The Good (Bella & Baseball), the Bad (My Computer), and the Ugly (Spandex)

This past weekend the boys had tournaments in the same city--even in the same park! And it was at what could be considered our home field. We didn’t have far to drive. The only problem was that they played games at the same time, but we saw each of them play in two games. It is still very hot. I’ll be so glad when it cools off a little. When I’m complaining about sitting in the cold, I’m going to try to remember how miserable I was in the heat and humidity.

And now this old codgerette has some complaints.

As I was driving to the post office, I passed a bicyclist riding not in the bike lane but about a foot from the line in the roadway. In case he’s not bright enough to figure it out, the highway department painted those white lines for the bike lanes for a reason. It's so the cyclists won’t get knocked out of their skin-tight bike costumes and those aerodynamic helmets they wear. That’s another thing. I never see those people on bikes flying down the road. They seem to ride at a rather comfortable speed. If they aren’t riding against the clock, why do they wear Spandex. I know it’s to cut down on wind resistance, but they don’t seem to be riding as if they are racing. If they are simply riding for exercise, it seems that they would want to wear some clothing that would give as much as resistance as possible in order to get the most from this form of exercise. It would be like riding up and down hills instead of riding on flat ground. I think they really just like wearing bright colored spandex and helmets. I do wish they would stay in their own lanes.

That same morning I saw an older lady step off the sidewalk into the street to avoid an adult male riding his bike on the sidewalk. He should know better. There are signs posted saying no bikes on the sidewalks. Some people think the rules don’t apply to them.

When I turned on the old computer Tuesday morning the darned thing wouldn’t boot up. I started it in safe mode to try to “restore” three times. It didn’t help. I was so irritated.

Bella had invited Mr. Fixit and me to have lunch with her at school, so after trying to fix the computer I was running a few minutes late. I rushed to get my clothes ready and to take a shower. Just as I was getting ready to dry my hair, the telephone rang. I couldn’t check the caller id because I didn’t have my glasses on.

“Hello,” I said. There was no response. I said quite a bit louder, “H-E-L-L-O!” I was getting ready to hang up when I hear someone say, “Mrs. Fixit? How are you this morning?” I could hear him chewing and swallowing. He must have been having breakfast at his desk. I replied, “I’m very busy. How about you?” Again while chewing and swallowing, he told me he was calling from our bank to explain the merits of our platinum charge card. (I guess they think I’m no using it enough. In fact, I’ve only used it once.) I explained that I was in a rush and asked that he call back at a more convenient time. Of course, he said he would; he was still eating.

Hint to Bank of America: Tell your telemarketers to stop eating and drinking while they are making sales calls. You can be sure I will ignore the next call that comes from BofA.

After we had lunch with Bella, which is always nice, we came home and I tried to get the computer going again. Ben tried to help me over the phone, but nothing was helping. I feel funny asking him to help me when he’s in his office working. He said, “It sounds like something is definitely frozen up.” I told Mr. Fixit what he said and Mr. Fixit said that when he is working and the hand-held computers freeze, they simply disconnect them for a minute or so and that solves the problem. It’s the same thing you do when your phones go out. Mr. Fixit unplugged the tower from the wall outlet and then reconnected it. Presto! It booted up perfectly. Mr. Fixit now has a new title. He’s now the Wizard’s apprentice.

Then I was looking for an installation CD to install an old program on the new laptop, and I couldn’t find it.I looked everywhere. I never throw those things away but it wasn't with all the others. I was so frustrated. All in all, with the exception of having lunch with Bella, Tuesday was a hellish day.

Today didn’t begin much better. I had an appointment with the dentist. She said I need two fillings. Just Peachy! I put that off until later next month.

We did some errands before we came home. I took a nap and then cooked lunch. The fettuccini was tasty, and the rest of the afternoon was uneventful. I hope tomorrow is boring and routine. I like boring and routine.