Getting dirty, Finally saw it, Getting Wet, More sound, Halo, More shock

Friday after work I met up with my buddy Derek, who has been my lifting partner at the gym for at least 20 years, at a nearby Publix to grab a beer, yes, grab a beer. Publix is the dominant grocery chain in this area but there is one close to my house that has a small bar area. A had a cup of some IPA they had on tap. After finishing our beer both of us hit the store to get our respective grocery shopping completed.

Saturday morning I had another pickleball session because of a wet Sunday forecast. I played for close to two hours before calling it good. I really enjoy playing with the weekend group, there are a number of good people among them.

Saturday afternoon I did something I had never done since moving to the new house, an oil change on the Tacoma. When it last needed an oil change I took the lazy way out and took it to a quick oil change place. I was not pleased with the wait and the price of that service so I mentally committed to doing it myself after the next 5000 miles pass.

I needed to go out and buy a new oil catch can, the old one got thrown out with the great purge that took place at my old house. When I got under the truck it became apparent that the oil change place used an impact wrench on every fastener involved in the process, I could not budge them with my socket set. Luckily my Dewalt impact gun was able to pop it all loose. As is typically the case I wound up wearing some of the oil but things went well otherwise. I am good to go for another 5000 miles. It felt good to get dirty.

Saturday evening Derek invited me to come hang at his place as his wife was out of town. He lives on Isle of Capri, an area I never have checked out despite living here for close to 25 years. It is only 12 miles away from me. Derek is very handy. For as long as I have known him I have heard of the endless projects and improvements he has made on his house but I had never been there in person. It was very cool to see it first hand.

He lives right on a canal, Hurricane Ian did a number on his home, flooding it with a couple feet of water. They had to gut it and redo a ton, much of it done by Derek. He is still finishing up a few small details but for the most part the house is back together. We spent a lot of time just hanging on his pool deck facing the canal and shooting the shit while drinking. I brought a six pack of Cayman Jacks to contribute to the party. Later he also made dinner, Derek is a good chef to boot. It was a great hang out. I told him he needs to hang at my place next, which has never seen either.

I even did a live stream Saturday night after returning home. I utilized my new soundboard that allows me to inject ridiculous voice filters and sound effects into the stream. It was pretty fun.

As predicted Sunday was a complete washout with rain falling all day long. After a slow morning I headed over to the county fitness center to get a workout in. I combined chest and lower body, something I never do. I did it to make sure I hit all of my desired body parts this week despite having Monday off.

I did some cleaning up around the house during the day, spending most of the effort in the hobby room which was getting a little out of hand. The end result was the room looking loosely organized, at least. I also spent a decent chunk of time watching Halo, the series based on the video game I played on the Xbox for quite awhile. I have heard a number of people say they like the series and I see why. I have now almost completed season one and still have season two to plow through. If you like sci-fi action then you will love it, regardless of if you played the game or not.

I made a Sunday visit to Carrabas last night for dinner, a rarity. There were a bunch of vehicles in the carry out parking area so I thought I may have arrived too early to miss the dinner rush, it was a little before 8PM. I was wrong. I walked in to a basically empty bar along with a nearly empty dining room. I enjoyed a quick dinner before returning home to watch more Halo.

I was supposed to play pickleball this morning but it was still lightly raining. The good news is I have a second play session already booked for this afternoon. Like I said previously, I can’t get enough. I just need to make sure I don’t cross the line where playing too much could lead to injury.

So I got another shocking text this weekend. The woman that organizes our weekly volleyball sessions had a heart attack and died. I don’t know her age but I think she may have been younger than me. This marks the second time in a month that two people I would have never expected to pass, did. The news threw me in a weird state of mind, making me wonder just how long I have until I check out. If it can happen to them, it can happen to myself at any point. It was a very tragic text to receive. I have no idea how things will be this Thursday when I get together with the gang to play. She was universally liked and always had a smile for the world to see. I am struggling with the reality that she is gone.