Complications, Complications

Life feels rather disorganized and chaotic right now. My secure and cozy routine keeps getting disrupted, and that, combined with too much coffee this morning, has me a little jumpy. This morning I did a double-take at the thermometer, not quite believing the mid-60s predawn outside temperature. Luckily, I had noticed my front tire was flat last night, so at least I didn't have that little surprise at 6 a.m. I headed out into the thick humid darkness in just a single jersey and shorts. It seemed too good to be true for a January morning, even down here. When I arrived at the levee, there were only a few guys there and someone mentioned somethng about rain on the radar, but by the time we got past the playground there were around a dozen of us. A couple of miles later the pace started to pick up as usual, but suddenly it seemed to be getting darker. Sure enough, the raindrops started to come down. Having just been sick, I was not about to get caught in a cold rainstorm, so I eased over and coasted, preparing to turn around. One of the guys passing me asked if I had a flat, and as the words left my mouth, the skies opened up on us. Like a bunch of chickens startled by a rainstorm, everyone (I think) started making U-turns. I was already rolling pretty fast, but there was no out-running this rain and within a minute I was soaked to the skin. I kept pushing the pace a bit because I didn't want to get cold. We were almost back to the Huey P. Long bridge when the wind suddenly shifted 180 degrees, from South to North and the rain eased up a bit. The rest of the ride home was in a light drizzle, and when I got home I stripped down, dupmed everything into the washer, and headed up from the basement straight to the shower after disassembling my headlight which had already gone whacko, shuttling automatically through all four flashing modes. So at least I got a ride in to work with The Wife who had an 8:30 meeting, after which we went out to rent the car for the weekend trip to Florida ($9.99/day weekend rate - whoo hooo!) and drop the Volvo off at the dealer for exploratory surgery that will probably cost me another large sum of cash. The special rental car rate was too good to pass up, even if it meant getting the economy Dodge Neon with no CD player or cruise control. I guess The Wife can listen to her soft jazz on the iPOD and I'll end up listening to trucker country music on the radio (unless she goes out and buys the FM transmitter for the iPOD that she's been threatening to get). Meahwhile, The Daughter and her team had gotten booked on three different flights through Minneapolis instead of Chicago. They should all arrive in Gainesville some time around the end of the day today. They are already going to be up against a few teams like UCLA and Alabama with multiple ex-olympians and world champions, so this is going to make a tough meet even tougher for them. Luckily, I guess, nobody has any great expectations from them for this meet. The Wife has already made airline reservations for a trip up to Iowa at the end of the month for their first home meet, and all of this is very bed news for my checking account! Meanwhile, I have a meeting in a few minutes and then another at 4 p.m. that will need some preparation, and I've already had too much coffee.