Okay, so this morning started out with Jenny waking me up at 04:15 CDT. She is normally up at this time to get ready for work. The kids are off with their grandparents to head up to Bemidji for a couple of days. Last week Jenny and I made plans to make this a date night. Dating when married is always a challenge, but very important. With that being said, I groggily roll out of bed, grab a shower to wake up and head to the gym as Jenny leaves for work. We both commented before leaving that the house was feeling humid.
I need to be consistent with my swimming as I want to get about 5000 - 6000 yards a week in the pool. I really want to improve at this, and am really enjoying this undertaking. I get to the gym, and am in the pool when most sane folks are just waking up.
I still have my drills to do and this week, the 4 x 100's are now 5 x 100's with only 30 seconds between 100's. To say that pacing myself is important is obvious. I think they went really well. When I remembered to go slow and roll side to side, it was almost effortless to pull my large frame through the water. When I start to get lazy and don't practice good technique, it gets harder. I even have the epiphany of seeing the stroke come together that the DVD has been discussing and Bob was trying to get me to do. If you are on your side with the stroke, you can lead with your elbow instead of reaching for the air.
With the workout done, I get ready to go to work. As I get to my truck, I suddenly remember about the air conditioner, and a previous issue where it felt humid in the house. I bet the compressor outside is full of cotton wood. I better go home and spray it down with the hose so that it does not overheat.
I get home, and find that the compressor is not too bad. I spray it down anyway and go down to check the furnace. The furnace is frosted up, so I shut it down. Before doing that, I notice that the blower is not putting out any air. Well, maybe when it thaws, it will be okay.
I log on to work from home and send the email that I will be online from here. I forward my desk phone to my cell, and proceed with my normal work activities. I am able to concentrate, and am very productive at home. After about an hour and 45 minutes, I go turn the unit on as the frost is all gone. No blower engagement.
I stop and think... I can turn the furnace on and see if it comes on with the heat on. No dice! It heats up, and then when the blower goes to engage, "click" and it shuts down. This is going to cost me. Call the repair man and go back to work. I am so happy to be able to work from home when necessary. I am so fortunate as a contractor that my employer allows this opportunity.
I am still on track for being able to go out with Jenny to a movie and dinner. So the day while not fun still has promise.
The repair man gets here and I explain the issue. He heads down to the furnace, and after the description of the problem and seeing what model it is, tells me; "You are not going to be happy." He has not even opened the furnace to look at it yet. "How bad is it?" I ask. He says "this is the most expensive part I keep in stock." This unit's blower unit board is notorious for going out. It is a design flaw with a weak resistor. Sure enough, he opens the unit up, pulls five or six screws out and pulls the suspect part out. The resistor is burned in two. Luckily, he has two on the truck. He puts the new improved part with a better resistor in and the furnace blower motor comes to life. He tops of the refrigerant, and he is on his way out the door with $600 in his pocket.
Jenny comes home and we are out the door to go to the movie she picked out. "Momma Mia", now this looks like it could be entertaining from the trailers. I enjoy a good ABBA tune as much as the next person, but after this movie I am not sure to ever enjoy another.
If they cut out about 10 - 15% of the singing and progressed the movie to the end it could have been tolerable. At one point during the movie as Jenny is sitting next to me laughing hysterically, I ask; "How many cute and cuddly puppies did I kill in a past life to be subjected to this?" She continues to laugh and I want to cry.
There are some funny parts to the movie, but not enough to ever subject myself to this nightmare again. Thankfully the movie ends... Oh wait, they reserved two more crappy tunes for the end as the credits roll. I cannot get out of the theater fast enough. I have enjoyed seeing Jenny laugh and have a good time, but I am ready to go have dinner.
Jenny asks where I would like to go eat. We used to live in the apartments by the theater, and used to frequent a little restaurant called Giuseppe Italian Ristorante. We have not been there since we moved into our house. As this is not far from the theater, I suggest we go there for dinner. We laugh and talk about the movie. She really enjoyed it, and she is enjoying laughing at my misery of sitting through this debacle. We stroll down memory lane of past visits to this establishment when we did not have two nickels between us. We have a very nice quiet dinner together.
Life is not all about the good things. Sometimes it is the bad or difficult that make you find perspective. I am grateful that the furnace/AC issues did not ruin the opportunity to have a great night with the woman that loves me for some odd reason. I am thankful for grandparents that take their grandchildren on short vacations. I am thankful for my children and miss them when they are gone. I don't deserve all the good that I have found in my life over the last couple of years, but I am thankful for gaining the perspective to recognize it.
10 years ago
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