Multilated Nuts

I popped out of bed near 730am and not so much because I felt fully rested but instead because I couldn’t sleep. I started coffee then played on the internet, enjoying about an hour or so of quiet time before being joined downstairs by Olivia. Predictably, she asked for some coffee. Mindy was up a short while later.

I headed out for a run near 9am. Ran three miles. During my run, I planned what I hoped to accomplish in the basement that day. I needed to nail mounting clips to the wire I pulled Friday, install nail plates over each stud that I’ve drilled and run wire through, and possibly even mount the plywood base to the block wall right next to the electric panel. In addition, I hoped to at least get started on the outlets and switches for both the kitchen and bathroom. Before any of that, however, I needed to make yet another Home Depot run to get supplies

And I know I’m making an awful lot of H.D. stops. Made the decision to buy as a I go rather than creating a giant project material list and buying it all at one time. It must’ve been near 11am when I headed to the basement. By then, all the kids, including GD Olivia were out playing. I took care of the wire clips and nail plates in about an hour’s time. I decided then to head off to Home Depot to get the stuff I’d need to complete the outlets and switches in the bath and kitchen.

Wisely sent myself a list via text. It’s funny how clear it is when I am at home or work but once I head inside H.D or Lowes I will draw a blank. Sometimes just walking the aisles it’ll come back to me. Moreover, there are times when I am in the checkout line and remember a couple other items I needed. Sending a text list is easy and eliminates the problem. Took my time getting those items on my list. Gone for about an hour. By the time I was back at the house, Olivia was gone. 

After a brief pause for food, I decided it was time to work on the CATV mess in the basement. To get started, I cut away enough of the foil-backed insulation that covers the upper half of the block basement wall to allow for an 18”X24” plywood mounting base. I mounted the plywood using Tapcon screws. I then spent the next two hours, first undoing the ugly nest of existing CATV wires - old splitters, and new equipment - and then remounted and reorganized the inputs, amplifier, splitters and outputs. Sounds simple enough, but it was a pain. However, having done this a time or two in my past, I had a vision of what I wanted so in the end it resulted in a very nice looking install.

One little glitch. When I cut the tie wrap for one of the CATV runs it dropped connector end first directly into the exposed power cabinet. Yikes! Nothing came of it but it got my heart racing. I carefully regained control of the wire and was extra careful moving forward. I finished my work in the basement around 5pm and headed for a shower. I nicked my hands up in a couple places drawing a little blood.

6pm or so by the time I was out of the shower fresh and clean. I was eager to watch and catch-up on some of the day’s college football action. The Buckeye game was slated to kick-off at 830pm, or so I thought. Ahead of that, I watched a little football and played around on my PC. It was around 820pm that Mindy hollered that the game was already underway. It was still 0-0 but V.T. had the ball and was driving. Not a minute later they drew first blood scoring a seemingly easy TD.

It never got much better. The Buckeyes fell behind 21-7 and looked largely outmatched for much of the game. We did, however, mount a ferocious comeback attempt and actually tied the game early in the 4th quarter, but similarly to the Mich St loss last year, we couldn’t hold on the momentum. We lost 35-21.

At the halftime, I told Mindy that I was walking down to chat with neighbor Kenny, who was watching the game on their outdoor big screen. I sat outside with he and Mike O. and watched the entire 2nd half. I headed home soon after the game ended. I didn’t take my phone with me, and Mindy was already in bed. She sent a couple texts earlier expressing frustration over me leaving for Kenny’s without consulting with her. She must’ve been dosing when I left because I did tell her I was walking down.

I stayed up a while snacking and playing around on the internet. Headed for bed near midnight.