Back to the Grind

I didn’t sleep well at all. It seems Glenn was correct about taking Dayquil before bed. I tossed and turned through most of the night. And while I may have fallen asleep, it was never deep enough to wake feeling satisfied and/or rested. As it was, I needed to run Glenn to the airport to catch a 7am flight. He wanted to leave at 515am. To that end I was up and out of bed at 445am. The light was on in the guest room and I could hear Glenn already up and stirring. A little surprised. I had coffee all set to go. All I had to do was push the go button, which I took care of and then proceeded to whip out calisthenics.

Hadn’t done push-ups since Xmas eve, I think. By the time sit-ups, windmills, and push-ups were done I was completely winded. I played around online for a couple minutes while the coffee finished brewing. Glenn joined me downstairs around 5am. We both enjoyed a quick cup of coffee.

I headed out to start the Pilot at 505am. It was cold and frosted over. I carried out Glenn’s skis and giant suitcase too. We left for the airport at 515am on the nose. It was a quick drive, though we almost missed the airport exit off of 670. It’s not marked that well and we were talking as it neared. I cut over two lanes last second.

The drop was quick. Glenn took a picture of me standing with his luggage. Promised to let me know about Utah by next Friday. I headed back home arriving at 545am. I pretty much carried out my usual pre-run routine over the next 30 minutes. Despite cold symptoms, it felt good to be back in the groove.

Jacob was downstairs to ready for the school bus just after 630am. I headed out for my run ahead of him, somewhere near 640am. It was cold, about 18 degrees. I wore standard winter layers. Once again the roads were difficult to navigate with uneven ice and snow cover. I stuck to the walks wherever possible. I ran 4.1 miles for the first time in quite a while. Felt good.

Mindy and Bella were up and busy in the kitchen when I got back. I leashed up the pug and headed out for our morning walk. Again, felt good to back into our normal routine. Without the benefit of a prior scent, Eiknarf struggled to relieve herself. She only peed. Mindy was out of practice with my morning eggs. They were a tad runny. This was her first time using the new Green ceramic frying pan.

Bella asked Mindy to take her to the bus stop. I took my time showering and getting dressed. They were already out when I made it back downstairs. I quickly threw together a lunch of nuts, cheese, yogurt, and carrots. I headed out to start the Accord ten minutes before leaving. It felt a little odd to be heading to a customer’s campus this my first day back from vacation. Mindy reminded me that it was a Jimaken night. Wanted to know how I felt about dinner out. Wasn’t sure, especially given my cold symptoms. After my run, I began feeling totally drained. An hour long nap would’ve been nice, but wasn’t in the cards. Mindy doesn’t go back to school until next Monday. Said she planned on taking down Xmas decorations.


Left for work around 835am. Despite being cold, it was mostly sunny and a nice drive across town. Second time in the last three hours that I drove past the airport. Arrived at 9am and was settled a few minutes later. Perhaps because I hadn’t logged on for about 10 days, my laptop was slow to boot. But then, once I had all my necessary apps up, I got one of those pesky reboot necessary messages. Crap! Had to go through the login process all over again. The customer reported only one issue for our 10am call, but it was actually resolved before the call began. Because of that, our call was brief. I used the remainder of the morning, and rest of the day for that matter, to get started on my December monthly reports.

I lost track of time, and didn’t take a lunch until 115pm. I headed towards Target and Macy’s thinking I might pick-p one of those Andy Capp hats I’ve been eying for some time now. Surely they’d be marked down now that it’s after Xmas. I stopped at the Easton Macy’s 1st. More crowded than I expected. I found the Andy Capp hats quickly. Yikes, they wanted $45. No thanks! I was out of there less than two minutes later. Headed over to the Target. They had a couple, but not in my size and they looked comparably cheap. I opted not to buy one. I headed back to the office. If nothing else, it was good to simply get away from the office for a little while.

Back at my desk by 2pm, I spent the rest of the afternoon on monthly reporting. I enjoy crunching numbers so much that time literally flies by. Can’t believe how fast it goes. Seemed like the next time I checked the time it was time to head for home. Checked Glenn’s flight status via American Airlines website. He landed in Portland around 250pm our time. Talked with Mindy at some point just before leaving work. She was organizing the kids to leave with their dad. She asked how I felt and if I wanted to go out for dinner. No. Fighting cold symptoms, staying in and resting sounded awfully good. She didn’t seem to mind.

The drive around 270 went fast. No traffic back-ups in Hilliard. Arrived home around 540pm. The kids were gone and Mindy still in her PJs. After a quick look around the house, all the Xmas decorations were down, including the tree. Looks normal again. We chatted some and then Mindy headed upstairs for a shower. While Mindy did that I offered that I would take a nap. Instead, however, I played around online.

Once Mindy was out of the shower and back downstairs we decided on dinner. I opted for chicken noodle soup and leftover Honey Baked ham. Mindy had soup too, but Progresso vegetable. With my belly full, I wanted nothing more than my PJs and book. I snuggled up in the family room chair where I read and napped until the kids got home. In fact, I fell asleep for about 2 hours, not waking until almost 830pm. The long nap felt great. I asked Mindy about taking some more Dayquill. She insisted that it made more sense to hold off until bedtime and to take Nyquill.

Started to get a 2nd wind once I was up and around. Was a little hungry again and craving soda, too – a Fresca. To satisfy my hunger I popped some popcorn and fetched a soda. Soon tuned into the Sugar Bowl from New Orleans – Louisville vs. Florida. Despite being a heavy underdog, Louisville was leading 14-0 when we joined. Bella soon joined Mindy and I downstairs after her shower and to finish her snack. She ate donuts and Slim Jim’s. Yuck! And as soon as they were gone she swooped in on my popcorn too. Mindy wanted some too. She asked me to pop another bag. I offered that Bella could do it, and she did. The three of us ate popcorn and watched more of the Sugar Bowl. Near 10pm and halftime we headed for bed, but planned to watch at least some of the game from bed before sleep.

I took a half dose of Nyquil then watched about 10 minutes into the 2nd half before turning off the TV and falling quickly asleep.