I know. I’m running late. I was almost afraid that this would be my shortest NaBloPoMo ever. However, I have an excellent reason…actually, two related reasons.
First of all, last night was IvyCat’s first overnight at my parents’ house. She’d never been away from us for more than a few hours, like date night or something, so it was a novelty. By all accounts, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. IvyCat had a great time and was basically oblivious to the difference. Grandma and Grandpa kept commenting on what a great baby she was and is Aside: although, I think there may be a tad bit of bias there, she is a good baby. and how much they enjoyed keeping her. I hope this is a good omen for future visits and overnights.
The second reason is that the overnight was due to C. and I attending a marriage retreat sponsored by our church. Now, before you go jumping to the immediate conclusion, our marriage is not in danger. Far from it, actually. Truth is, our marriage is solid and tends toward a model for other marriages. Aside: That last bit is my own opinion, but truly, our marriage is and always has been a really great one and it’s nice to have the notion reinforced. Still, we decided that it couldn’t hurt to go just to enjoy ourselves, get some time away without any real responsibilities, and engage with other couples from our church. It was a wonderful event and I would highly recommend it to other couples seeking out ways to enhance their marriage without the “blame-fest” that can occur in therapy. According to our facilitator, couples who attend retreats are more likely to stay together than couples who wait until they need counseling. Plus, what a gorgeous weekend for the event. The beautiful sunlight, outstanding unseasonally warm temperature, and amazing conference center less than two hours away from home. Sure, it was only for about 24 hours, but so worth it and it really helped C. and I reconnect and see why we continue to love each other even in the midst of child/work obligations.
So, there you have it. A wonderful start to the weekend. Tomorrow, I intend to finish my MRH570 running goal, maybe even outside if the weather stays nice. Also, LP is extremely close to cracking the code (though, I think she’s trying to make it harder than it is) and no one else has even ventured a guess. I’ll give another clue: The number of days in November is relevant to the code.
Music I’m currently listening to: Tabasco Sole by The Voluntary Butler Scheme Domino by Spiral Beach
I have a calendar in my office with photographs of Kentucky taken by James Archambeault. The photos are stunning and this is the third year I’ve gotten his calendar because each new month is a delight to experience. This month’s photo is of a Revolutionary War period stone house in Scott County and it’s a beauty. Blue sky, green grass, bare trees but with a hint of sunshine warming the stone walls of this old home. Right about now, I’d give just about anything to be there, relaxing.
Unfortunately, I’m still at work. It’s been a long week. I base that information solely on the number of people today I’ve heard groan “Is it 5:00 yet?” It’s been a long week and I’m definitely looking forward to the weekend.
In other news, I just compiled the numbers on my running goal. Turns out I’m a mere three and a quarter miles from finishing up. This has been a true labor of love and the treadmill has really helped out over the last week. I don’t know at what point I’ll be finishing the goal this weekend, but it will definitely be this weekend.
See you in the funny papers!
P.S. Kylydia is on the right track with the coded clues in the post titles, but doesn’t have it narrowed down quite yet. Everyone keep trying.
I’ve debated all day between ranting about a work issue, complaining about the Yankees World Series win, or trying to find some piece of goodness in the world to rejoice in. I just don’t really have a lot of vested interest in any of it.
I could go on and on about work issues for days, not the least of which is incompetence. The depth of incompetence continues to astonish me even after nearly 15 years of working for the same university. However, as I’ve said before, “Thou shalt not blog about work” and to avoid what could potentially be career-shortening, at best, I’m going to leave that where it lies.
The Yankees. As you no doubt have surmised from repeated readings of this particular blog, there is no love lost between me and the Bronx Bombers. I dislike the Yankees with an intense passion and it only seems to grow with each passing season. There was a time when I allowed for the casual observer to ply me with the idea that DiMaggio, Mantle, Berra, and the like were likeable enough and really the Steinbrenner Era is what was wrong with the Yankees. However, my thoughts now are firmly entrenched that the only good Yankee was Gehrig and even that is tinted by my repeated viewings of Gary Cooper’s portrayal in “Pride of the Yankees.” I’m not happy they won the Series…it’s immaterial whether they deserved it or not. I still view A-Rod and Posada with utter contempt because I find them detestable. I will say that Jeter and Rivera are fine ballplayers, but their association with the Yankees makes them unpalatable as heroes. I wish the Phillies had won, but as I didn’t even have a horse in the race (Better luck next year Sox!) I’ll just have to live with it.
There is goodness in the world. I know it. I’ve seen it. It’s just that, often times, it’s extremely difficult to find. Just this hour, there’s the shootings at Fort Hood, the Iowa mom who killed her son, an NYPD commissioner guilty of lying to the White House, H1N1 becomes the dominant flu virus…and those are just the headlines. I know that the news is quasi-sensational because that’s what drives the ratings, and that’s unfortunate. Still, these things are happening out in the real world and that’s even more unfortunate. Just once I’d like to see an entire news program devoted solely to people doing good things and the people that benefit from that.
Today our little girl turned 6 months old. You know, everybody and their mother literallytells you that this time will go so fast and that you need to savor each and every moment. And, at those times, you nod and smile and think, yes, well, you weren’t up with her all night last night and you didn’t change 5 diapers in the last 2 hours and it doesn’t happen to you. But then, one day you go from cradling her in your hand to holding her in both arms to watching her sit up on her own and you realize that it did happen to you. And all you have is picture and video to remember those moments because your brain, marvelous little organ that it is, is incapable of conjuring the possibility of your baby growing this quickly.
I wouldn’t change a single moment of parenthood thus far. She’s been wonderful and she’s been fussy, but I’ve loved her for every moment. And, I know that C. feels the same way. She blows bubbles now, which is her favorite thing to do. And she is sitting up on her own and she seems likes she’s just 14 seconds from hitting the ground with both feet and running off. So, my plan,
for the next 6 months is to savor every moment. To enjoy the time she spends in my arms, to experience life on her level, to see the world through her eyes. Let’s see if my poor brain can keep up.
In other news, I believe that winter may have finally come to the Ohio Valley. This morning as I was taking the munchkin to daycare, the slight rain was a little icier both in temperature and consistency. I guess that means that baseball season is almost over and it will be dark and gloomy until at least March.
This morning, I happened to be in a room where the Today Show was on. Not on purpose mind you because the last thing I need in my morning is talking heads blathering on about nothing. Anyway, so there I was and Matt Lauer was grilling a couple of lawyers about some lady named Quinn (I think) and her abduction by someone she may or may not have known and blah, blah, blah, yakkety, yakkety. My first thought was, “Why am I sitting here?” and my second thought was “Is it really necessary, or proper even, to try a case on public television before the courts have even had a chance?” I suppose that he wasn’t really trying the case, but the questions were along those lines and while the lawyers were doing much more than saying “No comment” it still seemed to be inappropriate, at least as far as this woman was concerned.
What really got me was that this woman’s apparent bipolar disorder was made public knowledge to the entire country…at least to those who were up at that particular hour…and how this definitely seemed to be an intrusion on private life. Now, I don’t know the woman, don’t even remember her name, but I’m privy to her supposed medical conditions? Is this news? Maybe it was just my fault for being in the room with the TV on to begin with. I really should know better. That is why I stick to the radio in the morning, music only, no news other than the traffic report.
In other news, I have a running update for you:
Yes, your eyes do not deceive you. I am roughly 15.5 miles from my goal. I believe that I will be finished no later than next week, possibly even this weekend. The new treadmill is working beautifully. I put another 3 miles on last night after my little girl went to bed. I’m looking forward to finishing this goal and moving on to a new goal which will definitely put my body to the test.
If nothing else, you’ve come to expect complete honesty from this blog…and probably precious little else. Let’s face it, I’m all over the map when it comes to topics, so it’s hard to pin down just what I’m ranting about during any given month. But, I’ve never been anything but honest, to the point of crass in some of my posts. This all leads up to me telling you this:
I’m fat and dying!
Okay…that probably deserves some explanation. To look at me, you’d never know I was fat. I mean, sure, the belt could probably tighten up a notch or too, or maybe the seams could be a little less strained, but I’m not what you might consider overweight. And, I’m certainly not dying. I walk at least 3 times a day, putting in nearly a mile (sometimes more) in every walk. I’ve run four, count ‘em FOUR half-marathons in my life, the most recent one as late as April of this year. But, today, I had my biometrics screening for my health assessment which is required to get a discount on my health insurance at work and it turns out that I’m overweight and on my way to the grave.
Seriously though, it’s probably not all that bad. My blood pressure is perennially on the high side which my physician is aware of and has cleared me due to my diet and exercise. My cholesterol is justabove the normal range and most everything else is normal aside from the LDL which is above normal. I suppose it’s the pork rinds and Big Red that I love so much. What REALLY kills me is the BMI which is such a bogus measurement that even the assessment people say not to worry about that number and the 3-pinch fat test which is named after an abstract expressionist painter Aside: Okay, not really, but isn’t it a little funny that the test is called the Jackson-Pollock 3-Pinch fat test? which says that I have 22% body fat which is just below Jabba the Hutt on the “How blobby are you?” scale. These are the tests that make people cringe when the hear or see the numbers. They’re intimidating to me and I feel pretty healthy. They have to be intimidating to people who are sedentary and forgot what vegetables look like.
So, tonight, I’ll be hitting the treadmill and the next time I’m at the grocery store, I’ll try to pick up some more veggies and maybe a high-fiber muffin or too.
Once more into the fray of that wild and crazy event known as NaBloPoMo, or National Blog Posting Month. This year, I’m starting out just under the wire as it has been a full day here. This morning, our daughter was baptized in the Episcopalian church that C. and I joined a couple of years back. Several years ago, I couldn’t have imagined this moment…the daughter or the church. I had sort of drifted away from the idea of needing a church community and I’m still on the faith journey as I reconcile it with the ever constant presence of rational scientific evidence. But, I’ve come to realize that I don’t necessarily need to reconcile the two…and at times, that has made the two distinct disciplines seem to go hand in hand with each other. Still and all, I truly enjoy the community of this particular church and regardless of your beliefs Aside: or non-beliefs…we’re all inclusive here at the Conspiracy of Happiness! finding a community in which you can share your thoughts, doubts, trials, and thanksgivings with a caring, concerned group of individuals without fear of repercussion or ostracization is truly a joy in life.
Also, this weekend, I was given a treadmill by my parents. They had an old treadmill that they weren’t using anymore, since they’re at the YMCA about 6 days a week now, and I became the beneficiary of this piece of exercise equipment. I have my reasons for wanting it, but you’ll have to wait until later to hear about the new goal! I need to finish the latest goal first. This morning EARLY I was able to put in a few kilometers on the old horse and even though I think it made the day even longer, it felt good to be able to go down to the basement and simply run. I’m looking forward to using it more often.
I hope everyone had a great Halloween. We didn’t go trick-or-treating, we simply stayed home and handed out candy. IvyCat was a cowgirl for the holiday event and by all accounts was adorable. Judge for yourself though in the picture to the right. However, let me ask this…when did it become kosher for people with babies to go out into the night air and beg other people’s candy for children who aren’t old enough to eat it? We had at least 3 people last night with kids just barely older than our own trying to snag some chocolate. Buy your own candy for pete’s sake! Fortunately, C. has the cojones to turn those folks away at the steps. I tend to avoid conflict all together and spent the evening watching television.
Okay…I need to wrap this up so that I can get it posted in time to meet the deadline. I’d hate to start this year’s NaBloPoMo off with ZERO days in a row. For more NaBloPoMo fun, I’m labeling each entry with a code. The person who cracks the code wins…something. I haven’t decided yet. But, it’ll be smaller than a breadbox…so put your thinking caps on and see if you can’t figure it out. This first one may not be very helpful, but as the week continues, I’m betting some of you will see a pattern.
To the driver of the white truck with Kentucky license plate 070-BXG,
Thank you so much for not heeding your stop sign this morning and nearly plowing into my car as I was driving my daughter to daycare. It certainly afforded me the opportunity to skip my morning coffee as I was certainly awakened by your daring, if idiotic, maneuver. As well, I also had the chance to test the horn of my vehicle which may or may not have awakened citizens sleeping in their homes.
I suppose that it must have been difficult to see the sign with your windows tinted a shade darker than “black hole.” Or, possibly, because the vehicle you were driving was roughly the size of Rhode Island, you were unable to see my lowly Toyota as you barreled through the intersection. I’m guessing that you were attempting to use your momentum to get to your destination rather than actual gas being as it must be pretty expensive to fill up that massive road hog.
In conclusion, do let me apologize for being in your way. I’m certain that you are a much more important person than I am, which is obvious from the size of your vehicle and your apparent disregard from traffic signs. I hope that nearly crushing my vehicle this morning didn’t delay you in getting to your very important activities.
Only time for a running update and then gotta get back to the daily grind. As it is impossible to see the map without zooming in, though you can click on it for a larger view, I’ve just turned off the interstate on the final 35 miles of my journey. I’m hoping to finish by the first full weekend in November. This has been a journey of love and heartache and endurance. It will be good to complete this chapter.
So…after that last post, I owe you what is known, in the blogging industry Aside: sort of, I don’t know, maybe you’ve never heard of this, but you’re going to now! as a unicorn chaser. A unicorn chaser is usually a picture of a sparkly rainbow-flavored unicorn that follows something particularly nasty or depressing on the web. So, in fairness to you, I bring you the following unicorn chasers:
And…for those of you who don’t find that the least bit amusing…or maybe even a little more terrifying than the last post, I present to you this gem:
Yes, the rain is back, but somehow, even through my tired eyes on this Friday, life is just a little better. Nothing has changed really, but sometimes you just have to believe that everything is going to be fine. I’d also like to congratulate the Angels on staving off the Yankees last night, but how Fuentes managed to save 48 games this season, I’ll never know. Here’s to a hopeful Angels/Phillies series!
I know. I’m running late. I was almost afraid that this would be my shortest NaBloPoMo ever. However, I have an excellent reason…actually, two related reasons.
