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.
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.
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.)
