Maria. Maria. I just met a girl called Maria.

 

What a corny way to open up an entry.  But I figured that the focus of my day would be on just two things: (1) Having dinner with Maria, and (2) a Noisy Muffler.  And I was right.  Work passed by relatively quickly, and once I got into the zone, I didn't notice the 8 hours go by. So, the real day began for me around 5:00 pm.

After a quick stop at the house to change into something prettier than I wear to work, it was off to see Maria in Poughkeepsie.  Giving her a 7:00 arrival time was just right.  We both got to the restaurant within minutes of each other, and then we sat down to dine. This was Maria's first time at the Mill House Brewpub.  I've been there a couple of times before, and I expect to eat good food.  But tonight, both the quality and quantity impressed me.  Although we spent a pretty penny on the meal (both of us had drinks), it was well worth the price.  (Too bad she couldn't drink any beer - we'd have shared a flight of drinks.)  Due to the rain, one drink was my limit.  But what I had went well with my pork schnitzel.  Yum!

We talked about many things, but the focus was on the stuff occupying my mind these days: WDS, the Ex-Girlfriend, FH and the other women I've been chatting with lately. None of these things in themselves is that interesting.  But when put in an overall context of how people relate to each other, how people communicate with each other, then it becomes interesting.  We could have gone on forever, but both of us were tired. 

All too soon, we had to go home. It was well worth the effort to see Maria again.  And I hope that I can get together with her and her boyfriend next time.

Mavis Tires - The second, but not final visit.

 

You might wonder why I show pictures of a car's exhaust system.  Well, the long pipe connecting the engine to the rest of the exhaust system failed, along with the parts closest to the tail pipe.  Yesterday, I brought the car to Mavis Tires, expecting to have the work completed by the end of the day.  However, the parts supplier couldn't get the parts to Mavis on time to get me out the door by 5.  So I was told to come back after work to get this work done and to get my wallet emptied.

Whenever I get work done on my car, I go as Mario.  Yesterday, this meant a quick stop at home to change into Marian before going to work.  Today, it meant changing into Mario after work before going to Mavis.  So I had to plan out my day very carefully.

- - - - - -

This morning, the Route 9A Southbound traffic jam from Croton to Route 134 was much worse than usual for 7:20 am.  Cars were bunching up at the end of the bridge out of Croton, and I had to take side roads to bypass much of the jam.  Another jam was around Route 133, and I had to again reroute to side roads instead of getting stuck in traffic.  If I didn't know the alternative routes on side roads, I'd never have made it to work on time.  But I did lose my chance to have a cup of coffee before starting work.

At lunchtime, I received the following message from WDS:

Hello Dear Friend,

1. My brain may recover, but there are no promises. The pressure of the two hemorrhages between my cranium and brain has already killed a whole bunch of brain cells.

2. I'm staying at a house that I rent. No, please don't try to help me. I don't want to live forever, and I definitely don't want to survive as a vegetable. Quality of life is very important to me. Remember that I have had personal experience with that subject and that I understand it well.

3. No, thank you. I get tired easily, and I have to allocate my efforts to selected activities.

I appreciate your friendship and offer to help, but this is an end of life state. I must choose the right path for me at the right time. 

Hopefully when the time comes, he will have someone near him to keep him company as he starts his trip to the great unknown.  Also, I hope that he has someone lined up to inform his friends and family of his demise.

Next, I received a text from FH that something was wrong, and she wanted to talk this evening.  It seems like she wanted more time to talk with her friend, and asked me to come for dessert instead of a midday dinner.

After 8 hours of playing digital "Whack-a-Mole", I was tired and ready to go home.  Instead, I could only stop there long enough to clean myself up, change clothes, and then go to Mavis.  While at Mavis, I texted Vicki, and she picked me up for an unplanned dinner at Panera Bread.  So, at 7:30, I returned to Mavis with a hope that my car would be ready.

My hopes for a quiet car were dashed when I was told that the pipe at the end of the muffler (see bottom left photo) was about 5 inches too short.  It couldn't connect with the rest of the tailpipe.  So I ended up with a noisy car that will have to take me up to see a friend tomorrow.  At least, the fellow assures me that this will be fixed for good on Saturday morning.  Damn.  It would be the only day I could wake up late, and now I can't do so.  AARGH!

Tomorrow, I'll be meeting up with Maria #2 after work.  It'll be nice to catch up with her again.

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom

 

It was just one of those days....

I had to take off from work to bring my noisy car to Mavis.  The car had exhaust system problems, and I didn't know bad or costly they'd be.  After an hour at Mavis, I was brought to my car and shown the undercarriage.  The exhaust pipe had failed from the point of connection to the catalytic converter to the muffler itself.  Not only did I need a new pipe, but I needed a new muffler as well.  Ouch!  To make things worse, they couldn't get the parts in today.  So I was told that the parts would be in tomorrow, and that I could bring the car in after work to be taken care of.  There goes the better part of $1,000 that I'd rather spend on something else....

Next, it was off to work for a half day, and home to catch up with my ex boss on a Zoom meeting.  He's a good man, and I'm glad to be able to talk with him now and then.  But for some reason, I feel a little depressed when I talk with him.  I guess it's because we're out of the element (work) that gave both of us a certain purpose.

Following this, I logged onto another Zoom meeting, playing games with friends.  I don't recall if I won any games or not, but I was glad to be able to make it.  In two weeks, we'll likely be shutting down for the summer.  And I'll miss the distraction that helped me kill time and keep from getting bored shitless.