Strange, Memorial Day

Yesterday on my way to the gym I had to stop at the Office Max across the street to pick up something for work.  When I went to check out I looked at the clerk checking out my line and did a triple take.  It was someone that was obviously born a man, maybe 55 years ago or so.  In fact he or she still looked very much like a man except the hair was a bit longer, “she” wore earrings and lipstick.  It was bizarre.  I am not the type to stare at people, I feel it’s rude.  However I couldn’t but help but to keep checking this person out.  I wasn’t quite sure if it was a joke, like it was “dress like a woman” day.  Well the other line was shorter so I jumped over there. 

This other clerk had his own set of issues.  He seemed very nervous yet he stared at you awkwardly during the entire transaction.  He asked me if I wanted the extended warranty on my item which I politely told him no.  He stared at me awkwardly in silence until I repeated “No, thanks I don’t need it”  The entire transaction was very weird.  After completing the transaction he continued the odd staring, almost like he was expecting me to say something of great importance.  I was happy to exit the store.

It looks like I will be making my first appearance at the Rumble in two years after destroying my knees there in 2006.  I really had no plans to play.  However this week I got my Rumble application in the mail and it lit a little fire inside.  Charlie, whom I played with the last two times has dropped out of the volleyball scene.  Awhile back Randall had mentioned that he would possibly be interested in playing the Rumble sometime.  Not expecting much, I shot him an email to see if he had any interest in possibly travelling 1200 miles to play in his first grass tournament.  At first it seemed pretty iffy because of some work commitments he has but he got those worked out.  We are going to play! 

It’s going to be an interesting series of events.  Once Randall committed I had to see what Ali wanted to do because she actually is going to be up in PA the week prior to attend a dance recital for her niece.  I wasn’t sure if she wanted or would be able to because of work commitments, turn right around a few days later and head right back to PA.  Well she said she wanted to come, along with Nicki.  So after confirming we could stay at my dad’s townhouse in Flying Hills, we formulated a plan. 

Randall is going to be flying up from Fort Lauderdale on Friday.  We are going to be leaving a day or so in advance, driving and then picking him up at the airport. We will play on Saturday and then Randall flies out Sunday. We will drop him off and then we will pull back out for Florida either late Monday or early Tuesday.  It will be a whirlwind trip but I think it will be a lot of fun.  I’m anxious to see how our beach game will translate to grass. 

Randall is excited for the trip, he released this press release:

It was announced today at a 1:15 pm news conference that Team Zero will make an unprecedented appearance at this year’s Pottstown Rumble. Fresh off of their come from behind win in Siesta Key last month, Team Zero looks to challenge a historically large field of teams for the coveted title. Duf, a native of Reading, Pa, won the title back in 1999 against a field of 100+ teams. A new training regimen has made Duf leaner and meaner a near decade later. While no stranger to the beach game, Sir_Randall seeks to compete in his 1st Rumble and 1st tournament on grass courts. It also marks the first time in 4 years that Sir_Randall has played with the old school rules namely no let serve and side out scoring.

I’m undecided if I want to take the party van or the Camry for the trip.  The Camry would cut our gas costs close to half. However I am not thrilled with the idea of putting 2600 miles on it plus the extra space in the van makes long drives more enjoyable.  The negatives of taking the van are the large gas expense, marginal air conditioning and the uneasy feeling of rolling the dice whenever we take it.  I always feel like I am trying to avoid rolling a 7 with it.  It did drive just fine the past couple days though. We may have to use this link that Randall forwarded to me to sniff out the best gas prices along the way. http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx  

I am looking forward to Memorial Day weekend.  We don’t have big plans other than possibly attending a Memorial Day picnic held by the running club.  The Camry goes into the dealership today, I hope it doesn’t sound like I am driving an ATV on smooth surfaces after today.   I put in a couple miles on the treadmill at home last night, it went fine.  Today I am leaving early to meet up with the satellite installer at home that is going to convert us to HD, allowing me to watch the Eagles in glorious detail in a few months.