Wednesday, December 05, 2012

day three

I cannot compare DAY THREE to the others this week. Day THREE was an odd specimen. Pushing the buttons, retreating, hitting hard at me and Rosie, only to leave me smiling again -- until the next little jig.

I am grateful that I at least had a good rest before the start of the day. I didn't think I would. Tension and pressure are not good bedfellows. Even worse than Isis. But Ed tells me that in one breath I announced that I was bound to have trouble sleeping and, in exhaling, I let out a big snore. (I don't think I usually snore.)

Our morning breakfast was sunny and that was good too.

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I thought we were heading in positive directions. But after working on my classes, the computer word processing program crashed -- and with it, all my lecture notes disappeared. Ed helped me recover some of the text, but not all of it. Sigh.

I took Rosie to work because there was no threat of rain. But man oh man, it was cold. In class, I look out on my students and I ask them why most are in outdoor jackets. It's cold in here -- they tell me. Well now, I'm feeling toasty after the frigid Rosie ride. This is the good side of being out in the cold: any warmth is warmer than what you've just been through.

In the afternoon, I get a call from Apple. They rushed the missing parts and are now happy to install all that is needed and they will do it as I wait if I can come this afternoon.

So here I go again -- after work, I steer Rosie west toward the mall (that's where we have our Apple store), I hand over my MacBook and now I am let loose in the mall and I thought it would be tough to kill an hour here (I brought pencils and note pads -- how quaint! -- to keep me busy), but it isn't tough at all. I shop. I try on clothes. I purchase pants that were normally $79, but are on sale for $29, with an added 30% off the sale price (Okay, they are bright orange, but so what!) I think to myself -- so this is how shopping looks. I rarely do it (if I buy, I buy on line). I'm kind of enjoying it today. A necessary pause from the grind that awaits me after.

The Apple people are fantastic. Within a few hours, the computer is better than new. No cost to you! -- the lad tells me. Not true. I point to my shopping bag: one pair of pants and one sale sweater with a pear design on the front. The price of getting my Apple repaired.

The ride home is murderous. It's dark, it's way below freezing and the mall is a good half hour (more?) from the farmhouse.  I catch the last thread of pink at the horizon, nothing more.


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But, the computer is fixed, I have a $19 pair of orange pants and I have only two more days of tense times before me. (Warning: tomorrow is by far the worst. On the upside -- Friday will be the easiest of the five. And the last.)