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End of a three-day weekend

My weekend began with an accident. I'm fine.

While en route to meet friends for dinner in a part of town I know not, I faced worsening weather in dusk. Moreover, I taught Friday, so by the time I left work, fatigue slowed my reflexes. I slipped seamlessly into the crawling traffic on I-25 north, engaged my four-wheel drive at some point on the interstate, took the Baptist Road exit, then promptly missed my turn and went sightseeing for about two miles in the "snow flurries" before realizing my mistake and retracing my steps. I called to verify directions and soon found myself in the Home Depot "mall," my rough destination. Seeking the Chili's "in the area," I failed to note a Ford F150 (I think) paused at a stop sign in front of me. I stomped my brake several times, but--to my dismay--I drifted without check into the truck.

Gaaah. I shut off the truck (disgusted with myself), unbuckled the seatbelt, then reached for the door handle and looked up in time to see the truck I hit drive away. I squinted at his bumper in the falling snow and dim light; it looked undamaged. I looked to my left and discovered the Chili's I sought, so I cranked my truck and drove to the restaurant. I hopped out and inspected the damage: the front bumper now appeared to frown from the front. I saw no other damage.

I enjoyed a nice repast with my friends, and ended up also enjoying the guest room of one of them for the evening, as the "snow flurries," at the time we left the restaurant, measured over four inches...and counting. She lives less than five miles from the restaurant, and my other choice involved a 15+ mile drive south. I called friends to take care of the dog and cats, and followed her home.

She (and her kids...real and furry) lives in a small mansion, by my standards. When she left the Springs in 1993, she bought some unimproved property here because she planned to retire here. When she came back, she had a well dug then hired an architect to draw up blueprints, etc, for her retirement home. She hung no curtains in her home, I noticed; pine trees surround her on all sides and no neighbors live within sight of her house. I rather like the idea of windows I wouldn't need to cover up. Anyhow...I'm checking into buying some unimproved property now. With the low property prices right now, I should get one heck of a deal--and I know I want to retire here.

Saturday, I ran errands. I needed food and such. I filed an accident claim. Slept a bit. Some friends came over to sample my culinary experiment--roasted pork shoulder butt (what odd anatomy!)--and we chatted into the evening.

The next evening, I went to their house and munched some pizza, told stories, and tried to figure out how to play Risk! Lord of the Rings without the instructions. Again...it was lazy and uneventful and utterly pleasing.

Today, I worked. I made some headway on my conference paper, compiled some manpower study data (yet another additional duty I have at the moment), did some laundry, and watched Ratatouille while I ran on the treadmill (today's "snow flurries" made running outdoors impractical). If you missed this Disney movie, put it on your playlist; it's delightful.

All in all, I've been busy but delightfully unpressured, too. I've had a good weekend.

I hope y'all have also enjoyed your holiday. :D

d

This entry was posted by diana and filed under home.

3 comments

Comment from: hinermad [Visitor]
hinermad

Diana,

It’s not often I envy government employees, but this is one time I’m positively green. It’s bad enough I had to work Monday; the lack of mail delivery just rubbed salt in the wound.

I’m sorry to hear about your truck, though. I hope the shop is able to wipe the frown off its face.

Despite being shorter than some people’s weekends, mine was quiet and restful. I watched my boss travel over most of the state (courtesy of a strategically placed GPS receiver and FM transmitter) in a ham radio contest, and concluded that he was nuts for traveling out in single-digit weather. I wish I could have joined him.

Dave

01/22/08 @ 15:32
Comment from: [Member]

Extra holidays, I suppose, are one of the perks we get for our capped paychecks and guilt by association to the current administration (whoever that may be at any given point). If it’s any consolation, Monday was a holiday for me only in that I didn’t put on the uniform and drive across town; I worked all day, anyway. Only, I was curled up in front of the fire with a laptop.

The truck’s fine. It just has more…character now. :) I go in Thursday to get an estimate. This is a no-fault state, so I’m out $500 (which I’d prefer to not be out, but oh well).

d

01/22/08 @ 21:05
Comment from: auntb\'ann [Visitor]  
auntb\'ann

Diana, I envy you, in a way! I haven’t seen enough snow to make more than one halfway decent snowball (which was a sleet ball by the time I “squshed” it into a ball!) in about 15 years or more! So enjoy the snow for me, too!

Glad you didn’t have any worse problem with the truck than the frown on its face. And that you still love what you do and where you do it. Maybe I can come visit you someday, but not in the near future, I assure you!

Love you!

02/01/08 @ 22:35


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