Tuesday, January 02, 2007

One long post to make up for the missing ones.

PART I

I would like to thank everyone for their support during this time. Your comments and well-wishes and really lifted my spirits. They make a difference, they really do.

I've arrived back home to about a foot of wet, heavy snow. I'd decided that I would take a day of bereavement from work tomorrow, so that I could spend a day alone. Maybe, I'd decided, I'll take long slow 15 or so run on the bosque trail, since I'm still in training for RR-AZ and missed my long run Sunday. The trail is, also, likely to be deserted. I could take a long crying bath. Watch sad movies. Clear out the emotional sinuses, as it were.

Then I was informed that school was canceled tomorrow. And, the bosque trail has not been cleared, and has about a foot of wet, heavy snow on it.

So, I get to spend the day on the treadmill, no doubt with the Jonster hanging around, "what are you doing? I'm hungry. I'm bored. I need new shoes. When am I gonna get some new pants? I'm hungry again. What are you doing now? I'm hungry again. I'm bored. I need, I need, I want, I want..."

Blah.

Okay. Try to lighten the mood here.

I like to do "best/wo
rst" when I do long trips, so here they are:
  • Best place to lay a bowling ball so that it never, ever rolls away. Ever. AMARILLO, TX.
  • Best place to smell the stockyards everywhere you go: AMARILLO, TX
  • Best place to be reminded by a billboard that your should beat your children often to remind them that He is the Lord Your God: MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE.
  • Best place to have many billboards remind you that Jesus is Your Risen Lord and Savior: MISSISSIPPI and ALABAMA.
  • Best place to have a warm, sympathetic person drawl to you softly and sympathetically, while giving you a big, warm hug, "well, bless your heart" ALABAMA.
  • Best good, clean "feel good" movie I've seen this year: THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
  • Best place to have Thai food: Surin West, Birmingham, Alabama (It's in the trendy, "Five Points" area. Where, as my sister said in a whisper, "all the gays live". I'm not kidding. She actually dropped her voice said the word "gay" in a whisper. I'm pretty sure she doesn't read my blog. At least, I hope not.)
  • Best place to make an absolute pig of yourself and get exactly what you want: TON's MOGOLIAN GRILL, ARLINGTON, TEXAS.
  • Coolest way to get your long rides in: Doing BREVETS, which are sponsored by the USA Randeneour club. Or something like that. Sweet Baboo did a 200K, which you can read about on his blog soon.
  • Best audio book Sweet Baboo and I listened to on our long trip: RIGHTEOUS MEN.
  • Best place to see one of your best friends who you've known for over --eeek!--25 years PLANO TEXAS.
  • Best hotel in west Texas: LUBBOCK HOLIDAY INN. The rooms are large. Did I say large? I meant huge. Did I say huge? I meant cavearnous. You can do your own imitation of Julie Andrews singing "The hills are alive" in your room.
  • Best thing to drink, anywhere, anytime, MILO's SWEET TEA. Now with splenda.
PART II

I took it to heart, recently, when Nytro expressed disgust over New Year's resolutionists. For all my hard-charging go-getting bullshit, I must concur. Especially since about 90% of the ones I made last year I did NOT meet.

I'm not even going to link to them. They are so pathetic. You'll have do a search.

So instead, I decided to set some non-resolutions. Here they are, things I will not do in 2007.

Let's start with some easy ones:
  1. I resolve not to eat any chlorella this year. I know; it's supposed to be good for you. But, it's so green. It is my personal philosophy that drinks are not supposed to be that particularly virulent shade of green, unless they are lemon-lime coolaid, which I personally believe to be one of the 9 wonders of the world. (The other one is Milo's Sweet Tea with Splenda. You can't get Milos Sweet Tea west of the Mississippi, I think. i've been told I could get it shipped to me. Sweet tea is one of the most redeaming features of the south that exist. The other is the big warm hugs and "well, bless your heart"'s) But I digress. Badly.
  2. I resolve not to punch out the next person that insists to me that whey is the superior protein and I'm really missing out. Particularly when that person is a pudgy, pasty counter clerk at GNC.
  3. I resolve not to buy any more equipment for my tribike with the goal of saving weight until I've taken more weight off me.
  4. I resolve not to complain quite as much about how I hate cycling. I still haven't 'made friends with' my saddle yet, we've been introduced, but are still eying each other warily, unsure of where this relationship is heading. I've got a line on a custom made saddle which a woman recently told me changed her life. She does 200K rides and up. Changed her life. More on this as it developes.
  5. I resolve not to try to best Dean Karnazes' 50-in-50 feat. Let's give Dean a chance to enjoy the afterglow for a while before I take that away from him, okay? (Just seeing if you were still with me)
  6. I resolve not to run any slower. This should be easy. I think if I did get slower I'd actually be moving backwards.
  7. I resolve not to be so bossy in public. I call is the "old teacher syndrome," where you forget that the whole world isn't school and you can't go around admonishing adults to behave, stop running in the hall, and no cutting in line!" Besides, I think it embarasses Sweet Baboo.
  8. I resolve not to eat any water chestnuts this year. You know the weird crunch disks in Chinese food? They freak me out. They are so creepy and crunchy. Ew.
  9. I resolve not to go on, ad nauseum, about my sexy toe socks. No matter how fabulous I think they may be. Even considering that I just got three new pairs of PINK ONES for the holidays.
  10. I resolve not to criticize every west Texas town about how it smells. After all, those are the races where people are always EXTRA friendly, so it sorta makes up for it.
...

12 comments:

  1. What? No resolutions? I FINALLY made some and you bad mouth them...see how you are?!?! Check mine, I'll make at least most of them. You can even VOTE on how many I'll make!!! I live for goals (which bascially my resolutions are!).

    BTW, welcome home and may the healing begin....

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  2. I love the Jesus billboard outside of the adult superstore. Too funny.

    I like your idea of non-resolutions. I am sure you can uphold those.

    I hope your long run will bring you some healing. It will take time to get back to some semblance of normality. Healing will come in time.

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  3. I'm a non-resolutionist myself (and god damnI hate the crowded pool and gym for the next 4-6 weeks). But I did set out a theme for 2007, and some goals. It's always good to have goals, without them, I'd be sitting on the couch stuffing cheez-nips into my face :-)

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  4. That sucks you can't get out on the bosque trail. Maybe you can find some other way to get time to yourself. It'll do you good.

    You are so right about West Texas and the Panhandle! Last summer was my first drive through there as an adult, and I found it freakishly flat and empty. One wonders how people live out there without losing their minds.

    It's great that you're home, though. Don't hesitate to take time off from work if you need it. I once made the mistake of going back to work too soon after a death. My head wasn't at all on straight, and I was not only useless, but a burden. So do what you need to do to work through this.

    Remember that grieving is sort of like a marathon-- you can't rush through it, and you need to fuel yourself all along the way with the things you need to keep going. Your "race" is guaranteed not to go quite how you think it will, but there will be unexpected joy along with the pain, and if you just keep trotting along, fueling and pacing yourself, you'll come to the finish line when you're supposed to.

    I hope to see you when I get out that way this summer. I've got a great big hug for you! Okay, two. Tidbit sends her regards as well. :-)

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  5. You'll have to forgive me, because the letter that comes between O and Q does not work on our keyboard. You'll have to fill in the blanks. Anyway, great ost. I read it outloud to Nytro as we laughed with eachother. Glad to hear you are hanging in there.

    Anyway, you see this ost, notice there is no cat ee in it. Let's kee it that way. Later
    Benny

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  6. OK, your sister sounds like a card. I remember the south now, the wretched south, where the Suthren people live. My family is from Mi'sippi, where they don't believe in syllables.

    I resolve to lose the 400lb I gained from eating really badly in a foreign country for 2 weeks. ugh.

    Glad to hear the cheering up part isn't too hard yet...but hey - we got snow, so it's not all bad, right?

    Take care - I'm thinking of you!

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  7. I hope you break the resolution not to go on about your sexy toe socks. I've enjoyed your technical gear reviews and every time I read about your socks I'm reminded that I've got to buy a pair.

    Welcome back, hope you're doing well.

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  8. I'll miss the toe-sock posts!

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  9. Hi, I just found your blog and am enjoying it very much. I haven't found the pink toe socks but do wear black, brown and white. I swear they solved my blister problem!

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  10. Mmmmm... sweet tea. How I miss it.

    I'm from the part of Illinois that's juuuuust above where it really starts to turn into Southern Illinois, which anyone who's been there can attest is part of the South (capital "S" required). So, in addition to a redneck drawl (that living near Chicago cured) the biggest thing I took when I left home is a taste for teeth-curling, blood-sugar-spiking sweet tea.

    Sometimes I make it for old times' sake, but my friends think I'm a bit nuts 'cause in this neck of the woods tea is something you get at restaurants.

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  11. You make America sound so exotic! I'm going to have to re-subscribe to Texas Highways (sigh)
    Do keep talking about the toe socks - but I'm with you on no. 4 and no 6.
    Take care

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  12. Thanks for the laugh - sounds like you're back. :)

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