This last week Meredith went with the seniors to a state park for three days for the annual Senior Trip. That left me alone Tuesday night through Friday around noon. This is never a very good thing, especially for our pocketbook.

Tuesday afternoon I mentioned to my friend and colleague Zach that I was bachin’ it. Zach got married in December, so I did not expect a guys’ night out, but Zach’s wife (Londa) was out that evening with some of her friends, so we decided to go out.

I ran after school while Zach took care of some school things. Zach met me at my house (after I had showered) about 5:30 or so, and we headed off to Zach’s old stomping  grounds in the southeast suburbs of Cleveland. He took me to a Mexican (or possibly Tex-Mex) restaurant that I cannot remember the name of, and it was fantastic. That may have been the best Mexican food I have ever had. My restraint at only ordering two burritos was offset by the one-and-a-half baskets of chips and salsa that I ate. We had a leisurely meal, during which we talked a lot about CVCA and the challenges it faces and some possible ideas of how to do some things better.

Zach then took me to an outside mall that had a Barnes and Noble bookstore, where I was forced to buy Meredith a DVD and a CD. We then settled down to two games of chess at the outdoor chess tables. We split the games; I won the first and Zach humiliated me in the second. We took a break and wandered the (mostly closed) mall, and then I decided to get dessert to refresh myself for the rubber match in chess. The Barnes and Noble had Cheesecake Factory cakes, so I got a piece of chocolate cake that was good, but also got a triple-chocolate-chunk cookie that was phenomenal. Wow, that was good. Armed with my brain food, I managed to win the third game.

Zach and I got back home about 9:30 or so, and I went to bed. It was a very fun evening, but Meredith’s trip had cost us about $60 the first evening, with two more evenings to go….