Zoning Myself Out

OOC: If you don't have to read this, don't. It's embarrassing. Seriously.


June 19th to July 8th is 19 days.   It is also the length of time between my last wrestling match and when I will take on Brett Carson, Mr. E, and Rayne Draven-Omega.  Almost 3 weeks between matches.  Most people would relish the through of a 3 week vacation.  Even for a wrestler, that long of a break is not an unusual length of time to take off from work.  It is totally different to plan that kind of break than to have it just happen.  I had certainly not planned on being excluded from participation in Exposure then VOW taking a break for 4th of July.

So…what happens?  No plans had been made to take up my time, but with Independence Day being such a big family get together holiday, I had gone home to Louisville and celebrated with mine.  Most had no clue about them because they had never become public figures and thankfully had never been dragged into any of my wrestling business like some wrestler’s family members are.  Since it is not exactly celebrated in Britain, Jenny had just joined my family for the 4th.  Predictably, teasing about her and I had ensued.  None of them seemed to believe were are just friends.  Great…just like having a female friend in high school all over again.

After the fun and explosions of the weekend, we had returned to Minnesota.  The fun did not end, but it slowed down a bit.  Well, for me, it did not end.  Jenny was not really impressed with the idea of visiting a train museum.  Personally, I find history extraordinary.  Some do not share the same enthusiasm.  Oh well.  After a couple of hours viewing the way the railroad, and subsequently life around it, in Minnesota had evolved, we finally got to something that Jenny would enjoy.

The museum offers scenic rides aboard an old-fashioned train.  The route goes through downtown Duluth, through the North Woods, alongside Lake Superior, and beside the North River.    As we get aboard, Jenny is actually smiling.  During the rest of the museum visit, those had been an endangered species.  The only real one had been when she had set off a train horn right next to me which I had not known was in working condition.  Apparently, watching me jump away and nearly piss myself is humorous.

Now though, we are both enjoying our scenic ride.  She keeps looking over at me though, even though she has the window seat, and I am right beside her.  Finally, as we reach the end of the line and go through the round-table device used to turn the train around, she breaks her silence.

“What are you doing?”

“Well, I’m waiting on the train to get turned around so we can see some more of the country-side. What are YOU doing?”

She gives a knowing smile, as if expecting that answer even though it is not the one she wants.

“I am wondering why the smartass next to me is on a train when he should be training.”

“I train enough.  It’s not like I have been just laying around lately.”

“Pat, you are about to get into the ring with The Next Level Athlete, a lady who successfully passed herself off as a ninja, and the unknown Mr. E.  You act like I don’t know what wrestling is about, but I’ve seen enough to know some things.  You have been slacking off.”

Nodding, I look down at my lap.  Maybe she has a point.  I had been a bit lazy.  The long break had made me complacent.  My training had slacked off nearly completely.  I had thought that I could get back into the swing of things a few days before the match to sufficiently prepare.  None of that had happened.  Instead, here I was, on a train the night before my match, and I had done next to zero preparation.  I had sufficiently Zoned myself out.  Damn it…