Another quiet oddity

My youngest son had a weekend trip with his middle school French class to Quebec City.

I never in my life expected to type out that sentence, but here I am.

He hopped on the bus Friday early in the morning, and off he went. Once he crossed the border, he switched his phone into airplane mode (because our cell provider thinks Canadian cell towers cost extra for some reason), and he disappeared. Like it was the 90's or something.

And the house was eerily quiet again. This has happened before, when a different boy left for a trip. It seems that removing one or another has this effect, but it doesn't matter which. I came home from work Friday afternoon and thought all the kids were gone.

Nope. Just one.

Saturday was just as quiet. I got a lot done, including my first sunburn of the year. It didn't even feel hot. Sunday was also quiet. In fact, his bus wasn't scheduled to return until 10PM.

My wife took that one for me. I'm the morning person.

I'm now trying to see if I can always have at least one gone at a time during the summer. Gonna see if I can use this new discovery.

Inspection

NYS requires a yearly vehicle inspection. This is only a problem because people in NYC are worried about the cars they don't have to drive, so the entire state gets a law.

I could go on about that dynamic, but this isn't the time.

I like to drive older cars because I'm tired of needless bloat, feature creep, and they're cheap. (Not as cheap, thanks Obama) The problem is that, while they may last years longer, the inspection requirements don't. I had to get a new van a few years ago because the one I had - that was perfectly fine and would run several years longer - wouldn't pass the NYS inspection without a significant investment. It had to be sold to someone cheap out of state. They're still driving it.

So when I dropped off my car this morning, I waited in dread for the call. When it came, they politely asked me how I was doing.

"That depends entirely on what you're about to say about my car"

I got lucky this year.

Overtime blues

So we've been doing overtime at work, and since I'm the lowest ranking person with a key, I get to come in on Saturdays. Much of the staff has come in as well (who doesn't like the extra money?), but Fridays have lost their spark. When you work on Saturdays, Fridays are just...

Friday

But when you don't work on the weekend, Fridays are

Friday!

It's more difficult to convey in text, just imagine the first is done with a business suit and a bar code, while the latter is done with jazz hands. Either way, we're switching it up from coming in on Saturdays, to staying late on weekdays. I can do that standing on my head, but I'm missing out on either the gym (gym opens late on weekends) or biking in the mornings.

Two down, who's next?

I'm not quoting "The Goonies" with the title, but I did hear it in the actors voice as I typed it.

My chiropractor, who has been out of town since February 4, finally got back into town. When I walked in for my appointment today, half the lights were off and the office felt cleaned out. The radio was off, the TV in the lobby was off. The various medical pamphlets were emptied out. I was led to the only room with the lights on.

The atmosphere was forboding.

He's retiring. The office is getting stripped down. No longer taking insurance, and even his card reader was gone. It was either cash or check.

Who even carries a checkbook anymore? A little paper slip that pinky-swears you have money? Well, I don't carry much cash any more either, so he cleaned out my wallet.

I would have appreciated the warning.

This is the second time I retired a chiropractor. I'm actively looking for a replacement that is either my age or younger. I'm old enough that someone in the field would have a reasonable amount of experience. If you know of one - do not reach out to me that would be weird. How do you even know how to contact me?

Fake tax day

Tax day was on Wednesday the 15th, but for some reason my wife was on the schedule today from 11-5. There aren't any taxes to do, are there? Are they throwing a secret party? (It doesn't have to be a secret, just do it)

My wife makes a paper chain that spans one of the walls in the living room with a link for each day of tax season. Each link has both that days date, and the number of days remaining. Well April 15 day 0 has been up by itself for two days. When she gets home I'm going to take it down and we'll rip it together.

The mom con

My mother attends a convention every year down in Georgia that began around a popular book series. I lovingly call it her nerd fest, but I respect the hustle. It's grown quite a bit, and now my dear mother is in charge of part of the show.

Go mom.

But it also means she's gone for like, a week, and brings more and more of the family down with her every year. I haven't gone (I don't want to), and it's not like my life gets and more or less busy in her absence. But when she gets back, she's not really back for at least another week.

Yea she left this morning. Less than a week after my grandfather's calling hours, she needs to get out of her own head for a while. 

Calling hours

I started the morning with a bike ride. Work was closed today, so I took advantage of a quiet park and rode the lake like I like to. I didn't have anything else to do really. My wife was at the office doing taxes, and the kids were all at school.

That hasn't happened in a very long time.

I haven't seen my aunt Rose in at least ten years, probably more. I have a pair of cousins I haven't seen in at least three, maybe four years. Another that I haven't seen since he was 12, and now he's 21. The last time I stepped into that funeral home was for my Omi's funeral, back in 2002.

He outlived her by a good stretch, completely defying the norm.

I saw a handful of former coworkers that had left the company years ago. There were a lot of pictures on display, most of which I'd already seen throughout my life (I was even in a few of them), but my mother and her siblings managed to dig pretty deep and pull out quite a handful of photos that even I hadn't seen before. Granted, I could tell you where each one was taken and roughly when, but the novelty wasn't lost on me.

Open casket. He didn't look anything at all like himself. I wonder why they do that. Every time I see an open casket at a funeral, what's left doesn't look like the one that departed. Honestly it would have hit me a lot harder if it did.

It was cloudy and a little rainy. My wife took the kids home partway through the calling hours. There wasn't a funeral proper - they're saving that for the graveside service. Wasn't today. I might have been stuck walking home in the rain (in my suit), but my sister offered me a ride. I can appreciate the poetry in the moment, but at my age I'd rather not catch a chill. 

Or ruin my suit. Yikes, my Opa would have teased me for that.

April ghouls day

The whole day went by and nobody really did anything 'pranky'. I remember for awhile every single website would do something until it got a little over the top and they all calmed down a bit. Out here in the meaty real life world the occasional bit of foolishness manifested, but today was just... lame.

Looks like it's on me next year.

Birthday bo... man?

Yesterday was my oldest sons 17th birthday. Ignoring the fact that I'm old enough to have a 17 year old - he wanted to go bowling. We booked a lane for him and his friends, and slowly throughout last week they all bailed on him. So we went as a family.

I can't remember how long it's been since I went bowling, but let me tell you the fact that the radial head fracture in my right elbow, which I was told was so small that any attempt to fix would result in more damage, absolutely made itself known about halfway through the night.

I still got the high score, but that's not the point. 

Good bye Opa

My grandfather died this morning.

Odd off days and the driving boy

A random Wednesday off school? That makes little sense.

Don't do that. Unless you're looking at a date specific holiday that requires celebration on the day of, then any other day off can easily be shuffled to the nearest Friday or Monday.

I mean, nobody's going to try to move Christmas. 

My oldest is taking his five hour driving course this week. It's at the high school, so he only needs to stay and call for a pickup. I plan to play some horribly embarrassing song really loud with the windows down. Either Barbie Girl or Caramelldansen. We'll see how that goes.

Hot and cold and hot and...

It's not rare to have an unseasonably warm day somewhere in winter, but this is getting weird. I get the mail at work, and one day I'm in short sleeves soaking in the sun. The next day I have a hoodie on. The next day I need my coat and gloves just to get that far. 

That's happened three times in the past month.

Doesn't matter what you wear - you're wrong. 

Wrestling's over

You read that title correctly - today was the last day. It was a match in Oswego. It was a pretty short run, only two months long, but I watched as his skill improved dramatically.

Every single one of those seventh graders would benefit from some weight training, but I'm not going to go on about that.

He wants to do it again, but at his grade level that means next January. I'll see if I can get him some weights.

Birthdon't

Today my wife turned... nothing. It's not her birthday. She doesn't get one this year. Last year she didn't get to go to the chinese place for dinner because that was the same day when the van had its unfortunate open-door problem. Now, after that issue was settled we could have gone at any time, but she never did.

Well she finally got to go. Happy un-birthday.

Dental shenanigans

The only thing I'm gonna say is that my teeth are very close together, and I tend to shred floss that goes in. You ever have a piece of shredded floss stuck between your teeth? That's betrayal, and I won't stand for it.

Anyway I have another cavity.

The big nostalgia

My son had a wrestling match last night, hosted in my old Jr High. I haven't been there since I walked out of my last day of finals thirty years ago. The building has not had any major renovations or changes in that entire time. Sure a fresh coat of paint here and there, but WOW.

Felt like I was back in 1994.

I managed to sneak into the library. I spent half of my life in that library, so going back in was a treat. Sure it had been rearranged, but... ok let me describe this library. The building used to have a courtyard, decades before I even went there. They added a new wing, closing it off. They slapped up a ceiling and floor, and called that new space the library. The ceiling was cavernous, and when you looked up you could see windows into classrooms. The lighting was all downward, so the tall ceilings were dark and, dare I say, moody. If I can borrow a term from the kids - it was a vibe. 

If I didn't show up early to absolutely nerd out, I might have missed the match.

Chiropract-won't

I went to my chiropractor today. Say what you will of the profession, but I lose range of motion without semi regular visits. I typically schedule my next visit on my way out, but I'm informed that he'll be out of town for the next month or so.

Or so?

Apparently he's taking care of a sick relative, 'end of life' type care.

Props to the guy for basically shutting down his entire business for an indeterminate amount of time for that. Though I've been there when he wasn't, he had another chiropractor fill in during his absence. Kinda wonder why that guy couldn't keep the place running. Not gonna ask.

Slipping

I haven't said much about my grandfather lately. It's not for lack of news, in fact there's entirely too much. He's been to the hospital numerous times since I last posted about him. He's fallen and hurt himself many times as well. Last week Monday he had a stroke and went to the hospital again. Since then they pulled a blood clot out of his brain. He was sedated and intubated most of the week. The tube came out on Friday and he's been awake but limp since then.

He can almost swallow.

He was adamant that he never be put on machines to keep him alive, and that's where he is right now. The doctors don't have much hope that he'll recover to the point he was even a week ago. As I type this, my mother, uncle, and two aunts are at the hospital discussing how to go forward. 

Preemptive cancelation

On Saturday, we got a late email saying church was going to be cancelled due to the impending snowstorm. By the time we would have gotten home, the storm hadn't yet arrived.

Lame.

Then late Sunday, we got an email saying school was cancelled for today due to the impending snowstorm.

I swear my school busses were cutting a path for the plows, meanwhile the kids now get off school at the drop of a hat.

Any hat.

On location

So a part of my church assignment has me traveling to other areas to speak to other congregations. I've only done it about three times, but seeing different people means I can use the same written talk more than once.

It's a bonus.

But yesterday, someone was taking pictures of me from the back of the room. I didn't notice (I only need my glasses for distance, so I kept them off so I could see my notes), but the bishop said something to me afterward, and when I asked this person, apparently I gesture and make funny faces when I'm up there. They sent me the pics, and honestly I'm kinda funny.

No, I'm not posting them here. 

Wrestling.... schedule

My son, who chose wrestling, was supposed to be getting a shuttle to the high school athletics wing where they could use the legit, purpose built wrestling room. But due to persistent schedule conflicts, their normal start time is delayed.

No shuttle. I have to go home, and 45 minutes later drive him to the high school. Practice is long enough that it's impractical to stay for it, so I go home for the duration. Of course I gotta pick him up again. Coach says this should last through January.

I still wish they had a proper room setup at the middle school. It's getting difficult to accomplish anything.

Wrestling

My youngest son has chosen to join 7th grade modified boys wrestling. Despite him being in middle school, this takes place in the high school after hours. Despite having a late bus, they won't put middle schoolers on the high school late bus.

Yes, I have to pick him up every single school day.

My daughter has chosen ski club, which also requires a parent pickup, but that's only one day a week and it's at the same middle school her brother attends. It's close enough to walk, but not at 8pm with no crossing guard, so I'll get her anyway.

Meanwhile my wife is doing taxes and won't be around to help with any of it. My younger self would have been bothered by having to run around so much, but honestly I'm glad my kids are taking advantage of these opportunities.

To choose REM

I can count on one hand the number of times that I decided to just go to sleep instead of staying up for new years. For the most part I just stay up, wherever that happens. Once I was extremely sick (that was 2003), and about 2 other times I was just too tired to bother. 

So last night, opting to turn in at 9:30 was something of an anomaly.