Hyundai Ready for Pick-up

I was up at just a few minutes ahead of 530am and quickly downstairs to begin my Friday. It was clear and crisp, perhaps the season's coldest morning yet - only 26 degrees. It was a sit-up/push-up morning. I had both knocked out by 540am. Soon I was enjoying coffee and internet, but only for 10 minutes.

I did meditation for a good fifteen minutes before delivering Mindy's coffee. I headed back to the family afterwards to stretch and ready for a run. Both shoulders were feeling better than they have in a really long time, perhaps a byproduct of the additional rest and Advil.

For the first time all season, I decided to wear running shorts under my running pants. I wore a toboggan too. I was quite comfortable from the outset and never too warm. Ideal. I ran 4.1 miles enjoying the dry streets, clear skies, and crisp air.

Mindy went after Eiknarf as soon as I arrived in the door. The leash was already setting by the door. Like most other mornings, I took a minute to give her some rubs and hugs before rushing her out the door. We walked up the street to the west where she took care of her business in rather short order.

I found myself looking forward to a regular day in the office, something I hadn't enjoyed since Tuesday. Mindy was already about to leave when I got back to the house with Eiknarf. Mindy had the stove preheating for my eggs. I fried three eggs, two for me and one for Eiknarf. Bella had the last donut warmed. Jacob had chocolate milk.

I headed off to the shower just after 730am. Felt good to slip into a pair of clean jeans and a long-sleeved cotton t-shirt - black, of course. Lindsey was there sitting in the kitchen when I made it back downstairs. We chatted about her car letting her know that we had the tags and what work was being done at the shop. I planned to try and get it insured sometime during the day, time permitting.

Hollered for the kids at 805am. We headed out the door at 810am. I started the Accord while holding Eiknarf's leash. Tricky. I also popped the trunk so I could load my gear later without needing to recaccess the interior. The bus was on time, or close to it. Lindsey sat in the Accord while I headed inside for last minute preparations. We headed off to work at 822am.

As I understood things, this was Lindsey's last day at the Farmer's building. Come Monday she'll be working at the Westbelt location, something she volunteered for a couple weeks back. That'll further simplify things. Traffic was light north on I-270 all the way to Sawmill Rd. Lindsey asked if we would keep the kids on Saturday while she worked. I told her we would. Said she'd be getting off at 530pm instead of the usual 730pm. I dropped Lindsey near 835am then headed back to the south around 270 to the Tuttle exit.

I arrived at the office near 850am and made it to my office just ahead of 9am. While stowing my lunch in the community fridge, I was reminded that we had a 9am staff call.  I hustled back to my office to grab my organizer, pen and water. I met the rest of the team in the conference room already on the bridge. My boss was working remote again. I kidded him about not being in the office.

We talked about holiday coverage - who's on vacation and who's covering for who. Our roles are such that we always need a back-up when we're out. I let me boss know that I agreed to work Black Friday to appease my biggest customer. Somehow that morphed into me covering for another retail customer concerned about Black Friday issues too. 

Our meeting went on for about 45 minutes. And after the official call a few of us hung around and chatted for another 15 minutes before heading back to our offices. My Droid rang before the informal meeting ended. It was Hatfield Hyundai calling to explain what the Accent needed.  Bottom line, the brake pads/shoes were good. Instead, the rear brake cables were seized up. Said they could fix the brakes, defroster, a coolant leak and burnt out plate bulbs for $355. Told him to do it.

Back in my office I called my insurance agent asking about insuring Lindsey and her new Hyundai. After providing all the requested details she apologized and said they can't insure Lindsey because she has no established history of any sort (residence, work, or insurance). Offered that I should try Progressive online, who will get quotes from several companies. I thanked her for the advice and immediately went out to Progressive's website. I received a quote but stopped short of making anything official. Lindsey needs to decide if she wants full coverage or only liability. Plus, I wasn't sure about her driving history back five years like the site requested. According to the Ohio BMV site, she has no points on her license. Didn't want to falsify any information.

Spent most of my day following up on escalations and then working on reports again. At 1pm I hooked up with a peer to show her how I go about sorting monthly data and putting together a monthly report. She actually showed me a couple short cuts in Excel that'll help a lot down the road. The day went really fast.  I didn't eat my lunch until sometime after 2pm.

Talked with Mindy late afternoon. She had already picked up the boys and was heading home. Said she was making tortellini for dinner. Because we'd have our kids and the boys, we weren't planning to have dinner out. It would be an unusual Friday. Lucky for me, I had a growler of CBC's Bodhi to enjoy. :) I didn't get confirmation that the Hyundai was ready for pick-up until about 430pm. By then I had already decided that we wouldn't pick it up until sometime Saturday morning. Definitely didn't want to fight that 270 traffic again Friday evening.

I didn't pack up and leave the office until a few after 530pm. The 6th floor was desolate by then. I might've been the last one off our floor. Happens a lot, especially on Friday's. Talked with Mindy on my drive home. I shared that I told Lindsey that we'd keep the boys overnight since we'd be watching them on Saturday anyhow. That was they wouldn't have to be dragged out of the house early. Mindy reminded me that she planned to go to yoga in the morning. Getting to Hatfield would take some coordination then, too. No worries.

Arrived home just ahead of 6pm. Dinner was ready in short order. Mindy served dinner in paper bowls to help expedite clean-up. I ate 1.5 bowls. Mindy stopped at Kroger after school and picked up a birthday cake for neighbor Teri. She made arrangements for she and her kids to come down after dinner. Chrissy was coming down with her kids too. Wasn't expecting Kenny home until near 9pm.

Must've been 7-730pm when the neighbors came down. Sang happy birthday then enjoyed some cake. I passed but the kids made up for my skipping. Mindy and I tapped my CBC growler of Bodhi. After one, Mindy moved on to wine. Annie, Chrissy & Kenny's new pug puppy, pooped twice in our house.

We'd been hanging out for more than an hour when I took Woody out back for a walk after finding him scratching at the back door. We were out back for no more than five minutes. Back inside I was a little confused to find Chrissy pouring out a full beer and asking for a soda with a befuddled look on her face. Somebody alerted me to the situation, She received a call that her brother-in-law passed away, found dead at home. Think he was in his mid 50s. She was leaving to meet her sister-in-law. The kids were staying behind with us.

After Chrissy left, I headed down to see/chat with Kenny, who had only recently gotten home from a week working away from home. I took a beer. The girls, Bella, Emily and Makayla, all headed to Teri's place while Jake, Jacob, and Rocky played at our house. Kenny was enjoying some rare quiet time when I popped in. We chatted for about ten minutes when neighbor Teri showed up with about 4 beers. Kenny quickly begged off for a shower just as I was thinking of leaving for home. Didn't want to be rude so I hung with Teri until he was out. Left as soon as he rejoined us. I was getting sleepy. Called for Bella to head home too. Mindy already had Rocky & Landon in the guest room bed. I tucked Bella in then joined Mindy already in bed.