Taking it easy

The previous weekend was no less draining than this already hectic week.  Friday, Rich and I picked up my tuxedo on a weekend rental before we went to buy his new running shoes, then dinner, then a trip to the poker room at Ameristar, then a late night meal at the Falcon Diner with children and tipsy houseguests in tow. . . T & S were being followed by security for showing signs of intoxication on a gambling floor.  I had to tell the badges that I was the sober driver to avert trouble.  Uh huh.  After a short sleep, I got up again and went to Saturday morning dress rehearsal for Sunday's performance of Haydn's "The Creation."  I went to the gym for my hamstring/bicep workout from which I didn't really recover, because I didn't stop there.  I went to the Chinese buffet and ate three plates of food, then went to Worlds of Fun to ride roller coasters with the fam and the hungover outtatowners.  Adam D joined up with me and we left the group to cram in as many rides as possible before going to the charity hockey game.  The line to ride The Patriot, my favorite hot new ride there, made us a bit late, but the point was more to drop off a donation than to see the game, which was excellent!  Jake even scored on a very good goalie.  I was impressed. . . but I have to give credit to a beautiful assist from the left winger.  The USA team won by a good margin.  We grabbed dinner at Ixtapa, which is the top fresh-mex baja style place in KC.   I then went to The Hurricane to meet up with Jason and Tricia, who had been to the Parkville Brewfest prior. . . and had been drinking since noon.  Lovers in Transit were taking the stage as I got there.  They rocked the place.  Then some other band played some stuff that sounded like The Swans.  It got late and dramatic and we parted ways.  I met the members of the band Alien8, who are from Wichita.  James, their singer, is a really great guy with a positive attitude.  I really want to see them live soon.  He seems knowledgable, enthusiastic, creative, and an all-around smart musician who has surrounded himself with talented people.  http://www.alien8music.com 

Sunday, I donned my tuxedo, got a small lunch, and proceeded to the pre-show warm-up for the Northland Community Choir performance of Haydn's "The Creation" in which I sang in the bass section.  It sounded incredible.  The house wasn't packed, but I was duly impressed by how it came together.  The soloists were top notch, but some were more top notch than others, if that makes any sense.  I've paid good money to see worse shows, and this was free!  The show went later than I thought.  I helped raze the risers and remove chairs from the stage, changed clothes, grabbed a snack, then left Parkville toward Lees Summit.  I had a fine meal at Shawn and Christina's, looked over some work related items, and chatted for a while as I waited for a storm to blow over.  Just then, my new tenant, Lori, appeared.  She's a card.  An opinionated, aspiring paralegal.  I think we'll get along just fine.  She's a cat person.  I had to allow for that in the lease, which includes a requirement for her hiring an exterminator at the end of the rental.  There's no carpet in that house, and my thoughts of adding carpet were dismissed when I found that she didn't want to make a pet deposit OR carpet.  She wants to paint.  I say, go for it.  Give me those receipts and I'll deduct that from the rent.  I'll deduct the price of the materials from my taxes AND I'll deduct the rent loss as a labor fee.

I got a lot of work done today, bopping around town and plugging in fiber optics.  Some of the sites are underground.  So, I'd put everything I might need into my backpack, open the hatch, turn off the alarm, wait for the blowers to freshen the air, then climb 20+ feet down a ladder into a room full of whirring fans and blinking lights, and run fiber optic cables.  If I needed a tool or a longer fiber, I had to climb up and down the ladder again.  After a day of this, I was kinda tired, so I rested instead of going to the gym.  I attribute my lack of energy to the fact that my sleep was interrupted twice due to work calls after an evening hockey game.  Plus the fact that I ate mostly junk food today.  Plus the fact that I worked all night the previous night.  After a nap, I felt human again.  For now, I'm getting a midnight snack, then a good night's sleep <fingers crossed>, and maybe I'll have energy for a morning workout and get back into my routine.