Of Moose And Men
The Best Laid Plans Of Both Often Go Astray

The dishwasher works well. The boy is still around. I’m running again. I’m almost done with my coaching exam. Work is boring at the moment, but that’s not a bad thing.

That’s the short version.

My newbies finished their first race this past weekend. Got out there, took a bunch of pictures, wore down the battery (discovered the power saving settings a bit late), and generally had a good time seeing them finish their first race. Sad that I’ll be missing the party this weekend for them, but family duty calls – instead I’ll be down at the parental units’ place for a family reunion. Whee. I’m sure I’ll be happy to see them all once I’m down there, but in the meantime I’m just annoyed at the timing. First world problems. But the race was a good bit of enthusiasm to finish up the coaching exam, too. Almost there, just a couple more questions. Then comes to fun part of working on a new plan for next year’s newbies.

The boy. What to say there? I’m smitten. Really, really enjoying dating him. Makes me a bit frustrated that I own my apartment in a building that doesn’t allow dogs, as there’s no way to get out of here easily, and no way to move him in (were his job able to allow him to). Yeah, that smitten that we’ve talked moving in already. And I’d do it in a heartbeat, were I able to. I had a five year plan that I was developing before I met him to fix things here (kitchen!) and give myself some more options. That’s still here, but there’s more of a sense that it’s truly a five year plan with a more definite outcome than just ‘options’. Funny how that works.

In the meantime I’m spending a lot of time up at his university home (walking the dog). We’re running together in the mornings (he asked me to help him get started on running). Cooking more up there (I missed cooking for someone else – it tends to focus me more on doing something more than just convenience foods or last minute stuff). I’ve seen more movies in a theater in the last 2 months than I have in the last 3 years (when I can look at listings and think, ‘damn, seen all those already’ you know it’s bad). I actually miss sleeping next to him when I stay down here at home (he’s spoiling me there). So, yeah, smitten.

Dragged the boy down to the not-quite-local outlet mall down in Virginia today. I think we were both exhausted by the end – it was a lot of walking – but it was worth the trip. I finally ordered a replacement for my dishwasher, and picked up some needed dress shirts and ties. Let him talk me into a couple sport coats that should be kinda fun. And we got a lot of time to chat and learn more about each other, which was very good. I think we complement each other well in the strengths we both have to bring to bear on things.

It’s been a little over three weeks since we met in person, and a little over five since he messaged me online. When he did I wasn’t sure about dating, if I wanted to go through that mess again. I’m glad I took the chance and replied to him, as I’ve really enjoyed the time I get to spend with him.

Restarted my Netflix dvd mailings this week. Having finally watched Milk, which sat on my entertainment center for several months, I’m watching Titus this evening, one of Shakespeare’s bloodiest plays. Saw this adaptation many years ago, and I think it still holds up well. Revenge, rape, honor, murder, revenge. One of my favorite plays, and one not often performed because of the graphic violence.

Seeing the boy later this evening after dinner plans of his. He’s been asking for things to do for me, so I’m going to set him loose on a couple of things in my apartment, starting this weekend. It’s finally time to renovate a thing or two here, and I can certainly use the help, both in choosing things, and installing the same.

The slow building back I wrote about last month is, well, slow. But that’s okay. Having the discipline to slow myself down, go for less distance at a lower heart rate, is paying off. I’m feeling better. I’m (mostly) sleeping better (more on that in a moment). And things are a bit calmer overall.

The course ended up being completely worth the time. It was a ton of information, which I’m still digesting, but again well worth it. Now I just need to finish reading the manual and fill in the quiz so I can finish that last part of the certification process. In the meantime, with the slow down in training, I’m also bailing on my first race. I’m just not ready for it, physically, so I’m aiming for the next one in June, a sprint here in downtown. I’m going to take the day after the May race off, however, as planned, so I can use that as a reading/quiz day and hopefully finish that up. It would be nice to be “Coach Moose” before the end of this year’s newbie program.

Sleep is mostly better, save when I’m sleeping over at the new boy’s place. Yup, seeing a new boy. He works for a local university as a resident director, so lives on campus, plus he has a dog, and no car (where I do have a car), so it’s just easier for me to stay over up there when we stay together. But that’s meant adjusting to a new bed, and a new person in said bed, and learning his/our sleeping patterns. I’m gradually learning it, but man those early mornings are tough. Thankfully the commute from his place in the morning is pretty smooth, so it’s been relatively easy to get up and get down here to SW to work out. When I don’t sleep in a bit, that is. Otherwise it’s going well. We’re taking thing slowly, trying not to rush into anything (though, yes, overnight stays are a part of that).

LJ (which I do still read daily) for some reason completely reset my theme today while I was at work. Found the one I was using and reapplied it, but that was annoying when I looked at my Fiends’ List this evening. Too few entries, and all the wrong colors. No thanks!

Left work, left DC, headed out to the midwest this weekend to get the training I need for my coaching certification from USA Triathlon. So far, it’s been really good. Lots of stuff to process and internalize, both for my newbies and for myself. The presenters have been good, though it was obvious the first was an educator as well as a coach, where the second was just a coach without so much of the educator vibe.

My back is complaining from the awful chairs they have us in, but some stretching tonight should help.

Getting to see my friend Troy this evening, part of the reason I chose this locale over Baltimore last month. He’s been out to see me a couple times in DC, so I’m returning the favor.

Debating a nap before we head out.

Work, with the shutdown drama, was absolutely nuts. The craziest I’ve ever seen it for my office. And it’s likely we’ll get to go through this in September/October again, unless Congress can get their collective act together and pass the bills on time, for the first time in well over a decade. Highly unlikely, so I imagine stress levels will rise again in 5 months. Plus we have to update all the old guidance we were forced to rely upon in the meantime, to reflect the new legal realities of the structure of the Big Gubm’nt Agency. Thank heavens we hired the 2nd appropriations attorney. I don’t think we could have done it all with just myself and my two supervisors.

Finished the 2nd book by Taubes, Why We Get Fat. More accessible than the first book, much less dense, but no less annoying in regard to bad dietary advice from much of the establishment. Not quite sure how to work in any of the changes, if at all, but I suspect I shall be modifying my diet a bit in the coming months. Again. In addition to modifying my training. Need to dial down my expectations, do some strength and flexibility work, and slowly build myself back up. Looking back now, I just wiped myself out with the IM, then backed off way too much without a recovery plan, didn’t modify my eating sufficiently, added all the work stress, and just killed my body. And then expected to pop back to “normal” runs and what not without any sort of base. Dumb, dumb, dumb. So, time to slow down, come back slowly, and build myself back properly.

Didn’t run this morning, so I ran this evening after picking up the dry cleaning. Am reminded why I don’t run in the evenings on a normal basis – it makes me far, far too hungry for dinner/late night food (he said, as he began devouring a 2nd helping of steamed dumplings). At least I’m getting back to training, which is the important part. Now if it would just warm up enough to bike outside. Phhhbbbttt! Not where I thought I would be at this point in the season, but I’ll get through the first race.

Have a couple more inches to knit on the sweater, then I get to attach the two sides of the shoulders, then it’s cutting the steeks and knitting the trim. Sooooo close. Would have been good to have done this week as it’s been a trifle chilly, but I’m just happy that I’m close now.

Trying to readjust the sleep schedule to a consistent 5:30 wake up. I’m close, but not quite there. Another reason to just stay on “summer time” (as the Brits call it) all year round – none of this stupid adjusting things 2x a year. Hoping the adjustment to a consistent sleep schedule will aid with the workout schedule. It should. In theory.

In the meantime I’ve been reading Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes; it’s a slightly appalling, very well written, very dense account of the history of scientific research on diet and metabolism in this country. The politics and misinformation involved are more than a bit scary. Food politics just seem to be some of the worst, mostly because of the crazy lobbying by food lobbies.

Lots of things on the brain of late, but no time to put things down to writing. Work’s swamped, GAO inquiries, field offices using new institutional avenues to try to drive advice (which will backfire – annoy me and I’m not willing to bend over to find ways to be helpful, wretches), the possibility of a lapse in appropriations, the Office of Minutiae and Backlogs (OMB) driving us nuts with data calls, drafting assistance for the Hill, etc. Too busy, not enough time. And I have homework for next month’s coaching class. Not to mention the sweater knitting class which is formally done, but none of us have finished our sweaters. I think I’m going to recommend that she make it every other week for 4 sessions. It is, after all, a lot more knitting than most of us are used to.

But, yeah, overstuffed. And that’s part of what I want to write about, but only once I have time. Maybe soon. Maybe not.

Work has calmed down slightly, but is still a bit crazy. Did go down enough to allow the ulcer to finally heal up. Other than that I’ve been knitting like mad. Tonight was class #2 of the sweater knitting class I’m taking over at Stitch. So far so good. Was a little behind this week, but no worries, will be caught up enough to make the “steeks” next week (the spaces for the arm holes and the neck hole, so the stripes can continue across evenly). Carrying the yarn turned out to be surprisingly easy, which was nice to find out. So, new skill #1 learned successfully.

Still not back to an exercise routine, and I’m 2 months out from Columbia. Eeck! Just trying to get up in the morning right now is the struggle. Once I get it started it shouldn’t be hard to stick back with, but it’s the whole push into it that’s been difficult. And I’m sure the time change will help with that. Not. Diet hasn’t been bad, so I just need to push myself to get up and just start already.

The “bug” isn’t a bug, it’s just an ulcer. Caused by/exacerbated by stress. So the doc recommended a vacation. It took a lot of effort not to laugh. That definitely isn’t happening any time soon, unfortunately.

Work has been spastic all this past week. Shutdown mania hit, and while we may avoid that for a bit longer with the latest 2 week proposal, it’s been a tense time for most folks. I can survive one without too much pain if I cut back on things, but hopefully it won’t get to that. In the meantime, we’re getting a lot of planning done, and that’ll serve us well for the next one of these things. Which will come with the next big fight, over the debt limit.

The only thing that’s really held up personally is the septoplasty, which I’ve not yet scheduled. Understandably, I think. So it’ll wait until after the shutdown drama is done, until August with the break in the race schedule, or until after race season is over.

Hmph. I seem to have picked up another bug of some sort. This one just seems to be content with giving me a lovely sore throat. But only on the right side of my throat. No fever, no aches, just the one-sided sore throat. Most bizarre thing I’ve ever had. Went to urgent care on Saturday to see if it were strep, and I think I’m rapidly converting to the view that they’re practically useless, because both times I’ve tried them I’ve ended up going to see my primary care doc later anyway. Meh. Oh, and the quickie strep test came back negative. Ugh.

Other than that (which makes eating and talking loads of fun, let me tell you), work is slowly getting spun up with the possibility of a shut down after the current continuing resolution expires next Friday, the 4th. Both parties are playing chicken and government workers are stuck in the middle. You know, make some decisions, fund the damned government, be those levels up, down, or the status quo, but just fund us and let us do what we’re supposed to be doing – we’ll manage if you just give us some direction and let us run with it. The last time they did this back in 95/96 when large numbers of feds were furloughed Congress passed bills giving back pay to the workers sent home, but I just don’t see that happening this time around. Not a fun time, especially being the lead lawyer on fiscal issues. Oh, and bonus, it’s highly unlikely I’d be named as “essential personnel” so I wouldn’t be working or getting paid, either, if we shut down. Joy.

And all this is just a precursor to the fight over the debt ceiling later this winter/early this spring. That’s when the shit really hits the fan because even if an agency has multi-year or no-year funds and can keep operating without new money, the Treasury won’t be able to warrant out any funds to make payments, so it’s likely that at that point everyone will get shut down, period. No money to make tax refunds, to pay social security, make Medicare payments, etc. That’s when we’ll really see the shit hit the fan.

So, yeah, stress city right now. Can this winter be over yet?