Choo Choo!

We woke up good and early today for our regular Saturday routine: We carpooled out to Synchro, dropped Pamela and Bella off, while Isaac and I went to the new semester of Circus School: Today, the kids got measured for their outfits for the big performance in the spring. Of course all these 3-4 year olds could ask was CAN WE WEAR THEM NOW? WHEN? WHEN??? The teachers got them back on track, and they were working as one big group going through a circuit of exercises: Climb up and roll down a hill of mats, then a trapeze swing and dismount, then springing over a barrier, then a balance beam, then a quick bit of juggling (throwing scarves), and at the end, they lined up for a bow. They did this quite a few times, and us parents gave them applause with each bow. They're teaching not just the skills of the circus, but the SHOW too.

We picked up Bella and Pamela afterwards and headed to Keys Cafe downtown St Paul. I went there quite a bit in 2005-2006 when I was doing work for Gillette Children's hospital, which was within walking distance (their new IT location is a bit farther away, alas). I reveled in the caramel roll... oh it's good there. And even better, the kids didn't think it was something they'd want to try, so I got it all.

After lunch, we headed out to the MN Transportation Museum to climb on the big trains. Bella liked the "business car", with sleeping quarters, a big office, several bathrooms, a kitchen, and a salon. The detail was amazing - they knew how to live back then. I didn't see a heater in there, though... brrrrr..... They were having trouble with snow on the tracks, so we missed a ride on the train, but will do a return visit. Also, we rode on a 1954 vintage bus to and from the parking lot. Pretty dang cool.

Then it was back home, and I went off to the Malt Shop - a hangout from when I was a kid. As I was my high school senior class president, I'm organizing the 25th reunion, and had put out an APB on facebook that I would be there from 2-4pm if anyone wanted to give me ideas for the reunion. One guy did show up, and we had a good chat... but the rest were no-shows.

A final errand: As noted before, my Macbook Air had developed a problem: The hinge holding the screen was getting looser and looser, and at a certain point, it cracked and the lid would fall open and closed. Since that update, the ribbon that connects the screen to the brains got loose, so my screen was showing only red and pink hues. It was very hard to use the computer.

Well, they ordered the part, and it came in in 5 days, not 2 weeks. They called me and I dropped it off Friday afternoon, and it was ready to pick up at noon Saturday. They promised 3 weeks, and the whole thing was done in one.

This is simply amazing: Think of any other consumer product: It breaks, you ship it off to the manufacturer for repairs. An Apple breaks, you bring it in and they fix it right there. It sort of blows my mind, and it's just one more reason I love that company. And it makes me doubly happy that I didn't panic and buy another computer. this one is now JUST FINE.

With all that running around, it's nice to be sitting on my couch in front of the fire, with Pamela right across the room. We keep smiling at each other. Yep, it's pretty nice.