I Decide

It was Friday, my favorite day of the week. I was up at 5:20am fully rested and ready to begin my day. After slipping into my exercise shoes I promptly whipped out 55 sit-ups, after which I hopped on the PC to check the weather and more importantly, the status of latest back-up to my external hard drive. The temperature was 44 degrees and the sky partly cloudy. My external hard drive seems to be working again as designed. My data was fully backed up. I completed some push-ups at 5:35am and then took Ykraps on his morning walk. After our walk I toted the city trashcan to the curb and then loaded in another large bag of trash from the main can in the garage. That now behind me, it was time for coffee! I enjoyed my first cup of coffee in front of the PC. I was surprised to read that the Buckeyes came back and put up one heck of a fight against North Carolina in last night’s basketball game. They lost by 4. Losing to N.C. by four is almost a victory. Like most work days, I broke away at 610am to deliver Mindy’s coffee. I also remembered to crank up the heat a little before heading up. I really need to buy a programmable thermostat thus avoiding the back and forth. I had another really good day of meditation and stretching. Both help set the tone for the entire day. I need to remember that when I am feeling rushed. I dressed and left for my run at 6:35am. My knee didn’t exactly hurt, but at the same time, I could feel a little swelling. I thought about ratcheting back to 3 miles, but didn’t. At the critical decision making point it was feeling pretty good. I ran the full four miles. Mindy made fried eggs again. Mine were a tad overdone but I wasn’t complaining. They were still good. I also ate a couple small hunks of leftover ham. We’ve definitely got value out of it. We loosely discussed Friday evening plans at the breakfast table. The overwhelming consensus was dinner at Barley’s, kids included, and then heading over to Kapil and Pabino’s party somewhere near 8pm. However, our plans weren’t firm. Mindy soon left for school and I headed up for a shower. I was in an excellent mood, mostly because it was Friday. The kids and I were at the bus stop at 7:56am. Chrissy was there with Makayla. We laughed about Thursday night’s parent/teacher conferences then headed our separate ways. I started the dishwasher before heading off to work. It was an easy drive in. I was determined to have a better day Friday than I did on Thursday. As tough as it was I realize it had more to do with how I responded than anything else. In my work environment one can become completely consumed and forget to take a few minutes to one’s self. Even when the pressure is on to go-go-go, it’s still a personal decision. I willed my day to go much better than Thursday. A couple of times I had to remind myself of that, but all in all, I kept my head held high above the water. Instead of leaving the office for lunch, I chose instead to shut my office door for about an hour and address a couple personal matters. First, I called Holiday Valley and booked our mid-January family ski trip. That was exciting. Next, I called XM radio in an attempt to resolve our ongoing billing dispute. I was expecting rough sledding given the last two attempts. But that wasn’t the case at all. Kim, a billing specialist, was very friendly and agreed with me whole-heartedly. She credited the account minus the $19.99 five-month promo we agreed to. Perfect! That was easier than I had even hoped. Some of my engineers chipped in and bought pizza. They offered me a piece mid-afternoon. I was tempted but in the end said no. After all, I knew we’d most likely be eating at Barley’s later, so I didn’t want or need to eat any ‘bad’ food then. I had a very active afternoon that kept me extremely busy. Through it all I remembered to remain positive. Things wound down nicely after about 400pm. I called Mindy around 430pm. She wanted to discuss Friday evening’s plans. We decided to stick to the plans we discussed early morning – Barley’s for dinner then the neighbors’ party/gathering. I felt good leaving work for the day slightly after 5pm. I stopped at the Hilliard Kroger on my way home. There I picked up a dozen roses for Mindy, a half-gallon of Jack Daniels, a half-gallon of Capt. Morgan’s, and two six-packs of beer – Great lakes Xmas Ale and CBC IPA. That’s a lot of booze! After presenting Mindy her roses and after carrying in the rest of my haul, I walked Ykraps. Jacob went along for the walk. We didn’t hang at home too long. Everyone readied to leave for dinner in a hurry. I’ll bet we were out of the house and on our way before 6:20pm. The kids were at each as we exited the house. I asked that they correct their behavior before arriving at Barley’s. It was crowded, but no more than one might expect on a Friday. There was one table remaining in restaurant/bar area. We got it. Not caring to wait, I went to the bar to get my first beer, a Barley’s Xmas ale just released/tapped on Thursday. A server showed up at our table a few minutes later to get drinks for Mindy & the kids. Mindy ordered a Pint-Of–Joe. Bella ordered lemonade and Jacob ordered Sierra Mist. We placed our dinner orders a short time later. Mindy went with a Southwestern salad. Jacob ordered Gates-of-Hell wings and onion straws. Bella went with grilled cheese and fries. Me, I ordered a Texas Barley burger with fries. While waiting for our food, Jacob and I watched the second half of the Buckeye/California basketball game. We were up by 20 at halftime but that lead dwindled to as little at 6 or 7 late in the game. They ended up wining by 6, I think. Our food arrived as the game wound down. I ordered a second beer shortly after my food arrived, only this time a Bitter Dan IPA. The Xmas ale was good, but I am a hophead after all. My burger was terrific. I hadn’t enjoyed one of their burgers for quite a while. During dinner,I spotted friend Doug Hamon across the way at a table with friends/co-workers. Mindy went over to say hello. He stopped over a short time later to say hello and meet our kids. As I understood it, he and Jamie were heading to the Ohio river casino’s this weekend, and then he goes in for shoulder surgery next week to repair a longtime torn rotator cuff. Nice way to spend TG. Mindy picked up the check and also drove us home. We wasted little time at the house before walking down to Kapil & Pabino’s. I suggested Mindy take a bottle of wine as a token gift. She agreed and did. Protected from the west wind, a beautiful rose bush stood tall and proud along the walk to their front door still displaying a plethora of impressive red flowers. Inside, all of our neighbors were already there and partying: Mike & Teri, Alex & Tanya, Chrissy & Kenny, and Theresa. I asked Kapil how he fared on the boards. Won’t know for three months but assumes he passed. There was plenty of food – Indian food. Sadly, I was full so I didn’t partake. Those that did said it was tasty. I brought two CBC IPA’s along. The kids played inside and out while everyone else congregated in the kitchen. Mike & Teri pealed off early for another party – her 45th birthday party at Emellio’s. The question circulating the room was how each of us met. That made for some interesting and humorous banter. As the evening spun away, Chrissy went and fetched her ipod Touch and Bose sound dock – the idea being to get everyone dancing. Within ten minutes of her return everyone was. It was fun. We couldn’t stay long, however. Bella was especially tired and so was Mindy. I stayed about five minutes longer than Mindy & the kids. In fact, I walked neighbor Jake home, who left because he was disenchanted with his parents. Once home, I tucked in the kids then headed to bed.