Tales From Rocky Point - Hitting The Road
I'm still trying to catch up from the long weekend...
First, a little back story is in order.
Last time we went to Mexico, I was told the Pirate Captain and Unruly Julie were picking up The Rocket Scientist at his house then collecting me at 6. I was ready way in advance and chomping at the bit. I called TRS and said, "Are they there yet?" He said, "Not yet." I paused for 10 seconds and said, "How about now?" And, repeated that every 30 seconds for quite a while. He finally told me to have a beer and wait (nicely, though). I had a beer. Then a second beer. And started watching QVC to kill the time. I was this close to buying a ring when they picked me up late.
The Captain thought we could make it to the border before the duty free liquor store closed at 9 if we left at 6. I thought he was crazy but you know you can't tell him anything. Dang if he only missed it by this much. If they'd been on time, he would have. Of course, he did have to drive like a bat out of hell but if we hadn't hit some serious rain, he would have made it.
So, this time I figured we might leave a little before that but not by much. TRS told me on Monday night that they were supposed to pick me up at 5:15. That seemed too early for me - not to hit the border just because I wasn't sure I would be ready.
I'm usually pretty sanguine about traveling. If the laundry's done, I can be packed in 15 minutes. A trip to the bank for cash and I'm good to go. So, I don't stress about it but last week I was a wreck from stress. So not me.
I've had so much on my plate the past few weeks. Two new employees starting, a new boss getting hired, system problems, club stuff, the list could go on and on. I just felt like I had no time for errands like going to the bank and library and the store. To make it even harder on myself, I went to a DBacks game on Tuesday night and got my hair done on Wednesday so I had only lunch time on Thursday to get those final things done. Which I took away from myself by deciding to host a pizza lunch for the department.
Best laid plans and whatnot.
Thursday morning, I woke up to a phone call from work at 5:25. Technically, the second time I woke up. The first was when George decided play time should start around 3 AM. One of our servers was down and several more phone calls occurred before I could even get into the office. I managed to hit the ATM but otherwise I knew I was stuck there all day.
I emailed The Rocket Scientist to whine about my day and he replied with a "I'll have a beer for you at the ballpark". He was off for a work outing to see the DBacks. BTW, he didn't have a beer for me, he had a beer for himself. He bypassed the Miller Lite for a Corona. Come on, if you're going to dump me for a Mexican beer, at least make it a good one!
Sorry, off on a tangent. He closed (he thought) the email convo with "See you at 4:15". I was all, "WTF!?!? What happened to 5:15?" There was a pause and I pictured him trotting off to the Pirate Captain's cube to inquire about the time. He came back and told me "Rick said Julie and you talked about it last night." My reply was, "The only time I talked to Julie was when you, she and I had an email conversation about steaks. No one told me 4:15."
I could feel my blood pressure start mounting just thinking about trying to be ready in time. I had mentally prepared for leaving work at 3 but I haven't been successful with leaving work on time for months. Add in the server issue and I thought I was totally screwed.
It was not much later that my big boss called to say, "The IT Director is starting on Monday. Can you set up meetings with him with everyone in the department on that day?" Sure, I've got nothing else going on. Argh!
Somehow, I managed to get out by 3:15. I hit the store for a flying trip for beer, ice and snacks for the road. I sped home and threw everything together and waited for Steven to come over so George would have a smooth transition in caregivers.
At 4, I called TRS. "How about now?" (I'm really not sure why he hasn't run screaming from me by now.) I was done with beer one but still revved up from the day so I just yammered into his ear until he said (very gratefully), "They're here. Gotta go."
I had a second beer down before they got to me. Shortly after I got in the car and we were on the road, the day's adrenaline gave out, the beers hit and I was snoozing on my pillow. But, we were finally on our way.
First, a little back story is in order.
Last time we went to Mexico, I was told the Pirate Captain and Unruly Julie were picking up The Rocket Scientist at his house then collecting me at 6. I was ready way in advance and chomping at the bit. I called TRS and said, "Are they there yet?" He said, "Not yet." I paused for 10 seconds and said, "How about now?" And, repeated that every 30 seconds for quite a while. He finally told me to have a beer and wait (nicely, though). I had a beer. Then a second beer. And started watching QVC to kill the time. I was this close to buying a ring when they picked me up late.
The Captain thought we could make it to the border before the duty free liquor store closed at 9 if we left at 6. I thought he was crazy but you know you can't tell him anything. Dang if he only missed it by this much. If they'd been on time, he would have. Of course, he did have to drive like a bat out of hell but if we hadn't hit some serious rain, he would have made it.
So, this time I figured we might leave a little before that but not by much. TRS told me on Monday night that they were supposed to pick me up at 5:15. That seemed too early for me - not to hit the border just because I wasn't sure I would be ready.
I'm usually pretty sanguine about traveling. If the laundry's done, I can be packed in 15 minutes. A trip to the bank for cash and I'm good to go. So, I don't stress about it but last week I was a wreck from stress. So not me.
I've had so much on my plate the past few weeks. Two new employees starting, a new boss getting hired, system problems, club stuff, the list could go on and on. I just felt like I had no time for errands like going to the bank and library and the store. To make it even harder on myself, I went to a DBacks game on Tuesday night and got my hair done on Wednesday so I had only lunch time on Thursday to get those final things done. Which I took away from myself by deciding to host a pizza lunch for the department.
Best laid plans and whatnot.
Thursday morning, I woke up to a phone call from work at 5:25. Technically, the second time I woke up. The first was when George decided play time should start around 3 AM. One of our servers was down and several more phone calls occurred before I could even get into the office. I managed to hit the ATM but otherwise I knew I was stuck there all day.
I emailed The Rocket Scientist to whine about my day and he replied with a "I'll have a beer for you at the ballpark". He was off for a work outing to see the DBacks. BTW, he didn't have a beer for me, he had a beer for himself. He bypassed the Miller Lite for a Corona. Come on, if you're going to dump me for a Mexican beer, at least make it a good one!
Sorry, off on a tangent. He closed (he thought) the email convo with "See you at 4:15". I was all, "WTF!?!? What happened to 5:15?" There was a pause and I pictured him trotting off to the Pirate Captain's cube to inquire about the time. He came back and told me "Rick said Julie and you talked about it last night." My reply was, "The only time I talked to Julie was when you, she and I had an email conversation about steaks. No one told me 4:15."
I could feel my blood pressure start mounting just thinking about trying to be ready in time. I had mentally prepared for leaving work at 3 but I haven't been successful with leaving work on time for months. Add in the server issue and I thought I was totally screwed.
It was not much later that my big boss called to say, "The IT Director is starting on Monday. Can you set up meetings with him with everyone in the department on that day?" Sure, I've got nothing else going on. Argh!
Somehow, I managed to get out by 3:15. I hit the store for a flying trip for beer, ice and snacks for the road. I sped home and threw everything together and waited for Steven to come over so George would have a smooth transition in caregivers.
At 4, I called TRS. "How about now?" (I'm really not sure why he hasn't run screaming from me by now.) I was done with beer one but still revved up from the day so I just yammered into his ear until he said (very gratefully), "They're here. Gotta go."
I had a second beer down before they got to me. Shortly after I got in the car and we were on the road, the day's adrenaline gave out, the beers hit and I was snoozing on my pillow. But, we were finally on our way.
