Moose's Archives - August, 2005

Entry the Seven Hundred and Seventh

08 August 2005

Treo/Training Once more

Well, I lied.

I went ahead and got a Treo 650, on Verizon. And I'm loving it.

Well, that is to say I'm loving it now that I have a working unit. The first one was, to use the vernacular, fuXored. The keyguard worked too well, locking anyone and everyone out of the unit every time the screen shut off. And there's only so many times you can do a soft reset before that gets really, really old.

But Verizon customer service was very good, and got it set up so all I had to do was go downtown on Saturday and change out the phone. The folks in the store were great, too, and I quickly had a working unit.

So all-in-all I'm pleased to have gotten it. Still waiting for the case I ordered to come in, but that should be here tomorrow.

Started training again now that I've been cleared by the orthopedist to do so (he told me as long as nothing hurt in the next month that I was clear and fine, and that the chip had healed back into the main bone, so everything was good to go). Did weights this morning and actually enjoyed it for once. I think the world must be ending if I'm enjoying doing weights, especially to the degree that I was disappointed in having to cut it short in order to get to work on time. Tomorrow's busy, with two workouts: swim in the morning, run in the evening (both at 30 minute workouts, so nothing too taxing). Should be fun.

Entry the Seven Hundred and Eighth

09 August 2005

Writing/Training

I suppose the joy and the frustration of carrying the Treo all the time now is that I don't have an excuse not to write. I mean, while I carried the old Tungsten C a lot of places, it wasn't not on me quite as much as the cell phone was, and now the Treo is.

Swim workout was a tad frustrating. I had purchased new goggle this weekend, same model as I'd had before, and I could not get the damned things to seal properly. I finally gave up in utter frustration and went to get my smaller backup pair. Those are okay, but they fog up too easily. The rest of the swim went pretty well, and I felt pretty good about it.

The morning meeting went well, as did the afternoon meeting. Had to carry in one of my suits so I looked presentable for the first meeting as it was with non-BGA officials. I think I shall leave this suit in the office and not carry it home this evening, but have it available for the next ~~pain in the butt~~ opportunity that arises to use it. Will make the trip to the gym and the restaurant later that much more pleasant not to have to carry it as well.

I'm glad I settled on a workout plan again. To have that certainty built into the schedule is a comfort to me, and will keep me motivated and working. I don't operate well without one, so is good to be back in the saddle.

Went and purchased some snacks last night so I'd have something healthy to snack on here at work post-workout (and during the day generally, but mostly for post-workout snacking). Mmm, Cliff Z-bars for kids...

Just took a look at my favorite black speedos and the back is looking awfully thin now. I think it's time to go swimsuit shopping and see what I can find. Perhaps someone has the longer legged version I can try on (and once I know my size there can order more online). I like the briefs style, but something more like my triathlon racing shorts might be better to train in.

Entry the Seven Hundred and Ninth

10 August 2005

Sleep/Shifting

Another night of hitting the sack at not-quite-midnight. That's not going to work for much longer here or the body is simply going to shut down.

I'm guessing most triathletes must drop the social life in favor of sleep/training, because I'm failing to see how to maintain both. Went out to a birthday party last night and didn't end up sleeping until late, so I'm dragging like crazy today.

Forgot about a work-related social engagement tomorrow evening, but due to a (disappointing, yet understandable and fortuitous) change in tonight's plans I'm going to rearrange the exercise schedule slightly and do the bike ride planned for tomorrow morning tonight, so I can shift the evening run to the morning. Whee! Thank heavens I do plan stuff out on the calendar, but woe is me if I forget something. And exercise is definitely the #1 priority right now, so I was stressing over the forgotten event (and another planned event later that night) until the cancellation occurred for tonight.

I think I'm going to have to switch my weight workouts to the work gym. It's just taking too long and the additional commute time added in with the already long time in the weight room is making me late for work. I wish they had towel service here, but at least I do have the locker here, so I can leave weights-only workout stuff (i.e., shoes) there and not have to haul it back and forth. That'll actually be a big plus - the shoes are pretty darned obnoxious to carry around.

Entry the Seven Hundred and Tenth

11 August 2005

Base

I know I'm doing all this training now to work on a base fitness from which to start training for the 1/2 next year, but it's also allowing me to work out the timing and logistical kinks now rather than then. Much frustration will be avoided in this manner, I believe, since there's not a race staring me in the face at the end of the current cycle.

(side note: I love that you can turn the screen brightness down with a couple key presses on the Treo. One doesn't always need this thing at full brightness)

Oh, the case I ordered came in, so now I have some minimal plastic covering the screen to keep it from getting scratched, either in a pocket or on the hip. Very cool. The service from Treonauts was good, and they delivered when they claimed they would (always a plus).

Went to happy hour with coworkers, two beers and quite buzzed. Didn't find anything I wanted to eat when I got home, so snacked a little bit, now it's time for bed. Ugh. Shoulda had real food, but no go this evening. Hopefully will still feel up to swimming tomorrow morning. *Keep your fingers crossed.

Entry the Seven Hundred and Eleventh

17 August 2005

Busy

Been meaning to write, really I have. Thoughts about this, that and the other. My campaign against the tiny mosquitoes that seem to have found a home in the apartment, but who are only biting me and not Richard or Mike. The pace of training (why can I not keep my heart rate down when I run?), the lack of sleep, etc.

Skipped the weight workout this morning in favor of restless rest in bed. Wanted to do the workout, but wasn't rested enough for it. Did bike (inside) this evening, though, so it wasn't a total rest day (almost said "waste" instead of rest, but rest is never waste...). Getting to bed earlier this evening (where I lie, in fact, typing on the Treo), knowing the extra sleep will help tremendously.

Have to get in to the work gym soon - week after next the YWCA closes for its week of summer/annual maintenance and I'll need to have a plan for doing weights at the work gym by then.

Massage exchange planned for tomorrow evening here at the house. Definitely looking forward to that. Is with of my CBE buddies, and I've not seen him in a bit, so it'll be good to do the exchange with him. Plus my poor muscles need the work! Will have to see about incorporating some regular exchanges into the schedule as well.

So much to do, so little time. But better to be this busy than the alternative any day of the week.

Entry the Seven Hundred and Twelfth

23 August 2005

Grey/Stupidity

I wouldn't mind the grey hairs in the goatee so much (I did stop plucking them back in May, after all), if they'd just stop going out of their way to be so damned visible. They uniformly stick out in the exact opposite direction from the other hairs, refusing to lie flat and blend in with the rest of the goatee. It reminds me of why I was plucking them in the first place, and sorely tempts me to resume the plucking, but I'm going to resist it.

Work was insane today. I took a "personal day" yesterday (more on that in a bit) to get laundry done, arrange for stuff with the building, etc. Got to work, hit the ground running, am convinced a program office is fucking insane, and the next thing I knew it was quarter to 6. Eeck!

Stopped at the new Giant on the way home. I suppose that'll become the new standard since I can actually walk there and walk home from there off the bus from work. Very nicely placed. Got some berries and what not for snacks, as well as some staples (olive oil, bagels, etc.).

Anyway, back to yesterday. Sunday night I was getting annoyed (network issues, alone in the apartment after a date cancelled, etc.) and sucked down an entire bottle of cabernet. Started with dinner, kept going as I spazzed out over networking issues, and just went downhill from there. Was very, very sore Monday morning, and knew, Sunday night, that I wouldn't go into work. More disappointing was missing two days worth of workouts from the aftermath. Ugh. I don't drink like that much anymore (used to be more prevalent), but wow, what a smack to the head (and gut, and legs, and everything else). Was very irritable the past two days over it, too. Will get back to workouts tomorrow, but annoyed at myself for being so stupid.

So I sat down tonight and mapped out the next month's worth of workouts, into October. I don't know that I'll be keeping the limited community work I do now because of the meetings and how they (potentially) interfere with training. Something to think about, but I'm leaning towards backing off the other stuff. Yes, all training and no other contact with humanity makes Moose a dull boy, but so be it.

Entry the Seven Hundred and Thirteenth

24 August 2005

Damn Near Perfect

The early evening was as close to a perfect evening as I've come in a long time.

Hopped down to the bus stop nearest my office building, deciding to catch it all the way up past the new grocery store to the intersection nearest my home. It came on schedule for once, so I conducted an experiment in getting home, declining to switch lines and get dropped at my normal "home" stop, a block away on 16th, but instead a block away on 14th (there is no "15th" where I am - it dies 6 blocks south of me). Rode up, admiring the view through my newly claimed sunglasses. Picked those up at lunch and the second time was the charm - they work nicely, and I'm happy to have nice "dedicated" sunglasses for the first time since I began wearing glasses 20-odd years ago.

Took note of all the new stores going up on 14th Street, both down below U Street and up near the metro where I live. Thought about going to the grocery store, but had been there the night before and I couldn't think of anything I needed at that moment. Was curious about why certain stops were named for certain streets even though the stops themselves were the next block up (i.e., why say "Park" when you're really dumping people off at "Monroe," the next street up?).

Got off the bus and took a leisurely stroll down Spring Road, admiring the little houses, watching folks out on their porches or cleaning their cars. Crossed 16th, entered the building (kindly letting a woman in who was struggling to find her card key in her purse in with me), picked up my dry cleaning and up to the apartment. Came in the 'back' door, dropped off my dry cleaning and my bag, sorted through the mail, then off to see who was home.

The boys were otherwise occupied, so I made myself a little pasta and marinara sauce, sat at the dining room table with a book of modern Chinese short stories, admired the view and read some while the sun went down. Nice and quiet, the cats demanded a bit of attention, getting ear scratches and then running off to swat at each other around the scratching post. Finished up dinner, got to a stopping point in the short story I was reading, then cleaned up the dishes. Started the hot water and made some blueberry tea, then into my room to sit and type here some on the computer in my reading chair.

Damn near perfect.

Skipped the workout again this morning (three days now - ugh). Decided the extra 45 minutes of sleep was more important after a restless night than trying to force my way through a weight workout. Work was crazy-busy again. I think the government types are starting to come back off vacations now in an effort to beat out Congress when they come back in two weeks and are flooding us with work to get out the door before the "adults" get back.

Looking forward to tomorrow's swim - the last one of this length (45 minutes) felt absolutely wonderful, and since it's the last one before they close the Y for their annual summer maintenance, I'm planning on enjoying it as much as possible.

Entry the Seven Hundred and Fourteenth

30 August 2005

Housekeeping

Good run this morning. Went slow, trying to keep my heart rate down and actually follow my training plan instead of going too fast per my normal inclination.

The mosquito issue is still there, and it doesn't appear that they've done anything about it. Orkin was supposed to come in yesterday, but it was obvious that no one had entered the apartment or done any spraying. I went and bought a bug zapper yesterday evening, that's how bad this is. I'm not wearing my watch today because my wrist is so bit up.

I had withdrawn from livejournal because of the drama happening on my friends list for the past two weeks, only returning to post a bit of inane crap yesterday. I'll post something there soon, I suppose, but I've not been feeling the need or desire to do so. The major drama just turns me off to the medium and makes me want to throw my hands up and say to hell with the lot of them. I have some emotional buy-in there, but not so much that I wouldn't just tell them to collectively go fuck themselves.

The itching from the bites was particularly bad yesterday, waking me several times in the night. Ugh.

...

After writing that this morning, I typed up a firm but not unreasonable letter and faxed it to the building manager's office (to his attention). Detailed the issues with Orkin, and the mosquitoes, and a little issue with the fridge. Whee. Hopefully that'll light a fire under them and get the mosquitoes taken care of. In the meantime, I noticed this afternoon that I had indeed gotten more bites last night, despite having the zapper on.

Just when I thought El Jay was calming down some, some other folks started experiencing more drama. Oy. It's like the whole point of livejournal has suddenly become to attract trouble. Not that it hasn't always had its share, but man, this month has been nuts.

Went through my Pee Cee this evening and cleaned out a bunch of files I no longer need. Trying to defragment the drives now - they're both below 25% free, which is just silly, but also it's been ages since either was defragged, so they're in dire need now. I'm trying to make the thing last because it's my gaming machine. While I love my iBook (as I type away on it here), it's not a gaming machine - it just gets too hot to play decently. I'm toyed with the idea of getting a mac mini to be a new gaming machine, or perhaps getting a new pee cee, since they're a tad more geared toward games, but neither seems like a viable alternative right now as I contemplate a new bicycle this winter. Priorities, and how to set them. Whee.

Still itchy this evening. This is really, really fucking annoying.

Gradually putting the kitchen away, though that task will have to be done and over with tomorrow since the cleaning ladies are coming for the first time on Thursday. Already started putting things away in anticipation (sex toys, lube, porn, etc.). Also doing general straightening so make it easier to clean, and neater as well. I'll be happy if they just get the two bathrooms cleaned thoroughly, as well as the kitchen. The rest of the place isn't so bad, though I look forward to seeing it Thursday evening when I get home. Cash has already been pulled out so it's ready to go for them.

Was tempted to have a quick bite of bourbon with/after dinner this evening as I was putting glasses away (including my nice crystal double highball that I used to use for bourbon). Ultimately did not, since I'd like to sleep tonight, but it really was tempting after today's mess with the building. Instead I stuffed myself on too much pasta and pesto and put more dishes away. Not as instantly gratifying, but better in the end (well, not the stuffing myself, but the dishes part).