Hippodrome Redux

Terrific weekend, just the ticket to shave off some of the latest stress and glum. Had a break Thursday night with Cam at the PL and enjoyed several games of pool plus the awkward gaze of two (retired) high school teachers. Did it again Friday night, trying some sort of watered-down ice tea drink that did not impress; salvation in the popcorn, however!

What else…. Managed some down time at the Rod uncovering ancient articles in the archives. Read a piece on atomic weapons from '45. Did a little clothes shopping. Devoured two volcano tacos (eh-). Attempted to read at COJ while nursing a double-espresso. Dropped in on Aldi's to see what's new after 20 years…seriously…smells EXACTLY the way it did when I was a kid, and I had forgotten their labeling system of putting prices on a strip board up above the stock. Still left empty handed.

Made an honest attempt at driving out (or should I say, near) the lodge but the snow was up to the padlock on the gate. Walked the tracks in. Spent the afternoon out there toiling on the '59 and made some decent headway. Got out in time to win and lose a few eb*y auctions (and garner the attention of what appeared to be a bridal party enjoying a smoke outside the Rotary). Always an odd interaction.

Films enjoyed this weekend: "Back to the Future", "Caddy Shack", "Dead Man Walking", and the second half of "The Truman Show".

Of course Valentine's day, where laundry was done, mail sorted, a stocking knitted and heart-shaped pizza consumed!

And now, Monday. A return to the present, where diesel fumes mix with vulgar mouths and the penchant of laziness and finger pointing lingers with menial obligations. How anyone escapes alive is a mystery to me……

Still beats office politics.

Feb 2nd: Delaminating Ruminations

The day started off well enough: toughest day of the week behind me. Longest month of winter, IMHO, in the rearview. Grocery shopping in the snow out of the way and today's list of meetings is pretty small. Then I checked my email. Not looking forward to this summer.

Especially when I value my time, and time is what I'll really need post-work as the ground softens and the weather improves. Big things on tap, like finishing the side deck and welding railings. Pouring rock and building fences. And the money pits, like developing the drive-in site and starting construction on what I’m affectionately calling "the cabin". This may not be the summer of the patio shelter, but god forbid if I don't make good use of the balcony.

As the roads got slushy and the winds picked up, I found myself driving across the corn field after work last night and checking in on the lodge. Everything AOK. But something else. A forest from the trees moment where I had been away long enough to see a greater picture than the details that continually weighed me down stepping through the door. If I can hold tight to those rosey glasses my blood pressure might drop a few points.

A quiet weekend by the usual standards. In lieu of a Friday night special I hit up the PL with Ben and Cam Saturday afternoon after galavanting the countryside. No Toro purchases in New Hampton, but Ben made an appliance contact in town. Near Traer I struck a deal on a FWD transmission needed for the ETC and met a truly passionate person the likes I haven't encountered in sometime. Gives a soul pause. Back at the PL we knocked out a few games of pool and had a spirited conversation about the arabs and their flaming power supplies. I took my leave shortly before 5 to cleanup and hit the town with Cara. There's no doubt in my mind that Beck is rolling in dirty, dirty money. We gave Roux Orleans a try and I do admit, it was an enjoyable experience, but he should be reminded this is Waterloo, Iowa. Price your drinks accordingly…chump.

Sunday was a lazy day, but a series of trials and errors brought forth a cabin design that's a natural outgrowth of prior ideas. I ran up a bill of material yesterday and continue to get stuck with the logistics of a basement. Year-round sump-pump? Block or Poured? ICF's? Ready-mix vs. bagged. Rent an excavator or hire it out. Etc. Etc. Might just end up slab-town, USA on this one.

Cattle Call 2.0

The best weeks are those that allow for thought and reflection without one pounding on a desk demanding severance pay. This has been one such week. Even though we started Tuesday, today feels like it should have been Friday.

Things started off well enough. Ben gave me a hand on Saturday doing some serious wrenching on the '59. We somehow made it into and out of the lodge with frozen appendages occurring only AFTER a couple hours of wrenching. Lots of movies chewed through on Monday while Cara was at work. Should this have been summer I'd be giving serious thought to just about anywhere else than where I was sitting at that time. Tuesday through Thursday clicked right off even with meetings, angry wage folk, pressed clothes, early bedtimes, ebaying and all manner of ilk that came my way. I even managed to drift off to sleep with that 80% mind running-body too tired to care, feeling.

Tonight was especially interesting as the tab at a local downtown establishment was on the company. Drinks flowed and people talked, as it were. The most difficult part of the evening was leaving knowing there was another 9 hours in front of me starting off well before dawn the next morning.

But, the best part was reminding myself of the notion that each and every one of us has a say in our future. It was announced earlier this week that for the "best part" of the summer we'd be running OT continuously. This is terrific news for the bank account, but puts a real dent in the 'summer to finally enjoy' category. It's enough to make a man really consider how many bridges he'd care to burn, and lately I've taken to lighting a few off, knowing I'll be a year shy of a decade of service in a handful of months. It's good for the soul to run up against one's supervisor with enough gusto to leave them both curious and angry, even if it means a bit more time trading one of life's most precious commodities for the almighty buck: time.

And so goes this summer. A veritable laundry-list of activities, tempered with prostitution.

With a Twist of Lyme Disease

(Note, the post prior to this one was written last week)

Terrific weekend after a slug of days that were taxing, but moved fairly quick. Friday night I met Ben down at the PL and had a few brews. Parents dropped in for a bit and Ben and I ultimately took control of the juke. I recall shots AND an egg. What more could you ask for on a blustery Friday night.

Did the only decent thing by sleeping in on Saturday, then heading out for breakfast at Jay's for the "UNI-que Domewich". You want a good croissant, look no further. From there, the Rod. Where else but on a Saturday afternoon? I renewed my card and went wild in the compact periodicals section. So much juicy information not available anywhere else, tilled under by that assuming internet. Found some real gems to take home.

From there, groceries- I did my part to keep the economy rolling. Each time I go to HyVee I like to try something new. Over new year's with cocktail fever, I bought a jar of Tomolives. Imagine crossing a miniature tomato with an olive and pickling it (like an olive). Pretty good. This time, it was nacho cheese with jalapenos in a metal can from the originators of the concession stand nacho. That, and a glass 16oz bottle of Coke. We made the mistake of using the self-checkout, which we normally avoid if we're buying any sort of "adult" beverage. This time it was the fat stack of coupons cut earlier in the day. I was warned the machine liked to freeze up, which was sage advice because I couldn't find a barcode or ID number to save my life and wasn't going to risk it.

We made it home and celebrated by enduring a recent acquisition of The Right Stuff before passing out like old folks.

Sunday I had intended to visit the lodge, but the heat wave of 11F wasn't winning me over and the clock was ticking. Instead, Cara ran errands while I took care of ironing and the dishes and LOTS of reading (periodicals are a 24hr checkout). I saddled up the laundry and we spent the late afternoon at the parents taking care of wash while I fired up the old clamshell, scanner and remote burner and committed a number of 50 y.o. articles to the impermanence of the bit. With a new yo-yo powersupply on that iBook (courtesy of the Lincoln School sale) I was reminded how much I like that machine when it's not powering down or sparking. It's so natural to carry it may find its way back into daily use this summer and the responsiveness of OS9 is surprising (you know what I’m talking about).

I had intended to pull out the soap box and do some grand standing but that'll have to wait for next time when I'm not immersed in reality.

Sprightly Prose

It's unfortunate there wasn't more time in the break that I could have gotten around to part 2 of my last entry- I didn't intend to just up and leave ends loose. Also unfortunate is how, without some vacation, my mindset has reverted back to desk-jockey mode. At least I’m able to still identify the distinction.

What had been batted around as a legit Omaha escape ended up a 24 hr to-and-fro given the other events of the week and my desire to truly lose myself in a string of nameless days around town. Since I booked a room for Saturday night, Cara tagged along and kept herself occupied while I was at the shindig that evening. Had a grand time over appliances and was none too happy to leave Mariott's plush king-size bed the next AM.

Monday was a real drag and it's this getting up at 5:30 business that's the real sin. Forces my hand at 9PM, which unravels to 10 after getting home at 6. The rest of the week has been noticeably better in the "life sucks" department. Little Caesar's and a bond flick last night…one in which we had seen not that long ago, but had left such a weak impression on the gray matter that you could have fooled me; "From Russia with Love". A new flotilla of LD's are on their way which I should have ordered _before_ the break. Well...live and learn (then forget and do it all over again).

More to come....

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!