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

The cold is progressing in the normal manner. Which is to say last night was my usual sleepless night (I always have one when I get a cold, like clockwork, on day 3 or 4). Thankfully it was over the weekend so I didn’t have to take time off.

Other than killing monsters (yay for Diablo II), it was a very uneventful weekend. Missed two handsome gents who were in town, and the aforementioned parties and dinner. Did run out to the grocery store this evening, just in time for the bottom to drop out right before I checked out. Brought a golf umbrella, but everything from the knees down was soaked right through (and is currently on a drying rack). Used some of the time yesterday to finally get some crap off the kitchen floor and put away, as well as rearranging some of the cabinets so they work better for cooking and eating. I have floor space again in the kitchen, which is a very good thing.

A very good thing because I will be cooking at home more. I looked over ye olde finances and I need to trim some stuff, and dining out/take out is an easy and obvious target. Hence the grocery shopping trip for some stuff to make for lunch this week. Will be healthier anyway, and allow me to stick some more money toward paying down the student loan with the highest interest rate. The cards are gone, so the next target’s in sight. Wish me luck.

Sleepy tonight, long day at work on not quite enough sleep. The first day back wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. Did find out my semi-boss is going to transition into a plain ole coworker and we’re going to find a new semi-boss, which is fine, I like the semi-boss and am glad he’ll do that rather than burn out and/or leave; he’s good people.

Debating the course of my training now. I’d like to find another triathlon race this year as well as the marathon. In the meantime I’d also like to do some body work in the form of core training and some good yoga for balance. And I’d also like to focus on dropping some of the extra weight I’m carrying around, since it’s not exactly the most helpful thing to carry during a race. One day at a time.

And I still need to write up the race this weekend.

Did get some much needed laundry done, and some bike maintenance. Need to take both bikes in sometime soon to have them tuned. The rear deraileur on the mountain bike was being silly as I cleaned the chain tonight, so I suspect that needs looking at, and I should have the tri bike cleaned up after the rain mess it went through in the race. Also managed to get some bills sent off for reimbursement by insurance and my health savings account, so that will help the state of the savings account a little bit.

And now, time to crash. After I get some new shoes next week I’ll get back to running, but in the meantime, I’m enjoying being able to sleep in, even if only for an hour.

I am hopeful that an email I received in response to my complaint to WebSense about livejournal being classified as a “personals/dating website” will help get it unblocked at the BGA. They claim to have looked over the site and put it into the category of “Message Boards and Clubs.” I’ll keep my fingers crossed, but not hold my breath.

Fighting off a head cold at the moment. No fun, but they do happen. Better than the case of stomach ickies caused by some questionable Chinese food earlier this week (spent what felt like a good part of the day in the loo the next day, though thankfully it was all coming out the right end).

Been playing the DS again, mainly animal crossing. I hope to have three new types of fruit trees up tomorrow, but we’ll see. So far I’ve had bad luck with getting trees to grow. I suspect I wasn’t watering them immediately and thus they were all wilty the next day and gone the third, but we’ll see.

Work was an absolute mess this week. One of the customer organizations within the BGA is having problems and they’ve been consuming far, far too much of my time over the last year. To the point where other customer organizations are now calling to find out where their stuff is and I keep having to stall because of the constant emergencies with the problem child. Ugh. Not where I like to be on customer service, but I suppose these things happen. Anyway, that’s absorbed most of my week, with the result that another organization is going crazy to try to get another thing off my desk that I Just Can’t Get To Yet.

I’m so glad it’s the weekend, looking forward to catching up on some much needed sleep.

Just got out a psuedo contentious meeting of the membership of the cult co-op. We were amending the bylaws, and we just left the meeting room at 11:30, after starting at 8.

This is why I stopped doing city government stuff; I couldn’t take the long meetings late into the night.

It will probably totally kill my chances of being awake enough to run in the morning tomorrow, but we’ll see how that goes. Grrr.

I think I may have short circuited my usual “can’t sleep, the sudafed’ll get me” sleepless night when I catch a cold. Zonked myself out at 9 last night with some melatonin, slept really well until about midnight, then was up, off and on, until around 2ish, then back to some (fitful) sleep until 6 when I got up and hopped on the bike trainer for 45 minutes. Hopefully that was the extent of my sleeplessness and I’ll be able to rest better until this thing is gone. I usually have this one night where I’m too jittery from the sudafed to sleep well, but when the choice is don’t sleep because a) I can’t breathe; or b) I have a stimulant in my system but can breathe, I’ll take B for the block.

The ride on the trainer went well, and I felt better for sweating some (the box of tissues was within arm’s reach, but remained unused, thankfully). Remember, if it’s above the neck, you can exercise moderately.

Work is nuts, as expected. I swear, the sky falls every time I leave. It’s nice to know I’m needed and integral to the team, but you know, a certain degree of anonymity would be nice every now and again.

Got hit with a big nasty right before I left work. Won’t go into details (not that I ever do, with work), but I actually brought work home tonight.

Yes, I’m as shocked as you are, gentle reader.

Thankfully this isn’t the norm for my job or I’d have to kill someone seriously consider other employment.

I see the physical therapist tomorrow. Have to have her run off a new copy of the exercises I’m to do as the original three sheets (6 per sheet) were a casualty of the exploding shampoo bottle (and did I mention that my gym bag smells of orange candy now? It does. The joys of using kids shampoo to get the chlorine out of my hair). Also checking on the progress of all the gut-sucking transverse ab work she’s had me doing.

Been having too much caffeine of late, which has left me somewhat restless & anxious. The fire alarm here in the building (something was going on, fire trucks showed up, though we did not evacuate) right at 10 p.m. was not a help, either. Stayed up a bit longer to make sure we didn’t need to herd the cats into carriers and head out, hence the writing, but it appears we’re in the clear. In the meantime I’m listening to my “mellow” song list in iTunes and trying to put myself in the mood to sleep.

The Uberlist is down to the last 20 or so items, which is always the most difficult part to me. The big stuff is on there, now it’s little things that might or might not need to go on a list. I think the uberlist idea might need to cut back by half or so or I’m not going to be able to get anywhere near finishing most items on it. While I love the concept, the sheer volume of things is a tad much to come up with.

Its four in the morning and I just had to call security to come break up the party next door. There’s loud Tejano music (or is it Norteño? I can’t tell, and frankly I don’t know that I really care) coming through the wall, loud enough for me to understand the lyrics (if I spoke Spanish, that is), as well as drunken Spanish being spoken, over the music, loud enough for me to understand (again, if I spoke Spanish). Oh, and some of them are singing along now, too. Badly.

I may have to kill someone soon if they don’t stop. Four in the morning on a Sunday. And they wonder why I want to move?!?!

Been down at my parents’ place this weekend. Thus far the visit has gone well, and it’s been pleasant to see them, my brother and his family, and my aunt and her family. Folks have liked the stuff I brought down for them, and it’s just been a good time. I almost felt guilty in terms of my haul versus my brother’s (he didn’t make out well from the parentals in terms of “stuff”), and then I remembered that they’re paying his rent while he works on his MBA. At that, any guilt flew right out the window.

My brother did finally give a return on the gift I got him two years ago, as well as this year’s gift. Two years ago I got him a vegan dessert cookbook and a nice cheesecake springform pan. He loves the faux cheesecakes at Sticky Fingers, so I figured I’d give him a way to make his own. He hadn’t really tried it until he started grad school this fall, but along with the new food processor I gave him (yeah, he made out well from me), he’s been baking up a storm. The cheesecake was very good, and the fudge not bad (he used carob instead of chocolate, and while carob is okay, there’s no substitute for good chocolate). It’s a good thing he cooks, too, since his wife is (admittedly, on her part) not terribly handy in the kitchen.

I’ve also managed to keep up my exercise schedule, swimming yesterday for an hour, and I’ll go back to the local Y to run today. I’d not normally been so good about sticking with exercise when down here.

I will say that I’m very glad that my parents have WiFi, though.

Added more links off the Glen’s main page, catching up on the sites I read, either daily or less frequently. Will have to work on the coding later to sort them on the page, but for now they’re up and running at least.

Originally we thought my parents would have me sleeping in the motor home, but when it was revealed that there was no water in there, so if I wnted to use the loo it’s meant either going and then using a gallon of water to flush the thing manually, or coming inside, I said forget it and volunteered for the blow up mattress. It’s been okay so far, though some off dreams have resulted, mainly involving train travel and somehow or another wandering around San Francisco. Very odd, but not too bad, I’ve still managed to get enough sleep here.

Went grocery and wine shopping with Dad just now. Strangely (for them), it took me prompting them before we had anything to drink last night. The normal routine the past few years has been them practically popping the cork before we walked in the door, so to have almost gone two nights here without any wine was shocking, to say the least.

Oh, and while out with him I was reminded of something I forgot to mention here. Being an employee at a Big Government Agency, I have to go through mandatory training each year on the prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace. Our training happened at the beginning of this month and was the usual exhortations not to pick on other people in the workplace, etc. Well, as I’m heading out of the training, one of our political appointees (one I’ve seen before in the halls) decides this is the proper time to start chatting me up. Literally, right in the hallway outside the training room, and down the hall as we walked back to the elevators, he chatted with me, subtly came out (as if I couldn’t tell), and then not-quite-overtly flirted with me. After he left it was all I could do not to laugh out loud at his ironic choice of timing.

Well, it’s almost time to haul out the Tofurkey™ (the real turkey and ham are already done), welcome my brother and his family back in, and open another bottle of wine, so it’s time for me to zip.

Dear heavens, is it really only Tuesday?

I head down to the Tidewater area this weekend to visit the parental units in their new semi-permanent digs in Great Bridge. Am headed down early because a) it’s easier to get leave, and b) they want to head off to Florida in the RV right after the 26th. Will be a relatively quick visit (Friday-Monday), but that’s enough I think.

Life otherwise is relatively full. I have way too many events to attend at the moment, it being December, and my performance is showing it. Slept in a tad too much this morning, was still too tired from Sunday, and so cut the swim short. As dedicated as I am training and doing this half-Ironman™, I did finally learn that it’s perfectly okay to cut a workout short if my heart and/or body is just not in it. Better to rest, knowing I went out and tried, than to go for broke, injure myself and force an even greater (and more damaging) rest upon myself. Didn’t run this evening, either, but I’m not terribly worried about that. Did laundry instead, in prep to head out to the ‘rents’ place.

Checked my credit reports again, for the first time since I sent corrections to all the companies in May. Experian and TransUnion were both correct now, with no errors that I could find (and increased FICO scores since the last time I checked – sweet), but Equifax had done nothing to my file. It still listed me as Moose III (I’m Moose II), and had my Laurel, Maryland address, the one I moved out from in 1999, as my primary address. The woman I spoke with last night suspected I probably have multiple files there, so I’ve faxed off a letter with information and a copy of my driver’s license today to help them sort that out and get back to me. I’m ticked that they did nothing with the materials I mailed to them in May, so insisted on a fax number this time (“Well, we don’t really like to take things by fax…”), and after many hours of trying, the letter and photocopy finally got through (the number was consistently busy all day). Hopefully that’ll be sufficient to get the various files reconciled there and I can get a real file to go through instead of this crappy anemic one they keep trying to foist off on me.

It’s gotten into some nastily cold weather here in DC, I suppose prepping us for the shortest day of the year here in a week or so. I’m stilll contemplating which coat to get from dear old L.L. Bean™ this winter to replace the ‘heavy’ one I’ve had since, oh, high school. The coupons have been rolling in from Christmas and the purchase of the bicycle (none of it sitting on the card, mind you – it’s all been paid off, almost as soon as it goes on), so it’s just a matter of time, but man, this week has had me itching to get a new one like mad. I think it was in the 20s both going to and coming home from work, with not much of an increase in between. Send me back to the sub-tropics, please! I want my only-gets-down-to-40-at-the-coldest winter weather back. Shorts by March. Definitely much more my kind of weather than this crap.

Much goings on since the last post, and yet it feels like I don’t have a ton to report, either.

I did indeed wipe out my credit card debt, and the installments have started on the small loan I took out to pay them all off. I’m waiting until the statements cycle in the next week or two to make the final interest payments, and then that part of the debt is retired. Yes, it’s just a restructuring of the debt, but one that will reduce the time and overall cost considerably, so I’m pleased.

I also took out enough to purchase the tri bike I wanted to get. Two pictures, one from the official web site, one from my camera phone:

Am most pleased with the purchase thus far. I also picked up an indoor trainer the following day, a fluid trainer, so I can ride the beastie inside when I’m too lazy to take my ass outdoors it’s too nasty outside to ride there. The aero bars will definitely take some getting used to – the ride home from the shop, even using the Metro, was spent entirely on the outer bars where the brakes were, but then again, I was riding on city streets, not out on open road with no cars. Glad I got it now, though, so I have time to practice on it well before the race in June.

Training otherwise is going well. I’m making most of the planned training sessions, with the exception of the bike ones last week (for obvious reasons – no bike yet!). The double training days on Tu/Th are going pretty well, as is the planned day off on Wednesday. I’m glad to have that rest built into the middle of the week, it definitely helps break up the routine and give me time to remember that I used to have a life outside of training, as well as letting me do errands like, oh, getting my hair cut.

In not so happy news, I broke up with K. It’s a complicated story, and I don’t want to go into a lot of details here, but I’m not seeing him any more.

Work is getting busier by the day, and I’m not keeping up with it, much to my annoyance. I almost suspect we’re getting enough other stuff going on in my area to justify another 1/2 a body (with the other 1/2 to be other “general law” stuff), or even a full body to handle the loan stuff I’m learning now. What a mess that is. Sat through some training today on it and I have to say, I’m almost wishing I’d done the joint JD/MBA degree rather than the JD/MA – the financing stuff would be very useful right about now.

Tired a lot of late from the training. A good tired, but still tired. Oh, and I gave up caffeine the week of Thanksgiving again. Had a decaf that weekend, and some sips of tea one lunch, but otherwise have steered clear of it. Honestly, it’s been a lot easier to dump this time than the original trip back in 2000-2001. Haven’t really felt the need for the stuff, despite the tiredness from the training, and my continuing trips down to the cafeteria in the morning before work (a ritual I do with one of the other new attorneys – used to get coffee together, now she gets coffee and I occasionally get a bagel). Glad I did it, and I look forward to having it completely out of my system again in another couple of months.

No more bites to report, though I find myself increasingly irritated at the management of the building for their (to my mind) poor business decisions in who they’re renting to. They’ve done nothing about the guys next door, only spraying when I fuss about the bugs returning. I had to pound on the wall on Sunday when I got home to get them to turn their music down (like I want to hear their music loudly and clearly through a concrete wall), and while they had the good sense to turn it down (had they not, security would have been called), it was still an incredible annoyance on an otherwise okay day. I so look forward to getting away from them and their unwanted little guests (both the two- and multi-legged varieties).

I need to arrange for a good full body massage sometime soon. It’s funny, I have so many friends who are professional massage therapists now that my problem is deciding which therapist to use for any given issue. But some work on the back/shoulders and legs is needed and soon.