2008 Meinvent, Day 5

Today, I hang my head in shame--metaphorically speaking. Yesterday, I hit a brick wall. The day started well by breaking my fast with the current AP at the school where I'll be going next year, then dropping off boxes of my books that I will have in my office (both items satisfying growth toward completing my goals.)

After that, things went downhill rapidly. I went to one of my tenant's apartments knowing I could not do one of the tasks required, by myself. Once I got there, I made a list of everything that I needed to complete in her apartment this summer--so far, so good. Then, I went outside to call dad to see if he'd come help me put in the air conditioner. Rosie offered me an ice-cold Coke, and I sat and socialized with her for far longer than I should have. Dad came, we did the AC in pretty good time, but then as we did a walk-around (I wanted to see if the storm from the other day ripped off my vent fan cover from the south roof--it did) I knew my day had been captured by the ever-loving "something else."

Dad and I made a fruitless trip to Lowe's and Menard's--seriously, does NO ONE sell replacement covers? One man actually said, "I've never heard of that, it might be time to buy a whole new unit." I'm thinking, "not on my $100 + bill, pal." I shook my head as we left. This smug capitalist thinks I have couches stuffed with money. Doesn't he know what the price of gas is? He certainly doesn't know how much I spend in gas a month. Shhh, I'm not proud of the lack of "green-ness" in what I spend per month.

Anyway, after being unsuccessful at two of my favorite places to shop--barring smug, bearded salesman, who are graying (ha ha)--my dad and I are actually hungry, and he takes me to Richard's. My dad, who is turning 79 (or is it only 78?) in 14 days, who just helped me shlep an AC up a flight of stairs and into a chest-high window, mind you, would not let me buy him lunch. I better get him an awesome-butt Father's Day present. He's picked his art back up, so this year shopping for him will be easy!!

After a pleasant lunch (but if you're counting, that's two meals out today, not so good on the eating healthier goal--never mind what I ate...) dad drops me back to the Quad and I proceed to call around about getting the roof vent fixed. I leave messages and am assured someone will call me back. Yeah, right. No one wants or probably has time for such a small-fry job. I'm still waiting for someone to call back (I guess it is only 6-something in the morning, I'll keep my patience in check.)

In the meantime, though, my plans for painting Sarah's apartment are put on hold as I scurry around trying to figure out how the hell I'm going to temporarily cover the 14 inch opening in my roof. It is supposed to rain late tonight or tomorrow and I am afraid of water--not to swim in it, drink it, or otherwise enjoy it. I'm afraid of the damage it can cause...long story (stories, if you want to know the truth) for another time. Being that it is now today, it is raining as promised.

After making the phone calls to roofers, and trying to secure the use of my loaned-out extension ladder (which included several I'm-trying-to-track-down Kyle calls), I returned to my actual goal-seeking behavior--painting! I started in the blue room, and realized that it's unwise for me to continue using $25/gallon paint on a room I'm going to have to paint twice anyway (I'll buy cheaper primer for that coat, but I'm NOT going back to Lowe's today!) So I started cutting-in in the hallway, and then decided since I haven't heard anything about my ladder, I better get the hubby in the mix. He's none-too-pleased about the prospect of having to find McGyver-style stuff at work to help me with my hare-brained plan, but dutifully helps.

After painting some more, up pulls Bill on his Fat-Boy, and I'm laying in wait for what I know he's going to be even less pleased to hear--that I have not yet secured the ladder. Thankfully, Bill is more clever than I when it comes to mechanical things (I'm not a complete yutz when it comes to these things, but....he's better.) He figures out that we can remove a pin from the loft skylight, and crawl out with the ladder I do have...great trick to know. I don't ever have to have another near-panic attack about my fat arse falling off the ladder while going from the second-story roof to the top roof. Whew!!! Wish I had known that a couple months ago...and furthermore, hopefully my arse won't be as fat if I attend properly to my goals.

Well, let's just say the patching of the gaping roof hole went better than expected given the additional items Bill brought--so, putting heads together really is a good thing. Bill left as he saw clouds and feared getting caught in the rain on his bike (not the end of the world, but if you can avoid it, why not?) He made the fateful mistake of saying, "take your time" in relation to my intent to go downstairs and chat with my buddy Gerrie (who is also my Property Manager, and keeps things off my plate as oft as possible.)

To make the story a bit less cumbersome, let's just say Gerrie and I talked for a while, and then went to DQ for dinner and a little bit of ice cream--o.k., a Peanut Buster Parfait is not a little bit. Boy did it go down nicely, though. Gerrie didn't have ice cream, she was being good.

By the time I got home at 8:45 p.m. I was defeated. I figured Bill was going to be upset with me because I lingered longer than I expected, and my day was less fruitful than I desired. He was fine, but said he was a little worried. After laying on the floor for an hour or so (sweaty, tired, and utterly disappointed in myself) I went upstairs to check e-mail. I read and purged a bunch of personal e-mails, and professional e-mails, but did not blog, as you may or may not have noticed.

So, let's recap a bit. Here's what went well yesterday: minimal painting; AC in; purging e-mail; and socializing with Rosie and Gerrie. Here's what didn't go well: unplanned time spent on roof-vent fiasco (seeing people flooded in Idaho and Illinois keeps the logical part of my head in perspective, mind you); 3 meals out--unhealthy; no blogging; no 30 minutes of exercise. Not a complete bust, but certainly not up to my standard.

It wasn't until later, after I went to bed at midnight, tossing and turning MOST of the night, that I realized, I have one MAJOR thing missing on my list of goals: To walk closer to God. Perhaps if I would put that first, and give my first fruits of the day to Him (instead of blogging, I caught the irony), I would be more focused. That wouldn't keep the unexpected from happening, but I notice any time I'm trying to metaphorically "drive," I'm usually humbled. Maybe the roof vent was supposed to remind me that I need to move over. For any unbelievers reading this, don't worry, I'm not crazy, I'll pray that you can know the peace that comes with such a decision. Whenever I "move over" things go smoother.

It's kind of like the whole Administration thing. I kept swimming against the stream (in this case the stream was going into administration). I did NOT want anything to do with administration (never mind that I had been president of this and that in college and beyond.) The more I swam upstream, the more difficult things became. It wasn't until part way through my Master's Degree (yes, for administration...there's a story there, though) that I realized Administration is my lot in life. Again, for any non-believers, don't tune out just yet. I'm happy to be pursuing it now, even more so, because I truly believe it is God's desire to have me be a servant in this capacity. And for anyone paying attention, he knows I use the word hell above (I thought about deleting it, but it is a well placed word for which none can take it's place and have the same verve.)

On that note...the rain has died down. I've been blogging for an hour (and three minutes), and need to get back on the program. Today is a new day, and I think I'll make time to read a bit of the Word before I get to work. Peace Out!!