Thank God it was Friday!
Not really. I often feel like it needs to be Wednesday when it is Friday, because I still have at least two days of work to finish.
Friday was going along reasonably well.
It started on a bus. I usually have two carpoolers to arrange things with, or a car of my own to drive. However, I had one on vacation, one dropping his wife on the way (and I was not on the most efficient route for that), and the car was in the shop – just a regular 5000 mile change.
I do not mind the bus, and I know the route to work. And it was not raining.
I had just finished a book (A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving), and needed one for the ride. I knew Ashlan had brought back several books from UBC and had not taken many to NYC, so I went to her box. I chose Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Once at the bus stop I opened to the first page, and immediately knew I had seen this movie just a few weeks prior. I was not sure this was the tone book I wanted to go through. … Oh well.
Working towards a goal, learning a few things along the way, and even sharing teaching along the way. And then the day was speeding toward a close. A time sensitive close – since a bus was involved in an area where buses run – just not that frequently.
In the last hour of work, on a Friday afternoon, things started accelerating.
- Co-worker asks if I have the items I told him the day prior we needed to review. The reason he was actually at work today. OK …. managed to slip my mind, so I retrieved my questions and spent 30 minutes going over my questions ….
- Call from a County person willing to work with me on an issue I had been calling 3 different people at the County over the past two weeks. He was not one that I had called, but maybe he is the person I needed to speak with after all. He wants me to e-mail him information that I have so he can look at it “tomorrow,” as in Saturday. I am assuming this is not a regular work day for him, but I did not press. I understand that many government workers do put in extra time – many times because staff and budgets have been cut, and it is the only way to keep your head above the piles of work demanded of workers – supported by taxes being cut ……. So I ran around getting the information off, and hit the SEND button.
- Closed my computer down, and then realized I had never checked the bus time. Noted time at 4:38.
- At a co-workers computer trying to check bus schedules, as she is trying to get details on how to call the Alarm Company if she sets off the alarm when leaving that evening. The schedule appears with a bus arrival time of 4:44. I told her I did not have time to find the phone number for her, and left. (There were still others that could provide her with the information in the building.)
- Out the door, through the parking lot, to the walk light – which takes forever to appear after pushing the button. Cross the street, cross the cross street (did not wait for the signal), to the bus stop. Turn, look – and get on the bus.
- Think back that I was glad I did not try to help with the Alarm number, or use the bathroom before leaving.
- Open up a different book I borrowed from a co-worker. Simple murder mystery type of book, Promise Me by Harlan Coben, but more in keeping with my mood at the moment.
Traffic was awful. Glad I was not driving. I was reading and realized we had essentially stopped in the carpool lanes, and were not even on to Mercer Island yet. No problem here, relax and read.
Eventually arrived downtown and walked to Safeco Field for the Mariners vs Phillies game.
Unlike several games this fall spring almost summer, it was crowded. We did not have our regular seats, but were relatively close. A great game – and the Mariners won. Major League debut of Dustin Ackley – at second base, and he started out with a hit. Just an energetic crowd, playing against the team leading the Majors. And, a no-hitter through 5 innings (not that I was really in sync with that point, until it was almost over).
Following the game we hung around the stadium for a bit. There were so many of Carl’s friends around, and they were just chatting. (Men chat more than women in my experience.) We finally left and it was an interesting walk to the car. The slightly later leaving crowd appears to be more buzzed than those that jump out of their seats and exit. And traffic was a zoo, until we were able to get on a major thoroughfare and head north.
Our day was not done yet – we stopped at Dick’s for burgers (no dinner yet), dropped a friend at home, and then headed to pick up a car that had been biding its time at the shop – waiting for retrieval. Home after 11 PM, just a bit tired.
Remember the reason for this blog was to keep the kids informed of life on the home front.
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