The days have grown long in the week before the evenings grow long. For whatever reason the time from 9-11 AM and 2-5 PM seems to have become some infinite period. Every day. Happily, evenings have flown with consumer wrangling and some cooking and with a really pleasant amount of interaction with my girl. Twelve hundred miles is far, but somehow it seems a lot less daunting in this case.
posted at 4:54 PM - comments
Monday, March 29, 2004
Somehow there was excitement in what was, in truth, a not-overly-exciting weekend. Friday was laid back, with college hoops and the repairing of a Fed Ex fiasco at work during the day. Then Saturday I got up late, not feeling too hot, but still managed a decent swim and then a trip to the library, a meander through the art fair (including several minutes staring in wonderment at a great photo of the Fountain de Medicis in Le Jardin du Luxembourg), then home to watch the Wings, off to Sam's Club to get a tire patched, home to hear from Jenelle, and relatively early to bed. Sunday morning I got up and on the bike for a change, did 25 miles at 20.1 mph, which was nice. There were several mile plus bursts at 23 or 24 where I really started to have memories of being in actual shape. In the evening I made what has become my ritual trek to JP Igloo for public skating, although my skating got sidetracked a bit by the Michigan game on the big screen in the bar. So, even though they lost, it was nice to see the maize and blue - strange to think that the next time they take the ice I'll be there to watch.
posted at 12:51 PM - comments
Friday, March 26, 2004
For whatever reason this thing with the President's remarks at the TV & Radio Correspondents dinner really has me in a tizzy. (Here's the latest AP article.) Not that there was really much wavering before, but I am just in awe of what he said, and the official White House response is that it's OK to joke around in that atmosphere. Must be some pretty thin atmosphere up in DC because under no circumstances is it alright to joke about the endangerment of the people you've sent to do your bidding. Aaarrrgggh! Meanwhile, back on the farm, I read some more "Pieces of the Frame" and caught a little March Madness of the round ball variety. The disc-of-frozen-rubber tourney starts today, too, so come on Blue!
posted at 12:52 PM - comments
Thursday, March 25, 2004
A laugh out loud "West Wing" last night welcomed that political beauty back from hiatus. Something about Aaron Sorkin's writing makes me want to get back to Boys' State and take Taylor City to the top. Then this morning I came to work and discovered that 'W' had been poking fun at himself and his inability to find weapons of mass destruction last night at the annual press corp dinner. Yeah laugh it up moron, people are dying because you had a bee up your skirt about Saddam, har har har. This stuff makes me very irritated because it is not logical. Seriously, as leader of the free world a person ought to be able to at least have the tiniest ounce of respect for the lives and limbs that have been sacrificed on this (to quote another awesome movie) "damn fool idealistic crusade." I saw a bumper-sticker the other day with a very patriotic motif and the message "Regime Change '04." Yes sir, I'm with you. This President is cutting into our...high life.
posted at 3:49 PM - comments
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
I really wish that I could blog the strange noises in my head - the game show sounds and explosion noises that filled my day. At lunch I made an interesting discovery, though. A cajun restaurant has taken up residence in the 1000 block of Main Street, perfect for lunch. Chicago's Heaven on Seven it is not, but Bayou Bleu has the look of being pretty tasty. Sometimes the hankering I get for food (pickles, spicy, etc) just gets scary. Took a stroll through the park down by the water with the balance of the lunch hour and was amazed at the mild temps and wind. If this keeps up it is going to be a muis different cycling season when DST goes off April 4.
posted at 5:20 PM - comments
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
Good news about internships from East Lansing, no news about scholarships or fellowships from Ann Arbor, and just a general lack of caring about news from Sarasota rolled in yesterday. I did get quite a way through my latest McPhee and re-worked my taxes to correct a double-counting error. Then caught up with an old roommate and a new friend-of-a-friend and then enjoyed a celebratory few moments. Like somebody said not so long ago, I'm "jonesin' for some QT."
posted at 12:46 PM - comments
Monday, March 22, 2004
Back to the routine this weekend after a 6-week hiatus from the norm. As I feared, it was hard to be here by myself knowing that the situation could be different. Started Saturday with a somewhat amorphous 34 miles on LBK - interrupted by a stop in the village for a new battery for my cyclocomputer. (Such a word.) It was ultra-windy on the southbound leg but my average was a decent 18.3 over the flying island. Then a trip to the asian market, the library, and Publix before retiring for the evening. Enjoyed a personal best long phone call with my girl, which was awesome, and called it a day. Sunday was AV duty, taxes, finances, some phone-related nonsense, then off to ice skating. Home with a blister and sore legs but a smile on my face, a quick call to Jenelle, a smidgen of "Pieces of the Frame" and then to bed.
posted at 12:47 PM - comments
Friday, March 19, 2004
Boy am I ever glad we've got this war on. Today I paid $1.81-9 for regular unleaded petroleum extract at, ironically, BP. My gripe isn't high gas prices, though. On the contrary, it's high taxes. If I'm paying my 1/250-millionth of this consumer war, then I sure would like to see some results at the pump. Or, better still, I'll take back my $4k contribution to the military this year, bring Zach and his brothers home, and spend that at BP instead. If we can't make better foreign policy decisions this is going to become one highly ornry and disgruntled blog. Can blogs go postal? In the meantime, I don't see much reason to celebrate, Mssrs. Bush & Powell. Bet your ass you should support our troops, but I sure don't want to hear about the 'anniversary' of this war.
posted at 2:09 PM - comments
Thursday, March 18, 2004
Almost forgot, with the excitement of financial aid and stuff, that I went out to get a workout and chose...wait for it: running. Boy did I ever NOT see that one coming. Also cleaned some more, had caesar salad for dinner, and tackled the mess that lives in the top 18" of my closet. Hoowah. And went to the library to research all things maize and blue. Double hoowah.
posted at 1:48 PM - comments
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
Got my FinAid offer by mail last evening - not the big thick envelope I had hoped for from U-M this week but it had to do. Then I opened it and really wanted the alternative. There's nothing quite like free money I'd say (based on past experience, lucky me) but I got none from the block M and that is cramping my style. But, talked to NWA, Dad, Grandma, and Jenelle to calm down and feel right with the world. Then, to ring in St. Patty's Day I overslept and was nearly late for work, which sounds bad except that I spent much of my morning driving the boss to Bradenton and back so he could get a new car the same as his old one. "The Gods Must Be Crazy" has been playing in my head alllllll day.
posted at 1:48 PM - comments
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
It took some ice cream, some time, and a nice conversation with Jenelle to get past the setback of yesterday, but now I think I'm ready to go again. On with life: today's goal is to get some excersize. Although the weather isn't the least bit conducive to riding or swimming, I'm guessing that I'll choose one of those and run with it. Wish me luck. Now on to some semi-political ramblings....if al Quaida was able to sway the elections to the left in Spain, leading the Spanish to choose an anti-intervention leader, what makes them doubt they can do the same here? I think for the sake of all of us both of our campaigning leaders need to get on a unified front about this. I'm not really in favor of trucking all over creation looking for a couple of spooks who very well may not even exist, so why not call off the dogs now and come on home? Iraq is a tougher call, but I think Kerry and Bush need to get together, admit that we need to scale back, stand together, and announce as much. That's not giving in to terrorism, that's giving in to the popular view at home that we actually do have bigger fish to fry.
posted at 12:42 PM - comments
Monday, March 15, 2004
Huh. I suppose everything can't go right, but so far it had been and for that reason this morning's e-denial from MBS was bit of a stinger. But plan B is still holding true, with financial aid info due within the month and plenty to move forward on on that front. And outside of that, my actual non-fiction life is going great: I have pretty strong support group (must be a dozen people who have asked me about it today and over the weekend) and a good job to fill the meantime. The balance of my weekend was nice...lazy Saturday morning with Jenelle, then up to Tampa to say goodbye. Now we're looking at 4 weeks apart before an Easter-weekend trip that will be the first of what promises to be a 3-week rotation of visits until next fall.
posted at 4:06 PM - comments
Friday, March 12, 2004
Week winding down, with excitement all around. Dinner and theatre both got top marks last night; Divino's is highly recommended for great food and reasonable prices and Shakespeare is to be commended for "The Taming of the Shrew." Tonight is dinner with Drew & Kim, checking my MBS decision online, which will be followed by either shaking it like a Polaroid picture or some mellow reflection and a ton of PMA about next year. Tomorrow, though, is a sad one...hard to say goodbye even if only for awhile.
posted at 2:38 PM - comments
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
Let's recap, shall we? Monday - went mini-golfing, lounged around 511. Tuesday - lunch at first watch, Miracle was awesome, Cold Stone. Today was the crown jewel of lunches, the trip to Michael's in the Garden at Selby that I've waited 11 months to take. It was a gorgeous, albeit not that warm, day to be outside having an uber-gourmet meal, then a stroll around the grounds and back to the office. Tonight is, as yet, plan-free, but tomorrow holds the week's "dress up" evening with dinner at a new Italian restaurant and Shakespeare at Asolo. It's good to have a job, to be 23 and gainfully employed, to be able to go and see and do, and I'm realizing this week how hard it might be to give that up.
posted at 4:21 PM - comments
Monday, March 08, 2004
It took until just a few strokes before midnight, but NWA did get Jenelle to Florida and got my weekend underway while it was still Friday. The weekend was blissfully short-suited when it comes to the events list: beach lounding, looong beach walk from Lido to New Pass and back, gelato, nap on the sheepskin, "School of Rock," and that was Saturday. Not much better Sunday, with an exciting 11-inning baseball game, some grocery shopping, a little cooking, then "Whale Rider" and a relatively early bedtime for yours truly in light of this mornings 8:30 appointment at MPYD. We both remarked that it was remarkably un-remarkable to spend that much time together, consecutively, and not a) have another thought in mind, b) get tired of it, or c) stop wanting more time together. Can't wait for the whistle this afternoon, that much I know to be true.
posted at 12:48 PM - comments
Friday, March 05, 2004
Got the official notice of when there is going to be official notive from MBS: zero hour is established as 12:01 AM, Friday next. Meanwhile, excitement brews over tonight's arrival even as delays push it back - NorthWorst is prolonging my agony without even getting me on an airplane. To fill the time I've got work, First Friday, and the 85 minute drive to TPA, but that just isn't going to really balance the hands of time. It should be a grand weekend though: possibility of Figure 8 bus races Saturday, beach almost for sure, spring league Reds game on Sunday, lounging, doing the Sarasota thing, doing the couple thing. I'm stoked....
"You can skip on down the road, laff (loud) wit yer friends, hold th han f a pretty grl"
Dufus, from 1:3:1 - "Jahflooey."
So last night I washed and waxed the whole Jimmy, including the roof, for the first time since the arrival of the new Michelins before Christmas and it is looking good. After that I had some dinner, watched "That '70s Show" and cleaned like a whirling dervish. I also took a few moments to read through the collected bits of wisdom assembled by the five Irish siblings on the occasion of Grandma's 75th birthday, then was treated this morning to a slideshow of pictures from the event courtesy Adelbert and Mike. I also decided last night that it is time for a new rubbish system in the great room at 511, and, although at the moment I'm not sure what that might be, I'm guessing that that will lead to a trip to Target in the near future. Tonight isn't looking good though, as I am assuming that FUMC antique sale cleanup duties will last past the witching hour and tomorrow evening's First Friday doings will keep me busy - plus I might just be too excited to function by the time work winds down at 1730.
posted at 12:53 PM - comments
Wednesday, March 03, 2004
Did a little cleaning, a little more unpacking, and took a trip to the library last night, but that was nearly all. In a story about how blog usage isn't that rampant that I saw on Monday it noted that many blogs are limited to being the mundane accounts of peoples' lives...with that in mind I am torn between reporting the day-to-day things that happen or not. For now I'll err on the side of being thorough, mention that I talked with Jenelle for awhile before bed, and close. I'm so looking forward to 9:56 in the PM on Friday.
posted at 12:55 PM - comments
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
Apparently there is to be big news today from Mars via NASA, but the significant story for me is just being awake. Somehow all of the tiredness from the whole trip, the travel across three time zones, and the rare exposure to cold winter air all caught up to me at 7:25 in the AM this morning - I have never thought seriously about calling in sick but I wanted to in the worst way today. Instead, I had some juice and trucked on into the office. Not being able to sleep in is booooo. Luckily for me there was Jahflooey on CD, so I was able to artificially fire myself up.
posted at 12:49 PM - comments
Monday, March 01, 2004
First day back after the big trip north by west to BC. Saturday was a highlight for me: some all-out blasting on the loooooooong pistes of 7th Heaven wrapped up a very productive week on the T-Power Vipers X. Then back to Seattle, with a Vancouver stop for Chinese food, and an evening out in the city with Kyle & Carl & Co. Sunday was a sleepy travel day, but home in time to catch up with Jenelle and get a decent sleep. Today, though, I'm remembering that work is booo.
posted at 3:53 PM - comments
Wednesday, March 31, 2004