Well, the CPAP machine was on, but it was subverted... by a seven-year-old. Lacee wouldn't stay put on the couch, dammit. And she still moves around a lot... enough to awaken me frequently. I had a stern talk with her tonight about that, donno if it worked or not.
So the day was relatively crummy, with me being really tired, but I was determined not to go back to sleep... I'm trying to be a day person for a change, dammit, after all...
I had Tyler help me put the carpet up under the bar, though, so the day wasn't a complete waste.
But it got better when Karen came home. After watching her show, she talked me into going to Lawrence with her, or rather to Stull, where we met Jacinda. It seems that Brian had taken home a Playstation CD that Karen had rented, thinking that Karen had bought it for him.
I've lately been corresponding by e-mail with an old friend, Gaylen Garinger, who was the best man at my wedding. We've pretty much gotten out of contact since then, each going our own ways...
This does tie together... Gaylen lives outside of Lawrence, so I got this wild hair to go visit him, since we were gonna be in the vicinity. I looked up his address on MapQuest, and we had no trouble finding it... well, except that I went by too fast to read the number on the mailbox at his address, but saw the next one and I knew that I'd gone too far. As I was turning around, a car pulled up to the mailbox... Gaylen was just getting home from his job in Topeka.
So, we had a very nice visit, and he showed us around the estate. He'd just moved in last October, and has been putting on finishing touches as he has time. This really makes Karen and I want to move out to the country, of course.
It's really great seeing old friends... sometimes you're afraid that they've changed too much for you to be able to catch up with them, but Gaylen is one that I've always been comfortable around, and that hasn't changed a bit. I look forward to spending more time with him soon...
Although Karen and I were a bit uncomfortable with an unannounced visit... that's not the sort of thing that we do regularly, y'know. But Gaylen seemed comfortable with that aspect, so no problem.
He and I bought a telescope many years ago... I still have it, but very seldom use it. He is a Mars nut... has been forever... and he has a reflector now, I want to say a celeron but I know that's wrong. And plenty of good viewing... he's quite well away from the city lights.
After we left Gaylen, we went into Lawrence, looking for a place to eat. Karen bought "Taste of the Town" coupons, which are two-for-one deals, and there were a few places in Lawrence where they are accepted. Well, we like downtown Lawrence, so we headed downtown and checked out the first place... Mexican food, Dos Hombres or something like that... and they were closed. The second place looked like a real dump, with nobody there. There were two places on Mass street within two blocks, so we parked and walked. The third place looked like a dump. Finally, the Jerusalem Restaurant.... our last downtown choice. It looked like a dump, too, but there were people eating there, so we went in. More out of hunger and exhaustion rather than anticipation, I must add.
It is, as you should know from the name, a middle-eastern type of place... with 50's deco and water pipes setting around. We were seated and puzzled over the menu a while before ordering... Karen went exotic, I don't even know what she got... while I went conventional with a steak. All in all, not bad food, but I don't think that we'll go there again.
We drove back on the turnpike, trying to get to Hastings to return the CD... made it on time.
It was so nice spending the evening with Karen... no computer, no TV, no kids, just her and me. We need to do that much more often.
So, the day has exhausted me pretty much, and I'm going to get this up and go to bed for a good Lacee-less night's sleep...