At 6:30 we arrive. She says she won't be longer than a half hour and she's insistent that she can NOT be left there waiting for me. I say I'll be back in a half hour, or sooner if she calls.
I go for a drive and find out where we made a wrong turn. It doesn't match the map.
I find a historic site called "Redemption Rock". The entrance to the parking lot is too rough for my VW but I manage to clear it. I walk around and snap a few photos. Nice place.
:ahhh:
There's a nice trail. I walk that and snap some photos.
I walk a different section and find some cool stuff but my time is running out.
I start running back up the trail. I'm a fat guy, I don't do running. However, once in a blue moon, out in a forest trail with wet roots sticking up and rocks everywhere, I somehow manage to feel light and airy and enjoy running as I place my feet accurately and quickly.
:ahhh:
That doesn't last long, I am out of breath before I reach the car. I walk to the car, hop in, blast out of there (I think without damaging the car), and get back to the professor's driveway at 7:01. I wait.
Time passes.
Ok, I'll pull out the netbook and see if I can pick up some WiFi. Sure enough, there's a network named "linksys" with no encryption.
I chill on my favorite forums, except the one that if I start looking at it I know I'll want to spend an hour on it. I catch up on all of them and she's still not coming out. I IM someone for a few minutes and then remember that I could catch up on the Family Guy and Cleveland Show and American Dad that I missed on Sunday.
I start watching Family Guy. It's not funny. Worse, it's gross and makes me almost puke. This is the first episode of Family Guy I've ever not liked.
I stick with it hoping it will improve. Why would they make it 43 minutes if it's going to be boring and suck?
The internet connection isn't fast enough. I watch 5 seconds and then wait 10 seconds. I watch 10 seconds and then wait 30 seconds.
The boring part ends and the boring musicals begin.
I quit watching.
:ahhh:
Time passes. Sometimes people come out or walk by and I get all hopeful.
Then I find out it's a false alarm.
I'm hungry, tired, and bored, 50 miles from home. It's 8:30. She comes out.
She sits in the car and tells me they're not done, it's just a break.
She tells me that they have nasty chicken salad inside (something that would make me puke even if it was good quality).
She tells me that there's mold in the house from a flood (she's allergic to moldy air). I choose to remain in the car where it's quiet, I have my music, I have control of the temperature, I'm not around a bunch of people, and I'm not breathing moldy air.
She goes back in. The netbook's battery is dying.
I remember that I have a small inverter that is usually just enough to run a laptop.
I plug it in. It's not enough. I get a few seconds of AC and then a few seconds of battery. I can't convince the netbook to have the same screen brightness for both so it flashes bright-dim-bright-dim.
I start the car. The increase voltage makes it work, now I have AC power.
:ahhh:
The low fuel light comes on. I'm in the middle of nowhere using my engine to run my netbook.
I decide I'll run the engine for a while then shut it off and run the netbook on battery. I'm bored, the forums aren't active and I don't want to hit the big forum. There are more false alarms with people coming out. Eventually she comes out and we get the hell out of there.
It's pitch black and I'm driving really fast through unfamiliar wet forested mountain roads. Deer or moose could come out from behind any tree and IDGAF.
We pass the gas station that the GPS said was within 6 miles. It's closed.
(continued)