Exec Bonding and Car

Last Thursday was UPC Exec bonding. The night started off at Laredo's for dinner. It was a busy night at the restaurant and by the time we got seated, we were starving. Needless to say we were thankful for the chips and salsa. I ordered some guacamole for the group. It was ok, but not great. It was noisy in the restaurant because of all of the people, so Ashley (UPC VP) was able to tell our waiter something without the rest of the group knowing. Well, Collins (UPC GA) overheard, but she played along. So, what was it that Ashley told our waiter....hmmm that it was Seth's b-day. What does that mean? It means that they come over to you, singing loudly, put a sombrero on your head and give you a tastey treat. Melissa (UPC GA) was dying laughing. Seth was a good sport and I have some fun pictures. Apparently, Melissa and Seth had talked about the whole birthday-singing thing earlier. It was probably one of the highlights of the night.

Dinner was good overall for this region. Lots of mexican food to go around. I kind of wish that I had ordered something different, but there is always next time. The funny thing is that I always crave mexican food every so often, but am always somewhat disappointed. It is just not the same as the mexican food in California or even Texas. Oh well...at least it fills some of the cravings.

After dinner, we were all headed to the bowling alley. When I got to my car I noticed that my light was on. We had only been inside for a little over an hour, so I hoped for the best. My car did not start at first. I even called Seth (UPC treasurer) to see if he had jumper cables. He was on his way back when my car started. I called to let him know what my car was back in business and then we met up at the bowling alley.

Thursday night is apparently college night at the bowling alley. At 9 pm, you can get shoes and 4 games. That does sound like a deal, but when you start a 9 pm you can only get so much done with 6 people taking turns. I haven't bowled in probably 3-4 years. Couldn't tell you what my last score was. Low and behold I started off slow and then all of the sudden I was getting spares and doing really well. Not sure where it came from, but everything was falling into place. I won the round with a 134. Who knew?

The next round did not go as well. My shoulder started to hurt a bit, so my bowling score yielded a 77. We only finished two rounds because it was getting late. Oh, well it was fun nonetheless. At 9 pm the lights went down and the music turned up. Nothing like good company, good music, a little dancing, and a lot of bowling. Did some interesting people watching...the guys next to us were having a lot of fun. One of them had some stuffed animals in his pocket that he periodically took out. Strange, no?

When we left the bowling alley my car did start and I got home fine. The next morning I had a haircut appointment. I got in my car, turned the key and nothing. I flagged down the first passing car to ask if they had jumper cables, she didn't but said that her husband might. He was out walking the dogs, so she asked him and he came to help. His name was Jason and after several minutes of trying he was able to get my car to start. Thankfully. I went to the salon and the car had been running for about 17 minutes. Well, the car won't lock when it is running so I had to turn it off. Decided I couldn't worry about it then and went in for my haircut. Got a cut and style and then came back out to a...that's right, a dead battery. I had a meeting at 11 am that I had to finish the agenda for, so I called Collins to see if she was already in the office. Thankfully she was able to pick me up on her way in, just a little detour.

Later my friend Tamara took me back to the car and I called AAA on the way. We got something to drink from McDonald's and then waited for the towtruck to arrive. He came not too much longer later and was able to get the car to start, but said that my battery wasn't holding a charge. Tamara falled me to the Nissan dealership where I left the car overnight. I knew that I needed work on my brakes also, so I guess it all worked out. Went to dinner with Tamara and her son Tyler and Tamara was sweet enough to take me to the grocery store for some staples. At Kroger we had a mini UPC reunion with several UPC alumni (Joey, Brad, Big Hig (current), Emily, Nick).

Next day picked up my car which they wanted to keep all weekend because one of the parts for some boot for my axle wasn't in. It is ok to drive, but I need to take it back in tomorrow morning. A little over $600 later, my car will be back in shape. Blue is 10 years old and has over 100,000 miles on her. She has treated me well and I will keep her as long as I can. Thanks again to Tamara for all of her assistance with the car situation. Blue and I are grateful.