speeding ticket, pesto, printer, gas

On Saturday, I went with my friend to visit my family for my sister’s birthday.  It was going to be a day trip only and I was in a bit of a hurry to get there to make the most of the day.  It was a beautiful day for driving, the music was great, and the conversation was good too.  I was going too fast in my ‘easy to go too fast’ car – and blew right past a well hidden police car.

I started to slow down as soon as I saw him, but it was too late.  And even though there were other cars going just as fast, he pulled me over.  And politely gave me my first speeding ticket.  I’m not going to say how fast I was going or how much the ticket was, but I learned my lesson.  Whether that’s the right lesson or not, it has been learned.  I’m going to slow down – and learn how to use my cruise control.

Got to my folks, hung out with them, then went out to lunch with my sister and her family when they arrived.  We went to Olive Garden and I tried to order spaghetti  meatballs, and pesto.  Except the server didn’t know what pesto was.  I described it (basil, pine nuts – it’s green) and she went back to the kitchen.  She came back a few minutes later with two small containers.  One with a cream sauce that may have had some flakes of basil in it – and another that looked like pesto to me.   I ordered the latter and hoped for the best.

It wasn’t pesto.  Somehow, the person that prepared the sample and the person that prepared the dish were different people.  This pesto had some other “stuff” in it and the dish was swimming in orange grease.  I ate most of it because I was hungry, but learned another lesson.  Order off the menu.

The rest of the visit was fun and we played a rousing game of Farkle while my niece watched Toy Store.   When it was time to go, my friend drove us back to Akron while I sulked.  Just in case.

Today, I got called on to help set up a printer.  The Brother printer was wireless, the computer was a Mac, there were two different networks involved, and there were no manuals.  I ended up deleting the printer and re-establishing it, then putting in the network ID and password.   The printer spent 20 minutes cleaning itself – I guess it doesn’t like to be touched – before connecting and printing out the proper documents.    I was pretty amazed with myself, if I do say so myself and I can because it’s my blog.  I may not be at the top of the geek food chain, but I can push buttons with the best of them.

Finally, the cat.  Thunder and I have been having fun with the laser pointer and the small plastic balls with bells in them – but he’s not a cat that likes to be held yet, unless it’s on his terms.   Earlier today, I picked him up and tried to sit on the couch and pet him.  He struggled a moment, extended the claws and pushed off, and passed some horrific gas as he got clear of me.   I’ll be glad to get back to work tomorrow so that I can stop learning these painful lessons.