Shadow Boxing

Up a few minutes early on Friday morning. I felt well rested and ready to go. I breezed through calisthenics (sit-ups, windmills, and push-ups) then enjoyed coffee at the PC. All totaled, I must've spent a good half hour online, stopping long enough to wake Mindy somewhere near the middle. Because I worked at home on Thursday, there wasn't any chance of it again on Friday. Besides, I'd be off work for all but one out of the next nine days. I needed to be in the office to wrap up several lingering to-dos.

After meditation and a stretch I was off on my run near 635am. My shoulders and neck felt great. It was chilly, but not quite a chilly as it's been, though I believe it was at or below freezing. I ran the full 4.1 miles without any issues. In fact, it was a super good run.

Mindy was preparing to depart for school shortly after I got back from my run, but she hung out long enough for Eiknarf and I to do our walk. She made fluffy, cheesy scrambled eggs for a change of pace. I enjoyed them much. There were plenty of them, too. In fact, there was so much that there was enough for another serving after both of us had our share. I baggied the leftovers for the dog.

Showered next and was ready and downstairs again by 758am. Bella and I met Chrissy and Makayla at the bus stop. Both Chrissy & I gushed about it being Friday. After the bus picked up the girls, I let Eiknarf sniff around out front for a few more minutes. She peed again. Inside, I grabbed my keys and went out to start/warm the Accord. I left for work after a quick cup of coffee hoping for an easy day.

Arrived at work near 850am. I went for a fresh pitcher of ice water while my laptop booted up. By 9am I was pretty much settled in. I wisely sent my three clients emails on Thursday detailing my time off as well as my back-up. I also created my out-of-office message too. In Outlook 2010, one can set it to kick in much like an alarm. Relative to my time-off, all I really needed to do was put out-of-office messages on both phones (desk & cellular).

I spent most of my day tying up loose ends. Called Tommy midmorning to see if he wanted to join us for an evening at the Shadow Box theatre. We had four tickets but only three of them spoken for. He thanked me for thinking of him, but said he had to work.

I took lunch near 1230pm with two stops in mind. First, I headed to Best Buy to buy Mindy & I screen shields and silicone boots for our new phones. I opted to buy the Zagg invisible shields, just like the one I had installed on my Droid X. It's like tough elephant skin. They only had black silicone cases for the Galaxy SIII, and I knew that Mindy wanted purple. I bought her a black one anyway thinking it wise to protect the phone now. We can always order a purple case later online where they're typically much cheaper. My goal for the short term was to protect the phone. Best Buy had a special, case and Zagg shield for $35 each. That was a savings of $10 on each one. They charge $8 to install the shield, which I took them up on. Told me to bring Mindy's phone in later along with the receipt.

I checked out their 32" LCD/LED TV's too since were thinking about replacing our bedroom 32" CRT TV. After leaving Best Buy, I headed to the Swan Cleaners at Mill Run near Saturday's. The zipper pull on my favorite thick fleece jacket finally broke completely in two pieces. The jacket, otherwise, is in great shape. I wanted to see if they could simply replace the zipper pull. If not, I wanted a price to replace the entire zipper. The girl told me they should simply be able to replace the pull. If so, it would only be $10. Would have it back next Friday. Cool!

Headed back to the office around 130pm. I didn't bring a whole lot of food. Brought a banana ,nuts and cheese. I ate the banana and nuts earlier. I ate cheese when I got back from lunch. Took care of a few more to-dos including finalizing yet another monthly report. That was done by 30m. I spent the rest of my day taking care of administrative duties. I left for home at 455pm.

Place was already deserted. Traffic was heavy merging onto 270 but kept moving until my exit, which is just one more to the south. Arrived home by 520pm. The kids were already gone with their daddy and the house was picked up.

We were expecting Ryan around 6pm so we could head to the Shadow Box. The show doesn't start until 730pm but they encourage you to arrive early to eat, drink and be merry. I changed shirts and brushed my teeth but remained dressed casually. Ryan showed up right on time. We didn't hang at the house long before bolting for the venue. Again, I wanted to be there seated near 630pm. As usual, traffic was at a crawl as we neared downtown and the Front St exit off 70E.

We parked in CBCs lot, and Mindy ran inside to make sure it was OK. We planned on stopping in after the show. Jamie gave Mindy a thumb's up! We walked up Short St to the back entrance to Shadow Box. It's not that far at all. We ordered beers at the bar before they called us to our seater/greeter - Adam, the same guy that called and offered me the tickets.

He seated us at a table near the stage. Sweet. We had to listen to a brief spiel about all their upcoming attractions and shows but ultimately turned down heavily discounted tickets. We soon ordered drinks and appetizers. Keep in mind the way Shadow Box works, the same folks that issue tickets, seat you, feed you, serve you, are the same folks acting in the shows. They work their tails off! We thought about ordering full entrees but ended up filling up on appetizers. We ordered two more beers each in a bucket to hold us over through the show. That proved to be just about right!

The show was good, both the band and sketch comedy. They opened with Mannheim's version of Deck the Halls. Nice! Recognized a few faces from the shows I saw last year. A lot of new faces too, though. All three of us had fun and laughed much. Mindy, however, laughed loud and hard - far and away more than Ryan and I. That's OK. Glad she liked the show. Show was over around 9pm. We hung out for a few more minutes but then bolted for CBC where we captured a few bar stools in the corner. Kevin & Vince we working the bar.

I, of course, went for a Bodhi. Mindy went with their stout. Can't recall what Ryan ordered. Mindy ordered bread and risotto balls, too. Vince brought me a 2nd Bodhi without asking. I checked to make sure that Mindy could drive before I partook. Wahoo!

I order a plate of wings, well done. The last few times I've ordered wings at CBC they haven't been up to par. Ordering well done was the trick. But next time will I not only order them well done, but with extra sauce too. We headed for home around 1045pm. Ryan picked up the CBC tab. Thanks Ryan!

It was chilly, and Ryan's car was frosted over when we got back to the house. I suggested she start it up, let it warm, and come inside for a few before she bolted for home. She hung for about 10 minutes then left for home. Mindy and I headed for bed right after she left. Mindy was ready to sleep.