XXXVIII: Ha ha ha / Breadth requirement

 It's 10:45 AM on a Sunday. I've already been up for several hours. Bastian woke us up with a little bark sometime after 6 and Mel -- consciously or otherwise -- nudged me. I hope this is not going to become a habit.

In fairness, Bastian had spent a lot of the last three days in his crate and he can't have enjoyed it. Thursday, Mel and I met her mom at the Ex for our once-every-few-years outing. We had teed this up during out semi-impromptu visit the week before. Mel went into her office, which involved getting up extremely early so she could be seated in time for her 8:30 call. I think she ended up getting the 6:55 train which was even earlier than the one we were aiming for. I can't deny she's gotten a lot better at mornings but that doesn't mean she's become a fan. I barely got any sleep because I was up til midnight the night before teeing up her lunch and trying to find her headphones (they had fallen under the couch.)

I was fairly useless for the day. My brain was soupy. It was like being back at work. The hours simply ticked down until it was time to go meet her, which ended up being a struggle because both dogs needed to be walked, and then when I got to the train station I realized I hadn't brought Mel's pill that she takes at 9 (the particulars of Mel's medications will be an ongoing theme of this post, I hope it doesn't violate her personal info.) She alerted me to this; I had also meant to make a note of it, but had forgotten it in the mishegas. So back I went, and I managed to make it back to the train station in time for the 4:55, which was an express to Exhibition after Oakville. Sweet.

Of course, I needn't have rushed. Mel was pretty late getting away from work, not arriving at the Ex until after 6, by which time we'd told her mom to go ahead and see the dog show. We had hoped to get a locker, but I won't count on that ever again -- there were maybe a dozen lockers by the entryway. There should be hundreds. Obviously they were all taken. Womp womp. So we ended up carrying Mel's bag (and the one I'd brought) all night.

We'd had a huge storm the day before and it looked like it might rain while we were out so I had my own bag with umbrellas too. It hasn't instantly become cool as of September 1 like it normally does (I am hesitant to ever say anything about the weather, because we all know what's going on.) It was a nice mild night, shorts and t-shirt were appropriate, although Mel was stuck in her work pants.

Mel was already pretty sour about the experience. We waited for her mom to get out of the show and get something to eat at the food trucks. At one point Mel was dubious we were going the right way, but I scouted ahead; the food trucks were where they usually are, by the Prince's Gates. We ended up getting a shredded beef grilled cheese, and Mama H got a beef butter tart (??) then I was sent in search of a classic poutine.

After that, the mood improved a bit. We went to the Midway stage and saw a band called Gravely, which was doing some covers, including stuff like Franz Ferdinand and Young the Giant, but also older stuff like Buffalo Springfield and Bowie (Suffragette City, which Mel rocked out to more than I would have figured) along with a few originals before closing with 500 Miles, always a good way to get the crowd on your side. Mama H and I split a beer and Mel had an underwhelming Key Lime slushie. 

We wandered a bit more in search of games, or perhaps the other stage, but eventually we realized it was getting late and we were tired and sore, so we just made our way to the train, and got it pretty much right on time, good seats too (despite the admonishment to move down the platform.)

Friday, Mel had taken as her personal day, on a delayed schedule since she had to book it in August and kind of fake it (real nice, you've hired hundreds of people and neglected to tell them they have three weeks to take a personal day.) We went for breakfast at Williams, then the plan was to do some running around at the mall before getting her nails done. Again I had to be sent back for pills. She's taking this new one that she's meant to have with food, so she takes it with breakfast. So I brought it back and she took it, but I guess it was too late because on the ride over to the mall she started feeling not so good. We ended up just sitting in the car (I went to get some New York Fries for us) until it was time for her appointment at 3:45. Then I just kind of sat at the mall reading. I had thought about bringing the computer and doing writing, but said nah.

We got home and made this Instagram dish that Mama H had made recently, sheet pan gnocchi and sausage. Except Mel didn't want the gnocchi because we had potatoes for lunch, so we did tortellini. I was underwhelmed by the result. Mel was too, but for different reasons. She was feeling good for a bit after getting home nad napping, but ended up feeling not great by the end of the night.

Saturday, we went out to see Laura, Ryan and the baby. We were meant to come for 2, but it was hard getting our shit together so we left close to 1:30, and with traffic didn't make it until close to 3. The visit was nice though. We went to pick up some Greek food (well, I did, that was my contribution) which was good, although they served garlic bread instead of pita. They had Brooklyn 9-9 playing on the tv.

The drive home was terrible, as usual, not helped by the setting sun blasting in my eyes. Things got jammed up after the skyway so we said fuggit and got off at North Shore. It's not actually a bad way to go, once you make it to Maple. We went for ice cream at Baskin Robbins, then went home and cuddled the doggies. Again Mel wasn't feeling great by the end of the day though, so I tucked her in and spent a little more time with the boyz.

So there you go. It's been a very full few days and we still have 2 days of long weekend left. I'm hoping today will be quite chill, although I know Mel was eyeing some P.D. time, and we talked about me regaining my focus in that area (guilty as charged.) After walking one dog, resting a while, walking the other dog and feeding him -- Basti was sick on his blanket so he's fasting today -- I made some coffee and a little bagel breakfast. I think Mel's going to want a nice breakfast of P&S, which is fine, I just won't get the benedict.

So it goes

Keep on rockin'

-Scotto