Another weekend flies by....

...and just a few minor things to tell.

It's been an up-and-down week. I'm still behind on work from being out of town. So, I cleared my Friday, to catch up on work. I got to the office early and had no meetings scheduled until 2:30 in the afternoon. I settled in, fired up the iPod-dock-speakers, and went to work.

Thirty minutes later, the music dies, the computer shuts down, the teapot (love my herbal tea) stops simmering, and the lights go out. Power outage. Over the entire campus. After two hours of this, I head home. Even if I can't access campus resources, I can do work that doesn't require it. The power is up again at noon. Of my planned seven-hour catch-up session, I get two and a half hours. Crappety, crap, crap.

So, what did I learn? Technology work is great, until it's unplugged.

The votes are in and the new guy has a new name. [drum roll please] He will be henceforth called Aspen. Thanks to all who voted! This name won with 58% of the vote.

And Aspen has had a rotten week. We live off the Grand Mesa here. It's gorgeous up there, and covered in snow now. Aspen and his daughter, age 8 (I think), like to go up there and wander. She's the navigator. At any crossroads, she decides which way they turn. They ended up in Crested Butte once. This time, they got out and played in the snow a bunch. As they chased the setting sun off the Mesa, Aspen realized....somewhere in the vast white they were leaving behind was his company cell phone. With my phone number on it.

I got a quick IM from him on Monday, telling me what happened and that it would be a few days before he had a replacement phone. I didn't hear from him the rest of the week. Which was okay. I talked to Fella just as much, this past week, and I'd even texted him. But more on that later....

By Friday, though, I was concerned that I hadn't heard from anyone. I'd IMed with South Carolina, but he can't make my weekend interesting from there. Finally, Friday night, I hear Aspen's ringer coming from my purse.

"Oh, thank God!" he hollers when I answer. "I have a new phone but I didn't have your number! I went through the numbers in my last cell statement until I found it. And there you are!"

Okay, this guy actually problem-solved to find my number, and to find it now. He could have IMed me next week, but he didn't wait for that. He really wanted to talk to me. Now.

He's had a bit of a hitch in his life. His daughter stays with him on weekends (I know...makes us having alone time a little difficult...we'll work it out, if it goes that way). Last Wednesday, she calls him. "Daddy, guess what? Mommy gave me my Christmas present early!"
"Oh yeah? What's that?"
"A PUPPY!" He says his initial reaction was....oh, great. That makes four dogs in my house each weekend.
"What kind of puppy, honey?"
"A Scooby Doo puppy!"

Anyone remember what kind of dog ol' Scooby is? That's right. A Great Dane.

This is a purebred pup. So, think Marmaduke. Think HUGE. He now has three dogs and a pony in his house every weekend. He's hating his ex-wife about now. Not that it hurts my feelings any....

So, he's no fun this weekend. Well, to me. This is his Thanksgiving with his daughter. And he's looking at property in De Beque - 30 minutes away. Why do they want to move away from me?!

South Carolina told me the other day that this is the weekend his ex moves in. Her surgery is Tuesday. Her sister is also moving in. He's not thrilled. "It's not that I mind helping her," he said. "I don't. But...." Yeah, I know.

I still wanted to go out Saturday night. Don't be too disappointed in me, but I called Fella. Hadn't talked to him since Monday, even though I texted my frustration over the power outage. I called his cell and left a message. Two hours later, nothing. I was cruising through Target, rehearsing my kiss-off message to Fella, when it dawned on me to try his other number. I did. He answered.

"Hey there," I said. I didn't identify myself.
"Hey!" he answered, obviously happy to hear from me. This started a deluge of "What's up?" "What are you doing?" "What are you going to be doing?" and other questions about the answers I gave. I was a little baffled, to say the least.

I returned the questions, and he said, "We can go do something later if you want." We decided on a time when we'd meet at his house, then go to dinner.

When I got there, daughter was engrossed in her laptop on the couch. In her pajamas. Her employment situation has her very depressed. She just thought she'd be at a different point in her life at almost-30. We talked about what she wants to do, can do, and some options. I promised to help.

Fella picked up the paper and I saw him looking at the movie ads. We headed out for dinner and he cruised by the theater, wanting to see a movie together, too. Over dinner, we discussed more about his daughter's situation, what's going on with his son, what I do for a living and how I can expand it....etc. A great conversation. As I ate, I pushed the super-hot peppers in the dish to the side. Without a word, he'd spear them from my plate and ad them to his own.

We watched a movie at home and had a good time. Two things became apparent during the evening. First, he isn't getting my text messages. Second, he didn't get my earlier message. When we returned to the house, he picked up his cell and said, "Oh look! You called!" and laughed. It had been off the whole time. When I left, I wasn't sure he'd kiss me goodnight, partly because son was nearby. But he did. And didn't stop, until son's girlfriend came around, too. It was a good night.

Then the rollercoaster plummeted again. I called tonight to get daughter's email address. She answered, and sounded odd. She assumed I wanted to talk to her dad and gave him the phone. He sounded odd, too. So, I told him what I needed and she got back on the phone with the info. Then, back to her dad. He asked a little about what I'd found out, then said he had to get dinner on the table. "I'll talk to you...," he paused. "...another time." The bad vibe was palpable. Something was happening and I stepped in the middle of it. The entire conversation was plodding, stilted, and almost rude. Exactly what I'm sick of.

It's Thanksgiving break, and I'm thankful for the break.