Happy first three-day weekend! It’s kind of like being on a
cruise that’s at sea. There are a whole bunch of scheduled stuff going on, but
no real purpose, like, you know, a job. Me, I need that dock so I can go aboard and take
in the sights. Day three of the three-day holiday has been pretty darn boring.
I hadn’t really counted on three-day weekends anyway, so
this was kind of a surprise. Most people here work six or seven days a week. At
some point, I probably will, too, but my job is to stopgap people and right now
everyone’s here so there’s no need to stopgap.
So, this non-docking cruise ship in a sandbox is one, right
now, of routine, but man oh man, the routines you can build. Fridays, which are
our Saturdays, are the most packed but Thursday nights (our Friday nights) are
packed.
I went directly to the gym after work to hit the rowing
machine for a half an hour before abs class, then agreed to kickball before I
realized kickball was immediately following abs class. I had penciled in eating
for that hour, since Bible study started right after that. Instead, I darted
off to grab some Froot Loops (Marriott got me addicted) as a meal for during
Bible study. Not exactly healthy, but compact with little cleanup.
There’s not a lot of retail therapy in this sandy version of
Pooh’s One Hundred Acre Wood. We have two little stores with stuff like
cleaning products and toiletries (but no vitamins) and another with a different
variation of that, plus booze. The first one also has a limited supply of
random things with “Baghdad Embassy” on it, though as of yet I haven’t seen any
clothing I need.
After an attempt to run outside, though, I did cave and buy
a $13 ball cap to run in. I have one, but it’s orange and since some of my
running stuff is blue, I just can’t mix those. I got a tan one with a U.S.
flag. No “Baghdad” on it anywhere.
One of my major goals this weekend was go buy a shower
curtain liner, which is something not offered in any of the little stores. But
Wal-Mart and Target deliver, so why not, right? I figured I’d pick up a few
other little things. Well, this turned out to be waaaaaay harder than it should
have been. Apparently a shower curtain liner is somehow too dangerous, or
something, to go through the diplomatic pouch, which is how I get mail.
I tried various combinations of stuff to try to land on some
safe-enough version of a shower curtain liner (seriously) and came up empty
until one certain combination from Target. As a RedCard holder, this was
perfect, until the automated system refused to acknowledge my new address. Now,
the addresses are pretty standard, and it basically just changed one set of
four numbers to a new set of four numbers and then switched a box number. The
ZIP code changed two digits. When I went
to change it, though, no matter how I put it in, the system insisted I had
entered an invalid address for some city in Jersey that I’ve never even visited,
let alone gotten mail in.
After three calls to Target directly, I gave it up and hit
up Amazon. I hadn’t tried it before because I tend to wind up with a lot of
stuff that’s deemed unable to be sent to the dip pouch, like books. But it let
me send the shower curtain, although not the vitamins. Win some, lose some. I topped
it off with enough “I’d have bought it eventually anyway” stuff to qualify for
free shipping (Thanks, Eric Church!) and will hope for the best. I’ve no idea
how long it takes to get Amazon stuff here.
Mostly what I’ve done this weekend – besides agonize over
the Noles, how awful was that? – has been to edit a friend’s doctoral thesis.
Originally it was due in April, so when I got it in August I sat it on the back
burner until I arrived. Then he turned in the first draft, and I guess it was
so clean they said he could turn it in a semester early, or Oct. 15, to get his
doctorate early. Yikes! We cranked it up and, hopefully, it’s almost done.
Either way, it’s in his court at the moment; I sent up my latest version
yesterday and am awaiting two things before I can send up what it, hopefully,
the final version.
The stepped-up timeline will be a coup for me, because as
much as I’ve jumped in feet-first here, I’ve held off on a few things that I
planned on doing after the paper. If it’s done by the end of October, that’s
all the earlier I can get going on the other stuff.
As I’ve said, there’s a full slate of stuff you can do, both
formal and information, regular and one-time. The kickball, for example, is as
a warm-up for a tournament that’s coming up. I don’t think it’s an ongoing
thing. (We also have a Balls of Steel Ping Pong tournament coming up, too.)
And if you don’t see it on the calendar, you can find a
space and stick it on yourself. And that’s what I hope to do with guitar. I bought
a little one in Istanbul with the hope of figuring out how to pick it, but
wanted to wait until the paper was done. Not only does it look like I will have
the time before April, but I’ve already found someone else who also has a
guitar but no clue.
How, exactly, I’m going to fit it in is an unknown; this
long weekend notwithstanding, I’m unbelievably busy with stuff, and I keep
taking on more. This week, I added tae kwon do (hi Riley!) to my list of things
I want to try, which is taught by one of the salsa guys.
I don’t think the salsa guys recognize me as a lost cause
just yet. So very optimistic, they seem think that one day I will suddenly
become coordinated and graceful. As I’ve been me for almost five decades, I’m
not as optimistic, but I’m willing to humor them by joining the other classes
they seem to think will turn me into a swan. I enjoy the step classes, but
after each class I apologize to the instructor for sucking so bad. At this
point in the game, I’m too scared to even step across the little stair thing
for fear I twist/sprain/break my ankle. I stick to the up-and-down on just the
one side. It’s kind of repetitious, but I haven’t turned any body parts bruise blue
yet.
Abs class is pretty much ditto. Due to the shoulder surgery
(or so I tell myself), I just can’t do a side plank, and some of those other
moves just don’t mesh with rehab, either. Sometimes I find myself having to
modify the modified version. Between shoulder and foot, the left side of my
body doesn’t work every well.
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