Last Wednesday was the Last Day of School for my Daughter the Teacher. She's now off until she starts to teach Summer School on July 5th. This also means that I won't be Babysitting until then so I'm on "vacation" until then. The few days that remained in last week were spent doing errands so this didn't start feeling like a vacation until this past Monday.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The only thing I have to do this week is a favor to some friends in Avenel. They're on a Cruise so I agreed to swing by their house every morning and let the dog out for a while, make sure she had food and water, turn on the Pool pump and then swing by on my way home to turn the pump off (other people are involved in taking care of the dog during the afternoons and evenings). Sounds pretty simple.
Monday, I left my apartment early and, while I was letting the car run for a bit, I saw this guy pull into a non-spot between my building and the next. Not only that but he was blocking the sidewalk.
Like I said, it was early and, as I watched the driver get out and walk away, I knew what I was going to do. As I pulled away ...
Point, press, Flash.
I took Rahway up towards Avenel.
I knew that some work was being done by the Township on the corner by my friends' house. It had something to do with putting in Handicapped Access Ramps. I was expecting that. I wasn't expecting to find that the entire street was closed off.
Apparently, they decided to mill and repave the entire street - from St. George up to Routes 1&9 at the same time as they did the Ramps. They were only just starting but I could see that there was going to be a problem. I had to park on the next block down and walk up to the house.
Afterwards, I did some food shopping then drove to the Second-hand store in South Plainfield. I've been invited to a Baptism in July and I wound up picking out a shirt and a pair of slacks to go with a jacket I own. On the way home, I came up behind this woman walking along Woodbridge Avenue.
I was on vacation and feeling good so I drove on by, stopped to turn off the pump, and went home.
I had a plan for Tuesday. I was going down to check out a few Libraries in Monmouth County. I headed up to Avenel to take care of the dog and found that the block I hoped to go down was now closed also.
I had to go down to St. George and come up one of the cross streets to do what I had to. Afterwards, I stopped at the local Dunkin' Donuts and got a large Iced Tea and a Wake Up Wrap and drove down to Monmouth.
Good for him. I headed back.
I stopped to turn off the pump and drove home. All in all, it was a good day.
Wednesday I drove back up into Avenel. Again, the streets that were closed had been changed and I had to maneuver around until I found a way to get closer to my friends' house.
That's when something began to dawn on me. There were police officers all over the area who were - basically - just standing around checking stuff out on their cellphones. I'm gonna look into this, I thought.
I stopped at the house and made sure things were good. had arranged to stop by my Daughter's house to spend some time with her and my Granddaughter so I drove down to the Dunkin' Donuts closer to her. Along the way, I saw this person.
It was quiet here, and we were alone.
Point, press, Flash.
I had a great time with my girls and then drove back up to Avenel to turn off the pump. This time, I took a few side streets off of St. George to get there. That's where I saw this guy heading in my direction.
I was in a good mood and drove on by.
I took care of the pump and headed home. The milling had been done and, although the repaving wasn't finished, the street was open. I took it towards Avenel Street, being careful around the raised manholes. When I got to Avenel and made the left onto the raised roadway when I heard a clanking noise. After that, there was a constant dragging sound from under the car. Obviously, something had come loose. I wound up going directly to my mechanic on Main Street by the Train Station. Turned out that my muffler broke and would need to be replaced.
I left the car and walked home.
(I looked into that "cops at street construction" situation. Turns out that they get paid $50 an hour for the overtime but we taxpayers shouldn't worry because the construction company picks up the tab. Digging a little deeper, I found that these companies include this expense in their bids for the jobs so we wind up paying for the overtime anyway.)
This morning, I picked up my car and headed back to Avenel. The access was easier, the repaving was coming along, and the cops were still out there doing nothing.
I took my breakfast to the Menlo Park Mall and read the paper. I did the crossword puzzle. I drove to Babies' R Us to see if I could find something for my Granddaughter. I didn't find anything but I did come across this woman walking across the parking lot. She was texting or whatever and totally oblivious to where she was and what she was doing.
Point, press, Flash.
I stopped to turn off the pump and drove home.
As I was updating my checkbook (I used my Debit Card for the mechanic's bill) I realized something - because I'd been Babysitting 4 out of 5 days a work-week my shopping habits had changed and I'd been able to save some money. That just got eaten up by the repairs. It seems that every time I start to get ahead, something happens.
So it goes.
