Lobster Loose ... Run for your lives!

Happy 13th Jacob

Gone is the innocence, along with the ninja costumes, plastic men, & matchbox cars. In their place are strange patches of hair, the need for a mirror, a cell phone and pentchant for girls. Enjoy. Be wise. Be careful.

Was up and out of bed near 540am. Seems I’m settling into a wake pattern closer to my old rise time of 530am. Was up and out of bed near 540am. I suppose that’s good news. Woke to partly cloudy skies and 55 degrees. Forecast was calling for low to mid 70s with a decent chance of storms, but the two previous days were supposed to end up in the low 70s too, but never made it.

I completed calisthenics then headed to the PC with coffee. It was Jacob’s 13th b-day. Mindy said she planned on getting up early so she could celebrate his birthday with candle topped waffles before she needed to leave for school. We planned to give him his gift then too. Turned out, she wasn’t up any earlier than usual. In fact, I woke her near 610am with coffee just like any other day. 

Fooled around online until 620am. Meditation and stretching were next. Finished both of those daily tasks near 630am. By then, Mindy was downstairs to prep Jacob’s birthday breakfast. She hollered for Bella, too. Soon we were gathered around the table where Jacob had a pile of waffles that Mindy made fresh the night before. She placed a candle or two atop the pile. We sang happy b-day and snapped a few pics. We then gave him his gifts. He opened the one from Bella first, an iTunes gift card and a pair of soccer shorts.

Ours was next, a pair of soccer shorts and an iPhone – the former house phone. Mindy &I reformatted the phone the night before. Bella growled at Jacob’s good fortune since she was the primary user of the phone prior. Once she realized that it was his she started to pout. We quickly picked her up by offering that she might get one when she turns 13, too. Jacob made her feel better by offering to give her his iPod, which would suit her needs just fine.

Dressed for a run next and headed out the door around 650am. Didn’t bother with a jacket given the warm temps. The trash truck was already by as witness by our emptied can. The old queen Anne chair we sat out the evening before was already gone too. Works like magic!

Ran the full 4.1 miles pretty much under full daylight. It’ll remain that way from now until mid-autumn. Got home around 7300am and promptly leashed up the pug. I was surprised that Mindy was still home but she was on her way out. Back from the walk near 740am, I fried up some eggs. I knew then that I wouldn’t have time to shower ahead of bus stop time. I planned on working from home for the first couple hours anyhow. I needed to be across town at a customer’s location by about 11am.

I left a VM for my B_of _A re-fi agent asking her to call me. I had at least four questions to ask about the package I received in Monday’s mail. I planned to take the entire packet to work with me. Bella and I headed out to the bus stop at 810am. By then it was clouding over. Once Bella was safely loaded onto the bus I headed home and upstairs for a shower.

Worked from home for the first couple hours of the day. Left the house near 10am. Made good time heading across town. Arrived near 1025am. Turns out a peer was walking in at the same time. She spent her morning at her 5 year olds kindergarten enrollment/testing. She works out of the customer’s office almost every day. Said I could likely set-up in a cube near her. Perfect.

I needed to join another customer call at 1130am. Only had an hour to take care of my other work before then. I was a few minutes late for the call. The call went quite a bit longer than usual. We had a lot to talk about. I wasn’t off that call for two minutes when my personal cell rang. It was my B_of_A agent calling me back. We talked for a few minutes with her agreeing to send me a more concise list of forms I need to sign and send back, either via fax, scan/email, or mail. And then to address some of my numbers based questions, she promised to have the actual loan officer call me. Anyone that’s refinanced must know what I am referring to. Lots of different numbers to chew on. Was very happy to get over that small hurdle.
Had another hour or so before the next meeting, which was the main reason I was on site that day. Used that time to start a quarterly report which is due by next Tuesday. Time went fast. I headed to the arranged conference room 15 minutes early. The 1pm meeting went rather well. Lasted about an hour. As expected, I took a couple long term to-dos.

A few of my peers hung out after the customer meeting for an impromptu strategy meeting. It was 230pm by the time we finished and I headed back to my make-shift desk. I spent another half hour or so on site choosing to head home to finish the rest of my work day. Called Mindy along the drive home. She was just leaving school. I reminded her that I would need to work once at home.

Arrived home around 340pm. The front door was wide opened. I was a tad worried at first but then realized that Jacob should be home. Yep, he was home and up in his room. Said he just opened the door so Bell wouldn’t have to knock when she got home around 4pm. I wished him happy b-day again then asked about his day. Said it was a good one. Got my laptop fired up in a jiffy. Wasn’t long before Bella and Mindy were home. Once again, I reminded Mindy that I was working until at least 5pm. Sometimes she forgets and seeks my undivided attention when I am in no position to give it.

Our evening plans sounded exhausting. First, Jacob needed to be at soccer practice and Bella at gymnastics. And since it was Jacob’s birthday, we planned to dinner at Red Lobster after his soccer practice, which wouldn’t end until 730pm. Jacob, meanwhile, insisted on stopping home and taking a shower after practice and before dinner. Somewhere in there we’d need to pick-up Bella and then finally head to Red Lobster. By my calculations, we wouldn’t be eating until almost 830pm.

But the universe must’ve been smiling down on us. A front was about to move through west Franklin country with strong winds and heavy rain. Even before there was official word, Mindy went out on a limb and declared soccer practice canceled. Jacob wanted to practice because one has to practice to play in the Wednesday game.

With Jacob’s soccer practice canceled, that made our evening so much simpler. I worked until 530pm and was sending an email while Mindy, Jacob, and Bella waited in the Pilot. We left the house at 535pm to first drop Bella at gymnastics, which is right around the corner from Red Lobster. And by the way, Bella hates seafood so she her feelings weren’t hurt in the least. We dropped Bella at the gym at 555pm – 5 minutes early. By then it was raining pretty hard and lots of super cool lightning striking all around. These were the lightning bolt’s that seems to leave a trail of particles after the strike.

We lucked out in the Red Lobster parking lot. Got a spot right outside the door. We ran for the door in a heavy downpour. Despite a fairly crowded lot, it wasn’t as busy inside as I expected. We were seated immediately. Jacob made Mindy promise that she wouldn’t tell the server it was his birthday. He’s very much like that. Doesn’t want to be the center of attention.

We all ordered waters and they brought us cheddar bay biscuits to snack on. We didn’t order appetizers. We all ordered lobster/shrimp combos – Mindy & Jacob the exact same thing. None of our seafood would come deep fried. Frankly, I was surprised with how tasty my entrée was. Everything was delicious!

We finished up in Red Lobster by 645pm still too early to pick-up Bella. Mindy honored Jacob’s request and didn’t mention his birthday to our server. She suggested we head to the Kroger around the corner so she could pick-up some fruit and allergy meds for Bella. That would kill some time, too. While Mindy ran in Kroger, Jacob and I drove across the street to the Wendy’s where I ordered some chicken nuggets and fries for Bella.

Jacob and I had to circle the Kroger lot three times before Mindy was out. We arrived at the gym to pick-up Bella around 720pm. Not bad. For some reason, Kelly, her instructor wasn’t there. Had a younger sub instructor. Seemed a bit more chaotic. I went to the small lobby and called my mom since I haven’t talked to her in a few weeks, though I did try a week or so ago.

She seemed to be doing well, but lit me up for ignoring her recent calls and emails. She sent me an email asking to borrow some money for some flooring work she wants to have done. A couple things bother me. One, pick up the phone and call. Don’t send me emails for such things. Two, spending money she doesn’t have on frivolity. I clarified that the project is totally a want and in no way a need. Geesh! I haven’t replaced any of my floor coverings in almost 20 years, and we have kids. But that’s mom. I didn’t commit either way.

I suggested we have lunch this coming Saturday since we’ll be down her way again in Rio Grande at Bella’s state gymnastics meet. We literally pass within a mile of mom’s favorite Jackson restaurant, Dakota’s. Told her it would be around 330pm since Bella’s last competition is at 230pm. Said I would call on our way to the competition. By the time I was off the phone with mom, Bella was out and ready to go. I headed out to the Pilot while Mindy chatted with the gym owner about gym meet dues.
Jacob was lying down, hiding in the very back of the Pilot. When Mindy & Bella finally came out no one was surprised or scared. 

I handed Bella her dinner. She was semi-grateful. By then the storm had all but passed. At home Bella pleaded with Mindy to let her go out and play with her friends for a little while. Mindy agreed, but gave her a drop dead be home time of 830pm. Jacob spent his time formatting his new iPhone.

I checked my work email then played on my personal PC all the while listening to Pandora. Did a little reading from one of our new recliners, too. That didn’t’ last long. Started to dose off almost instantly. Mindy came and sat next to me a few minutes later so we could talk. We all headed to bed around 935pm.