~Friday~ I drove into the office today, using one of those three remaining daily parking permits that are expiring on 12/31/10 to park in the Van Allen Deck.
The suite in which my office resides was deserted when I got in, which is odd, because I’m usually one of the last people in.
I took a late lunch and drove over to Cup A Joe Mission Valley, where I met Anna for Coffee Klatsch and lunch. I had their Green Eggs & Ham Wrap, which I love, but didn’t love that there’s not an easy way to estimate its calorie count.
I put the final touches on my blog entry from yesterday—with a little help from Anna’s memory about whose name was what and how old someone might be—and posted it. 🙂 And it’s always fun spending time with Anna.
Mid-afternoon, I saw a Facebook update from my friend Julie that she wanted some Howling Cow Egg Nog, and I got in touch with her about the Howling Cow store that was right across from my office on Hillsborough Street—a service window off the library.
She rode over, and I walked outside to meet her. It turned out they didn’t have it there, and didn’t know for sure where else on campus they might have it—and evidently didn’t know how to pick up a phone to call around and find out. But I digress…
Julie said that she had heard they sold it at the Honors Village, and since I know where the C-store is there, we rode over there to check it out. They didn’t have it either, but they did have a worker who knew how to use the phone. She called the closest C-store, over by the NC State Bookstore, but they had just closed. They said that the C-store over in Bragaw Residence Hall was open and had some.
We drove over there, and finally, we found the goods! I bought one quart, and Julie bought 5 or 6. I would have bought two, but the “Fresh Until…” date was the 7th, and with the calorie count being 180 calories per half-cup, I knew I’d never drink it all by then.
It was a fun, fun ride with Julie around campus, with intermittent talk about: four question she was asked when she took her daughter and a daughter’s friend (who are both 20 years old) into Legends, what the attraction to drag queens is by gay men, and how to identify a drag queen who’s “faking it.”
Thanks for the memories, Julie!
Late in the day, at around 5:15, I received this response from the credit union:
| John,
Thank you for bringing this to my attention. We value your membership and appreciate the time you took in bringing this to our attention and for letting us know about the customer service you received good and bad. I will meet with Peggy’s Team Lead, Jennifer, and have her meet with Peggy to address these concerns about the poor customer service you received. With John reporting to me and being my Team Lead, I will meet with him and share your “praises” with him and hope to get him recognized in our employee “Spotlight” for providing “exceptional customer service.” Thank you again for your time and patience. Trudy Kritt |
I responded to her with a brief, “Thank you. I appreciate you.”
I didn’t get home until some time around 6:30, and I had intended to go a legendary holiday party tonight, that’s been going on for years, but to which I haven’t been invited in the past, because I didn’t know the host and his wife. My boss, the one that retired, used to work for the host, so I met him when he came to her retirement in September. The party went from 5:00-10:00.
However, once home, since I didn’t get to the gym yesterday, and I didn’t want to go to that party, where I knew I would consume a lot of calories—probably in alcohol alone—without getting some exercise in first, so I went to the gym first, where I did 300 (15 sets of 20) ab crunches, followed by 30 minutes on the elliptical machine.
Once back home, I waffled some more about going and consuming those calories, and knowing that by the time I’d get there, the party would be winding down and people would be way more inebriated than I was until I caught up, and I ended up not going.
Then, I intended—all the way up until 10:00—to go out at 10:00, but that didn’t happen either. I stayed in and saved both calories and money. Plus, I got to read some.
I was in the bed by 11:00, at which time I took some Nyquil, and by 11:30, my book, The Help, was falling out of my hands. Sound machine on, lights out… and five minutes later, out like a light.
And, finally, here’s another one of my favorite holiday songs. I’m including two versions of it. The first one is brand-spanking new, and one that I can, finally, relate to. The second one is for the other 90% of humanity to relate to, and up until now has been the one I’ve loved the most. What I like about it so much is that James and Natalie just seem so playful in it.
James Taylor & Natalie Cole