Boy Interupted
2002-09-30

It was one of those weekends where I got things started, but didn't really get anything accomplished. I had good intentions, honestly. It just seemed fate was in the way at every turn. Sigh...

Friday, we decided to grab dinner and shop for crew gifts. M.E. picked Target as the first store. The reason was she figured I'd never find what I was looking for there and we'd have to go to another store. It was a good plan on her part. I hate to shop. But, low and behold, exactly what I want, striped pull overs in the boats colors, in our budget and on sale to boot. Score... Not content to just bag our kill and return home triumphant, M.E. has the urge to power shop. One cordless phone, two photo albuma and a bed in a bag later, we are finished. Time to check out. The cashier rings it all up and runs my check through the little machine. Tilt. The stores system won't take my check. They are not on the central system that all the others stores are on apparently. I haven't cashed a check at Target, so they won't take one. Catch 22? The cashier suggests I use my debit card. Good answer... but no luck. Apparently after the check thing the machine won't accept the card either. My initial reaction was to leave the carrige full of stuff and walk out. Insted, I charge it and ask to see the manager. Its a kid, a freaking little kid. How can I yell at a kid.. I tell her we won't be back and explain why. She wants to give me an 800 number so they can explain why I was rejected. It's not her compay that rejected the check she explains. My reply...It's your store, I won't be be back. And I won't.

Saturday we had lots to do. Most of it didn't happen. First on the agenda was getting the gifts embroidered with the boat name and number. There were 50 or so companies in the yellow pages. Half were out of business. The rest either didn't work on Saturday, closed at noon or couldn't give me a price because the person who does that isn't here. UGH, we actually had one guy give us a price as he dashed out of the parking lot just before noon. He was too busy to take the actual order. Come back next week. UGH

The a few small sucesses, ice in the cooler for the race, check. Pick up my broken camera, check, oil changed, check. Ah, we're on a roll. Next on the list, stop by moms new place. A small problem there. She doesn't have a phone yet and I don't have an address. We know she is in the modular park near the high school. I stop in the office. The won't give me the address. Security reasons.. They do how ever give me a general idea of the location so we set out. Only 400 homes here, shouldn't be too hard right.. LOL

Well who whould have figured, but we actually find the place. She isn't home. Bob gives us the five cent tour and it really is pretty nice. But... Since mom isn't there, this will not count as a visit in her book. Oh well

Since we're in the area, I figure we'll check out Jim and Mush's new place too. Another one where I know the general location but not the address. This time I can't find the house. The cell phone isn't working either, no signal. We just drive around for a while, pop into my sisters for a bit and head home. UGH!

I'm tired, but M.E wants to go see My Big Fat Greek Wedding. So we go. It was packed. Not an empty seat in the place. The movie was really funny and not too long. I learned lots more about Windex than I ever figured I would. I'd recommend it.

Sunday was race day. Well on Saturday it blew stink (well actually six bells of shit on the Johhny the Chin scale) so of course on Sunday there was no wind, none, nada, zilch. There were probably 120 boats just sitting there floating. It was a pursuit race where the slower boats start first and the faster boats have to catch them. Who ever finishes first wins. The course... 18 miles around Prudence Island. Boats are just piled up at the starting line as the horns announcing the starts go off.

When it is our turn to start, the lead boat which started 45 minutes ahead is maybe 100 yards away from the line. Just before the 5 minute gun, I point the boat towards the line, gun the engine and then shut it off. We coast towards the line and get a good start. Then we play the drifting game too.

We catch bits of wind here and there. One knot, sometimes two. The whole pack drifts with the tide and splits. Some go right, some left. We decide that if the breeze isn't in by two, we'll bail. The math says we just can't get get around the island in time to finish after that. Boats are dropping out at a fast and furious pace. Right around two a little breeze fills in. We start to move a little. I ask the Snacktician to pass out beers and we redo the math. No way. In two hours and 45 minutes we have done less than 4 miles.

Time to start the engine and go home. So we do. Some people race another hour before bailing. Nobody even makes it to the south end of the island. This race est mort. On the way back I realize I owe somebody a phone call. After a bit of looking, I fish out the number and call. It's long distance. The phone makes a funny sound and then starts flashing. Low battery. Then it hangs up. Great...

We clean the boat up, take the launch in have a few beers, watch Kansas City kill Miami in football and head home mostly unfullfilled. And now I'm back in the pit we like to think of as work. Sigh.... Were did the time go.

Happy Monday.

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