An Unexpectedly Busy Day

I got up this morning feeling well-rested with no particular plans other than going to Wal-Mart to get some groceries.  Everything in the world other than groceries happened.

I got caught up in a Law and Order: CI marathon, and I found the morning melting away until I got a call from my mother saying Dad was on his way to my house with some person who was going to redo my driveway.  Before I could even get up and pull on a sweater, they were here. 

The guy climbed out of the truck, and the first thing I noticed was that he had a gold chain and bracelet on.  The second was that his fly wasn't quite zipped. (And no, I wasn't looking, but sometimes you can't help but see...) These things, especially taken in combination, do not inspire confidence in a contractor.  He had a certain slickness to him that bothered me.  I had taken Roux out on the leash so she wouldn't be freaking out inside, and she didn't seem to like him very much either.  This was not a good sign since she likes everybody except for the UPS man's truck, which, it seems she has decided is the living brown incarnation of Satan himself. 

Once he left, I came back in, got online, and started trying to look him and his business up.  I also started looking up the hallmarks of the driveway paving scam.  Lo and behold.  Dude didn't seem to exist.  And.  Everything he said and did was like he was moving down the checklist of "How to Do a Paving Scam."  I called Mom and Dad, told them about it, and they said they'd felt weird about him, too. 

The guy was supposed to come back tomorrow at some point with his crew, but he came whipping into my driveway with two dumptrucks around dusk.  I told him to go see my parents (since they were the ones who were planning to foot this bill and who he'd talked to before) before he did anything and kept an eye on his crew who looked to be getting ready to start work.  About ten minutes later, he came zooming back down the road, pulled back through my yard, had one of the trucks pull back into my yard, and when I came off the porch with Roux, finally drove off.  I don't know what they were going to do.  I'm just glad they're gone.  The equipment they had was ludicrous, their behavior was shady, and my loser alarm was going off like crazy.

After they left, it was too late to go to the store, so I started cleaning.  I got the vacuuming done, always a massive effort in a house this big, and put things away.  I put the millions of scarves and hats that seem to be everywhere away.  I did laundry,  I baked cookies.  I am slowly bringing order back to this chaos here.  I estimate that I will have it ready about the time I have to go back to school...  Sigh.

In a couple of hours, it will be time to do the last thing in this busy day.  I plan to go see the Solstice Eclipse.  I hope the clouds clear to let me see it.  It is supposed to be amazing, and since it is also a historical one, I would like to be able to enjoy it.  It would be nicer with a friend to geek out with, but even alone, if it's visible, it should still be a wonderful end to an unusual day.