an adventure in carland

Monday was slated as a busy day. School 'til 10:50, work at 11:00, off work at 7:30 and an 8:00 hometeaching apointment... So I took the car.

I try hard not take the car. Cars don't burn calories and make you feel better about yourself (if a bit funky smelling) they burn gas and make you broke.

Yet they can help you out in a pinch.

However, I have been taking the car more than I really need to lately and I am truing to cut back.

Now, dad had used the car over the weekend to head down to Pleasanton, so monday morning it was pretty low on gas. I didn't notice that little factoid until after class while headed to work... the gage was below "E".

David is careful not to let the gage go below "E"

But, I should be able to get to work and after work I can get some gas less then a block from the hotel.

On Exposition I can feel the engine lurch thirstily... only a few blocks I should be fine.

As I turn onto Hurley I feel it again... I'll cut through TGI Friday's parking lot and If it dies I can leave it there walk the last block or so to work and call in some back up.

Easy does it and I'm back on Howe.

I am on fumes as I pull in at work but hey, gas station is right there so no problem.

After work I head out to the car. Problem

I turn the ignition. It coughs once. Nothing.

Matt says he has no gas can. Jeff has already gone home. Hmmm.

In the hotel there is a long term guest who works at a construction site just across from the hotel. I knock on his door and ask if he has access to an empty gas can I could borrow. We walk over to the jobsite and he grabs a three gallon gas can heads back to the car puts all three gallons in the tank and tells me not to worry about it.

Awesome.

However, it is now 8:10. if you look up at the days itinerary you will note that I am now 10 min. late to hometeach Megan at the stake center. I make a series of calls as I drive. (MAYBE cell phones aren't so bad after all... but then again nobody is answering theirs so maybe they are.) Eventually I ring the stake center and discover Family Home Evening is still running, it should be wrapping up about the time I get there. I take a deep breath and enjoy the light show in the sky. Thunder and Lightning all over the place it was pretty and places another point firmly on the side of cars.

I home teach Megan and Crystle Miller. The lesson goes well, I am not C$s home teacher but she says she hasn't been visited since I switched her from Jason to decaf, so I oblige her. Afterwards I head to the gas station. $1.87 a gallon, hey I like to bike in the rain.

with friends at the lake

Saturday I celebrated life and the end of summer with some friends at lake natomas. It was fun.

I had gotten to the lake later than I had planned because Eileen had needed a blessing, and once I got there It took a bit of time to get everyone who was there to the same spot. Rosie had parked across the harbor at the aquatic center, so I rowed across to get her and we caught up with Suz and Jeffery. But I was unintentionally ignoring Cheryl while this was going on. Rosie gave me an awesome belated birthday gift: a pair of cufflinks in witch each cufflink is a functioning compass. then I took Rosie out and brought Crystle in.

Crystle, Cheryl, Jeffery, Suz and myself then play some croquette. The Lawn in the park in level and cut very short making it but for the game than the average backyard would be. Jeff had previosly menioned that he was ruthless when it came to playing games and I got to see that in action, the result of course being that I wacked his ball of into the nether realms and only Cheryls misfortune kept him from coming in last through the wicket. Crystle in her usual unassuming, "I'm not very good at this" style of game play beat us all. I think everybody enjoyed the game and I got to drop Suz on the ground;)

As the afternoon progressed Shirly, Crystal, Cory, Sherly's sister, and not Shirly's kill joy of a husband Chris joined us. We BBQ'd chicken and Sausages and ate chips and watermellon. part of the plan had been to make Ice Cream but we were going to use an electric churn and there was no outlet. Yet another reason for me to buy my own Dewer!

Anyway, Suz and Cheryl took the two-man kayak out and quickly where zipping out into open water. Jeffery tried taking my kayak out and hilarity insued. Actualy it was only funny after I was sure he wasn't dead. he rolled the kayak and I rushed into the water getting my pants and phone wet (it has been wetter and after two days on the shelf it was fine). he convinced me he wasn't going to get himself dead, I allowed him the wrestle as he would with the kayak. that was the entertaining part.

I also went out in the kayak for a while, this time Jeffery was with Cheryl in the two-man and we went to the north sde of the lake and paddled around the islands there. I enjoyed it as always and the company was nice.

As it got dark we started to wrap things up for the night. I had a lot of fun and I hope everyone else did as well.

Under a Full Moon

So, I am working the overnight shift on the weekends now. Friday and Saturday I go in at 11:00pm and leave at 7:00am. This requires that I carefully structure my weekend sleep schedule to keep my body from violent confrontation with my mind.

Sunday morning I made a mistake. I rolled back over and went back to sleep when Jeremy woke me up at 10:00am. My plan was to sleep for two more hours then head to church, when I woke up at 4:30 my first thought was "oh, shoot I missed church... I wonder who covered for me in elders quorum" my second thought was "I won't be able to sleep tonight and will be all screwed up this week.

I showered and shaved and put on church clothes and went over to my grown-ups place. Mom had made clam chowder, It was excellent. After diner we went through the things my dad had gotten in the process of going threw nana's things. There were a lot of memories in that box for me. I was glad to see that dad had gotten one of the silver teapots from her bedroom window sill.

That went until it was time to head to the fireside. The speakers where good, they had been mission president and mission mom of the Helsinki Finland mission. Still not as fun as president burrows but good. On the drive to the fireside I had noticed that the moon was full and I had been struck by an idea. I was going kayaking!

After the fireside I took Jeremy back to the apartment and I grabbed my light cycling jacket, then I continued on to parent's. I spent so time installing programs on Dad's laptop and getting my kayak all put back together. then a little while after midnight I loaded everything into the suburban wrote a note on the whiteboard and headed to the lake.

the gate at the road was closed for the night so I had to carry everything down the bike path for just a little ways. I put in as near the gate as possible and just went paddling. My eyes didn't adjust fully until I had gotten away from the aquatic center, but once they did the full moon provided plenty of light. I didn't have any time constraints so I took my time and went upstream further than I have before. A little ways past where the power line go over the lake I decided to turn around. when I did I noticed something else in the sky beside the moon.

ORION HAS RISEN.

Though I do not choose to explain it in depth the constellation Orion has a great deal of significance to me. It is only out in the silent hours of the early mourning now but soon it will take its place high in the sky and I think I wonder what tiding it will bring.

They kayak ride had been beautiful and serene, next full moon I think I’ll do it again.

It was after 3:00am when I left the lake and nearly 4:00 when I climbed into bed. This might put sleep back on scheduel