After I left the Submersible Death Trap early Friday morning, we brought back our most important panel, and commenced a bevy of required retests. We didn't get very far into them before we discovered a flaw. Thus, when I arrived on Seavey Island early on Saturday morning, instead of continuing with testing, I was involved with taking the panel down again so the shipyard's staff could go in and find and fix the problem. I ended up spending eight hours at work, with the possibility that I might be recalled for more. Fortunately, just after 7 pm, I got the call informing me that my services would no longer be required that night. Yesterday was a duty day, one on which we brought the panel up again, and resumed retesting...only to have another failure develop. So right now we're in a holding pattern, deciding whether we want to recall the contractor to fix their shoddy work, have the shipyard fix it, or just press on. Whatever the solution, it's very likely we'll lose another weekend to what feels like a never-ending barrage of retests.
And then there are the Mets...the bloody God-awful Mets. The Great Collapse of the past eighteen days was of such a magnitude that it caused Bill Simmons to issue a revised "Levels of Losing" column. It was about 5:30 yesterday, just before I ate dinner, that I got the word that the results had broken in the worst possible way for me. After confirming with ESPN.com, I really wasn't all that angry; it was nothing more than a fitting conclusion to an utterly disappointing stretch run. All credit to the Phillies for surging late to take the National League East, but this one is going to linger in the mouths of Mets fans for quite a while. Especially given the way we were given a glimmer of hope by Maine's one-hitter on Saturday.
Saturday night was a fun night out in Durham. I did not expect to meet any of my co-workers, but three were present at The Knot when I arrived. We had a good time, enjoying many things - among them, alcohol, music, and scenery. I'm thinking about making a run out there this Thursday - I hear that's the big night at the Durham bars.
Grand Bonecoming is becoming palpable, as we prepare to go less than ten days until leave commences. Can Kittery-to-Ithaca be done in a single stretch? I'm certainly going to try...