Friday the 13th

I started an unusual Friday at the usual time. What did I mean by unusual? I am deliberately going to work late. The crate & freight company is supposed to come at 9:00 AM to pick up Amy’s high chair, so I let my boss know I’d leave for work the moment they left my driveway.

Thus, I leisurely went through my morning rituals.

I watched the news and some of the Today show. Then I decided it was probably time to shower, so I did. I was just getting out of the tub when the doorbell rang. I threw on my robe and was just in time to see a guy walking back to his van, shaking his head.

I opened the door and called to him. He came back and apologized, because he had just read on his sheet that he was supposed to call 1/2 hour before he got here. I said not to worry, as they told me he wouldn’t be here until at least 9:00 AM. He said there must have been a royal screw up; because they told him I had to be at work by 9:00, so he came into work an hour early. I apologized (although why, I don’t know) for inconveniencing him and said, “Well, here it is.” I pointed out to him that I had wrapped the spindles with masking tape and wrote on them that the middle three spindles were not attached (so Amy wouldn’t think they got damaged during transit). He wrote that down that and also that it was scratched, etc., just like you do when you rent a car.

I asked when it might get to her and he said he had no idea. They just would be boxing it up so it won’t get damaged and then contracting it out to a freight company. The freight company would then be in touch with a tracking number and estimated delivery date.

I got to work just about 8:30 AM and everyone was surprised (and pleased, I’m sure) to see me so early.

I had to take a laptop computer to the FedEx store to ship (it’s a long story), so I left just before lunch, sent it on its merry way and then drove down to Best Buy. I bought Norton Ghost 15.0, the software recommended by the webmaster to use with my external hard drive. Since I was that close (it’s the adjacent store) and I had a 20% off coupon burning a hole in my pocket, I walked to Bed, Bath & Beyond and bought a pair of kitchen shears.

[Warning to Jake and Carla! Do not read the next paragraph!! Skip it, it will only bum you out.]

On the way back, I stopped at Ten Yen, a Chinese restaurant Jake and Carla had turned me on to, for lunch. I had the chicken subgum, with fried rice, egg roll, wonton soup, hot tea and a fortune cookie. It was excellent!

In the afternoon, I had to drive over to our Building 50 (right down the street from my house) and pick up some things that were shipped to me there by mistake. The sun was out and it was warm, so it was hard NOT to just go home, but to turn around and head back to work!

I saw my first motorcyclist riding without his helmet (they just passed that law). I dunno... I’ve been in too many orthopedic wards and met too many motorcycle accident victims to take that chance.

Finally, it was 5:00 PM. We all wished each other a good weekend and then left. When I got home, two things were strange: There was no mail and it didn’t look like they cut my grass today (I assumed I was on their Friday schedule). If it’s still not cut by Monday, I suppose I’ll have to call again (sigh).

A cat had barfed on the bedspread, so I started the weekend wash a little early. I threw it (the bedspread, not the barf) and all the towels in the washer. While I was at it, I turned on the dishwasher, too. Might as well start the weekend clean!

I worked on my budget and check register spreadsheets for a while, checked my email, replied to some emails, sent some emails, etc., so, while I listened to the news, I didn’t start actually watching it until 6:30 PM. I deliberately didn’t start messing around with the external hard drive or software, because it’s supposed to rain on and off for the next three or four days so there will be plenty of forced “inside” time later.

I ate the rest of the leftover pierogies for dinner and took my evening pills. PBS was showing “The Great Train Robbery” with Sean Connery, so I programmed that to tape and mainly watched the Red Wings second playoff game (this time we won!), switching back to a taped DIY show during commercials.

When the game was finished, so was I and I went to bed.