King in a Bottle

It was Friday and once again I was up on time and perhaps even a couple minutes early. I already knew it was raining after hearing the familiar pitter-patter of rain drops slapping against the roof and skylights. It's getting old. I heard the coffee maker kick into gear shortly after I started sit-ups. It wasn't long before both sit-ups and push-ups were done and coffee was ready.

I spent a good 15 minutes on the PC enjoying coffee. I checked the weather forecast. It was currently 55 degrees with rain, but a diminishing chance as the day moved along. I heard the rumble of distant thunder near 6am. I was happy to see that the weekend forecast wasn't as bleak as originally thought. Now there saying partly cloudy with only a slight chance of rain both days. Just a couple days ago it looked like a washout through next Tuesday. Supposed to reach into the 70's, too.

I did meditation then took Mindy coffee. It was about a quarter after 6am. Shared that it was raining again. Downstairs, I did a stretch then dressed for a run. I wore a long sleeved wicking shirt along with my pullover fleece. Happily, out the door the rain was reduced to just an occasional sprinkle. Aided along by the cloud cover, it remained dark through nearly three miles of running.Had it been clear, I'm sure the sky would've brightened around the 2 mile mark.

Our morning routine would be slightly altered due to a reading intervention breakfast that I planned to attend with Bella at her school. It started at 815am so we'd need to leave the house by 8am. That meant I'd have to hustle through breakfast and a shower. So would they. Mindy left at her usual time of 730am. I rushed off to a shower after reminding both kids that they needed to be brushed and ready by the time I got back downstairs.

It felt good to dress in  jeans. I was downstairs and ready by 750am. I hurried through gathering everything I'd need for the day, including logging off and packing up my laptop. We backed out the drive at 757am. The entire time Jacob expressing disdain for having to leave for school early. Said he'd much rather have taken the bus. I gave Chrissy a courtesy call just before we left to let her know that we wouldn't be at the bus stop.

Traffic wasn't a factor. We arrived at the school by 810am. Jacob was still grumbling even as we made our way inside. He insisted we didn't need to, but I still stopped by the office to announce myself and share my reason for being there. Not really sure where the event was being staged, they sent us to Mrs. Sobo's room. Bella lead the way. We ended up walking around the entire school. Should've gone the other direction.

When we arrived at Mrs. Sobo's room but it was dark and locked. I glanced at my Droid. No problem. We were still a couple minutes early. Odd, however, that no other parents or students around, that is  aside from the latch-key kids who were just down the way in the gymnasium playing ball games. We waited patiently outside the door. I had a feeling that we had the date wrong. In fact, I even asked both Bella and Mindy if they were sure it was today. I could've sworn I heard Mindy & Bella mention Thursday when they talked about it a week or so ago.

Jacob, meanwhile, was showing his frustration by uttering unpleasantries aimed towards Bella. I could tell that Bella was feeling bad. I gave her a hug and told her it didn't matter if we had the date wrong. I offered that I would head back to the office and ask more questions. Told them both they could stay or follow. They followed closely behind with Jacob badgering Bella the entire way.

In the office again, I asked if they knew more about the program. Nope. But when I shared that there were supposed to be donuts at this kick-off meeting they had a sudden epiphany. Oh, that. That was yesterday! Jacob and Bella were just outside the office door. I could hear Jacob give Bella an 'I told you so'.

Me and the office staff laughed about it. They said it wouldn't be a problem to leave the kids out in the hallway while I scooted off to work. As it was, they were there about 15-20 minutes earlier than they needed to be. I gave Bella another reassuring hug and said goodbye to both before heading off to work.

I arrived at the office at about the usual time - 835am. As it is almost every Friday, the lot was far less populated than it is Monday through Thursday. And my floor, the 6th, was far less active than it is most other days. Again, a common trend I've noticed. That actually made me happy. Typically translates into a much calmer, easier,  low-key day.

And just as I hoped it might, the morning progressed gracefully. I had one urgent matter that took some time and focus but I didn't mind. That's what I do. Got it under control in a hurry.  Come 1pm I left the building for lunch. I drove to the Wal-Mart just up the road to look at airsoft pistols. I thought I might buy Bella one for her 9th birthday. The kids, girls included, love having airsoft battles out back in the tree house and woods. I found an inexpensive pistol and bought it. I should've picked up another jar of ammo too but didn't. I did get her a pair of safety glasses as well. I looked at some other items too but bought nothing else.

I was gone about 45 minutes, long enough to feel the escape that a lunch break is supposed to afford. The weather, meanwhile, was still gloomy - cloudy and cool. In fact, I wished I had worn the fleece jacket that I left back in my office.

The afternoon was even calmer than the first half my day. I let some David Gilmour whirl while I toiled. I was looking forward to the weekend, but the fact that I was on-call damped my joy to some extent. Aside from one of my peers just around the corner, the place was barren come 330pm. But I kept busy, sticking around until after just 530pm.

Mindy called twice within five minutes around 5pm. The first time to check on my status and then to remind me that Bella was going to a skating event. She also wanted to know if I still planned to stop by ASBCO to pick-up our ski gear before dinner at Barley's. Yes. The second call sounded more desperate. It seems Bella told yet another stupid lie, this time about the results of her walk with Eiknarf. Did she poop and/or pee. Why lie about that? Well, she did and Mindy was pissed. Instead of finding poop in the Kroger bag tossed in the trash, she found only the remains of Bella's apple. Mindy wanted my opinion on what the punishment should be. I only shared that we could decide once I got home. I needed to wrap up my day. I did share that she should be allowed to go to the skating event. In my mind, she'd already had a traumatic day starting with the reading intervention debacle.

Perhaps if Mindy had caught me earlier in the day, I would've put the kibosh on the skating event. We've got to find a way to stop the silly lies. It's a real problem for Bella.

I arrived home at 555pm. The house was unusually quiet. Mindy quickly shared that both kids left with the O'Connell's for the skating event. Jacob apparently decided to go last minute. Because ASBCO closes at 7pm, we didn't waste a lot of time getting ready to leave. While Mindy changed and primped, I got my laptop set-up for a weekend of on-call.

On our way out the door at 615pm, Mindy shared a funny story about neighbor Jake, funny for us, that is. He and his band mates from the middle school were set to march with the Davidson high school band at the night's football game. Only problem was, Jake left his trombone at school. According to Mindy, Kenny was ready to kill him. I could visualize Kenny's frustration. :)

We arrived at ASBCO near 630pm. It took a while for the guy working the counter to organize all of our stuff. He originally found only the paper work for our three pair of skis, but we also wanted to pick-up Jacob's new snowboard package. Eric was there, too, so if it needed vouched for, no problem. We got a big laugh when a little head peeked over the boot bench. It was Avery. The same little girl that was there last Friday when we dropped off our gear. She was in again with her daddy. She and Mindy interacted for a while. She asked of Bella's whereabouts, and then had Mindy try on a few pair of ski sunglasses and stuff. She's very articulate and cute.

While waiting on our gear (must be a ploy) I tried on another ski jacket, and one that actually caught my eye the week before. I avoided trying it on then because of the hefty price tag dangling in my face - $398. Yikes. As things like this often go, this jacket fit perhaps better than any other I've tried on. Even Mindy thought so. And because it was a cool evening, I already had on the fleece jacket I wear under my ski jacket. It fit perfectly.

Aside from a good fit, it comes with a cool marketing gimmick, free lift tickets all over the USA & Canada. Mindy chimed in that if I liked it, she was willing to buy it for me for Xmas. Eric verified that it was 20%, like everything else in the store. One thing is for sure, I'd never buy it for myself. Can't spend that kind of money on a jacket.  I also picked up a thin, light weight ski bag that'll come in handy when I want to throw my skis in the Accord preventing the edges from scuffing up the leather interior. Mindy said she'd get both. Thanks dear! While she settled up, I carried all of our gear to the car.

With an SUV full of pricey ski gear, we made sure to camouflage it with blankets. We headed towards Barley's winding our way through Upper Arlington and south on Tremont. And since we were in the vicinity, I suggested we stop at Gentiles where I could see if they had any Two Brothers Hop Juice in stock, and if not, would they, could they order it. They'll do that for you. Along our drive I asked what the total outlay was for the jacket and ski bag. I guessed near $400, but Mindy said only $300. I had her check the receipt, which she had in her purse. Hmmm? The jacket rang up as $309 and then they took another 20% of that. But the price tag on the jacket clearly said $398. Oh well, I guess the ski gods were smiling on us.

We pulled in Gentiles after taking one wrong turn in the winding Arlington neighborhoods. No biggie. Immediately in the door I noticed White Rajah now available in bottles, and 12 oz variety at that. They were selling singles for $1.99. One of the sales associates advised that they it in six-packs too, but had only one left in the cooler. Until recently, it was only available on tap. I went after it.

At the same time, I asked if they had any Two Brothers. He didn't think they did but offered to take my contact info and he would try and order it. Basically, if one of their distributors sells it, they'll get it. Mindy and I headed back to the cooler where we perused their other IPA's. I grabbed the lone six-pack of White Rajah along with a six-pack of Hop Wallop. Both are fairly pricey but well worth the money. Almost grabbed a four pack of the new Mad Hatter Imperial IPA, but didn't. It was $15.99 for the four. Yikes! That's more per bottle than even Bell's Hop Slam.

Mindy asked if I still planned to have my Barley jug filled with Centennial. Yes, I did. We headed on to Barley's continuing our trek through the Grandview neighborhood. We were fortunate, and got a parking spot second from the door. The lot was otherwise chalked full. Someone most of just recently left. We headed inside. On the patio was a couple peeps that Mindy always stops and chats with. Charlene I believe is one of them. She's a school teacher, too. Said she saw me earlier in the day at Wal-Mart. Wanted to know if that was really me. Yes, it was me! I headed inside to pee while Mindy continued the conversation.

Inside I bellied up next to Steve W., banker Dan, and the twins. Not too many familiars in, though. I ordered a Centennial while Mindy ordered wine. More than happy to stand, I gave Mindy the lone stool currently available. It does my back and shoulders good to stand. Mindy ordered food fairly quickly.  I held off as usual, citing the need to finish my first beer. Again though, I come to Barley's on Friday's to drink beer first and foremost. Eating is always secondary.

Jim B. was there when we got there. Funny, we were just talking about him when we passed Fineline Graphics Printing on Goodale Blvd. Mindy talked with him for a while. Said he was drunk. He headed out the door a bit wobbly a little later. I went in pursuit offering to drive him home. He refused. I wasn't willing to push the issue fearing he could get agitated and aggressive.

I ordered my 2nd beer from the guest draught menu - a Mach 10 Imperial IPA made by Bear Republic. I really like their Mach 5. But honestly, the Mach 10 was nothing special - drinkable but not memorable. I wouldn't order another. After beer #2 I decided I'd better eat. After all, I was getting really hungry. I ordered the 'heart attack on the bun' (Cuban with bacon). When my food arrived I took the stool to Steve's right. Mindy was to his left talking with others. According to Mindy, a guy named Charlie, a tall handsome 30 something, who we see there fairly regularly apparently asked her if he could hit on her.  He's definitely a player.

I eventually ordered my 3rd and final beer, a Centennial - I know, rare for me to keep it to 3. Just before we left for home Grandpa Tom and Steve showed up. Always good to see those two. Little Rick stopped by for a brief chat before he left, too. Left his cell phone as he departed. I took it to him.

I picked up the tab and we left for home around 940pm. We figured the kids would be home from their skating adventure about the same time. Mindy called neighbor Teri shortly after we arrived home. They were on Wilson Rd and almost home.  We planned to hang out with all the neighbors and have another beer.

Mindy & I walked down to Chrissy and Kenny's. They were inside, just the two of them, enjoying their alone time. We chatted for a while before agreeing to walk down to Mike & Teri's where all our kids now were. They had other friends over as well as a fire going. Wanted to know if we had any marshmallows for roasting. Mindy ran home to see if we did. I enjoyed just the one beer being mindful of my desire to wake Saturday morning feeling well. We hung out at the fire for about 30 minutes. We all headed home around 11pm, kids included, despite their wanting to stay and play.

The kids and I had a snack before heading to bed, the chicken tenders we brought home from Barleys.