The Oregon Trail

I over slept after staying up kind of late the night before. However, given my reduced responsibilities, it wasn’t late enough to hamper my routine at all. I completed my sit-ups and push-ups with a little internet sandwiched in between. Afterwards I poured coffee and returned to my PC for a little while longer. I delivered Mindy’s coffee at the usual time. It wasn’t long before I was doing my morning meditation and then my precious stretching. I left for a run a tad later than usual. It was cold - about 21 degrees- and windy. I completed the run without incident. Mindy had eggs ready and waiting. Jacob was already off to his room. Bella and I chatted during breakfast, just like we always do. Mindy left for school at 730am. I was in the shower by 740am and ready a short time later. Just as she often does, Bella hurried me along. I’m not sure why. This was a ‘late-start’ day. They’d be heading down to Chrissy’s. She agreed to handle this one. Bella asked if she could head down there now. Why not. I walked them down. After getting a thumbs up from Chrissy I headed back home for a few minutes before ultimately heading off to work. Work was its usual busy self. Plus, we had a long, early staff meeting lasting well past noon. Afterwards, my boss and peer went to Chipotle. I declined the invite. Mid-day I received an email from Bob Imber, who was back home from their HV trip, sharing a little of their experience and also advising that two of the original eight set for the late Feb HV trip pulled out. At the same time, he confirmed the others were definitely in. Great, just when I was having second thoughts. I responded to him quickly advising him of our potential change of plans, but also emphasized that we hadn’t booked anything yet. Out of respect for everyone involved, I committed to putting closure on the issue by Thursday morning. I was waiting on a response from Mindy asking about some dates I threw her way. Before having her blessing, there was no way I could make reservations for Oregon. I also made sure Bob knew that they were welcome to join us in Oregon if that was indeed the final decision. He later responded that as much as they’d love to, they just couldn’t arrange for the necessary time off. I took lunch near 1pm and drove to Best Buy to look for an iTouch case and cables to hook my iTouch up to Mindy’s care stereo (3.5mm to 3.5mm) and another to my home stereo (3.5mm to RCA L/R). Turns out, they had everything I needed. I bought a gel-type case to prevent shock. It came with a screen protector too. I probably could’ve gotten the cables cheaper elsewhere, but I didn’t want to drive all over creation either. I ended up working late again – this time until 610pm. I guessed that Mindy would be making tacos for dinner. When I arrived home I was sure that I smelt taco seasoning. Turns out I was right – well, sort of. Mindy wanted it to be a surprise. I peaked in the oven while she was off addressing some miscellaneous task – enchiladas. Cool! Out of ear shot from the children, I sought her input on the Oregon trip versus HV. She was game for Oregon and had the necessary time-off at school and arrangements in place with Jimaken. She later emphasized that her preference was Oregon all along. We didn’t talk about it at dinner. However, we did discuss the possibility of skiing MRM Saturday. The kids were game, just as we expected them to be. It’s their Winterfest. Should be fun, but also crowded. It’s supposed to be cold, too. The enchiladas were OK – chicken. I was hoping for beef. She made them with flour tortillas instead of corn, and probably a little short on sauce. They were stiffer than ideal, but still good. She put corn, salsa, and beans in them, too. Come ot think of it, they were more like baked burritos. After dinner and the inevitable clean-up, I asked Mindy one more time if making reservations was a go. She responded with a positive nod. Done. I spent the next half hour booking our flight, rental SUV, and condo. Once done, I emailed Bob to let him know it was done, so he could proceed accordingly. I tried my best to encourage them to join us one last time. I also copied Glenn on our flight itinerary, and then phoned brother Tommy to let him know we’d booked our trip. We invited him, but last we knew, he was still up in the air. I asked Glenn earlier about inviting Tom Shepherd. He vetoed that in a hurry. I guess they’re having a bit a lover’s spat.  Too bad, we dig Tom S. Mindy & I both were excited to suddenly have our Feb ski plans in the bag. Incidentally, we booked flights on Southwest primarily because ours bags, skis included, fly free! Quite a savings! After getting our trip booked I went to the sofa for a little relaxation. I flipped the TV to FOX and caught, for the first time all season, a little bit of American Idol. Just don’t have the desire to follow it much these days. It was just the last ten minutes. At 9:00pm we stayed tuned in for Barack Obama’s State-of-the-Union address. It was a gripping presentation. In fact, I give him props for all the dramatic expression and flair. Not sure there was nearly as much substance, though. I view it as much for the entertainment value as anything else. The camera shots panning for facial expressions to his words were to die for. As gripping as it was, I drifted off to sleep for the last ten minutes or so, waking only when Mindy nudged me for bed. We headed up shortly after 10pm.