It was a busy week of doing nothing for me. We went to visit Shaila's parents in Florida, and I spent a decent amount of our time there waiting for a Dell repairman to fix my work computer. I've been with my company for almost 12 years, and during that time, prior to two weeks ago, I've had a computer break on me maybe once, and then within the last fortnight, it happened twice. The first time, the hard drive just up and died, so I had to get an entirely new computer, and then on Monday, not even a week after I had set up everything with all the software I needed (a process which takes several days), I closed my computer and heard a weird popping sound and opened it up to see this.
I called our IT guy, and he arranged with Dell to come out and replace the screen, which they did, but it was a day after originally scheduled, and they didn't tell us anything about a delay, so I waited for them all day Wednesday and half the day Thursday. Not only that, but my in-laws live in a gated neighborhood, and I'm not authorized to admit people, so I had to enlist my father-in-law to wait around with me, in case there was an issue with the technician getting in. Neither of us had a whole lot to do, anyway -- and a technician did eventually come and replace the screen -- so it wasn't too bad, but still, waiting around for service is one of the most annoying aspects of modern life.
It was otherwise a good trip -- way too hot, though. My in-laws have a really nice screened lanai, and I like sitting out there in the morning, having a coffee and doing my daily puzzles (crossword, Wordle, Spelling Bee, and Anigrams), but it was unbearably hot even at 8 am. We basically only did indoor activities and went to the pool. We went bowling on the 4th, which was quite fun, and then S took the kids to the new Spider-Man movie one of the days I was waiting for the technician. We thought about trying to find some sort of local fireworks show, but ultimately decided against it, because Lil' S2 was waking up early and wearing himself out at the pool and running out of steam by 7:30 pm. He is not fun when he's tired. The smallest thing will set him off, and he gets teary-eyed, and his voice goes up several octaves, and he starts shouting about how his bad behavior is actually everybody else's fault: Well, you guys raised me this way, so I guess you're bad parents! It's kinda funny at first, but it goes on too long and gets really annoying and a little bit sad. It's like a Judd Apatow movie. (Zing!)
In general, the 4th isn't really a great kids holiday -- at least not the fireworks part of it. The big shows start too late and are often a huge hassle with young 'uns. The little shows people do in their neighborhoods are often illegal and/or dangerous. I mean, we used to do it up on the 4th with a bunch of fireworks, but the world was a different -- less flammable place -- place back then. Given the seemingly daily stream of news reports about wildfires menacing large swaths of the continent, maybe we can all just chill on the amateur fireworks shows.
We got back in to DC Saturday afternoon, and then had a big slumber party for one of Lil' S1's friends that night. His dad is in the military and the family is moving to Belgium in a few weeks. We knew that it was slightly crazy timing -- a slumber party on a day we all woke up at 5 am to catch a flight -- but it was the only date that even kinda worked for everybody. It wasn't as bad as I was anticipating. Yeah, I probably would have rather just relaxed the entire night in peace and quiet, but the day you return from a trip is often a wasted day, anyway, so this way it's like we killed two birds with one stone. Plus, they were pretty tame and well-behaved, all things considered. I went to sleep around midnight and still heard a little murmuring in the basement, but it was just that: a little murmuring. And I was so tired, I crashed out very quickly, which is great, as I often can't sleep unless things are "settled," and sixth-grade slumber parties are not known for being settled.
But it's Lil' S1 and his friends, and they are not super rowdy. It's a bunch of kids who are into video games and fantasy and such. I heard that the kid who stayed up the latest was just playing a game called Geometry Dash by himself. (To my chagrin, I came to learn that there is no actual geometry involved in the game.) And, at one point, I heard Lil' S1 doing a check to make sure everybody had their "emotional support stuffed animals" before they went to sleep. So, you might have to worry about them rotting their brains with screens and junk food, but probably not destroying the house. That's what Lil' S2 and his friends are for.
Until next time...
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