took him on a quick yet productive walk.  I was anxious to get back home and dig into my pizza.

 The kids and Mindy ate very little pizza. They had already eaten Wendy’s. I ate about half of an extra-large pizza. I was very hungry. While enjoying the pizza I got logged onto work for the weekend ahead. Things were fairly quiet for the time being. Mindy & I watched the Boise State/San Jose State college football game on ESPN after the kids were in bed. Because Mindy wasn’t feeling well, she went up to bed just before 10pm.

I woke on the sofa somewhere near 1230am and shut down the house and headed for bed. Like often happens when I fall asleep on the sofa, I woke incredibly stiff.