Cries from Wisconsin

I slept about as late as I could while also remaining somewhat on schedule. I wasn’t downstairs until 550am. I quickly slipped into my exercise shoes then glanced out the back door towards the sky. There were a few broken clouds but otherwise it was clear. I was still half asleep and remained that way until I completed my exercise routine. I whipped out 50 sit-ups, windmills, and curls.

I enjoyed a few sips of coffee before taking Mindy hers. It was roughly 610am when I woke her. Jacob I could see was already up. I didn’t bother barging in. Downstairs I played around on the internet checking the weather first and then the MNF results. At the time it was about 50 degrees and a really small storm cell was nearing our area. Otherwise, there was a chance of rain throughout the day with the high expected to reach the upper 60s. The MNF game I abandonned with 7 or 8 minutes left ended in controversy. I watched a video of the final play, Seattle scoring a TD and stealing the victory from the Packers. I was routing for Seattle, but the call was bad. But here’s what I say, score more points, and make the last play a non-issue.

I didn’t have a lot of time to spend online. It was darn near 630am even though I felt as though I had just sat down. The older I get the less I want to race around in the morning. Instead, I love to putter. I do, however, enjoy the structure that a schedule offers. Keeps me focused. I have a tendency to let my mind wander and thus letting time slip by.

I did meditation and stretching next. Gone are the meditations in complete and utter silence. Now I have to contend with Jacob’s ready noises. It’s not that big a deal, but it is a change. I guess I could alter my routine a little, moving meditation to right after exercise. Hmmm? Maybe.

It was 645am before I was dressed in my running clothes and then a couple minutes later before I headed out the door. I talked with Mindy just before heading out, she asked if I thought I’d be back before her departure. Doubted it. Said our morning goodbye right then. Off I went. My legs felt better than they have the past couple days. I was thankful for that. That small storm cell I saw via radar earlier was moving over top our subdivision during my run. There was lightning, thunder, and a smidge or rain. Oddly enough, it was so small that the first half of my run (the northern piece) was under what I’d call partly cloudy skies. But the second half was right in the cells path. I could see bands of rain and more lightning. I didn’t want to take that risk. At the two mike mark I opted to turn around and run the first half over again back to the house. Those that know me well, know that I’m a creature of habit. It was hard for me to turn around and take a different route back home but I did it. I haven’t run that direction in our subdivision for several years. Felt odd.
As I neared the house, Mindy was just backing out the drive. She stopped in the road to say goodbye again. I didn’t bother explaining my out of the ordinary path. At home, Bella shared that Mindy had already walked the pug. I double checked because the pug certainly wasn’t acting like it. She was ready to go out again. Bella insisted. I nuked my eggs for a few seconds then sat down to eat. Bella asked if I got caught in the storm. Nope. I explained that I ran around it, instead.

I headed for a shower at 740am. By then that small storm was all but gone. The sky was once again a canvas of broken clouds and dappled sunshine. I was downstairs again by 802am packing my lunch. Bella and I headed out at 810am. We met Kenny and Makayla at the bus stop. I asked Kenny if they received their water bill. I then shared that ours was a whopping $666. He planned to check theirs later. The bus arrived on time. I walked Eiknarf out front a little more before heading in. I ended the walk abruptly when she started barking at everyone/everything she saw.

I ran the dishwasher before leaving the house and enjoyed another cup of coffee at my PC where I checked out the details for the Todd Rundgren concert in Cleveland at the storied Agora theatre. Of late, Todd’s been touring with a string quartet from NYC called Ethel. This show, however, will not be with them. He’s playing two nights – October 12 & 13. We may do a hotel, Ohio Brew Kettle, and Great Lakes.

I left for work around 850am getting to work sometime after 9am. I hadn’t even gotten settled when a peer stopped by to talk. Was eager for me to follow him back to his office so he could show me a compilation ski video of his trip to Colorado and then Bachelor last season. His buddy recorded with a Go-Pro and then used Apple’s video software to put it music. It was awesome! Both he and I get really excited when talking about skiing. He followed me back to my office where he then asked for some help with one of his accounts. I promised to take a look sometime during my otherwise busy day.

I spent the lion’s share of my morning taking course # 4 of the 5 course program I signed up for. After the online class, I decided to take a lunch and headed to Home Depot at 130pm. There I looked at pneumatic nailers, as I continue planning for our basement finishing project. By all accounts, using a framing nailer is the way to go. However, their price - $200- $300 - may be cost prohibitive considering that I may not ever use it again. I checked out the rental prices too. That may very well be the way I go, although I can always ask Kenny, too. I know he has one, if not two.
I walked around the Depot for about 30 minutes then headed back to the office. Felt really good to get a way for a while. While I was out it looked like more rain was moving into the area. However, just like the morning’s rain, it was the scattered variety.

I spent most of my afternoon pulling proactive reports for my buddy. Next thing I knew it was after 5pm. That happens to me often. I get so immersed in something and lose total track of the time. Left the office somewhere very close to 530pm. I called Mindy, who was also on the road, dropping Bella at gymnastics. It drizzled rain through the entire commute home. I had about ten minutes before Mindy got home. During that time I rinsed my lunch dishes and prepped Wednesday’s coffee. Noticed that Mindy fried burger for dinner. They were still in the pan on the stove with a glass lid. These were the same burgers she bought on Sunday that by Monday turned from red to gray while in the fridge. I wasn’t so sure that I wanted to eat one, though she insisted the meat was still good. I plan to research why that would happen so suddenly.

Jacob was home the entire time but lounging lazily on the sofa. Rare for him. Mindy was back at home near 610pm. She served dinner a few minutes later. I gave her crap about the gray meat, now indiscernible from those that were still red. I ended up giving it the once over, cutting into the body and giving it the sniff test. I was genuinely worried that something was amiss. I opted to eat it cautiously. Along with the burgers, Mindy made baked beans. Clean-up was quick. Done by 645pm. Mindy asked if I wanted to go after Bella. Said I didn’t really want to but would.

I had a good 20 minutes before I needed to leave. With my time I decided to play around online. I read a little bit more about the Packers/Seahawks debacle, but believe it’s getting over blow due to the NFL referee lockout. An article and image in the Science section of Yahoo piqued my interest. It was a photo of deep space showing numerous galaxies and distant stars, some thought to be as far as 13.2 light years away, meaning their light was sent that many years ago, and only 500 million years after the big bang. That’s some interesting stuff. I love to let my mind contemplate the magnitude of such revelations.

I left to go after Bella at 710pm taking the Accord. I took my camera just in case I had an opportunity to photo Bella in action. This time I was fortunate enough to get a seat after a women holding a baby got up for a second to quell the crying little brat. She turned around to sit again only to find me there. I looked her in the eyes and said, Too bad. On your feet, lose your seat! As you might expect, I garnered several ugly stares, not only from the tired mother but from the others too. I offered that they could get up and offer their seat. No one did. Uh-huh, that’s what I thought. I was making friends! 

Okay, just kidding. None of that happened. I did get a seat though. I took a couple photos without flash using my knee as a tripod. Seemed to work well. Bella was so far away, however, towards the back of the gym, she won’t be discernible. I did see her trampoline routine, which was really good. She’s now doing front and back flips, though I think they call them something different. Practice ended a couple minutes after I sat down. Bella called me to the coat room so she could show me the snack machine. I offered that we had crap like that at home. We quickly departed. It sprinkled rain all the way home.

Once we were home Mindy dispatched both kids to the shower, Jacob first. I changed into my comfy house clothes then grabbed my book eager to do some reading. I read for a good hour, falling asleep for maybe 5 minutes sandwiched somewhere in between the pages. Around 910pm I put my book down and went to my PC where I checked the Reds score and then finished writing Monday’s blog entry. Mindy headed for bed while I was writing. Bella stayed up enjoying some popcorn that she popped on her own, though I heard Mindy coaching her through the microwave process. Cute!

Bella ate perhaps half the popcorn then gave the rest to me as she hustled off to bed just after 10pm. Still wide awake, I opted to do more reading. I read for another 40 minutes or so, really getting into Mlodinow’s explanation of the mind at work– both the conscious and unconscious mind. Fascinating stuff! Headed for bed around 1045pm.