In the End, Einstein Lost his Mind

I woke near 5am and must’ve checked the clock 3 or 4 more times before finally waking at 555am. Dang it! That last half hour of sleep was good, some of the night’s best. I stepped on the gas while brushing my teeth, and quickly gathered my running clothes as I headed off down the stairs.

I glanced out back and then grabbed my exercise shoes before starting sit-ups. It was clear and moony. I hit the go button on the coffee maker just before that. My shoulders were just the slightest bit stiff.  I decided to skip push-ups for one day.

Enjoyed coffee in front of the PC. It was 610am in a hurry. I did a brief meditation before taking Mindy some coffee. She knew I overslept. Said she heard and saw me leap out of bed. I headed back downstairs where I readied for a run after a very brief but effective stretch routine. It was 63 degrees so I backed off from the winter weight wicking shirt and moved to a thin long-sleeved version. That was ideal.

It was completely clear when I left the house and the moon was still visible in the high western sky. However, by the time that I was finished, fog/clouds were moving in from the north. I ran the full 4.1 miles, not allowing myself to ratchet the run back just because I was behind schedule. I sold myself on the greater, long-term good, which was to stick to plan. I’m glad I did.

I was back home around 722am. Mindy had my eggs ready and waiting. It was picture day for both kids. Bella was dressed in purple and looked nice. Had her hair pulled tightly back, which wouldn’t have been my preference. I said nothing to discourage her. Jacob couldn't have cared less. He was wearing his Browns jersey. Mindy pestered him about his hair and tried fixing it herself. It looked really bad after she did some things to it – flattened to his head. Oh boy! I felt for him. His hair looks way better messed up. I think Mindy came to the same conclusion, and let him fix it his own way.

Mindy departed at 730am. The kids and I carried on as usual. After a shower and primping I was dressed and ready to go by 755am. I looked good by the way, new black Dockers and a light purple button up dress shirt. Shoot, I should’ve had my picture taken. J

Speaking of pictures, I noticed that the praying mantis caught in the wolf spider's web was being eaten as I left on my run earlier. By the time I got back, it was nothing more than a carcass. I decided to take a couple photos. I had to stick my camera lens in and amongst the web and ivy. Couldn’t get a good feel for whether I had it focused correctly.

I pointed it out to the kids. Bella was most interested and even had me lift her up so she could get a bird’s eye view of it. She found it fascinating – a girl after my own heart.

We headed out to the bus stop at 810am. I pointed out the fast moving low hanging clouds to Bella and showed her how to pick a point of reference to determine which direction they were blowing in from. She latched on to the idea quickly. The bus arrived on time and soon the kids were whisked away to school. I wished them both a happy picture day. Jacob wasn’t amused. Eiknarf and I headed back towards home. I took inventory of all my gear, this being a customer site work day. Had everything I needed. Not sure what it is, but it seems it has been rainy and/or cloudy every Wednesday lately. The clear skies from earlier that morning held so much promise, too. Darn!

I left for work at 825am after finishing a 2^nd cup of coffee. I hopped on I-270 north and took it all the way around. Like most mornings, the only congestion was near Rt 23 and then again near I-71, but I don’t think we ever slowed below 60 mph. Still took 30 minutes to get there, but then again it is about 28 miles tip to toe.

Despite the clouds, it was a pleasurable walk into the building from the far lot through an area sprinkled with mature trees and then over a walking bridge. I got settled fairly quickly, and maybe in record time.

We carried through with our regular scheduled Wednesday 10am call. Truth be told, I wasn't that comfortable with it, pretty much winging it by the seat of our pants. That's not my style. The rest of the morning breezed by. Come 1230pm I left for lunch not entirely sure where I'd go, but I had an idea. Thought I might venture down to Easton and do a little browsing.

Given that it was mid-September and the middle of the work week, I wasn't expecting much of a crowd. I wouldn't call it crowded by any stretch, but it was far more populated than I expected. I made my way to Macy's, obviously one of my favorite stores to shop for fashion. Haven't been in the Easton Macy's for several years.

I spent about 45 minutes looking at and trying on clothes. I bought nothing but found some real nice dress slacks and shoes I liked. Perhaps most shocking was the price they're asking for Ralph Lauren and/or Lacoste (alligator) golf polos $88 & $78 respectively. Are you frickin kidding me? No way! It's just not in my blood. I like wearing quality made clothing, and I can tell the difference between cheap and good quality, but I simply refuse to pay through the nose for a logo.

As I stated earlier,  I left without buying anything. While looking at dress slacks I had two other customers approach me for help. They both thought I worked there. Wouldn't they have been surprised if I told them to F off, or, Oh, honey, you're too big for our fitting rooms. I could've had fun with it.

Not sure the time, but I figured I ought to head back to the office. No sooner had I unlocked the door to the Accord when my cell rang. It was Lindsey calling to ask for a ride to a job interview on Thursday morning. Without pause, I said that I had to work, which was an absolute. She didn't care for my answer. Our conversation was brief.  I felt bad .. .sort of, but then again, how did she plan on getting there every day if she actually got the job?

Once back at my make-shift office I drafted an email to Lindsey from my Gmail account pretty much asking the same question about getting there every day, but also being careful not to come off sounding too mean. What good would that do? I sprinkled in some accolades for the few baby steps she's taken for good measure.

The rest of my work day went by quickly. I left for home shortly after 5pm. It was still mostly cloudy but there were a few breaks in the clouds overhead. Too, it was fairly warm. I took 270 north all the way around. It was fast and efficient, though there was the typical slowdown once I neared Hilliard and I-70.

Dinner consisted of leftovers. I had rotisserie chicken, as did Mindy and Bella. Mindy heated some turkey brats too, mainly for Bella, but she didn't like them. Jacob was having tilapia. Bella loves chicken skin, and asked for it specifically. When asked what cut she'd prefer on her plate, her reply is always the same, skin please.

Mindy tossed out the twice-a-week gymnastics transportation quandary; which one of us is taking, and which one is picking up? Her preference was delivery. I accepted my fate of being the shuttle home. Mindy and Bella headed out around 650pm. After clean-up, I fooled around with my most recent photos via my PC. I finally got around to updating my blog, too.

And even though the gymnastics team practice goes until 9pm, Mindy told them to expect us to be picking her up at 830pm moving forward. An 8 or 9 year old getting home close to 930pm is just too late.

I left to fetch Bella at 818pm. I opted to drive the Pilot, my first such ride since getting it back from the shop. It was like driving a new car, quiet and smooth. Mindy and I planned to swap vehicles on Thursday, so I could pick-up some home project supplies.

Bella was just finishing her trampoline routine when I walked in DCW. I didn't have to wait but a minute for Bella to get her shoes. We were on our way home just like that. Bella pleaded for me to stop at Wendy's on our way home, but I objected. We'd already eaten dinner. I promised a snack once home. She asked a 2nd time. My answer didn't change.

At home, Mindy had the children get ready for bed, bent on seeing them there somewhere closer to 9pm than most recent evenings. While all that was going on, I was watching a new program on one of the knowledge channels hosted by the guy from Fringe. Can't readily recall the same but it's a cool show that shares interesting but somewhat freaky facts and stories. This particular episode was about the removal of Einstein's brain after his death on April 18 1955. The guy that did it was hoping to find the key to genius. He lost everything in his effort, including his own mind.

Mindy faded early. She and the kids were tucked into bed by 920pm. I stayed up, planning to make some popcorn and watch some more Science Channel. Everything went according to plan, except for Bella coming down all exited after losing her 2nd tooth this week. She returned five minutes later to eat some popcorn with me.  I was off to bed by 1010pm.