265 75 R16

It's not very often you find yourself scrambling eggs, watching MacGyver on Hulu and drinking wine at noon in the kitchen...all while noticing the neighbor's TV set being placed into a red Ford Aerostar. On a Thursday. But such is a life "on break". And pushing out the lines that form the letters, this has really been a lazy one. Last year at this time days flew-by. I was trenching in along the tracks in rubber boots, making use of the AM and shivering in the cold after an 8 or 10 hour stint. Day after day. Working on cedar above the gangway. Finishing out the closet. Prepping the upstairs for carpet. And other things I swear could have taken place last year...or was it the year before? ...Now there's a recurring theme.

But this year's xmas-new year's break has been anything but. Made it to the lodge once so far and spent the afternoon working on getting the LV-wiring up to snuff; felt good to get something done and fight my way out as the sun set and the cold came down. Christmas was good, but this is possibly the most remote I've felt compared to my personal barometer of yuletide engagement. On the upside, Alex visiting definitely improved things. A trip to the PL-turned Cypress for Schlitz, pool and debauchery. My first visit to the much-talked-about Spicoli's, topped off with an evening of bowling with Blake and his lady-friend H. A drop-in on Ben S. after a pitcher of draft-Busch light at everyone's favorite foundry-hangout, BJ's. Complete with 80's picks on the jukebox at Narey's 19th Hole. Cara and I even worked in a nice evening of martinis with Cam and Alex on his last night in town. A real good time, all around, and now we've got New Year's and weekend trip planned as well.

Of course, throw a few wrenches into the mix, like today's temperature of 10 degrees keeping me apartment-bound instead of walking open fields. Or Cara, cracking open her oil pan on an ice ridge and dumping 5 qts of black diesel oil down the drive. Some quick work and we had an overnight replacement part, german gasket sealant, and a little R&R in an 80 year old garage with an equally old electric heater I grabbed along with my tools to get her up and running. This was to be a short-lived victory, however, as her window clips failed the next morning, leaving her to place the (now free) passenger door glass pane in the seat next to her and enjoy Hwy 20 in full Iowa-winter goodness on her way home from work yesterday. The world is a strange place though. I waited an hour and a half for tires while she was at work and now, after a month's wait, still can't get use to taking corners without sliding across the powder pinball-style. Small improvements do a solid concept make.

So that's been a rough recap of the last few days. Today has been much like Monday; it wouldn't take Matlock to convince me I've pissed away the day. Something tells me, though, that these days will pay dividends down the line. It really has been a long time since I've had a moment where I thought "I'm bored", or "what can I muster to pass the time". Thought. And writing. Ideas may be pent up and waiting to be put to paper, but I haven't much inspiration for pencil lifting as of late. But thinking is something else. I mean, consider the day-ins and day-outs. I get up at the behest of the alarm, shower, dress, clean the percolator while making a cold lunch, drive half an hour to work in the dark, put in 10 hours and return to slump in my chair to check email, websites, and then dinner over TV. Maybe ironing, bill paying and then get ready to do it again.

Boo frickin' Hoo. That's the price of trading one's assets to make an earning. But it sure doesn't give much time to gear down to boredom stage and reconstruct one's mental surroundings. Move a dresser and discover a window. Beat the dust out of the old rugs. Then again, maybe that's just me. Takes a couple days to get there.

Course it's tough when there's arch websites to troll through and Family Ties on CBS.com to ignore in the background.

Jason and the Arggggonauts….

Just a little check in on this experiment I call "my job". The drive is further, the hours both longer and inflexible, and the "cultural level", for lack of a better term, will drag you down like a skewered otter, but the political BS is remote, gray hair seems to be slowing, and my exhaustion at the end of the day is from constant motion and solving other peoples' problems rather than desk-jockeying in a sea-of-sameness.

That said, the cold and dark when I leave after work has done little to fire up any enthusiasm for lodge activities. Plus the snow. I slept like a gunny sack of wet sand this past weekend, after staying out with Cara till 1 or so Friday night at the parents for a 500 party, then doing my best to try to work in the Panther Saturday night after braving the mall. My enthusiasm was lacking though, and I was home at a reasonable hour to promptly head for bed. Sunday was a touch better, and the night was capped with a redbox viewing of Public Enemies and dinner.

And so started the Holiday week that is unfortunately not going to deliver on being an easy slide. It was a long Monday with an equally long drive home, immediately topped with a trip to Walgreens with Cara to print our xmas cards in some pretty slushy conditions. The photo machine, however, had the image resizing ability of a cobbled-up Xerox Parc, and while we could crop to our heart's content, shrinking our pic to fit on photo paper was not an option. Knowing under that façade there was probably a copy of MS paint that could do the job without having to drive home and fire up photoshop didn't help matters. The icing on the cake was tearing Cara's weatherstripping off her car by performing the act of opening the passenger side door. After dealing with German eff-ups in design and materials for 11 hours straight that day, I was none too pleased to see her and her VW get hosed by the same 'better-than-thou' mentality. Happens every winter; this time it yanked the rivets out, too.

It was a little over two years ago I decided that instead of taking a "lifer" path with my career I'd opt to gain some experience in other areas to help round out where life may eventually lead. Areas, some might think, are far enough off the corporate path to be beneath them. I don't think many realize I went out of my way to get here (which is fine with me b/c it's like being a stranger in your own town); occasional condolences prove that out. Sure, it may not be something someone wants to do forever, but getting in a different environment and out of my comfort zone will end up being a good thing in the long run, and helps shape where I want to bounce to next before my (self-set) clock strikes 12.

I have some high hopes for this xmas weekend, what with Alex and Blake back in town and some genuine time to sleep in (or at least not have to greet the day at 5AM). Let's hope things pan out!