The Best Saturday of the Year

I was very happy for this week to conclude. This just ended week was one that saw me have my work schedule changed from an afternoon into evening (and sometimes morning shift) to one that starts at 7am and runs until 3:30 pm. I will be on this schedule for the foreseeable future, although I still think I could get laid off sometime in December or maybe January as the economy continues to seriously worsen. I start my day around 6am and have about a 20 minute drive out which is a little less timewise than when my shift started later. The return trip home does take longer, as there is much more traffic obviously than at midnight or afterwards when usually I only see 5 to 7 other motor vehicles in total on the road at bes for the eight to ten mile jaunt. It usually takes about one-half hour for the trip. I am working with a new group of crew members, and this seems to be a much better group as there is a better team workmanship ethic presence as well as a refreshing lack of conversation and discussion about the awful subjects the other crew seemed to focus on all the time day in and day out (sexual conquests, rap performers, criminal acts they were doing, mass profanity, and other numberous stupid and inane subjects) that drove me bonkers. Almost all of those people are still on nights on a staff that is basically a skeleton at this point and that shift will disappear in the coming couple of weeks completely which is why I still think a layoff for me may yet occur.
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The week was one of transition physically as I had to switch the body clock massively. Monday and Tuesday were days where I fell asleep early and struggled for continuity and longivity in my rest cycle. Wednesday was better, and I was good by Thursday. With afternoons after 4pm free now, I can do some tasks after work that were not possible or impractical after getting off following a night shift. Tuesday with the ideal weather I recycled my newspapers and plastic bags; straightened up the bed and cab of the White Knight; took some empty boxes down to the garage; and emptied all the trash. Wednesday I stopped at McDonalds to have a sandwich and leisurely enjoy reading the newspapers. Thursday night I cooked some mac & cheese for supper and accidentaly set off the smoke alarm which necessitated me having to open some windows and the door to vent out the smoke that accumulated from debris beneath the stove burner smoldering. And Friday I got the big job of doing the laundry completed. I had six washer machines full of clothes and linens, and after drying everything the expense was around $20. After getting this job done, I stopped at a local Mexican restaurant, Estevans, for dinner which consisted of smothered enchiladas, a taco, a tostada, and beans and rice. It was better than last week's meal at Guadalahara, so there is a clubhouse leader for best Mexican restaurant now. But I still need to check at least a couple of more options in the coming months. I think I will try to go out for a nice dinner for myself on Fridays or Saturdays (no fast food) each week over the coming months while I have this schedule at work. There is a steakhouse that is offering a steak dinner at half price for anyone born in 1958 so I definitely need to partake of that the next time I go out.
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The weather this week was up and down with much warmer than normal days Sunday through Wednesday; a cold raw Thursday; a brisk Friday; and today warming more more than forecast. We had a record high of 71 on Tuesday, but I awoke on Thursday to windows on truck covered by a thick glaze from an overnight session of freezing rain, of all things this late into November. Other than the 4 to 6 inches of snow on Thursday night/Friday predawn 13 - 14 November, snow has been all but missing so far this season. Usually by the last week of November we have a good couple of dumps which has had an impact. And the forecast for the upcoming week is devoid of any precipitation until at least next Friday. Maybe the outlook for a much warmer winter and one with less precipitation is going to be realized. If so, I will not be complaining at all. ==
Friday night after I returned home from the laundry and restaurant was an evening of relaxation after getting the newly cleaned laundry folded, hung, and put away. I remade the bed and then settled in for an evening of music. I am going to try to dedicate Friday evenings exclusively to music playing on the stereo for at least a few hours if not longer. My selections for this night were The Alan Parsons Project, Chuck Mangione, and Natalie Cole. I have such an extensive collection of music that I will be able to listen to some of my collection I have not enjoyed in a couple of years and longer. It truly is relaxing and gives me a chance to think and be inspired and moved as my circumstances and life have seen many changes, some quite profound, in the years since I lasted listened to some of this music. I finally fatigued by midnight and retired for a relaxing night of rest knowing I would not be abruptly roused by a predawn alarm clock in the morning.
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Saturday saw me waken around 9:15 am. After lying in bed for about one-half hour, I arose and had a couple of bowls of hot oatmeal for breakfast. This is about my favorite Saturday for college football all season, as there are always some good rivalry game and action that settles much. I started my day out with Michigan at Ohio State, a game I have watched every with only a few exceptions for 39 years. I think I have only missed 4 or 5 of these matches all these years. It was not as entertaining or important as in past years as Michigan is having its worst season in school history as they lose convincingly to the hated Buckeyes to end their year at a woeful 3-9.
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As the afternoon commenced, I slipped out over to DQ to get some Frozen Cappucino Lattes as I had a 2 for 1 coupon to use. Its a bright sunny day although a little windy, but better than I thought it would be as I probably did not need to have worn my coat as I did. I continued to watch games: The Border War between my alma mater Wyoming and their rivals Colorado St; Indiana and Purdue for the Oaken Bucket as former Wyoming coach Joe Tiller (an instructor of mine in a class I took 17 years ago) retires from coaching after 12 seasons for the Boilermakers in South Lafayette; Michigan St - Penn St from snowy State College; Air Force - Texas Christian; Washington - Washington St from Pullman for the Apple Cup ( a game I hope to attend in future years after I relocate to Washington in the coming years); The Big Game between Stanford and California from Berkley; Iowa St - Kansas St; Boise St - Nevada from Reno at the foot of the Sierras in a great setting; the first of two huge games with Brigham Young playing Utah at Rice-Eccles in The Holy War;

Oregon St and vastly improved Arizona from The Old Pueblo; Pittsburgh - Cincinnati (ironically in the same week as when the Steelers played the Bengals in the NFL); Florida St - Maryland from the land of crabcakes; Nevada-Las Vegas against the San Diego St Aztecs; and last but not least, the monumental matchup between Texas Tech and Oklahoma from Norman. A great lineup of games. There are still two weekends left of games to take in, but today is really the best day for games all season long most years, the Saturday before Thanksgiving.
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Unfortunately many of the games turned one-sided, so I was able to do some tasks while the time went on. I worked on my vacation trip packing and preparation. I would say I am mostly prepared with only the selection of shirts and trousers needing to be done still. I should be able to be fully packed before bed on Monday with the exception of bathroom personal hygiene supplies that will be used Tuesday morning before work and in the afternoon after work. I hope to be on the road before 5pm and arrive in Castle Rock by 7:30 pm. I am taking the trip with my youngest brother and his two daughters which will be nice though it will lengthen the time of the drive from around 7 hours to around 9 hours. We will try to depart Wednesday morning before 8am so we can drive the journey fully in daylight and be in Albuquerque by around 4:30 pm to 5pm.

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I briefly considered ordering a pizza for delivery, but opted instead to eat a couple of cans of chile for supper. I also worked on straightening up my desks and filing paperwork.

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Sunday saw an arising of me around 9:30am and I had some oatmeal for breakfast. I halfheartedly watched some NFL before going out around 12:30 to get the newspapers. I popped into McDonalds to read them over a Coca-Cola. About 1:30 I headed out of town to Brant's home which is about 22 miles from me in Federal, WY. I had not been over there in several months so it was nice to get together and visit with him for a few hours while we watched the Broncos game. Denver got plastered by the Raiders by a 31-10 count in a stunning outcome, the Broncos' third consecutive home defeat. But we found plenty to talk about during the game. Both of us are of the same mind about leaving the Front Range Region within the next five years to move to the Pacific Northwest. My other friend Matt is also considering the same action at some point down the road. So if I do move there it is possible I may have some friends there already or soon to come. I will probably spend Christmas evening at Brant & Sara's home since I am planning on staying in Cheyenne for that upcoming holiday.

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I departed from Brant's around 6pm and made a brief stop to get gasoline ( I paid only $1.56 per gallon -- utterly amazing -- the least expensive gasoline I have purchased since March of 2004 when I was still driving a taxi !). Following that, I made a brief visit to Walmart for a quart of milk to get me through the next two days, some cookies and beverages for the upcoming roadtrip, and two bananas for lunches. I got home around 7:30 and spent the remainder of the evening mostly relaxing, surfing the 'net and watching the Colts / Chargers game won in the closing seconds by Indianapolis. I also selected my apparel for the vacation and responded to a text message from my sister M letting me know that I have an appointment on Saturday 16 May 2009 to be in Texas for the graduation of my first neice L.

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I will have to figure out how to travel to that wonderous event. The bus is one option but probably the least appealing. I could rent a car but that is a long haul from Denver (about 1100 to 1150 miles each way) which would take two days each way which would result in about a week of commitment. But when that time arrives, I plan on already being in Denver or just about ready to move there. I plan at this time to already have left my job and having started the process of packing to move. Of course, these plans are fluid at this time with what will happen over the next five months of critical importance on what I will decide to do. If circumstances and the environment compel me to stick out up here for another summer at least, then the car rental option for the trip is out. And then there is always the flying option. Southwest Airlines flys direct from DIA to Houston Intercontinental and I may be able to get a deal which makes the round trip cost less than $300. Frontier also flies from Denver to Houston or Austin, and with Matt's wife working for them, perhaps I can figure out a way to get a less expensive flight through her connections. The cost for the flying option would probably be in excess of $600 when factoring in a rental car, gasoline, lodging and meals for three days; the bus option would be about $50 to $75 less at best and it may be a wash when all is said and done; and the rental car trip option would be about $75 to $100 less at best. As Spring arrives (and boy I cannot wait when until that happens !) I will have to start more carefully analyzing how much and which way I will perform this trip.

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The weather forecast for the vacation trip this week is looking fine with no inconveniences expected. I caught the forecast from both Marty Coniglio and Mike Nelson on two of the Denver stations and they affirm what the NWS is already saying: it will be smooth sailing. Temps are looking to be in the 50s and 60s during the days and nighttime lows in the mid 20s at worse. Lets hope no troubles with H's white Honda van occur, particularly somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

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As I observed earlier, autumn thus far has been relatively mild and devoid of snow. Mike Nelson reported Denver has had but 0.1" of snow up to this point which is about 17" below normal. And here in Cheyenne, officially there has been about 4" of snow thus far which is about 14" below what can be normally expected. The forecast for the next three months across the Front Range region is for a much warmer temperatures and below normal precipitation. So far we are on target for following that forecast unlike what happened in the last few years. I also have seen video of the Colorado mountains around Vail, Aspen, and Steamboat, and they are all but devoid of snow as well which is unusual but could change radically at any point over a matter of mere days.

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Sunday saw a supper of two fishwiches and a can of spinach.

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The week ahead is the most momentous and event filled one for me in at least a couple of years. I think I will have a nice time and am grateful and greatly looking forward to sharing in the Thanksgiving Holiday three days period with my sisters and their families, as well as sharing in the travel with my brother and his daughters at both ends of the vacation journey and the holiday days as well.

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