Mashed Potatoes & Graviton (rough start to my day)

I was up at 532am. I really wanted to sleep longer but knew I needed to get up and get moving. I remember hearing the irrigation system running while at the same time hearing the slight rumble of thunder and the pitter-patter of rain on the roof. I considered the merit in getting up and disabling the irrigation system but thought better of it. For one, it costs on average, $2 a day to run it. And two, I had no idea how brief or how hard it was raining. I quickly let go of the thought and returned to sleep.

By the time I brushed my teeth and was in the kitchen it was 540am. It was raining, but only lightly. I fetched my exercise shoes then headed to the living room where I whipped out 55 sit-ups. That woke me up for good.

Before moving on to push-ups, I spent some time online checking the weather. According to the radar, we were about to get hit with a pretty decent thunder storm moving in from the NW. And as fate would have it, it looked like the worst of it would hit right around 630am, or the time of my run.

I completed push-ups then got some coffee. The storm now overtop of us, I decided to hunker down and wait it out by spending the time on my PC. There wasn’t any way I was running in it. It looked like it might clear in about 30 minutes. I used the time to write Tuesday’s blog. I stopped around 645am and did both stretching and meditation. Both went well. The only problem with a storm delay was that this was my offsite work day. I didn’t really want to be late to my customer’s site. They might get the wrong impression of my time management skills. 

It’s absolutely crazy how many runs have either been delayed or completed in thunderstorms this summer. I’ve gone years without having to contend with thunderstorms.

The storm didn’t let up enough to safely run until 710am. By then I was more than ready to go. I really had no choice but to trim my run back to three miles in order to get some time back. And even then I’d still find myself well behind the eight ball.

I ran three miles comfortably. It was really nice out – cloudy and 74 degrees. As you might expect, worked up quite a sweat. Wasn’t back at home until 745am, and by the time I enjoyed breakfast and packed a lunch, it was already well past 8am.

I took Mindy some coffee and quickly got a shower and groomed myself. I looked good! By the time I finished prep, Mindy was already up, had the bed made, and was downstairs milling about the kitchen. She and the kids were headed to the fair. The cloudy cover was probably a good thing in that respect.

I checked, then double checked, to make sure I had everything I needed to work remotely. I even made sure I had some plastic ware with me so I could eat my packed lunch. I left the house around 830am.

No sooner had I jumped on the freeway when traffic came to snails crawl, the back up as far as the eye could see. Crap! Had I known, I would’ve taken I-270 around to the North and east. It took 45 minutes to get to I-670 and 315. Still no end in site, I took the opportunity to bail and headed north on rt 315 all the way to I-270 then around. I called Mindy to advise her to go a different route on their way to the fair. 

Once on 315 I made good time and arrived at my destination at 930am. Had to get a temp badge, but the paperwork was already approved to get a ‘real’ badge. Was getting settled in when I realized I’d forgotten my laptop power cord and mouse. Crap! No, double crap! Inside I was enraged. I called Mindy asking for a big favor. I asked if she would be so kind to bring it to me in route to the fair. She happily agreed. I begged for a delay to our 10am meeting.

To make matters worse, they hadn’t gotten my phone line activated. I had to use my blackberry all day. While waiting on Mindy, I headed to security to get my permanent access badge, which involved having my photo taken. Five minutes later I was official.

 I called Mindy when I figured she should be close. She’d just turned into the campus. Sweet. I walked out to meet her. Bella was quick to want a hug and kiss. Mindy handed me my gear in a large Ziploc. I felt a sense of relief. Up till then, it had been a rough morning.

We delayed our meeting until 11am. I got myself logged on just in time, actually a couple minutes late. The meeting went about 45 minutes. We agreed to get together to discuss some carry over matters after lunch. Perfect. I was eager to take my lunch and head to the Easton Golf Galaxy. Actually hoped to get there last Wednesday but it didn’t happen.

Felt good to get away. Must’ve been about 1230pm. I was looking for a 5 Rescue wood or possibly a regular 5-wood to match my others. Being a lefty, they never have many on hand. They might have 20-25 of the club I want in a righty, but then just one or two in a lefty, and that’s if they have it at all.

They didn’t have the 5 Rescue but did have the 5 fairway wood. It was pricier than the Rescue but would serve me well. Besides, I don’t plan on being in the rough that much anyway, which is what the Rescue is really intended for. I nabbed the lone Taylormade lefty 5-wood. With my coupon and gift card, it cost me only $20. That’s a steal. I felt good about it, anyway.

Really wanted some gum. Didn’t have any in my back pack. I headed just up the road another ¼ miles to Wal-Mart. Yikes! Scary crowd. I wanted only a 3-pack of my favorite gum – Eclipse – Polar Ice. I was in the 15 items or less line again. Oh boy! A nice lady with about ten items suggested I go in front of her. I thanked her for her kindness. I didn’t get the impression that she would eat me either. J

Ashley called just as I was walking in the building from lunch. Said she had some good news. At first I couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or for real.  She was for real. Dr Monfort emailed that he would be eating the entire cost of fixing her lower bite. Then, if braces end up being needed on the top bite afterwards, he’ll only charge $300. However, she’ll be responsible for the cost of removable retainers. And as I understood it, all totaled, her maximum out-of-pocket would be about $750. That’s more than fair, and a huge load off my mind. My baby needs her bite fixed/restored.

 Back at the office, I met with the customer’s leadership team to discuss a couple pending issues more in-depth.  Stayed busy all afternoon. Time flew by. I was determined to leave around 5pm in order to get home as close to my normal time as possible. That was a success. I left just after 5pm.

To avoid the downtown traffic, I decided to take I-270 around to the north and west. Wise choice. It may be a few miles longer but a lot faster.  I was home by 535pm. I’ll need to keep track of my mileage for reimbursement purposes. About 36 miles more than my regular commute to and from.

Mindy and the kids weren’t yet home from the fair but were in route. Mindy called just as I was exiting the freeway. While home alone, I quickly managed thru my few everyday chores. The house smelt terrific. There was something cooking in the crock-pot. I never did check what it was. I walked Eiknarf for the first time on a weekday after work in a long, long time. She only peed. I wasn’t back home too long before Mindy and the kids arrived.

Mindy quickly transitioned to dinner prep. Said we were having chicken enchiladas. While she worked on dinner I worked on editing a couple blog entries. Dinner was ready by 600pm. The enchiladas were scrumptious and far better than the last batch she made. Everything was better – the meat, the taste and amount of sauce. I had only a half serving to start but then returned for another. Kids seemed to like it too.

During dinner the kids talked about their day at the fair. Said they had a good time, but were hard pressed to recall what they enjoyed most. Ate lots of fair food, caught some fish, and rode three rides: the giant slide, sky ride, and the carrousel. Nothing jumped out to either kids when I asked what was the most fun. For me, it was NOT going. J

Kids ran off to play while I did clean-up. Mindy immediately went into her WW online to update her daily points. Sounds like she used her weekly allotment of bonus points at the fair. After clean-up I headed upstairs to change into comfy sleeping attire. Downstairs I did a little reading and took a nap. All totaled, that was about an hour. Woke around 815pm after the girls - Bella and her peeps -  were making lots of noise.

Once awake, I decided to pour a beer, a Hop Wallop. Mindy and I sat on the deck for a while, or until the mosquitoes started biting. Mosquitoes aside, it was a nice evening to site outside. Not too hot.

Now almost 9pm, I decided to watch another episode of Through the Worm Hole that I DVR'd Sunday night. Turns out, I’d seen part of the episode before, but this time I was fully conscious. J This one was about the merge of quantum theory with general relativity. Cool stuff! The kids were off to their rooms by 930pm. Jacob had neighbor Evan spending the night. Think they were watching a movie. Mindy headed to bed around 930pm too. I stayed up till the show was over, and then tuned into another live version of the same program but different episode. I managed to stay awake until 1030pm. Time for bed. Good night Albert!