Sunday, March 31, 2013

What I've been doing

Given the dearth of postings recently all seven regular readers of this blog might wonder about my overall functioning.

I'll set the record straight:  I'm not dead.  I'm not dying (that I'm aware of).  I am not being lazy.

I was, however, very busy over these last few weeks.  How busy?  I haven't had a Saturday at home for three straight weeks.  I've logged a whole lotta miles behind the wheel since the end of February.  My stress level reached all-time highs.  And I had a trip home last Sunday following a visit from Old Man Winter in which Interstate 70 had only one lane open between Topeka and Junction City.  Plus that one lane was itself sometimes snow packed in stretches.

Late February--qualifying BB gun competition at Oakley, Kansas (about 100 miles from here).  Long day.

First weekend in March--Drive to Omaha on Saturday.  5 hours.  275 miles.  The following day--drive back home.  Same distance.  Same time frame.  Tiring weekend.

The child and I dropped Geogal off at Omaha as she had a month-long clinical at Creighton University Medical Center.  Just this past Friday the kiddo and I got into our big vehicle and trekked back to Omaha.  Clinical is complete, drove back home yesterday.  At least this weekend is a long one, allowed us to take this Easter Sunday to rest and relax.  Plus this just-ended trip also gave us time to drop into the Apple Store and handle the latest offerings from Cupertino.

(I think yours truly will be getting a MacBook Air plus an iPad mini to celebrate Geogal's completion of her school program, which should wrap up in late August.)

Third weekend in March--head to Rock Springs 4-H campground for shooting sports instructor training.  Placed in a cabin and stuck in a room with seven other guys.  Naturally there are those who snore, and in accordance with the old adage the snorers were the first ones to fall asleep.  Was glad to be home.

Fourth weekend in March--the state BB gun tournament.  I am the head coach and this year we had enough shooters for three teams.  Saturday the 23rd was a very long, tiring day.  And I already mentioned that a snowstorm decided to hit Kansas that day which created the rough road conditions for the long trip home.  Again, was truly happy to see my front door.

Since Geogal was at Omaha all month, guess who got to do the single-parent thing?

Now I don't want this entry to sound like some old guy who does nothing but complain day in and day out.  I had a few high points during this time.  Got to meet several good folks at the 4-H event and even saw a few of them at the BB gun tourney.  (And I will likely see them again since our shooters now have the state 4-H tournament on April 13.)  Also went to an RV dealer in Omaha (actually Council Bluffs, Iowa) on both trips.  This weekend we found a unit that seems to fit our bill.  However we didn't do a deal just yet given there are still several variables in our near future such as where Geogal will get placed for her next two clinicals as well as other smaller details.

Still, I got jazzed realizing our family will soon have some camping ventures, this time in a hard-sided rig with more amenities.

And I will keep on posting here.  I'm not dead, just dead-tired.