Mindy's New Digs

I was up again in the middle of the night, this time from 2-3am, with my mind racing about work related matters. During that hour, I ate a couple bowls of Fruit Loops and played on the internet. Once back in bed I convinced myself that work could wait and that I was too important to fret over the small stuff. That did the trick. I fell asleep with ease and stayed that way until 7am.

Yikes! Sleeping until 7am on a work day is not what I desire. 615am is the target. I’ve simply got to stop getting up in the middle of the night. This I know. By the time I was up, Mindy was downstairs and the kids already off to school. I noticed that it was foggy. Several of our windows fogged up too after recent rains and high humidity.

While Mindy made last minute preparations before departure, I whipped out sit-ups. Before she left she reminded me that I was supposed to meet her at her new school building for the dedication ceremony. The event was set to begin at 6p but she suggested I get there earlier – 530p ish. Surprising to me, she planned to stay there rather than leave after school, come home, and then head back.

I whipped out windmills and push-ups after Mindy left. Finally time for coffee. Ahh! By then it was 720am. I enjoyed coffee and internet for 15-20 minutes before digging into work. Ended up working until almost 9am before giving way to meditation, stretching and finally my run. By then the fog cleared and the sun was out. It was close to 70 degrees. I skipped a shirt and ran the usual 4.1 miles. Felt great!

During my run, I thought lots about plumbing phase of the basement project even though I still have two more electrical circuits to run ( kitchen/bath). I’m concerned with cutting into the hot & cold ¾” runs. Even they’re the closest by far, it’s going to be tough given that there won’t be any play in the runs. It dawned on me to simply look for a couple alternatives. For more than a year I’ve been zeroed in on those two runs. If nothing else, it made me feel better. 

Back home by 940am, I decided to get a shower before making breakfast. As a result, I was showered, dressed, and downstairs again by 10am. I fried some eggs and packed a lunch. Once again, Mindy left a salad and fresh fruit packed in the fridge so all I had to add were nuts. I left the house near 1030am.

Easy drive across town, my mind elsewhere for much of the drive. In fact, at one point I looked up and was unaware of where I was. In that instant there was a sense of panic until I realized that I was indeed on track. That might be a first – to be that zoned out to not recognize my immediate whereabouts.

Arrived and settled by 11am. I spent the lion’s share of my day pulling data for my monthly report but also joined an hour long webcast, which I was multitasked during and completed a required online training course. I wrapped up my day with the customer around 415pm. Before heading southwest to meet Mindy at her school, I made a brief stop at Lowes at Easton to check out their PEX plumbing offerings. I think it’s fair to say that they have less ‘stuff’ than Home Depot, but the stop still helped solidify my approach. While there, I bought a new sago palm to replace our existing sago which looks very ragged.

I opted to take 270S all the way around to the Grove City exit, a long drive indeed, but also simple. Arrived at Mindy’s new school around 525p. The lot was near full, just as Mindy suggested it might be. Just inside the door, I found Mindy right away hanging out in the office with her principal, Marge.
After a greeting, she was eager to show me around the new school building. We ran into Karianne there with her little ones, Garrett and Sawyer. They’re cute, spunky and smart, and they love Mindy. The walked around with us for a while, me eventually giving Garrett a piggyback ride down the hall. I was starving, and in the teacher’s lounge I found a bag of pretzels on the table. Too much to resist. Garrett, Sawyer and I enjoyed some.

I was moved by the music room. They have a large collection of musical instruments that would come in handy for one of our deck based jam sessions. For the first time since kindergarten, I saw some sand blocks, which was the first instrument I played as a wee one. They have an awesome array of tom-tom drums.

From there we moved on to the auditorium/gymnasium/cafeteria combo where the actual event would be held. There, Mindy introduced me to a plethora of folks, some employed or affiliated with the school district, and some families of former students. She passed out a number of hugs to little kids. And for the first time in three of four years, I got to see Renee. She recently graduated with her doctorate in education. During our brief chat, she shared who’s she’s dating, Vonn, one of Mindy’s newest teacher peers.

Just after 6pm the big event finally got underway, emceed by none other than Dr. Wise, the school district’s superintendent. He and many others abled on and on, making sure to recognize all the individuals and groups that made the new school building possible. What he and apparently all the other speakers failed to realize is that we could hardly hear them. Something amiss with the sound system.

The event went for about 50 minutes but it really seemed longer – watt-whaa, watt-whaa, watt-whaa.  As the event wrapped up, Mindy introduced me to Dr. Wise. He praised Mindy. Off to the side and with a quick wink, I made no bones about how important it was for him to make sure Mindy gets the week off she’ll request later for our winter ski vacation. Still incredibly hungry, I made my way over to the cookie table where I partook in one of the large chocolate chunk cookies.

As we made our way to our cars, Mindy asked where we might go for dinner. She suggested Barley’s but I wasn’t feeling it. In fact, I wasn’t eager for beer at all. In fact, nothing sounded that good. We agreed to simply head for home and eat leftovers. We have plenty in the fridge still, including chicken, beef kabob, and even some chili. I called Ashley on my drive home to ask how Olivia is doing with her new class and teacher. Last week Ashley called Mindy and I to express concern over Olivia getting sad faces for talking too much in class. Olivia is considered gifted so Ashley was a little distraught. Mindy pointed out that it’s common for 2nd graders to struggle with new rules, especially talking too much, where younger grades (K-1st) almost encourage it.

Ashley said there have been no more sad faces. I asked to talk with Olivia, who was settling in to work on homework. Sounded a little sad, but quickly perked up. I gave her some encouragement and then she asked if she could spend the night this weekend. She suggested Friday. Told her I thought it would be OK but that I would need to check with Mindy and call her back.

At home, the kids were gone with their dad – a Jimaken night. Mindy and I quickly got settled and then warmed some leftovers. We both had beef kabobs, though I took the meat and made a wrap. I asked about having Olivia Friday night. Mindy agreed. While Mindy chatted with Karianne on the phone, I called Olivia back telling her that it was a date.

After woofing down my wrap, I became ridiculously sleepy. I swore off any work in the basement, having worked down there at least in some capacity for each last five days. Instead, I stretched out in the family chair and tuned the TV to Family Guy for some mind numbing laughs. The episode in question served its intended purpose. The kids were home a few minutes later, and somewhere near 830pm. Shortly after they were in the door Mindy declared it her bedtime. Holy smoke, dear. 830p? Yep, 830p.

I started watching a 2nd episode of Family Guy but then cast it aside after a brief but fulfilling 5 minute nap to instead go watch a couple You Tube how-to videos. I’m finding them particularly useful with the basement finishing project. I watched a couple more videos about plumbing with PEX. Around 930pm I headed back to the family room where I tuned into an episode of How the Universe Works. I watched until almost 10pm before getting sufficiently sleepy enough for bed. It didn’t take long at all for me to fall asleep.