I'm working in Vancouver... (and at this point we'll use the term "working" loosely.)
My tasks here are all during startup and breakdown...
If I do my job right, and the hardware doesn't break and no one gets sick, my days are pretty non-eventful.
(If I'm busy, something's wrong.)
So here we are at Day 3 of the Events, but my 24th day away from home...
and I still have more than two weeks to go.
As I sit with fingers crossed, hoping for good health for the crew, and for good fortune with our equipment, I watch the feeds of data as they come into our homey little lair.
And as I watch the events unfold and hope for the best, I have other things on my mind...
The NBA All Star game in Dallas for instance...Normally I'd be there, riding herd on the GameStats system and the the broadcasters. This year I had to send a proxy.
Blee is on-site in Dallas, and thing are going well I hear... Good to hear. One less worry.
The thing that really had me preoccupied was a roadtrip that started on Friday, and will end on Monday evening.
The Perfect Child is pushing the boundaries of her know world.
Having been bitten by the Snowboard bug (which I further enabled by getting her a second-hand board back in December here in Vancouver) she wanted to make one last trip to shred the slopes this year...
It wasn't enough to ski for 3 days here in Canada in December, or the trip to West Virgina with the kids from her church group...
She put together plans to go up to Wolf Laurel NC.
A little 500 mile jaunt for President's Day Weekend...
Her uncle (The Woman Who Knows Most Things' brother) lives in Greenville SC, pretty close to Wolf Laurel, so the plan was to go there and stay with Uncle & Family, hang out with the family Saturday and ski on Sunday, and come home Monday.
The reason for my concern?
It was just The Perfect Child (16 years old) and her partner-in-crime Brittany (17) driving up there alone.
Now TWWKMT and I discussed this plan at length... The PCs driving skills, abilities, decision making ability, common sense, etc. We decided it was time to give her a little room and autonomy and let them make the trip.
In my estimation, you have to give them some room to grow every now and then. The question is how much? How far? And are they ready to make good decisions? Can they evaluate a situation and make the right call when the situation calls for it.
The PC and I had a couple phone discussions concerning self-preservation procedures, and how to make the right call in a bad situation. She told her Mom that I had lectured her, but it really wasn't that at all...
At least I didn't recall it that way.
Avoid unpatrolled rest areas, be wary of strangers who ask for help... At best, call 911 on your phone, but don't give your phone to someone to use. All manner of advice to keep her from putting herself and her traveling companion at risk...
So Friday after school they took off to Greenville.
Looking at the weather I was very concerned... But canceling her trip due to a little snow or inclement weather seemed somewhat self-defeating. It would be a very disheartening no-confidence vote...
Besides- If you never try, you'll never know if you can do it.
They hit snow just the other side of Columbia SC, and made it into Greenville at 11:30pm.
It took them 8 hours to make a trip that usually takes me between 6 and 7 hours.
Not bad for a 16 year old from Florida who was on unknown roads and driving in the snow.
They made one stop for food and took it very easy once the weather turned sour...
I was on pins and needles until I heard they were safe...
Now I'll be OK until tomorrow afternoon, when I hear they are back on the road.
Then I'll be watching my monitors, not seeing the picture, but wondering how they are doing.
Until they get home again...
TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE
