This weekend I’m going to be directing at the Notre Dame Fencing Invitational. It’s an easy way to make a couple hundred dollars and an excuse to eat at CJ’s. I’m doing some serious brushing up on my USFA rules, since I’ve not actually fenced since I’ve graduated. [I can’t believe it.] The Invite is two long long days of fencing, starting at 8 and usually ending 8 or more hours later, so I’ll definitely earn my cash. Since I’m leaving after work today, I had to accomplish all the normal stuff I do on the weekend last night. So I did my laundry, got my car serviced, et cetera. But the Lube Stop broke the valve stem in one of my tires, so I ended up having to put on the donut in the sleeting rain and drive to NTB in Lakewood for a replacement stem. The guy that fixed my car goes to the Greek Orthodox Church in Tremont, and another guy who was there waiting has a daughter around my age that lives there.
I’m going to send a complaint to Lube Stop, and maybe next time I’ll get a free oil change. The whole affair killed about two hours of my time. Tremont West gave me a call because they’d like to send me to a leadership conference in Nashville in May that is sponsored by Neighbor Works. I stopped in to check out their new offices and explained that I’d like to go, but since my status in the Cleveland is now unstable that they should continue asking people, but to keep me in mind and that I’d keep them updated.
I finally made it back to my apartment at about 7:45 and was able to shove some clothes in my overnight pack and snarf some leftover vegetable stew before I had to meet up with Des and Steve at the Lit to discuss the logistics of installing webcams in tactical spots in Tremont. Busiest Thursday I’ve had in a long time, I didn’t even have a chance to think about running.