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07/15/2005: "cleaning while I wait"

My flight from LA was fairly uneventful, and I managed to get home just before 1am EDT. I did get in to work yesterday, but much later than my normal time. There was no way I was going to do a full workday on not enough sleep.

Now that I'm home alone for a while, I'll clean up so my family comes home to a clean house (which will be a very big positive for my wife, and contribute to her mental health), and wait to hear whether I get to go back to school or not.


While I was away, I at least managed to orchestrate the submission of my final two reference letters. Thanks to an understanding reference and a friend with a mail key, both letters arrived safely and presumably before the admissions door was closed. Now all I have to do is sit and stew until I hear back, and figure out how to come up with a big whack of cash should I make it in.

Meanwhile, the current work countdown is seven weeks as of the end of business today. That's only 34 work days, including a few half days, and not counting the one stat holiday that's in there as well. While I don't want to wish the summer away, I'm rather looking forward to September, both for the family holiday I'll be partaking of, and the end of my business relationship with this dreary company I managed to worm my way into.

One pleasure I allow myself when my wife and kids are away is movies. Typically I'll rent a couple of recent DVDs, or some old favourites that my wife simply has no interest in seeing. Last night I made a rare and bold move and instead went to the theatre. I'd wanted to see Star Wars Episode III for a while, and I discovered yesterday that it was closing night for Revenge of the Sith at my local cinema. So off I went, and I quite enjoyed it. I found only one scene that really irked me, and only because it was so packed full of fromage that I wanted to hurl a piece of brie at the screen. Otherwise, stellar movie. (Pun not really intended.)

While there's probably some other movies I'd like to rent, at this point I've had my fun and should likely spend the weekend doing housework. We had to leave for California in an awful hurry, and left the place in a somewhat unusual state of mess. I know that a messy house is something that really jabs my wife's nerves, so I'm going to do my level best to do a clean sweep before she gets home. First thing on the list is the fridge - there's stuff in there that has now been in there since Canada Day, and it's not getting any fresher. I hope my garage doesn't get too warm this weekend, because the garbage is going to be loaded with old food. Yech. After that it'll be laundry, de-cluttering, and I'm even thinking of getting a carpet steamer, if time allows. We'll see.

Once I've had enough of that, there is one other thing that I really want to do, and that my wife will also be interested in. For the past few months she's changed from "I never want a minivan" to "I want a minivan as our next vehicle". Grudgingly, I agree. However, Mazda has recently brought over to Canada the Mazda5. It's a mini-minivan. It seats 6, has a 4-cylinder engine (and the good fuel economy to go with it), and get this - a 5 speed manual transmission! I'm so pumped. I might just have to test drive one before everyone gets home. The price is great too... the one I'd opt for lists for just under $24k, just a slight nudge more than what our current car went for new. Could be promising.

With my wife in California, her computer is still with her, leaving me with no access from home unless I bring up the ugly beige box from the basement and set it up. That's not going to happen, so posts may be few or non-existent until her return, just so ya know.