False Start

I keep catching myself mentally preparing for the first day of classes tomorrow and, while classes do start tomorrow, it will actually be just another work day for me. I don't start until Wednesday.

There were actually a few times this past week during which I thought I ought to sit down to write about something here but I neglected the urge and now I have to rely upon my distracted memory...

The low point of last week was paying $450 for new brake drums so my car could pass inspection. I couldn't even put it on a card because I took the advice of a friend whose opinion of mechanics is trustworthy and the new garage only accepts cash or check. I realized later that I could have thanked them for their time and driven my car to my old garage but I have never been good at thinking on the fly in those situations.

I played bluegrass again on Thursday and it went well. I am especially pleased that it went well because I have an 8am class on Fridays so I will have to cut back on bluegrass nights, maybe not in frequency but certainly in duration. Oh yeah - I played mandolin for most of the set but I played the upright bass for a few tunes, as I did the week prior. I was again surprised at what a different instrument it is: I feel like I am learning the bass all over again. At least it refreshes my motivation to save up for one, though I would like to buy an electric bass first. Maybe I should have sold my car last Tuesday ;-)

Saturday was the high point. Melisa and I went up to NL to have a lunchtime people date and an afternoon dog date. The people date was, of course, very nice and relaxing. The dog date involved a walk along Colby Point and all was amiable between Mazie and Buddy and it seems like they will at least be tolerant of each other, given enough room and few stressors. The Mazie-Sampson dynamic is undetermined: he had to be on leash post-op so we will wait until he is not so physically sensitive to find out how they work together. Unfortunately, the Mazie-Jade scene is not copacetic and Mazie has the welts on her back to prove it. She didn't seem to be in any pain when I saw her yesterday but Melisa found little wounds, likely from the dogs' tussle for dominance during our walk in the woods. Somebody's gotta be top dog and when two border collies are involved, things can get heated.

When we came back to Dover, Melisa went to a friend's house to eat dinner and watch movies and I went to find Jim. We ended up going to our friend Mary's cousin Pete's house (hereafter known as Cousin Pete) in...Lebanon? (somewhere in the woods)...Maine, where we ate delish chili and cookies, sledded and shot the cud around the wood stove in his shop. It was a very fine way to spend my evening, especially since I had started feeling like I was back in the habit of going to the Pub out of boredom or out of fear that if I didn't go down, I would miss the Greatest Impromptu Hang-Out of the Winter.

As I said, school officially starts tomorrow. Of course, I am looking forward to it. I have lab work to do during the day but I will take a bit of time to get my affairs in order (which will probably just involve a trip to get notebooks and folders). At the end of the day, I get to eat a lovely surprise meal cooked by my incredible girlfriend!