Booked into a yurt

My, what changes can sometime take place in a single day. And how appropriate for these changes to occur on the 9th anniversary of a day I described only a short while ago. Things were going along in a swimmingly boring sort of way at work this morning when my phone rang for the first time in forever. I have trained my phone to be quiet but that's a long story best told "off blog."

Debby and I were shocked to hear the phone ringing. It hasn't been heard in weeks, maybe months, no one knows. (It's part of that long story above.) I stumbled over to the phone and blindly answered, not even knowing who or what to expect. Lo and behold, it was the director of a distant Senior Center, one of those Senior Centers perched on the very edge of a wilderness that defines the Lower 48's idea of the middle of nowhere. We (through Debby) had agreed to assist them in preparing some volunteer recognition certificates. No big deal there.

So, I am talking with this individual and she said, "Well, you ARE coming up to present them, aren't you?" And I politely said, "NO." ANd it wnet in one ear and out the other without a pause and she said, "Why not?" ANd I said, "Well, our budget's travel money is exhausted." ANd she didn't miss a beat and said, "We will pay your gas expense." ANd I had a ready retort and said, "Well, your event ends to late in the day for me to drive home that night--I don't drive in the dark in winter." And she didn't miss a beat and said, "We're paying for your motel, too!"

Hum, I was trapped. Cornered without an escape route. Excuseless. No where to turn. I stammered and stuttered and sputtered and couldn't even find a reasonable reply and my goose was cooked.

At first, I was bummed out. This was going to toast a whole weekend. We'd have to leave early on a Saturday and get back late on a Sunday this January--weekend after this one. Meanwhile, my employer has decreed that all of us lowly serfs who toil in the Kingdom's fields cannot carry over their "comp time." In fact, they banned the words "comp time" from the kingdom lexicon. So, that means we'd have to take those two weekend days off during the same pay period in which they took place. Opps.

I scrambled mightily to find a way to burn off those two days and finally had success. We are booked into a yurt for two nights at Harriman State Park! And we figgered how to turn it into a FIVE DAY WEEKEND! WHA-WHOOO! More on this momentous occasion after dinner. Meanwhile, it's PARTY TIME!