>     This has been one tiring day. I didn’t get a chance to run this morning because it’s Wednesday, and on Wednesday I start work two hours earlier than usual. Karisa didn’t feel well – grumpy stomach, possibly due to the tuscani pasta from Pizza Hut last night – and I let her stay home instead of taking me to work because we have her Mom’s van for the time being and I wanted to drive the Saturn anyway to check my suspicion that it still has a coolant leak.
     I was right. Although the coolant reservoir was full when I left the house, when I checked it at lunch time, it was nearly empty. Go figure, right? The chumps at Cenex replaced the water pump and didn’t fix the coolant leak. I had to call them and make an appointment for them to “look at it” tomorrow; I dropped it off after work at the Cenex, where Karisa was waiting for me in the van.
     On the upside, I got a really sweet Fender lunchbox at work today, with a little thermos and everything. We got ten of them because all of our stores are switching over from loose guitar picks to pick packs, and so we had to order a ton of picks for seven different locations. I also picked up some cool Ernie Ball stickers from an order that came in today, which was a nice surprise. Usually Ernie Ball sends us guitar cables and picks as promos, which I usually throw in the marketing area for giveaways and door prizes.
     Also, the weather here was nicer than expected today – very sunny, high in the mid-fifties, which was supposed to be in the high forties. . . so that was great, and we’ve opened up the windows in the apartment for the first time since last Fall, when we moved in. The air coming in is a tad cooler than I would prefer, but it’s fresh air, after all, and I totally approve.
     But work was definitely busy. It’s about that time of year that I stop having an excuse to slack off, and products will begin to arrive with increasing frequency. Today I received two pallets of snare/bell kits and pad/bell kits. Forty-seven pieces in all, each one serialized and kind of heavy. I didn’t have this problem with them last year. . . but then again, I was less out-of-shape last year; I’m tackling that one.
     I’m ready to rest, but it’s going to have to wait a little bit longer. The Zunited podcast has a dearth of email for the next show (which is on April 6) and they requested on air that I write a thought-provoking email. Let’s see how that goes!