Well, it actually doesn't feel too Christmasy - I'm working today and since the fam isn't getting together until Saturday I haven't done a lot of shopping yet. At least today's the only day I'm working until the 2nd.
Went to the skating oval this morning (they have morning speedskate hours this week), but they were closed due to bad ice. (It was ridiculously warm yesterday - almost fifty - and then it dropped FAST overnight, ruining the ice.) Between that and no Karate due to the holiday, I'm going on the rare trip to the prison gym with Dr. Z in a couple hours.
As I mentioned, it was wonderfully warm yesterday, allowing some of the built-up snow to melt. It's cold and snowy today, which is appropriate for Christmas Eve.
Received a box of cookies from one of my college buddies. Last year was Lindt truffles, this year a tin of Mrs. Fields. She always outdoes herself.
At least there's The Patridges' most awesome Annual Christmas Eve Bash tonight. I'm really looking forward to it!
Monday, December 24, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
Sucktastic!
Okay, okay. I'll start off with a positive item. I went running yesterday and managed to knock nearly a minute off my horrendous 31:28 time despite extremely sore legs. I came in at 30:31. Yay! It also looks like warm-enough-weather is staying for a little while so I should be able to get a little winter training in.
Ah, one more good thing: Last night's kid class required almost no instruction since Sensei was basically letting the very lightly-attended pre-Christmas kid's class play games. I still got some good bo training in afterwards.
Now, the suckalicious items.
1.) On Saturday I found out that MomTook is most likely moving to Florida in the spring because of a job Geritol has been offered down there. Added to the recent blowup with Dr. Z and the moving-away of CrazySis, I'm feeling abandoned.
2.) During class yesterday Dr. Z said he wanted to speak with me after class. I spent an hour with my hopes up on finally having some news on his situation. Turns out he just found out his youngest son is having a baby and he needed someone to talk to about it. I'm like, "way to use me, dude."
3.) This morning, I have my annual performance review and instead of getting "Above Average," which is what I've received for the past three years, I get only "Average." Not only does this make me feel like shit, it directly affects my raise and bonus for next year. So much for making headway on that second mortgage.
Merry fucking Christmas to me, eh wot?
Ah, one more good thing: Last night's kid class required almost no instruction since Sensei was basically letting the very lightly-attended pre-Christmas kid's class play games. I still got some good bo training in afterwards.
Now, the suckalicious items.
1.) On Saturday I found out that MomTook is most likely moving to Florida in the spring because of a job Geritol has been offered down there. Added to the recent blowup with Dr. Z and the moving-away of CrazySis, I'm feeling abandoned.
2.) During class yesterday Dr. Z said he wanted to speak with me after class. I spent an hour with my hopes up on finally having some news on his situation. Turns out he just found out his youngest son is having a baby and he needed someone to talk to about it. I'm like, "way to use me, dude."
3.) This morning, I have my annual performance review and instead of getting "Above Average," which is what I've received for the past three years, I get only "Average." Not only does this make me feel like shit, it directly affects my raise and bonus for next year. So much for making headway on that second mortgage.
Merry fucking Christmas to me, eh wot?
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Heh...
...the first two titles I picked for this entry (Almost Friday and And So it Goes) popped up in the autofill, which means I had used them before. Man am I losing my creativity.
Went running yesterday for the first time in over a month. Took a ridiculous 31:30 to run 5K, but I'm so out of shape I shouldn't be surprised. I'm also paying for it today - boy are my legs sore! I'm going out again today though - have to take advantage of this weather while I can. (Not that it's even above freezing, but around here we consider upper-20s a heat spell this time of year.) If it were going to be this warm regularly I'd ease back into running and take today off, but I don't dare.
Speedskating is going well. James told me I'm picking it up very fast. Another regular (can't remember her name) told me that my short, powerful build actually makes me better-suited to short track, which I had never considered. Something to think about, anyway.
Karate is meh. I'm getting sick of having to teach, never sparring anymore, and all the refocusing on bunkai, which I thought we had finally gotten away from at least a bit. I'm also sick of looking at FakeDaughter's three stripes while I have none. Not that Sensei ever seems to want to promote me. I mean, seriously. He always seems to put up as many obstacles as possible and then grudgingly gives me a belt long after it's due. The only reason I'm as far as I am is because of Dr. Z.
Not much else to talk about. Work's been exceedingly quiet this week, which isn't surprising this time of year. Next week will be even deader, but I'm only working Monday. (More just to use up my vacation time I will otherwise lose than to actually go anywhere.)
Went running yesterday for the first time in over a month. Took a ridiculous 31:30 to run 5K, but I'm so out of shape I shouldn't be surprised. I'm also paying for it today - boy are my legs sore! I'm going out again today though - have to take advantage of this weather while I can. (Not that it's even above freezing, but around here we consider upper-20s a heat spell this time of year.) If it were going to be this warm regularly I'd ease back into running and take today off, but I don't dare.
Speedskating is going well. James told me I'm picking it up very fast. Another regular (can't remember her name) told me that my short, powerful build actually makes me better-suited to short track, which I had never considered. Something to think about, anyway.
Karate is meh. I'm getting sick of having to teach, never sparring anymore, and all the refocusing on bunkai, which I thought we had finally gotten away from at least a bit. I'm also sick of looking at FakeDaughter's three stripes while I have none. Not that Sensei ever seems to want to promote me. I mean, seriously. He always seems to put up as many obstacles as possible and then grudgingly gives me a belt long after it's due. The only reason I'm as far as I am is because of Dr. Z.
Not much else to talk about. Work's been exceedingly quiet this week, which isn't surprising this time of year. Next week will be even deader, but I'm only working Monday. (More just to use up my vacation time I will otherwise lose than to actually go anywhere.)
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Snore
So...yesterday was quiet. I ended up not going to help out with the kids' Karate class. I just wasn't up for it. The fatigue, joint pain and pile of hair in the towel yesterday has me thinking that going on The Pill has thrown off my thyroid levels. Luckily I have a phone consult with my endocrinologist tomorrow.
Got on the ball with getting stuff done this morning though, so that's something. It's actually supposed to hit the magicial 25 degrees, so I'm planning on going on my first run in ages. I also have speedskating and karate, so I may be exhausted by tonight.
Got on the ball with getting stuff done this morning though, so that's something. It's actually supposed to hit the magicial 25 degrees, so I'm planning on going on my first run in ages. I also have speedskating and karate, so I may be exhausted by tonight.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
SNOW
Well, we did indeed get pounded with snow on Sunday. JewishMom ended up cancelling the snowshoe because she had to get out to Plattsburgh for Monday before the snow hit. I ended up going to MomTook's instead. Saturday night I went to a wine-tasting party. I originally just did NOT feel like going because I was just exhausted for some reason, but I took a disco nap and managed to drag myself out there.
I ended up having a lot of fun. As JewishMom had mentioned, the group was actually women my age. Unfortunately they were all women my age who were married with young children. They were all talking about baby/toddler stuff so I felt kinda out of the loop. Oh well. I'll go to next month's get-together just to see if I click better the second time.
Didn't do too much on Sunday with the storm except to shovel. (Which I also did yesterday.)
Yesterday was a pretty boring Monday - work, Karate, etc.
I ended up having a lot of fun. As JewishMom had mentioned, the group was actually women my age. Unfortunately they were all women my age who were married with young children. They were all talking about baby/toddler stuff so I felt kinda out of the loop. Oh well. I'll go to next month's get-together just to see if I click better the second time.
Didn't do too much on Sunday with the storm except to shovel. (Which I also did yesterday.)
Yesterday was a pretty boring Monday - work, Karate, etc.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Snow, snow and more snow
It's been a pretty busy month so far. I've gone snowshoeing with JewishMother the past couple weekends and am going again tomorrow. I've also been busy with speedskating. I'm really enjoying it, although I have much to learn. SkateCoach has me working on my glide. Being the stubborn ass I am, I'm also trying to pick up crossovers.
This weekend was originally going to be fairly busy, but with a nasty storm coming in on Sunday, it's looking like it's only Saturday that's going to be crazy. (Aside from the snowshoeing, I'm going to check out the speedskating race in the morning and then have a wine-tasting party to go to in the evening.) I was originally going to help MomTook bake cookies, but she doesn't want me traveling in the bad weather.
Speaking of snow, I had to call the highway department because their tow trucks knocked over the already-precarious snowbank between me and EvilNeighbor. They weren't very helpful as they're totally swamped, but I was all, "Still need to be able to get out of my driveway, chief." Actually, while I was writing this I managed to snag a plow and they called a tractor over. I'm laughing because instead of actually carting it away, they just plowed it onto my yard. Oh well.
This weekend was originally going to be fairly busy, but with a nasty storm coming in on Sunday, it's looking like it's only Saturday that's going to be crazy. (Aside from the snowshoeing, I'm going to check out the speedskating race in the morning and then have a wine-tasting party to go to in the evening.) I was originally going to help MomTook bake cookies, but she doesn't want me traveling in the bad weather.
Speaking of snow, I had to call the highway department because their tow trucks knocked over the already-precarious snowbank between me and EvilNeighbor. They weren't very helpful as they're totally swamped, but I was all, "Still need to be able to get out of my driveway, chief." Actually, while I was writing this I managed to snag a plow and they called a tractor over. I'm laughing because instead of actually carting it away, they just plowed it onto my yard. Oh well.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
"I Have a Skater Here..."
...yes, this was in reference to ME. As of yesterday, I am a speedskater. Awesome. Expensive, but awesome.
I had been saying for awhile that I wanted to take up speedskating, as I miss blading and am in desperate need of a wintertime aerobic activity. Also, I live a two minute walk away from the skating oval in one direction and a two minute walk away from the skate store in the other direction.
So, I went to the store yesterday afternoon all, "I'm totally clueless here, but heard you were the guy to see." And by "the guy to see," I mean the owner, who's skated competitively for thirty years. He spent an HOUR with me trying on different skates (except the $975 Olympic model), going over the equipment, technique, what to wear, the skate hours at the Oval, and just EVERYTHING. Not only that, he had the blades sharpened and rocked in under two hours so I could skate that evening. He rocked.
So. The actual skate. I fell, of course. I have terrible technique right now, of course. But I LOVED it. I just can't wait until I feel as comfortable on skates as I do on blades. (Of course, I haven't put on my blades in years, so that doesn't help.)
Also? The people there were few, but they ROCKED. Here's to you, James, for helping me with my technique out on the Oval. And here's to you, P, for commiserating with me as a "newbie" although you had just made the upgrade to Olympic-style skates. You guys rock. And here's to the Olympic wannabe and the former Olympian for showing up just as I finished so that I wouldn't have the embarassment of sharing the ice with them.
I had been saying for awhile that I wanted to take up speedskating, as I miss blading and am in desperate need of a wintertime aerobic activity. Also, I live a two minute walk away from the skating oval in one direction and a two minute walk away from the skate store in the other direction.
So, I went to the store yesterday afternoon all, "I'm totally clueless here, but heard you were the guy to see." And by "the guy to see," I mean the owner, who's skated competitively for thirty years. He spent an HOUR with me trying on different skates (except the $975 Olympic model), going over the equipment, technique, what to wear, the skate hours at the Oval, and just EVERYTHING. Not only that, he had the blades sharpened and rocked in under two hours so I could skate that evening. He rocked.
So. The actual skate. I fell, of course. I have terrible technique right now, of course. But I LOVED it. I just can't wait until I feel as comfortable on skates as I do on blades. (Of course, I haven't put on my blades in years, so that doesn't help.)
Also? The people there were few, but they ROCKED. Here's to you, James, for helping me with my technique out on the Oval. And here's to you, P, for commiserating with me as a "newbie" although you had just made the upgrade to Olympic-style skates. You guys rock. And here's to the Olympic wannabe and the former Olympian for showing up just as I finished so that I wouldn't have the embarassment of sharing the ice with them.
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