Beware of the Ides of March

Spring 2018 brought on many challenges for Mad Munch.  There was a week in March where everything seemed to happen all at once.

I went on a bike ride around Mission Bay one Monday on our day off & about halfway through the ride, I pulled something in my back.  I wasn't sure what it was, but I knew it didn't feel very good.

That same day, Kate & I found out that our house & the neighboring apartments had to get fumigated for termites.  We couldn't stay at our house for 72 hours & our landlord would reimburse us for the pro-rated rent for the 3 nights.  

Lucky for us, our good friend, Jax, had an extra room at her place in Del Mar.  So, we were able to finagle staying with her before & after work.  

And, on top of all of that, I was scheduled to take my Food Manager's Exam that week (you have to renew it by taking the exam every 5 years).

So our modified schedule for that week in March, when business started to get busy looked like this:

TUESDAY:    -Shop at Restaurant Depot

                        -Del Mar Ridge Apartments (leave home at 3pm, setup 4:30-7:30)

                        -Arrive around 8pm & Stay at Jax's in Del Mar

WEDNESDAY:    -Drive down to OB Market (leave at 2pm, setup from 3:15-8:30)

                               -Return around 9pm & Stay at Jax's

THURSDAY:    -Drive to SONY market in Rancho Bernardo (leave at 10AM, setup from 10:30-1:30)

                           -Drive to Oceanside (setup from 4:30pm-9:30)

                           -Return around 10pm & stay at Jax's

FRIDAY:            -Return back to house in OB

                            -Zach drive to Mission Valley (leave at 12:30 to check-in for 1pm Exam)

                            

SATURDAY:    -Drive to Scripps Ranch market (leave at 8:45AM, setup from 9:30-2pm)

SUNDAY:        -Drive to Rancho Santa Fe market (leave at 8AM, setup 8:30-2pm)

                        (This was actually the closest market to where Jax lived)

It was one hell of a week, but we got through it.  Afterwards, I had an idea of how tough it must be for people who work on the road all the time.  Just a taste of the lifestyle, made me miss our house.

Ironically, our neighbor's apartment was the one with termites, but by staying with Jax, we saved a little extra money with the reimbursement check from our landlord.  

My back pain eventually went away a few weeks later.  From time to time it comes back, but I think the stress of the schedule didn't help.  

I ended up passing my food manager's test with an even higher score than last time around (85% correct). 

                            

Our setup at the Oceanside Thursday Sunset Market & Street Fair.