A week ago at this time, I was on the guided tour through the Smithsonian Institute’s Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Hangers at Dulles Airport outside Washington DC. I had never been there even though I had been to the Museums on the Mall downtown. Work had brought me to the area. I was delighted that my schedule would not only leave me time to go to the Center, It also took me out to our location that was closest to Dulles. It ended up being the perfect setup.
I have been interested in air and space craft since I was a kid. The Center held two of my favorite ships: The SR71 Blackbird and The Space Shuttle Discovery. To my delight, It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining as I got out of the car to head up the walkway into the museum. Just as I entered the museum, they announced a guided tour would begin in 10 minutes. WOOT! Once again, Time had played out in my favor for a change. The tours are guided by Veterans, many of whom either server on/in craft in the museum or help restore new displays as they come in. Needless to say, I had four hours of fun. I was the proverbial “Kid in the candy store.”
I left the museum to head back to Pennsylvania about 4:30PM. I chose to go back a different way than I had come down. I was further west so driving clear back into the beltway would cost extra time and take me back to rush hour traffic. Those in the know told me that the new route would basically avoid the traffic. They were right for the most part. I did run into one snag where I sat for a bit. The fire department had one lane blocked as they worked on a structure fire. It didn’t stop traffic completely but it did add about a half hour to my run.
I though about my travels as I made my way back home. I used to travel a lot for business. I really enjoy travelling, even by myself. This had been the first company trip I’d been out on in nearly 5 years. Wow. Sure there was work involved but the time away from the office broke the repetative nature of my job. I was relaxed so 5 hour the drive seemed to pass quickly. I got home around 11:30PM. Tink greeted me at the door. My little fuzzy four-legger had missed me. I got lots of leg hugs and purrs the rest of the weekend.
Saturday, the temperatures were warm so I decided I’d finish the work on the motorcycle to get her ready for riding season. I picked up the oil and antifreeze I would need to finish her up. The plan would be to finish the brakes Saturday and then oil and antifreeze on Sunday. None of these tasks really took that long but when working on your motorcycle on a beautiful afternoon there is an unwritten rule that says test rides are needed. I closed out the daylight hours on Sunday with a ride and a stop at the car wash to make sure I got any salt off her metal parts.
For all the relaxation and enjoyment I had over the weekend, including Thursday and Friday, Monday and Tuesday sucked. I guess my frustration was just coming back to the office. Tuesday, things went so bad that I was ready to walk out and forget the whole business. I went to bed Tuesday night horribly depressed and disheartened with what had gone on that day. I decided that the rest of the week would be better even if it required hiding or avoiding the incidents that occured on Tuesday.
Thursday night, I went to Walmart to get a few things I needed. Our Walmart is known for having a ton of registers but only have 4 or 5 open. Once again, they lived up to their reputation. I joined a line behind a women and her son. We were chatting and joking about how long it was taking the lady ahead of us to get checked out. Apparently the cashier didn’t understand that the coupon the women was using required 6 of one type of pop to qualify for the price. After the manager came over and explained that little nugget to the cashier, it took both the cashier and the manager to convince the customer that the coupon was only good for Pepsi products and she had bought a mix of brands. We chuckled as the time passed. “It must be new math.” I quipped. Finally, the pesky pop purchaser accepted the explanation and was on her way.
I joke about “New Math” because I don’t understand how some young people do math these days. I was taught that if you have 3 rows of 4 columns of cat food you can multiple 3 x 4 and get 12. If there are two layers, you multiply 12 by 2. Every time I buy Tink’s canned food, I buy a case which works out exactly as above. Likewise, EVERY TIME, the cashier stumbles through counting each one and then having to start over when they realize there is another layer underneath. The box says 24 cans right on it. I have literally got into the habit of just saying “There are 24 cans of the same flavor.” You should see the looks I get at times. It’s like I performed miracle math or something. Are they not taught estimating anymore?
Oh well, I got through the line and head back home. I got a giggle out of it when it could have gone the way the rest of the week went. I’m trying to keep in mind that people were brought up different than I was. Remembering this helps me to laugh at things that would otherwise make me blow up.
I’m looking forward to a decent weekend this weekend. The day is winding down. Maybe I’ll catch you all online tonight.
~Cappy