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Entry the Six Hundred and Forty Fifth01 August 2004 Aborted Plans Well, I tried to work out this morning. Rather, I tried to get in a swim workout that was not to happen. First, I was getting ready when I got an invite off manhunt for some group sex. Whee. Decided I could do that for a bit, then head down to the gym, so I got myself together and went over. Had forgotten how, well, disorganized such things can be. Wasn't bad, I enjoyed what sex I got, but it was a lot of waiting around and cuddling with one of the Latino men while others were wooed to come over. In the grand scheme of things, I think I could've avoided that and been just fine. Finally got going, biked down to the gym, got into the locker room and opened the bag up. Traded the bike shorts for the speedos, got all my stuff out for the pool (flip-flops, goggles, towel, etc.), locked the locker. Hauled out the anti-fog stuff and proceeded to coat the lenses, when out popped the right lens. Oops. It didn't want to go back in, despite several minutes of fiddling with it, so I opened the locker back up, stripped out of the speedos and hopped into the shower to get cleaned up. Biked up to Dupont, grabbed some falaffel to go, then off to Fleet Feet to invest in some more goggles. Bought two pair this time, slightly different models, so I have a backup to work with this time. Hopefully that'll end this particular problem with the swim workouts. Now I just need to plan out the next few weeks' workouts and knuckle down to the work. Archives |
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Entry the Six Hundred and Forty Sixth03 August 2004 Breaking Right I made a decision in the past two days that is not going to be a popular move with my commission. I decided to join the opposition. I'm going to join the local neighborhood association. The group against which the commission has railed, though not always in so many words, for much of the past eighteen months. May g_d have mercy on my soul. I don't necessarily agree with everything the association does or espouses, but then again I don't agree with everything the Democratic party says and I'm still a member there. There are a number of my constituents who are candidates to be members, and a large number who are not the natural types who would join the association (i.e., home owners, long time residents). This will be an uneasy membership, but then again politics is frequently about such uneasy alliances. The main impetus for this is to reach out and tap the knowledge base there. Regardless of anything else, these people know what they're talking about; they have the technical expertise in local government relations to get things done. Thus far the association has ignored the commission. I'd prefer that this resource be tapped rather than lie fallow. And I'd prefer not to have this semi-open warfare between the parts of the neighborhood. That last one might not be possible, but it's not entire improbable. Getting through the personalities on both sides will be a herculean task in and of itself, but other events have made it such that certain voices will have to be heard, or smacked back down, by one side or the other. It promises to be an interesting campaign season. I also want to reach out to my councilmember and have a heart to heart with him. I could use the counseling from a more experienced hand, and I'm certain he'd offer it if asked. And I'm also certain he'll have other insights that would be helpful. He's another resource I've been remiss in tapping. Funny how election season brings all this out, but I went through a lot of soul searching about running for reelection and basically had to admit that if I'm going to do this I have to commit more energy to it. I can't treat it as lightly as I have at times. It's part of who I am,and that part has to be embraced, not neglected. So, a sea change, to try and get more cooperation from these disparate folks. We'll see. Archives |
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Entry the Six Hundred and Forty Seventh04 August 2004 Petitions 04/8/4 9:04 a.m. On the way to get my nominating petitions and some blank cards to print and hand out while It's funny, all of the political commentary I hear from friends is at the national level. I would venture to guess many of them wouldn't recognize their local county or city council members, much less their state leaders. I think I may have to start a "meme" quiz to see how much people know about the local races that affect them. As a local politician, it sometimes amazes me how little people talk to me, or stay engaged in the issues of the neighborhood. There's an energized core of folks who are active, but past that they ignore it all. Not exactly the picture of a perfect republican form of government. ... 04/8/4 9:18 p.m. On my way home from visiting my friend CE, who told me he is not running again. Said he loves the constituents, hates the other commissioners. I can understand that, though I wish he'd reconsider. The fact that he's now working 60 hours a week probably figures in there, too, though he didn't say as much. This can take up a lot of time; it can be your entire life if you let it. I won't let it, but I am going to let it take up more of a presence. I spoke with my councilmember's office today. He's out of the country until September, so no face to face meeting until then. I'll live, though I admit could use his counsel now. Got the petitions, took charge of a few other things today by email and phone. I wish we had a WiFi network at work so I could use the Palm instead of my desktop for mail. The webmail is okay, but not as integrated and private as I'd like. It's a de minimis use, so no worries, but it's not private by any means. Have to decide whether to release a recording of our last meeting. It was a public meeting, so it's not like this was a secret thing, but it remains to be seen whether the other commissioners will agree. It'll be released regardless when the minutes come out, but it depends on how they feel about how quickly it'll come out. Archives |
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Entry the Six Hundred and Forty Eighth08 August 2004 Withdrawn A week with too much alcohol and too little sleep, plus various anxieties, finally caught up with me today and I had to stay home and be antisocial. Was supposed to be at my second b-day party of the weekend, but wasn't up for it. I needed to be withdrawn, so I was. High in the mind has been my finances. Richard's redecorating his room and the living room, and I don't have the means to contribute financially. That's not a comfortable place for me, though it's better than it would have been a few years ago (immediately post-The Ex, that is). Didn't help that the first b-day party, which we attended yesterday, was in our friends' apartment which they had just spent the week repainting, arranging, etc. and it look absolutely marvelous and together. I despair of ever looking "together" in here. My stuff is cobbled together, gradually, with no real coherence since I started breaking up my original bedroom suite. My other furniture is similarly mis-matched, and I don't have the means to go out and replace it nearly as quickly as I'd like. Richard's been trying to get me to go out and help make decisions on new living room couches, and I just can't get up the enthusiasm for it. I mean, I'd like to replace the futons, but I can't help with the costs, which really doesn't lend itself to feeling like I can make any of the decisions. Not a healthy attitude, but it's there. Add to this networking problems as Richard gradually replaces his computer pieces with Apple products. He got an Airport Extreme yesterday to replace the D-Link we had in an attempt to get his new Airport Express to work, but my Windows machine isn't playing nice with setting up the network. Since I'm the main hub for where the cable modem comes in, this limits the effectiveness of any solution that's not pure Mac. Can't afford one of those, either. While I had wanted to get an iBook this summer, that's not happening ether because of other needs (clothing, medical bills, etc.) that intervened. iMacs, which would be a good desktop replacement for my current PC, aren't out, and are similarly enough priced with the iBook that I won't be able to get one of those, either. Ugh. It has also been six months since I called my credit card companies to get the rates lowered on my cards. None were as helpful this time. One company (with two of the cards) did tell me to check back the end of this month, and the third card said I had missed a payment (it hit their system the day after it was due in) so that reset the six month clock). Am not amused. So when I got up this morning, with a system that felt slightly off from yesterday's putao jiu, I couldn't get up the energy to want to do much of anything. I did end up cleaning, especially my bathroom, where the cat litter and the constant presence of the cats makes for a lot of dust and extra cat hair. After yesterday's clean house tour, I couldn't take the mess. Put things away and cleaned up a ton of dust and cat hair, all over the bathroom. Then I vacuumed. And cleaned up in the kitchen. And put the last bit of Nature's Miracle on the one futon couch (a mere splash in an otherwise empty bottle), which seems to have been whichever of the little shits has been peeing on the selfsame couch's signal to let loose on it. Again. Which of course set off a whole new round of "why can't I have nice things without something going wrong" in my head. Ugh. Of all my youthful legacies, the financial mess I find myself in year after year is the one I despise the most. Archives |
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Entry the Six Hundred and Forty Ninth12 August 2004 Progress This swimming thing is a lot easier when you're doing drills to improve your form. I finally dug up my second copy of Total Immersion (no idea where the first copy disappeared to; probably the same black hole as my big Yoga book) and have been going through it again. The drills therein have been imposed, and in a serious way this time, on my practices. I think the specter of practicing with a real team finally was the push I needed to get more serious about my form. Can't do this stuff if you can't really swim well. ;-p So, have been doing the drills, and noticing improvement in my form as a result. That's always nice. I tend to be such the "improvement" focused person that sitting still for any period of time for whatever reason (witness the last entry) tends to drive me batty. Or into self-destructive tendencies which are best avoided. The drills also stretch out the "workout" and make it seem less of a workout. And they give me a focus for each session rather than making me go in and say, "what will I swim today" (which isn't my best way of doing business - I like structure). So, the swim this morning, my second set of drills, felt really good. I probably could have kept going past the 1/2 hour mark with a little rest (I ended the session with a 100 that winded me), but needed to get to work, so hopped out. The scary realization this morning, though, was that I will have to start doing two workouts in a day at some point so I can coordinate all of the stuff I want to be doing for triathlon training. Small steps, big goal. Archives |
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Entry the Six Hundred and Fiftieth13 August 2004 Shopping and Food Met up with Madam after work and went shopping. Got slacks and shirts and a tie (yay!) on sale (double yay!) without paying any tax (triple yay!). Thank you, DC Council and tax-free shopping week. And thank you, dockers, for falling apart the week before last. :-p This was after a lovely lunch with fellow denizens of LiveJournal land at which I ate too much. Which seems to have been the theme today. Too much cereal, too much lunch, a touch too much dinner, too much dessert at home. Whee. This was the major excess of the day, foodstuffs. Past that, there wasn't a lot going on. Finished a couple things at work, albeit slowly and without a lot of energy. Totally didn't want to be there, but hey, you do what you have to. Archives |
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Entry the Six Hundred and Fifty First15 August 2004 Slow Weekend Sore arm from playing way too much Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction this weekend (if it's any indication I went from the beginning of Act 2 to the end of Act 4, including killing Diablo). With the rain and ick yesterday, not to mention the lack of sleep from getting up far too early to show Richard out the door to Singapore, I didn't do the planned DCAC swim (it's been over a month now!), nor a lot of anything else. Thought I had plans with another friend, but he never called or the like, so no go there. Oh well! Today was a bit better. Got up late, took my time, then biked down to the Y for a swim. Did more drills, this time focusing on lengthening the body and turning. I'm starting to feel parts of the stroke come together, but I still have a way to go. And sometimes the switch from drill to swim is awkward, especially as the drills get closer and closer to the actual full freestyle stroke. Ended up doing 45 minutes in the pool, which was very cool. The author was right, "fitness will come while you drill." I did note today that I need to stretch more when I reach forward. My tendency is just to let the arm lie there instead of grasping toward the far wall, stretching myself out that much further (and I need all the stretching I can get, said the 5'6" man!). More practice drills in store for this upcoming week. Also popped into Hechts on the way home for more pants. One more pair of dressy things (all I could find in my size!) and two of cargo pants (pockets!). The savings can get tapped for necessities like that on occasion, so I did it. And more deodorant (the 'spensive stuff from issey miyake *grin*) since I am on the last scrapings in the current (2nd) stick. Home to some more putzing. My Sunday plans also got canceled on account of a migraine (not mine, his), which was no big deal. Nice and sunny out, unlike Saturday, and eventually I biked down to dinner with RNJTM and his man. A great way to end the public day. Biked home from that and finished killing Diablo (so much easier to do when you have a character that can shoot things from a distance), and that's been it. Not exciting, but not unpleasant. And not it's time to sit down and plan out the week, starting with a bike ride to work tomorrow! Archives |
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Entry the Six Hundred and Fifty Second29 August 2004 Dreams Awoke to strange dreams about being in front of a grand jury, accused of prostitution. I vaguely remember looking over the evidence, seeing it was clearly not me, and eloquently denouncing the prosecutor for even daring to bring such a flimsy case. Was quite a moving speech, if I do say so myself, but not what I was expecting on a Sunday morning. All around lazy day. Did a swim with DCAC yesterday that was abysmal. I really need to practice more on my own before I go out with them again, I think. It could be the pool length (50 meters!) and it's definitely my endurance levels. I'll get there, it's just taking time. Moved Richard's old bedroom suite out this morning. His new one arrives mid-September. Until then, guests get a futon or the mattress on the floor. Or share the bed, depending on the guest. Work continues apace. Da boss is still a goddess. I finished a major, multi-month project on Friday. Someone came in just as I was printing it off to hand to da boss and I asked if he heard the chorus of angels singing as he came in. Was a very happy moment, and none too soon since this was holding up two pieces of controlled correspondence, not just one. Made up my mind to do a three year schedule for the build up to Ironman. Next year, spring sprint, fall Olympic. Following year spring Olympic, fall Half-Ironman. The following year, the Ironman in the late summer/fall. I'm gonna do this, it's just going to take some planning and some work. Archives |
