Goodbye '08

It was Wednesday, New Year’s Eve. I was up around 5:30am and quick to get my routine started. Before heading out with Ykraps, I checked the temperature. It was in the upper teens but also very windy – gusts upwards of 40 mph. All the extra trash we had bagged and at the curb had blown across the street into the neighbors’ yards. I gathered all that I could while walking Ykraps at the same time. This is the only trash day of the year when the city will take extra garbage without scheduling a bulk pick-up. We were taking full advantage. I’ll bet we had seven large green trash bags stuffed full of Xmas trash. Like the two work days prior, I enjoyed my coffee while playing on the PC, and I wasn’t in any particular hurry to set out on my run. I didn’t have a “Mindy’ deadline like usual. She remains on vacation through the week’s end. I finally left for a run around 6:45am. It was a nice run despite the brutally cold arctic wind. Quietly, I went about preparing my breakfast not wanting to wake the household. Although, I heard a couple of the kids beginning to stir while enjoying my eggs, ham, and fruit. I didn’t bother packing a lunch. I made tentative plans to take my boss to lunch instead. Mindy was taking care of Landon by the time I made my way to the shower. I left her coffee downstairs. She offered that I drive the new Honda, but again I refused. She talked about taking all the kids to Kroger later on anyhow. Crazy, I know! I left for work around 8:15am. Traffic was very light making for a relaxing drive into the office. The work day was very low key. My boss and a couple of peers asked me to join them at Bob Evans for breakfast. I accepted even though I wouldn’t actually eat breakfast again. I did drink two cups of hot cocoa, however. Once we returned to the office my boss and I talked for better than an hour. Around 1pm we left for lunch – Wind Chimes, a local Chinese restaurant. I had egg drop soup and War-Su-Gai. It was scrumptious. We were back at the office by 2pm. My boss told me I could split anytime. After confirming that everything was well in hand, I began letting some of my engineers leave for the day, too. I left the office around 2:45pm. My first stop was Kroger. There I bought a shrimp platter, a bottle of Asti, and some Tostitos, all of which we’d be taking to the neighbor’s party later that evening. I bought Mindy a dozen roses, too. Speaking of Mindy, I gave her a call while in route to Barley’s. She was out and about with the all the kids. Her next stop was Kroghetto. I was headed to Barley’s to fill a jug with IPA and to enjoy one while waiting. Bob Imber and I exchanged emails earlier in the day. I was hopeful that he could meet me there. I talked with Tom Clark in route too. He’s leaving for Tampa possibly Friday or Saturday to start a new job Monday. We made tentative arrangements to meet Friday evening if he’s still in town. Barley’s was more crowded than I expected for the time of day. Jersey was working the bar. Sadly, they were out of IPA, which I’ll never understand. Hell, it’s there flagship beer. They did have Double-Dog Dare IPA on tap, which is supposed to be their IPA double hopped. Jersey intimated that it was good. That’s what I ordered. Yuck! It was nasty – buttery, just like many of their recent batches of IPA. Not sure what the heck is up, but one thing’s for sure – no quality control. I wasn’t too pleased. To make matters worse, when Jersey asked what I wanted in my jug, I replied Xmas Ale. I sure as hell wasn’t putting the nasty DD IPA in it. He said management asked him to sell no more jugs of Xmas Ale due to low supply. Are you just trying to piss me off? I left without finishing my DD IPA, and without leaving a tip. That might be a first. From Barley’s I thought about making the drive downtown to CBC to fill my jug with their IPA, which is always of the same high quality. Instead, I chose to visit Spagio’s Wine Cellar to buy some bottled craft IPA. They typically carry some of my favorites. Sadly, they were out of most. I left there and visited Gentiles, all still in Grandview. Gentile’s had some Hoppin’ Frog Mean Manalishi Double IPA in 22oz bottles. It’s expensive but delicious. I bought two. Home James! At home by 4:15pm, the kids were all playing nicely. Mindy was excited to see the roses. I took a brief nap in the recliner. That was awesome. We left for the Shultz’s annual New Year’s Eve party at 7pm. The beauty of that is that it’s right around the corner – no driving. We walked. I carried the cooler while Jacob carried a clothes basket that contained the food. Mindy carried Landon. Bella & Rocky hoofed it. We took neighbor Jake with us too. Hell, what’s a fifth kid when you’ve got four already? J Pat didn’t have as many folks at this year’s gathering but it was still lively. I think I’ve spent the last 7 or 8 New Year’s Eve’s at Pat’s. The last one I didn’t attend was 2000 – the Y2K scare when I actually worked instead. We hung out at Pat & Lisa’s until 11pm. By then the kids were tired, especially Landon. We walked home. Mindy offered the opportunity to stay, but I chose to celebrate the ball drop with my wife and kids. Rocky & Bella asked for kids champagne. I mixed 7up and orange juice and served it in plastic wine glasses. They did a toast. It was cute. Even though they did their toast, the ball had not yet dropped. We gathered on the sofa for the big event. Rocky literally fell asleep with one minute to go. We didn’t bother waking him. We stayed up for perhaps another fifteen minutes but no more. I had been up since 5:30am.