Relax, Don't Do it, When You Want to Go to It

Since I knew I'd be skipping calisthenics, I allowed myself a few extra minutes of precious sleep. I didn't get up until 535am. And what do you know, I could see a few stars overhead. But realize, too, it was by no means clear. Instead, just a rare break amongst almost constant cloud cover.

Skipping sit-ups and push-ups felt unusual, almost sinful. But I know it's better for me and my back/neck in the long run. Before the coffee was ready I checked email and weather. It was cloudy and 54 degrees. Expected a high of 69 with partial clearing skies a possibility. Geesh, you know it's getting bad when they start forecasting a chance of sun! :)

Finally, the coffee alarm sounded. I headed to the kitchen and poured myself a cup the usual way, with caramel vanilla creamer, whipped cream, cinnamon and caramel syrup. Yum-yum! Back at my PC I read almost all the Yahoo headlines, including the depressing news about the almost certain double recession. Ugh!

Come 605am I peeled myself away for meditation. I took another knock-off Aleeve too. Meditation went extremely well. I felt so much better afterwards. It's certainly not magic or a silver bullet,  but it's been an invaluable exercise of the mind for me for the last 6 or 7 years. Near 620am I made and delivered Mindy's coffee. She was most appreciative. After a hug and a smooch I turned off the ceiling fan then headed back downstairs to stretch and prep for a run.

Stretching went well, and was just what the doctor ordered. I was a bit more deliberate and slow working through my usual routine. Come time to run, I slid into a fresh short sleeved wicking shirt (the prior day's was still a tad damp) and then my pullover fleece. I was out the door at 633am.

Once again socked in by cloud cover, I simply shrugged it off and went about my run. Starting to see it more as the norm rather than the exception. I ran the same old 4.1 mile track. But it really never gets old. It's as much a mental thing as it is physical. Sometimes I don't physically see it, if that makes sense. Instead, I see my thoughts. On this run I sorted through several things weighing heavily on my mind. That's just how I roll! I was done before I knew it.

Checked my over seeding for any potential early germinators. There were none. Toweled off, at least partially, with my fleece. I ran up one heck of a sweat. Inside, I toweled off again only this time with a beach towel. Mindy had eggs fryin' on the stove. As soon as Bella came down I quizzed her about the b-day. How many days? Two, well, three officially. She's psyched!

Jacob walked Eiknarf while I enjoyed my eggs, but lucky for her I remembered to save some. Enjoyed fruit too: pineapple, strawberries and giant raspberries. Washed it all down with a tall glass of OJ. Mindy left for school at 730am. There were no special instruction for the kids, I don't believe.

I slid my leftover eggs into Eiknarf's bowl and then headed off for a shower. I dressed in a new pair of black dress slack and an burnt red button up. I looked good, but probably not as good as I look in black or pink. ;) I was downstairs at 755am. The kids played in their rooms until 805am. We headed out together at 810am.

Met Chrissy at the bus stop. Shared that she missed class the night before for having a flat tire when she pulled out of the parking garage. Called AAA. The bus arrived at 815am - right on time. Eiknarf and I walked back home. She didn't do any more business, having recently taking care of both on a walk with Jacob.

I made double sure I had everything I needed for a remote work day then headed off. Once again, I opted for the safe route taking I-270N all the way around. Took 25 minutes exactly and the trip was 25 miles too, so a mile a minute. I needed to be on our weekly staff call at 9am. I hurried to my make shift desk to get  situated. I used my blackberry and bluetooth headset to join the call. My PC takes way too long to boot up, especially when connecting to a foreign network.

Joined just as it was getting started. No Earth shattering info. Let's see, we talked about next Wednesday's symposium agenda, and  I can't recall what else. Just before the call ended,  I chimed in with an escalation update on an issue our team's been pursuing for a couple weeks now.

I prepared for a couple more meetings and joined another conference call ahead of my 1pm monthly presentation. I felt well prepared for that, this my third go around. Even still, I headed to the conference room ten minutes early to get set up. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Had technical difficulties with the conference phone. Had to wait for the customer to get that under control. Had many join via bridge. Only one other person live. They were all chasing down urgent issues. That's the nature of our work. Plus, that's how we want it be - my monthly review being the least of their concerns.

The monthly review lasted about 45 minutes. I was back at my desk ahead of 2pm. Spent most of the afternoon working that same technical issue. Complex.  One of the TAC managers stopped by to ask if his team is coming by much for my help on my on-site day. Honestly, no, not a lot, but some. We both agreed that they should be utilizing my presence more.

I stuck around until about 520pm, or about 20 minutes later than I hoped. It takes a bit longer to get home than it does to get in. I talked with Mindy at some point during my commute. Can't recall what we discussed. Oh, wait, she and Bella were off to Target. Jacob was at soccer practice. I'd be home alone for a little while. She asked if I needed anything from Target. Nope!

Arrived home near 6pm. Sure enough, nobody home but us elves. I unloaded my stuff, including my lunch dishes, and then prepped Thursday's coffee.  Even got my Wednesday blog entry posted before Mindy and Bella got home. I'm thinking it was near 630pm when they finally showed up. By then I was relaxed and at a good place after a very busy day of work and then a little time by my lonesome. It should've been the perfect night.

I'm thinking it was near 745pm when Jacob got home from soccer practice. By then, I was in my relaxation pose, flat on my back with my feet/legs elevated on the Queen Anne chair from the living room floor.  I was awake but asleep - crazy relaxed. I heard the family going about their business but participated only as a witness.  Jacob was hungry. I remember hearing him bitch about at his momma immediately in the door after she asked him to walk Eiknarf, who'd been recently scratching at the door. She reminded him of his resolute to take care of his chores without talking back. She offered that his dinner would be ready upon his return - sloppy joes. From my relaxed perch, it was all kind of humorous, really.

I rose from my meditative slumber around 815-830pm and went to the family room where I tuned into Thursday night college football, which was Southern Florida vs. Pitt. It was very close and back and forth, at least while I watched. I called it a night around 1030 pm. By then, Mindy and the kids had been in bed for at least an hour.