Everyday Life in Middletown 11/14/17
I’m awake at 5:45 and push myself to get out of bed a few minutes later so I can get an hour of work done from home. Although, we changed time about a week ago it’s still too dark to run at 6 in the morning. I choose to get some work done, take the dog for a run in some sun light, have some breakfast, get ready and go to work around 8:30. vs. running early and heading to work earlier. I can do this some each week depending on the happenings at work.
It’s chilly this morning with ice on the windshields and frost on the ground so I am dressed in warm running gear with a hat. And, wondering if I could slip on slick leaves and fall. Fortunately, I don’t. R. is about 8 months old and has lots of energy. I began running with her as soon as she was old enough to help with her energy and quality of life. We don’t have a huge yard with our near downtown home. Now, she counts on it and is my motivation to get that exercise. I am NOT a runner. We do some sprinting or fast paced running, jogging, walking, or just standing around when she is ready to check out all the scents. We run down East Washington street towards downtown Muncie, through the downtown and then back towards the house.
I notice, on my run, as I get to the Justice center that the pampas grass has been trimmed way back and wonder why. I like the pampas grass in full size during the winter to add character to the winter landscape. We definitely don’t cut ours down until late winter or early spring time.
Today, I stopped while running south on Walnut Street and took a picture to post on Facebook. Not a cloud in the sky this cool, crisp morning. It’s a black and white fad (no people in the photos) and I joined in mostly because I am a photography fan, especially of black and whites. And, it’s easy with a smart phone camera.
I also play some Pokemon Go while running. Why? I started when a friend’s son came to visit and the game was all the rage so we played the last two years while he was staying with us. Then, the game was changed a bit and became a good way to determine the destination of where to run. I could join a gym, or fight a battle, or go on a raid happening at convenient locations. There are many of them in the downtown area. I am NOT a runner. And, I can say honestly this was part of the motivation that helped me go for a run when we first started running. Now, I don’t really play the game much during a run however if they bring on something new to make it different then it may be the next motivation for something new.
It was nice to get home and my husband had made eggs and toast for a quick breakfast. Then he was out the door to get his day started. I made my breakfast smoothie which is a regular morning drink full of good healthy foods. I can’t say that anyone in my family is willing to drink it but the spinach and green veggies gives me lots of iron energy.
I drove to work today. I am only 5 blocks from work and walked up until about a month ago but now it’s cold and I haven’t adapted yet. I need to get the bike out which makes that a quick cold experience. Also, the bike will let me quickly ride home for lunch.
I dropped some mail in the mailbox on the way to work. I don’t use the snail mail often but the 11% Menard’s rebates are by mail and may be the most common paper mail we send.
The work day included catching up with a colleague that was off the prior week. It’s hard to have a bad week off but he and his wife planned to have a few days with family in Chicago; however, their house sustained some damage from the first tornado experienced in the City. In many people’s mind, it’s the first. I really don’t know. They had to head back home after learning the roof and house had been damaged and tree branches were everywhere. Their home was on the same path of the tornado that hit the Muncie Fieldhouse. The Fieldhouse roof and sprinkler system were damaged which resulted in a major amount of water pouring in. I initially joked that all the City corruption led to the tornado being “let” in by the “protectors”. Now, I think it may be by the grace of God as that damage may save the Fieldhouse if insurance proceeds can help get it back to working condition. Which ultimately helps MCS that I support strongly.
I text my mom to see if she will feed the momma kitty at the farm. We took in the stray kitty found at the farm and of course she has four little kitties soon after. We keep them at the farm and Mom lives near and feeds and checks on them for us during the week when we don’t make it. I text T. to let him know we need to leave about 6 for the dinner tonight and tell him it’s business casual so jeans, shirt, and jacket will work for him.
I run through several conversations with people to keep work moving forward and make sure people are able to get their job done, then settle in to my work. As I move, into my office I notice the clear blue sunny sky. I stand while working as much as possible, put in my earbuds, turn on some music and focus to get work done. And, I recognize that the morning run helps me have a better day as I am full of energy cranking through work. Soon it’s about 1:00, I grab some personal banking things I drop off with the teller, and I head home for lunch.
My phone is “blowing up” which means multiple people are contacting me for something. I need to get back to work. I am currently home for a quick lunch and making diary notes.
My iPad is old, really old. 2nd generation, I think, and I have had to factory reset it to keep it alive. I just dropped it as I walked into work. Ugh. It’s in a heavy case but the screen cracks and I can’t believe it’s cracked. I have done far worse and it was never damaged. I’m in denial at this point, close it up, carry it to my office, and ignore it.
I show up to my office and see several people had been to my office to drop off money for tickets for an event from the past weekend. I am on the board and sold them tickets. I remember to email all of them to say thank you for supporting the organization, and ask about their experience.
My daughter texts to ask if a dentist is in our health network. I push that back on her and she looks it up herself.
Now, I move into super focus with my earbuds on and crank through work.
I see an email about money sent to me, also for the tickets, via pop money expiring soon. I have to figure out how to use the technology to collect it. I haven’t used it for a while and forgot. I do have a few more days though so that will have to wait. I get back to work.
At about 5:40, I walk through the office to see if anyone is still in and then head home.
I arrive and the dog comes rushing out to see me. I always arrive and keep the door open so she runs outside otherwise her excited bladder may leak a little in the house. Although, she is getting better as she ages.
T. is almost ready when I get home and I do a little freshening up and then we head to the dinner event at Horizon. The bank is a sponsor and we sit at a table with colleagues and spouses. It’s an Excellence in Innovation event and they pass out some awards along with an award for the best business “pitch”. It was nice to see a couple high school junior girls win the event, $5,000. We also had a teacher friend win an award for the robot programming course she made happen for middle school students. It was really long. My phone 9:00 pm alarm went off long before we left. It’s my reminder to go to bed at 10:00.
We finally get home and I continue to look for a large plastic surface to stick to my iPad to hold the screen in place. It’s not cracked that bad however it will get worse. I don’t find anything other than tape and commence placing tape carefully on my screen. I mostly use my iPad for writing emails, notes, keeping my Board info organized, and reading e-books. I am using it for this diary, also. I need the screen to at least be functional without glass falling out.
I take the iPad to bed and finish up my notes for the day while having a conversation about our Australian shepherd that is now herding the cats. She has managed to get one of them to the bedroom and as he jumps on the bed she does as well in perfect sync. She is super jealous.
Daughter #2 texts to say she can’t open the document sent to her from the bank. Yesterday morning we noticed fraudulent charges on her account and she had to contact the bank and get the card closed. The bank also needed a form completed. We think her card was skimmed while she was at the Atlanta airport over the weekend as she traveled to a family wedding. Airports have become a place where info can be taken from your card simply by a system that is placed close to your purse or wallet. Unrelated to that, my husband got a call that someone was trying to buy 3 iPhones and open 3 more lines on his business account. Fortunately, the employee was suspicious because the mailing address had been changed just before. This is only about a month after finding fraudulent charges on another account. The joy and pain of technology.
The run in the morning is going to be tough. It is 11:30 pm.
I pulled up the paper online to read about the MCS meeting. There are several recent articles and I skim them with disgust going through my mind as I have watched the school system struggle for years, delay hard decisions, and now finally reach the end of denial when they have to make tough decisions. I’m not even going to get started on an MCS discussion.
Off to sleep.