I Mean...

You've probably heard of the Golden Arches, The Golden Dome, and a Golden Parachute, but have you heard of the “Golden Mean”? I am facinated by the possibility that mathematics can even begin to explain the human perception of beauty. Take a look. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio Crash! Boom! Clank! Those are the sounds that rang out through the night as the wind gusted and howled. A strong cold front moved through town last night bringing with it lower temps and rain, but even more prolific were the strong gusts of wind. They were reported to be around 40+ mph. My bedroom window coverings were dancing in the night air and the metal mini-blinds in my living room were clanging against their hardened boundaries. Sometime around 1am I woke to a crashing sound as if something fell, broke, or slammed into my home. I quickly rose to my feet to investigate the noise. Thankfully it wasn’t an intruder. I really didn’t think that it was given the obviousness of the weather conditions. Instead, I envisioned my gas grill flying through the air being lifted by a gust of wind and slamming into the back of my house. Upon review, however, that wasn’t the case. I took a quick look at my surroundings and found nothing. Hmmm? Back to bed. Eventually the gusts drew back but never calmed completely. Once morning broke and I ventured downstairs I immediately discovered the culprit of the loud crash. It was my kitchen window plants. I have three clay pots of plants that are competing for space and have intertwined branches and foliage. It appears a gust of wind caught a hold of one, but because of their conenctedness, it took all three down. Kinda like bowling! I have had a couple of these window plants for a number of years so repairing the fragile limbs was somewhat important to me. Ashley had given one of them to me as a gift probably seven or eight years ago. Once that was taken care of I began my morning ritual. The most notable thing about the morning sky was the brisk movement of the sparse but thick clouds that remained from the night’s cold front. They were moving out of the northwest at a very fast clip against a still dark and moonlit sky. The air was noticeably cooler too. It was only 52 degrees! It's predicted to be even chillier tonight. I am quite sure I heard the forecasters predict upper 30’s for Thursday night! Ouch! That’s a good indication that it’s probably time to think about storing the boat for the season L I really hate to see summer go. I like wearing shorts, sun tans, and star gazing with little thought of what I have on. I like the flexibility and options it presents. No boundaries! Work was fairly lax right up until an hour before departure time, then all hell broke loose. And at least for a spell it appeared that I might once again be in jeopardy of missing my guitar lesson. That wasn't the case, thankfully. I ended up getting out of there and home by 535pm. Once home I quickly went into routine chore mode, including walking Sparky. By the time he and I returned, Josh was at my home. He was 20 minutes early. Cool! My guitar lesson went really well. I felt a like a young kid when he told me how well I was doing. You know, he was stroking my ego. :) Hey, whatever works! What's exciting is that I now have all the tools to learn a plethora of songs, so we made a list of several that I like and he's gonna lock in on them himself so that he can teach them to me beginning at our next lesson. And while it's important to continue working on my technique, it seems we're now moving on to the fun part. Yippee! I was really tired. I hadn't had close to eight hours sleep all week. I planned to go to sleep early. I went to bed around 910pm.

Too Good!

Wednesday was another gorgeous day and a BM’er day at that. So naturally, it was a very good day. The morning air was incredibly cool, cool enough in fact, that a light jacket or sweater was required for my morning walk with Sparky. I guess I better get used to that! The morning sky was almost perfectly clear. I could see well into the heavens. My morning routine was just that, routine. I exercised, walked Sparky, meditated, made my breakfast, and packed my lunch. Today being Wednesday meant that it was tuna fish day. Here's my simple tuna salad recipe! 1 6oz. can of Solid White Tuna 3 Tbsp. of chopped green pepper 1 Tbsp of relish 1 dash of salt ( or maybe two) 1 dash of pepper 1Tbsp (heaping ) of mayonnaise 1 tsp of brown mustard I serve this over a bed of fresh spinach with about seven freshly cut cheese cubes. On occasion I will kick it up a notch or two with some hot sauce. All the other components of my daily lunch are generally the same; five vegetable salad (celery, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumber. tomato), and a three fruit medley (pineapple, strawberries, and cantaloupe). In addition, I make a mid-morning pre-run snack that consists of three large handfuls of nuts ( either peanuts, cashews, or almonds) and two chunks of cheese. Very satisfying! My run today was nothing less than stellar. The temperature hovered somewhere around 70 degrees and the sky was sun soaked and blue. All three ingredients combined for absolutely splendid running conditions! My afternoon in the office went equally well. And nothing unexpected cropped up so I was able to depart right on time. I was anxious to get home and get ready for my date with Mindy. I really like her! We seem to enjoy each others company and then some! :) I'm convinced that she's an angel sent here just for me. I enjoy, appreciate, and cherish her! In fact, let me tell you a little about Mindy... (hopefully she won't mind) She's attractive, fun, smart, well-educated, articulate, affectionate, expressive, and spiritual. She's a second grade school teacher and mother. She has a 5 year old son and a 3 year old daughter. Both are very cute. While I was tending to my routine after work chores, John Vereb called to confirm my plans to play in the annual Steve Weese Charity Golf outing the weekend of Rocktober 16th at Willow Run Golf Club. I am. Immediately after talking with John, Joey K called because Kaileigh (my granddaughter) wanted to talk with me. Now that made my day!!!!!!!! I could hear her in the background pleading with her daddy to talk to me. She's such a happy girl and just melts my heart! She asked if she could come over tonight. I told her that I had plans, but maybe another night. She immediately went on to tell me that she'd forego an evening with my ex, Kelly tomorrow and instead come to my house. Now don't think for a minute that I didn't want to jump all over that offer! But as tempting as it was, that wouldn't be the right thing to do. I know that Kelly loves her as much as I and would be hurt. Besides, I have a guitar lesson tomorrow night anyhow. Instead, I told her that I'd come and get her at Great Grandma Rosemary's Sunday afternoon. She happily agreed! We'll have fun, I am certain. Mindy showed up around 655pm. We planned to go to Minnelli's for dinner . We did. We drove the BM'er. It was a very beautiful evening sky - perfect for the convertible. We were the only dine-in patrons, so we had the full attention of Sandy, the waitress. She was naturally very attentive and fun to chat with. She took very good care of us. We ordered a lot of food. Both of us were hungry! But even though I was hungry, I barely made a dent in the extra-large pizza I ordered. So I brought the rest home. Once back at my house we decided to get in the hot tub and chill for a few. And yes, we kept our swim suits on! Still, it was relaxing and fun! Mindy had to be home around 9pm and I'm quite sure she made it. The rest of my evening was spent updating my Blog and practicing some guitar. I was in bed at 1015pm but didn't get to sleep until after midnight.

Somebody Stop Me!

pic #1 cuz Susan, fiancee' Joel, cuz David and Cuz Linda's girls pic #2 cuz Susan and finacee' Joel pic #3 cuz Eliz and Aunt Ruth (her mother) Tuesday would turn out to be a grand day to be sure! The morning was cool, crisp, and clear. The star filled sky left little uncertainty of the day in store. It would be sunny and beautiful! That's perfect because my after work plans called for yard work (whacking, edging, cutting, riding, and blowing). I like saying that ! :) I got up pretty much on time but was still a little tired. Not to worry though, "it's just a silly phase I 'm going through" Name the song - buy you the album! Work would prove to be a bit challenging considering we still had large amounts of hurricane leftovers to deal with. At this point it becomes more of an administrative task, but still a big one! And later in the day my resiliency was put to the test (at work, that is). At the risk of sounding a little too redundant, I won't use the over used description for my daily run, but I will tell you that it was effortless. I cherish days like today. It won't be long before we're dealing with the dreaded CGDD. And unfortunately, it'll paly out much like "the song that never ends"! :) I left work around 510pm in hopes of getting home, stealing a quick nap, and then gettting on those lawn chores. I did! In fact, I managed my evening time quite well, which I generally do. Not only did I sneak in a quick nap, but I finished off my routine chores too (walking Sparky, coffee prep, lunch containers, etc.). I was very groggy when I lifted from my nap, but still I headed for the garage to begin my yard chores. Time was a wasting, so I had little choice if I expected to finish before dark. Get R' Done! The ground was still a little wet so my tractor was a little rough on my lawn in places, especially in the backyard where I get so much more run off from the neioghbors yards. As one might guess, the grass always stays greener longer, though, so it's a good trade off. I love the way I feel after completing my lawn chores. I always feel a real sense of accomplishment! Because of a dry July and August, my lawn now has several weeds sprouting in the brown spots. Their growth has only been accellerated by the recent monsoon. I'll need to apply some weed killer this weekend. My lawn could really use a day of TLC aside from the weekly routine maintenance. I liken it to a child. I finished the lawn right about 730pm, and I immediately retreated to the shower to wash off the itchy bits of grass, dirt, and grime that always seem to attach themselves to my body while doing yard chores. But heck, do you blame them? :) I spent the next hour or two emailing, reading, and practicing guitar. I received an email today from cousin Elizabeth in North Carolina. She informed me that Aunt Char was coming down for Susan's wedding this weekend. Also ,she sent a few pics (posted). I've informed Eliz that if she visits Columbus she's certainly wlecome to stay with me. Mindy called me around 9pm and we talked for while before falling alseep. She's lucky enough to have the day off work tomorrow and the weather's predicted to be even better than today.

The Blog that never ends...

Monday wouldn’t be the prettiest day of the month by any stretch. In fact, it was gray and drizzly from the outset. And when Sparky and I went for our morning walk we were dodging a few leftover rain drops. I had to be a bit more disciplined with my morning routine as I slept until 615am which is 45 minutes later than my usual “get up time”. I thought that I might sleep late though, given that I was so physically exhausted from Sunday’s activities. But despite my late start, I still managed to be to work on time and in a pretty good mood for a Monday. The morning went without incident and before I knew it was time to run. And because of the low ceiling and relatively low temps, my run was superb! Again, I could’ve run all day! Mindy and I had exchanged a few emails through the day and decided to meet at my house after work. That alone put a little extra shine to an already OK day!! I left work around 445pm so that I could stop at the bank and cash a rebate check that I received from Tire Discounters a couple of weeks ago (a gift of sorts for purchasing four tires). I hardly ever go to the bank these days so I wasn’t even sure if it would be open. It was. I was home and tending to normal after work stuff by 515pm. I walked Sparky, prepped tomorrow’s coffee, and washed my Glad lunch containers. I was even able to read and nap for a few prior to Mindy showing up. Damn am I good or what!!!! That's efficiency! I forgot to mention that Sparky was attacked while on our walk. A very large all-white Husky-German Shepherd mix seemed to come out of nowhere and went right for Sparky’s neck. Sparky didn’t cower at all but in the end proved to be little competition for this giant of a dog. I tried to intervene as best I could but if you’ve ever been in a similar situation you know how difficult it is to do much of anything short of trying to distract the perpetrator. I pulled Sparky away and raised my voice to the large white dog. To my surprise it worked and he backed off giving Sparky and I an opportunity to move on. As we continued our walk Sparky kept looking back. I’m sure that he was a little freaked out. The only other time he’s ever been attacked was by Duke, a mean spirited little dog a few houses down, but he’s no bigger than Sparky. If nothing else, this little scrap helped Sparky go poop! The episode must have triggered something deep in his bowels because he let out a load like never before. Perhaps it scared the shit out of him!! J As you might guess, he kept looking back over his shoulder the rest of the way home. Mindy arrived around 615pm and we spent the next 1.5 hours exchanging back rubs and talking about our day. I could get awfully used to that! J I guess I was a bad host though because I didn’t offer her any food and neither one of us had eaten dinner. I know that I was absolutely starvin’ when she left. I decided to make myself home made pizza on low-carb tortilla shells. These pizzas turned out really well and were so delicious that it’s not even funny! I spent the next hour eating and updating my Blog with both Saturday and Sunday’s events. Before going to bed I spent about 15 minutes playing the guitar and ensuring that I practiced the new chords and scales given to me three weeks ago by my new instructor. We have a lesson this Thursday and I don’t want him to think that I’ve been slackin’. Song of the day: “The Song That Never Ends”… and it doesn’t Sang by Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because...This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because...This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because...This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because...This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because...This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because...This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because...This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because...This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because...This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because...This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because...This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because...This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because...This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because...This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because...This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because...This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was,...

A Weekend of Validation

I was up at 640am, just ten minutes later than my target. Sunday morning looked pretty good at first glance. The sky was clear so golf would definitely be in my day’s plan. I immediately hopped to my morning ritual as there would be few minutes to spare given that I needed to be out the door by 850am. I finished my exercises and walking Sparky by 710am, allowing myself 20 minutes for morning email and internet surfing. To remain on task I knew I had to complete my run by 815am. As I left for my run the sun was just coming up over the horizon, and what a beautiful sunrise it was! Because of the excessive moisture in the air the sun was a brilliant orange and seemingly larger than usual. I was counting on a peaceful run so that I could meditate, and due in part to the breath taking sunrise, I was able to do so. As planned, I was back by 815am and headed for the shower. I wasted little time getting ready and was back downstairs doing a quick inventory of my “golf day gear” (clubs, balls, shoes, water, snack, sun glasses). I was Golden! I took the last few minutes to make myself some scrambled eggs so that I’d have plenty of energy for walking eighteen holes of golf. I made it to Bob’s house in Grandview right on time, and we were on the road to Canal Winchester in a matter of minutes. We arrived at the golf course about a half an hour early. I liked that. It gave me time to putt and warm up. I hate to feel rushed at anything and perhaps even more so at golf. One of the cart attendants told me that he doubted they’d allow me to walk the course but conceded that it wasn’t his decision but ultimately the club pro at the counter in the clubhouse. I asked the man in charge, and he was cool with it as today’s rules were “cart path only” which equates to slow play anyhow. It’s not that I am cheap. Hell, it was $42 to walk and only $7 more to ride. It’s just that I will take advantage of any additional exercise I can get. Furthermore walking provides a wonderful opportunity to focus and think, something I absolutely love to do. For anyone who’s ever golfed The Villages at Westchester knows how long of a walk this course is. There a couple of holes where there’s about a quarter mile from the green to the next tee – no shit! I had forgotten about the long walk between holes, Still, though, I wouldn’t have taken a cart. It was a total pleasure. My round started well, as usual (I’m a bogey golfer). Through the first six holes I was double, bogey, par, par, bogey, bogey. I had a couple of bad breaks to finish out the front nine and ended with a 47. Not terrible, but certainly nothing to write home about. At the turn I decided to ingest some sugar so I bought a full octane Coke, which is pretty rare for me these days. In addition, I woofed down some cheese and nuts that I brought from home. It seemed to help. I started off the back with a par and a bogey. Holes 12 – 15 weren’t so kind to me though. I had to fight through the high grasses on a couple of holes thereby dashing any hopes of busting the 90 barrier. No worries though. We were all having fun! I think I finished with a 96. Because of the cart path only rule today it took us 5 hours to finish 18 holes. We were on our way home by 315pm, and almost on queue, the skies began clouding up and threatening rain. We listened to the Bengals game on the way home. They were well in front of the Bears in the middle of the third quarter dishing out a 17-0 shut out. Perhaps these guys are for real this year. Hmm? We tried to find the Browns game but to no avail (Bob’s a Browns fan – poor Bob). I dropped Bob at home around 345pm. He mentioned that his afternoon/evening included a fondue party – wahoo! Sorry about your luck dude! I was home just before 4pm. I quickly tuned in to the Viking game on Yahoo and found them in front of the Saints by 15, up 24-9. That’s my boys! Way to bounce back. They appeared to have handled the 0-2 start pretty well and seemed to have fixed the turnover issues that plagued them the first two weeks. SKOL! I spent the early evening hours reading, napping, and making diner. I made myself a garbage burger for diner. That was the first burger that I’ve had in a number of weeks. I think that the last burger I had was camping the first week of August. Earlier in the afternoon Mindy and I made tentative arrangements for me to stop over sometime after 8pm, so I made plans accordingly. I practiced guitar and took another nap! J Truth be told I was still beat! Not only had I ran four miles, but I’ll bet I walked another 7 or 8 miles on the golf course. My feet were aching and my neck and shoulder were stiff. Mindy called me around 745pm to tell me that she didn’t want me to come over because the “other guy” was there – kidding! J She was tired too! That was fine. I don’t know how much fun I would have been anyhow. I was in bed right at 10pm – just after prepping my morning coffee.

Mindy, OSU's Linebackers, My backyard...

...Things that look stunning!!! Perhaps one of the coolest thunderstorms of the season occurred during the early morning hours Saturday. It had all the ingredients: heavy rain, continuous lightning, and booming thunder. I find it a bit ironic that we hadn’t had any memorable thunder storms this summer and now that autumn is here we finally got one. Literally, I don't recall any lightning & thunder even close to this magnitude all summer long. Don’t you just love sleeping through thunder storms? I do. Although I don’t think Sparky feels the same. Given his druthers, I am certain that he would have preferred to ride out the storm in bed with me. I didn't let him in. It was near 710am when I finally got out of bed. And because of the storm it was barely light outside. My first task was to make some coffee since I didn’t prep it the night before. I don't because I never know for certain what time I am going to rise on a weekend day. Instead. I get up when I feel rested and inspired to do so. So there! I completed my normal workout routine before walking Sparky. And by the time I finished and leashed up Sparky the rain had all but subsided, making an umbrella unnecessary. It was an enjoyable walk. And by the looks of the yard side stream, we must have gotten quite a bit of rain. By the time Sparky and I returned my coffee was ready. I had two quick cups. In the mean time, it started raining fairly heavily again. Now I'm never one to avoid running because of a little rain, but given that the radar looked like it might let up in about 1/2 hr I decided to wait a few. I waited till 9AM. By then it had all but stopped, leaving just a light sprinkle. I enjoy running in a light rain and that was exactly what it was like. There were a few claps of thunder, but they were off in the distance and well to the east of me, so I knew that they posed no threat. Upon my return I made my breakfast (sausage and eggs),read some email, and published my Friday Blog entry. Sometime around 11AM I gave Mindy a call to firm our plans for dinner. I was looking forward to driving the BM'er but the weather forecast didn’t look to good, so I took a wait and see attitude. Mindy pointed out that she's now found two of her friends that know me. One happens to be an old neighbor of mine and the other is a former Time Warner friend. In addition to these two characters, her brother in-law and I graduated together. And if that’s not enough, she also knows Connie Hedges, the owner of the Hilltop Swim Club. As it turns out, we know quite a few of the same folks. Noon came around fairly quickly and that meant it was time for Buckeye football. I made the most of the early kick off and worked on household chores while watching the blowout unfold. I accomplished quite a bit too. I washed all of my bedding, vacuumed the entire house, ran the dishwasher, and scrubbed the shower in the master bath. Man, I am good! After the game (Buckeyes won 31-6) I headed out to pick-up a few things, including some flowers for Mindy and some Black Dog Honey Raspberry Ale for me. And because the weather had improved significantly, I drove the BM'er. And a fun drive it was through the winding roads of Upper Arlington. I spent the rest of the afternoon finishing off some chores and then getting ready for our date. We had dinner reservations at Tucci's in Dublin for 745pm. I headed out the door to pick up Mindy around 640pm. She lives in West Hilliard and as it turned out, my timing was almost perfect. Again, I am good! I was at her house right at 7pm, just as we had planned. After meeting her two lovely children as well as her baby sitter, we were on our way to the restaurant by 720pm. We arrived at Tucci’s right on time. The evening was moderately warm so we really could have dined comfortably on their cozy patio, but we opted for an inside table instead. I failed to mention that Mindy looked pretty damn good in her little black dress! We began our diner with a glass of Shiraz, some crab cakes, and bruschetta, For the main course, the both of us ordered fillet mignon despite Tucci's reputable Italina menu. I guess our craving for beef outweighed the lure of their tempting Italian entrees. Everything was really delicious. The fillet and bruschetta were particularly good. We topped off the evening by sharing a piece of their chocolate silk pie. Before ending our date, we stopped off at my house for a little while where we shared some quiet conversation. I had her back at her house by 1110pm, pretty much as planned. Once back at home I snuggled up on the couch and tuned into Saturday Night Live (something I do very little of these days). Tonight's broadcast was a Will Ferrell compilation and it was so, so funny! Maybe one of the best I've ever seen! He's a fantastic comedian and just does a superior job in all sorts of different roles. Bob Imber and I had a 10am tee time scheduled at the Villages of Westchester for Sunday AM, so getting some sleep was a high priority. Consequently, I went to bed right after midnight.

Friday, Fulfillment & Fun

It’s Friday, and better yet, it’s Barley Friday!! Have I told you just how much I love Friday’s? OK, because I wasn’t sure! :) Is it just me or do you, too, find it so much easier to pop right out of bed on a Friday. I was up and at my morning routine with reckless abandon (55 sit-ups, 50 push-ups, and 40 curls) by 545AM. Today is the first FULL day of Autumn, and almost on queue, the weather is noticeably different than yesterday. While yesterday could have passed for mid-summer, today promised to look, feel, and smell an awful lot like a normal early fall day (cool, grey, damp, and dreary). Sparky and I finished our walk around 615AM, just slightly behind schedule. That’s OK though. I forgave him. :) I packed my lunch, coffee’d, made eggs and fresh pineapple for breakfast. I ate while at the PC reading/writing some emails and checking the status of Hurricane Rita. This hurricane has the ability to take control of my work day, and the entire weekend for that matter. I am watching it closely! As much as I wished it were, today was not going to be a BM’er day. Nope! It was too crappy to drive my little baby to work. She’s only been in the rain one time and that was a quick pop-up storm, which hit right at 5PM a few weeks ago - you may recall. I promised then that I wouldn’t put her through that again if I could help it. By the time I arrived at work, hurricane Rita hadn't had much of an impact on our business yet. We did, however, have several customer sites that were proactively shut down to avoid the storm’s wrath. Sometime around 1115AM My new friend Mindy called me during her lunch. We chatted for about 20-30 minutes. That brightened an already bright day. Because of the hurricane and some other activites I didn’t get out for my run until 1245PM. But despite the later start, my run went really well. It was another one of those days where I felt like I could’ve kept running all day. I had planned to get my haircut right after my run & shower. So I high- tailed it on over to the Saturday’s at Tuttle. For the past three or four haircuts I have specified my desire to have Alyshia cut my hair. She always does a good job and addresses the intangibles that others often forget. But today I thought that I’d give another cutie a “rub and a whirl”. Insert Sabrina. I hadn't seen her there before, but what the hell! That alone is a little scary, if getting a hair cut can be a scary thing. Well, she didn’t start off too well either. For starters she smelt like a walking ash tray which was a real turn off, but I wasn't there to smell or taste her - at least not today. :) Her opening dialogue seemed a bit too rehearsed and a little choppy. I didn't care much for that. Give me something real honey! As normal, they always start with clippers and I typically have them use a # 3 guard. Today was no different, but for some reason though, she seemed insistent on shoving the clipper into my skull with about 120lbs of pressure. Holy smoke - girl. You're killing me! I had to tell her that she was being a little too rough! Go figure! I never thought that day would come! :). She seemed a bit shocked and then apologized profusely. Whatever! From that point forward, however, we bonded. We were almost as one. We laughed, cried, and joked. And in the end, she did a good job! I tipped her well, as I usually do. My personal rule of thumb on tipping is that anyplace you plan to return many times over you should always tip very well, and I do. It makes a BIG difference! Anyway, Back to work. Back at the office my goal was to put closure to several open issues on my to-do list. By the time 5PM rolled around I felt good about what I'd accomplished for the day, and for the entire work week for that matter. I was ready for a weekend. I stopped at Walmart to grocery on the way home. I needed this kind of efficiency in my weekend as I had lots of things planned. To my surprise, I was on my way home from the grocery before 6PM. Now that's good time management! At home I put my groceries away and then turned my attention to Sparky. He really needed to go out. Once back home, I nestled into my favorite reading chair and read and napped for about 45 minutes (most of the time reading - 10 minute nap). After waking and feeling refreshed, I completed some additional chores and did some Blog editing up until Barley time! I was out the door at 810PM. The parking lot was awfully crowded tonight but that's OK. It's just a bigger crowd to entertain! :) Once inside I bellied up to the bar and ordered a Firkin Pale Ale. By James 'Dr. Fermento' Roberts The word “firkin” is not an appellation of another vulgar word used in the English language. It's a noun that describes a type of beer-conditioning and dispensing system that's been popular in Great Britain and Europe for centuries and is gaining rapid momentum here in Anchorage. Technically, a firkin is a British measuring unit equaling about a quarter of a barrel (about nine gallons), but the term commonly implies that the beer in the namesake container is cask-conditioned. This means that fermentation continues in the keg, even after distribution, so that the beer matures throughout the life of the keg. A patron can actually visit the pub at different times and the same beer will taste different. http://www.anchoragepress.com/archives-2004/brewreviewvol13ed45.shtml After a couple of beers Bob, and Bob's brother Tom and I headed downtown to catch Scotty Bracher, a young Blue's musician that is all the rage her locally. He was playng at the Columbus Blues Station located in the heart of the arena district. Mary Ann didn't join us as she has to work this Saturday. This kid was good! I stayed through the second set but really wanted to be home by midnight. Bob and Tom decided to stay and planned to take a cab home. Becasue I had been drinking water for the past 1.5 hrs, I was fine to drive. My guitar instructor's band, The Shrunken Heads, was playing at the Park Street Tavern, which is right up the road from the Blues Station. It used to be a the 501 Jazz Club. I had thought about popping in to catch his act, but in the end, I was just too tired for any more live entertainment. I guess I'm getting old. Yikes!!!! http://www.bluesstation.net/home.shtml

Autumnal Equinox

Today at 623PM EDT we encountered the Autumnal Equinox, the transition from summer to fall. I hear many people speak that they just absolutely love the fall. I, on the other hand, hate to see summer go. And while I love many things about fall, and a few things about each season for that matter, I am a summer kind of guy. I look at my toys, my hobbies, and even my wardrobe, all of which are much more conducive to summer. I have a boat, a convertible, and I love growing and nurturing my landscape. I love sitting on a patio, deck, or porch in my shorts and tee-shirt taking in the warm, night time sky. I love hot steamy weather and raspberry beer. And I love little baby ducks… :) Do visit this link. <http://www.factmonster.com/spot/equinox1.html> I like fall because... I love football and the promise it brings of another OSU national championship and a Super Bowl for my beloved Vikings. I love the crisp, cool, sunny September and early October mornings. I love the colored palette that always shows up in our landscapes. I also like getting reacquainted with my favorite sweaters and fall jacket. I love pumpkin Ale, Thanks- giving dinner and my annual trip to Washington State. I guess I really do like autumn too. I could press and find some good things about winter too, but come the end of January I am so done with cold, grey, damp, and dreary that I could almost puke! February & March are two months I could do without. In fact, if you know anyone that’s willing to trade a couple more months of summer or even two more months of spring, give them my number! Thursday was a beautiful late summer day to be sure. The morning sky was once again star filled and the sunrise was exceptional. In turn, I dubbed the day a BM’er day! My work day was busy but not frantic. I got away for my run at my usual time. And I suppose because of the golf and the late run yesterday, I was a little sluggish for the first half of my run. But sometimes one simply has to run on pure desire. My afternoon was busier than the morning. I had a couple of scheduled meetings and a late training class that kept me at the office until 640PM. I was exhausted by the time I got home. Despite being tired I had some things to get done. I did some laundry, watered plants, did some reading, and plucked my guitar. I even snuck in a quick nap around 8PM even though I knew that it might screw with my night’s sleep.

Windows, Moon, and Golf

The first thing I noticed as I opened my eyes to the new day was the brilliant light being cast by the moon through the aptly named “halfmoon” window in my master bedroom. Happily, the weather forecast called for a very sunny summer like day today. Once downstairs and tending to my morning ritual, I noticed some heavy fog looming in my back yard, and what a beautiful view it was. I have five spot lights (3 up-lighting and 2 down-lighting) in my backyard landscape highlighting several mature trees. The fog filled beams of light shining up through the trees were an awesome sight (sorry no pics). Today promised to be a rather short day at the office as we had an off-site team outing planned with several of our engineers. The plan called for golf at Wilson Road at 1PM, which is a nine hole par 3 course. Many of the engineers had either never golfed before, or had only been out once or twice. This proved to be quite a spectacle, and also fun to watch. I was a little tense since I didn’t get a chance to run at my normal lunch time. It’s not that I forgot. Instead, I had planned to run at 1130AM, right after a meeting I have planned every Wednesday at 11AM. But things just got busy before departing for golf and I didn’t feel it appropriate to take off. This meant I would carry the stress of a looming run with me to the golf course. Not good! And not only did I have the stress of knowing I had to run as soon as we were done golfing, but I also had a 530 date with Mindy, os I knew that I might be pressed for time between golf and our date. Have I told you how much I distain being rushed? We finished our golf outing just before 4PM. I spent little time wrapping up, packing up, and heading home (I live within a ¼ mile of the course). By 410PM I was headed out the door for my daily run. And what a difference it was to run more towards the end of the day, especially after just walking nine holes of golf. Now you have to know there was absolutely no way I would have skipped but I’ll be honest, I wasn’t very motivated. I was hot & sweaty, tired, and my feet ached. Plus, I could feel tension head to toe. After about two miles, however, I began to feel good. I looked forward to getting home and getting a shower. I ran surprisingly fast and was home and in the shower by 440PM. I was out the door for my date by 520PM. Mindy and I were meeting at Lucky’s on the Patio. They put a really nice patio in this summer, or at least I don’t recall it being there last year and it looks really new. Neither one of us felt like drinking any alcohol. Instead we ordered water and ice tea, and some food. We had a nice time sharing our day and talking about everything under the sun. We confirmed plans for Saturday but still didn’t nail down an exact time or venue. No worries though. It’ll get done. At home I worked on my Blog and practiced guitar. Speaking of my guitar lessons, my instructor called around 930PM and asked if we could reschedule this weeks session once again. He’s going to see George Clinton Thursday night and doesn’t want to feel rushed through the lesson, nor do I so I graciously agreed to simply push out until next Thursday. That’ll give me an extra week to master three new four finger chords and a new scale he gave me two weeks ago. Before going to bed I made a couple of phone calls, did some email, and had another chocolate brownie leftover from my birthday. I still have over half left, and they are still so, so good! I went to bed around 11PM.

Go Ahead and Water the lawn, My Give a Damn's Busted!

The sun wanted to come out all day Tuesday but couldn’t. The early morning sky was thick in cloud cover so any hope of yet another marvelous sunrise was dashed. It wanted to bust through, though. I could feel it in YOUR bones. Hey, but we've got to take the good with the bad . Also, we had a couple of brief yet hard down pours the night prior so I was thankful for what that might do for my lawn. This summer, as we’ve already discussed, has been unusually hard on the lawn. Again today, because of the low sky, running was a breeze. I could literally have run all afternoon. Perfect running conditions. Back at the office, I had several tasks to complete which included prepping for a team meeting tomorrow morning. I love meeting with my team and talking about all that’s going on. Plus, I have some big announcements to share and they are all good! My primary evening goal was to take care of my lawn. I hadn’t cut my grass in about 12 days so it really needed it. I tend to lose motivation when we go through a drought such as we did through most of the summer. I have several areas of my lawn that suffered severe “brown out”. I don’t care for that. I gave some consideration to adding an in-ground sprinkler system but in the end I chose to spend my money on the boat instead. I mean, hell, how much fun can one have with a sprinkler system? And how many “hotties” can a guy pick-up with it? ZERO! :) Anyway, after ten minutes of reading and a fifteen minute nap I whacked, edged, cut, rode, and blew the lawn. All that accomplished in just over an hour. After showering, eating, and chatting on the phone for a while I didn’t leave myself much time to practice guitar tonight. Oh well, I’ll have to fix that tomorrow night. I was in bed by 1015PM. Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

Sad State of Affairs

Monday began with a star filled sky and the promise of a bright and beautiful sunrise. It didn’t disappoint. The sunrise was spectacular. I gave consideration to sticking around a few extra minutes before leaving for work to photograph it but I had other goals in mind for that time. That’s right! Before going in to the office my first stop would be the dreaded Ohio License Bureau to hopefully put closure to the license renewal task. I’m convinced that anytime you deal with a government ran agency you can bank on a story. After all the trouble I went through last Friday to complete the license renewal task you’d have thought that all the troubles were behind me. Nope! To the contrary! Plan “C” began well, but quickly deteriorated. I was the first person there and at the door by 750AM. I could see tired, hopeless looking employees meandering around inside with the door locked. Not long after, another gentleman approached and began sharing his story of mishap at the license bureau on Friday. We all know that misery loves company, so I was happy to listen. He had the scoop on why the lines were so long. There laminator machine was busted causing an already larger than normal line to back up even more so. Well, that explains it. To our surprise, the door opened right at 8AM and I was first! To try and get everyone’s mind in the right place, I greeted everyone with a big smile and a resounding “GOOD MORNING – who wants to helps me”? All but one of the employees kept quiet and barely even looked up. Go figure! One woman, however, responded in kind and warmly stated, ”I will!” I liked that. I needed a new driver’s license, new tags for both cars, and a title transfer for the boat. She informed me that she couldn’t address the boat issue and that I’d have to go to Great Western to accomplish that. Oh Boy! That’ll be fun. If you think this bureau branch is a zoo, you ought to see that one. She had me processed and onto getting my picture taken in a matter of minutes. She was good! But that’s where the efficiency began and ended. Happily perched on the picture stool, I smiled graciously for the little old man at the driver’s seat. After snapping a quick pic he asked me to take a seat and wait about a minute and one half for the laminator to process. Cool, or so I thought. It wasn’t long before I noticed he was monkeying around with the laminator. I could see him rolling his eyes and grumbling under his breath. Sadly, he was clueless! He must have power cycled that poor thing four or five times before the older woman that had processed all my paper came over and began assisting. Now she was a great administrator but somehow I doubted she was technically savvy. She wasn’t. I learned, through dipping into their quiet conversation, that they have had this machine replaced/repaired six times in the last month. Now that’s efficiency for you! In the meantime I noticed that every time someone new came to the door an employee had to go to the door and let the patron in. It seems they were having trouble with the door lock too. As the older gentleman who doubles as the state photographer somewhat angrily walked to the door for the second time, I heard him say, “the damn door lock is acting up again”. Everything about this operation begs for some operational efficiency. Too, I suspect that these state employees are making top dollar and are carrying a benefits package that most of us in the private sector would kill for. Sad! And technology seems to have found a way to avoid this place like the plague. Despite all their troubles, I decided that I wasn’t going to allow this incompetence to smear my day. I sat patiently observing the comedy as it unfolded knowing that I would soon be sharing this story with friends. Once they gave up on their inept troubleshooting abilities they placed a call to the “repair facility”. She must have called ten times, and I heard her murmur, “the phone must not be working.” Now you’ve got to be kidding me!! Big surprise – huh? Suddenly, while she waited on hold, the machine started making a loud noise and out popped a driver’s license – not mine however. It was someone else’s who had given up and left with a promise to return later. Hmmm? Let’s see, If hers popped out, mine had to be on its way, right? Insert the older gentleman again. “Jim”, he exclaimed. I rose to my feet in joy thinking that my license had just popped out. Nope! “Jim”, he said, “we’re gonna need to take your picture again.” OK, sure, I mean hey, I’m used to folks wanting to take my picture with my celebrity status and all! J So, I happily smiled for his camera once again as evidence by the pic from Friday. I thought to myself, come on baby, we’re close to the finish line. Please have it within you to spit out just one more license. And you know what? It did!! Horray! I was on my way to a Monday. Now next to the Funny Bone Comedy Club, this place is the king of comedy! Shortly after I arrived for work the sky clouded over and took the shine off of an otherwise pretty late summer day. Although, the cloud cover coupled with a cool breeze made my afternoon run a dream. The remainder of the work day went without incident. My evening plans were to meet my friend Mindy for dinner immediately following work. We met at the new Hilliard El Vacquero’s. I arrived a few minutes early so I sat and chatted with Craig the bartender who I met about a month ago. He’s a real character. We chatted about dating, and he offered up his “expert advice” after seeing the movie, “Hitch”. Too funny! Dinner went well. I was home by 830PM to tend to my normal nightly routine. My guitar instructor called and asked if we could move this week’s lesson back to Thursday as he apparently had something come up for Wednesday night. I told him that was fine. After all, Thursday was our original day anyhow. Furthermore, I knew that Wednesday was Mindy’s evening to have prearranged childcare, thus we could potentially make plans accordingly. And just as if the universe was working for me, as soon as I hung up from talking with Josh, she called to ask about further plans. Go figure! Life is good!

SKOL VIKINGS SKOL

Despite my body's request for a smidgeon more sleep I pulled myself out of bed at 630AM sharp just as I had planned. After all, today was to be a great day. I would be bonding with my Vikings. Skol! Through the night I dreamt that all of the Viking receivers got hurt and the coach looked up in the stands, pointed to me and said, "suit up Wright, we're putting you in. You're our only hope". As it turned out, I was their only hope, coach Tice just didn't know it. I was moving slow but on pace to meet my deadlines. I had exercised, walked Sparky, coffee'd, ran, and emailed all by 810AM. I wanted to be out the door by 845AM so that meant I had to get a move on given that I didn't put together a to-do list in preparation for my trip to Cincy. Nope, I did all of this on instinct alone. But I know myself well, and that equates to needing an extra 5 to 10 minutes to make sure and grab all the little forgetables (drinks, snacks, camera, cash, tickets). As it tunred out the only think I forgot was my binnoculars. I picked Lee up at at 905AM on the nose. Within minutes we were on our way to Cincinnati to see the poor Bengals get a spankin', or so I thought. The morning drive was absolutely gorgeous! Couldn't have asked for better football weather. The forecast called for sunny and mid 70's. We arrived in Cincinnati shortly before 11AM. We checked out the parking accommodations and decided we'd walk a couple extra blocks and save a little on parking. Hel, I run five miles day. I walk a few blocks to save $20. That's right! Parking along the Stadium Drive is $30, and for each block north the rate dropped another $5. We parked probably 1/3 mile from the stadium and paid $10 - a bargain by all accounts. Before we could give football serious consideration, Lee needed a smoke and I needed some food. I hadn't eaten breakfast which is so not me. I felt like I could eat a Bengal!!! :) We happened upon a Champs and the smell was enough to woo me in. I ordered a burger, fries, and a Sam Adams. I was drinking beer before noon - shameful! That is something I rarely do. Just as I was finishing my lunch Mindy called to chat for a few minutes and to wish me well a the game. That was sweet of her to call. I nfact, it brightened my already brilliantly bright outlook! Off to the stadium and into the slaughter! Our seats were as promised - right on the fifty yard line. And while I like the upper deck for the overall view it affords, we were much higher up than I ever imagined we'd be. I was told by those who were in the know that the purple and orange "things" down on the field were grown men - yeah- football players. The energy level was high, and I had a really good feeling going into the game. I was certain that we'd leave there victorious. I was even planning ahead as to how I might handle leaving the stadium after giving those boys in orange a taste of a purple butt whippin'. I saw myself consoling Bengals fans and reminding them that they still have a good team, that the season's long, and that they're certain to bounce back. Oh boy!! Can you spell BUTT kickin' - Holy smoke! What in the world!!!!!!!!!!!! That wasn't my team on the field. I refuse to believe that was THE Minnesota Vikings that I know and love. No way! The final score was 37-8 and that wasn't even indicative of how poorly we played. We had 7 turnovers and should have had 2 more if it hadn't been for a couple of Bengal penalties. Now these grown men are paid millions of dollars to do one thing and one thing only. And by the way, that's not being a role model for our kids. They're paid to play football like a damn professional. HOLD ON TO THE DAGGONE BALL. You have a purple jersey, so throw the ball to another guy with a purple jersey. It's that simple! You wouldn't have "thunk" it though. GADS!!! Game over. OK - OK - The memory has now been forever sealed away in a time capsule never again to be brought to mind. Next!! Our drive home was anti-climatic, although a nice one. When I got home Sparky was waiting at the door leash in mouth and ready to go. It was a long day. I read a little, hot tubbed ( i needed that), and played some guitar. I was in bed by 10PM. SKOL VIKINGS, LET'S WIN THIS GAME!SKOL VIKING, HONOR YOUR NAME!GO GET THAT FIRST DOWNTHEN GET A TOUCHDOWN!ROCK'EM...SOCK'EM...FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!GO VIKINGS, RUN OUT THE SCORE!YOU'LL HEAR US YELL FOR MORE!V - I - K - I - N - G - S SKOL, VIKINGS, LET'S GO!

Finding space...

pic #1 - Calvin, the psychologist and frequent Barley's patron pic #2 - Mary Ann (Bob's wife) - my friend and Block Party host pic #3 - Bob (Mary Ann's hubby) - my friend pic #4 - Mork and Mindy pic #5 - Mindy pic #6 - My friend Diane from Barley's Wow! So this is what it is like to sleep till 9AM. That’s right! I slept till almost 9AM. I reckon I needed it or I wouldn’t have done it, right? I have been feeling a little extra tired in the mornings for a week or so and after a few beers last night, that was the proverbial icing on the cake. No worries! There was no reason to be rushed today. I didn’t have any morning deadlines. Rather, I simply had to get in my daily run. The rest was of the day was up in the air. I like that sometimes! I finished my run late by my standards, 11AM. Before I knew it, it was time to hit the shower and tune into some College football. My new friend, Mindy called while I was in the shower. I called her back shortly after I was done. We made plans to meet at Bob’s “Block Party” this evening. I’m looking forward to seeing her. I gave some serious contemplation to what I might take to the Block Party. I decided once again that I would simply purchase rather than make (a little out of character for me, but hey). I decided on Barley’s hot wings. I knew that they’d be quite the hit. After all, this is a Grandview crowd! I would take 40 wings and a jug of Barley’s IPA as well as a cooler full of assorted beers from my fridge (Sam Adams, Honey Raspberry Ale, and Budweiser). I left for Barley’s around 215PM prepared to be away for a better part of the early evening. I had remembered everything: my cooler, camera, phone, security lights, and Barley jug. Without giving it too much thought, I assumed that I’d be home no later than 8 or 9PM, which is probably why I didn’t even think about walking Sparky prior to leaving. Poor Sparky!!! I slept in on him this AM and now I was gonna make him hold it in for about 20 hours. Good thing I slept in! At Barley’s I ordered 40 wings (20 “Gates of Hell” & 20 “Texas Hot”) and a jug of IPA. I decided to have one beer with Diane who bartends on Saturday’s along with Monica. There was only one patron at the bar aside from me, Calvin, he’s a psychologist and is a very interesting conversationalist. His wife is African and he’s spent a number of years living abroad. He’s got some cool stories! I took a few pics, drank my beer, paid for my to-go order and was out the door. I arrived at Bob’s around 315PM or so. I was one of the first people there, but the clubhouse was already open. Within minutes, however, others began showing up. Before I knew it, the game had begun and the club house was all but full. There were lots of cool foods to try. That’s one great thing about “bring a dish” type parties. You get to try things you’d otherwise never make or see. Not certain exactly what time it was when Mindy arrived, but just as we’d planned, she called to tell me she was right around the corner, so I went out front to meet her. She’s never met my friends and I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable. Her original plan was to stay for only an hour or two but I guess she couldn’t resist my company! J She stayed till around 1030 or so. We met some really cool people and exchanged lots of interesting dialogue ourselves. In fact, I learned a lot more about her that made her all the more interesting. The crowd began to thin and I snuck off for home around 11PM. I didn’t want to be sluggish tomorrow for the big game! I was home and in bed before midnight (notice no talk of walking poor Sparky)!

Lord I apologize for talking about the fine folks down at the State License Bureau…

pic #1 The first one, well, heck, you know him as ME! And despite all the chaos I still took one hell of a pic!!! pic #2 Is she not the prettiest little thing in the world or what! This is my friend Alysia. She's my little buddy. Not only is she a little angel but she's also such a girly girl, just like her mommy!!! This is her glamour shot! OK, truthfully, am I the only one who notices something odd about ALL the people at the State License renewal facilities? Where’d they get those employees? Can an operation be run more inefficiently? Has anyone ever seen a happy face in one of those places? Lordy be!!! I thought that I’d swing in there mid-afternoon, Friday after my lunchtime run and quickly snag my new license stickers along with renewing by expired driver’s license. Speaking of which, the last time I did that was on 9/11/2001 – a day that will forever be remembered. Anyway, boy was I ever mistaken. Upon my arrival I was stunned to see a line of about thirty sad & desperate looking faces. Now I am not one to let a little thing like a line get me down, but we are talking about the State License bureau here, not the express pee line at a Buckeye game. This line never moves quick. Heck, being number two can sometimes take an hour. And how many breaks do these employees get? It’s not unusual for four or five employees to be on site, but more often than not two or three of them are wandering aimlessly behind the counter taking a break. I think they do it just to piss people off. And what’s up with the bearded ladies that work there? Man, oh man! Hey, and don’t get down on me. You know you all think the same thing but are just afraid to talk about it. Where do they find these people? State Fair freak shows, I think. Well, needless to say, I didn’t wait. Instead, I put together plan B, which was to return right before closing. Surely there wouldn’t be a line then. So, I returned to work and finished up my Friday afternoon affairs at the office and then informed my boss that I’d be leaving a little early to accomplish this illusive goal. I left about an hour early. To my surprise, I found an even longer line this time and an even sadder looking group of people hopelessly waiting. Holy Cow! What’s up with that? Sorry – not on a Friday – No Sir! Not gonna do it! No way, No how! Instead, I quickly put together plan C. My plan was to arrive just before opening, which is 8AM, either Saturday or Monday. And by the look of my competition, this should be rock solid. After all, these people don’t look like early risers. Wah - frikin' hoo! It's Friday once again - my favorite day of the week. The morning was cloudy and not too convertible friendly so I didn't even consider driving the BM'er to work today, although I really wanted to. As I've alluded to many times past, it helps put me in the "Wright" frame of mind for the weekend. And this should be a busy weekend with the Buckeye game tomorrow and the Viking Game on Sunday. While I doubt I'll be going to the Buckeye game, I’ll definitely be going to a game party. And as you already know, I am going down to Cincinnati to see the Vikings pummel the Bengals. I had a busy day at work but not so busy that I wished I weren't there. To the contrary! It was "Three Bears" good! You know, just "Wright"! I participated on a customer conference call that went well beyond my normal run time, but better late than never. Again, it was Friday and I'll be damned if I was gonna let a little thing like that ruin my day, so I didn't. My run was good! The afternoon sky was overcast making the higher humidity a non-factor. It was surprisingly warm though. Before I knew it the day was over and it was officially Barley time!!! As luck would have it, the sky opened up right at 4PM just as I was leaving the office. It wasn’t such a bad thing because we needed the rain. Once home, as I had set out to do on Thursday, I finished putting my clean laundry away, vacuumed, and did some tidying up around the house before making my way out for the evening. I had asked a new friend of mine, Leanne, to meet me for a couple "early" beers but she declined. Her loss! Probably was best, because this way I wouldn’t be at all rushed. Have I told you how much I hate to be rushed??? :) To Barley's I went. I got there about 820PM. I met Bob & Mary Ann at the bar and they had just ordered dinner. Perfect timing! Thad and Monica have been missing in action the last two Friday's. I’ll have to get the skinny on that later. That’s not like them to play hooky! I failed to mention that since offering to take Bob to the Bengals game last Saturday I hadn't asked anyone else to attend the game with me yet. Bob’s not interested. He’s a Browns’ fan! Lee, the assistant brewmaster, bartender, and friend, is a huge Bengal’s fan and would certainly love to go. Later in the evening I offered to take him. Of course he was more than excited to go. We agreed to firm our plans tomorrow sometime, but I told him that I would definitely want to leave town around 9AM to avoid being rushed!!! Also, Bob & Mary Ann invited me to the "club house" Block Party for tomorrow's Buckeye game. I was home from Barley’s by 11PM and decided that I would be in bed before midnight. Shhhhh!! Don’t tell. :)

Thursday - no big deal

pic #1: Can't fool your friends, No sir! They guessed that I had just eaten some frosted flakes, a Big Mac, and a couple of crescent rolls. As for the other big fella, well, let's just say all that food made me tire-d. ha ha ha!!! pic #2 Soothing rain - admittedly stolen off the web some where - not taken by me.. Truth be told, I'm not that comfortable sharing my life and certainly not my inner most thoughts here on the web. And secondly, I am careful that what I say about others isn't offensive. I know most of what I write is categorically nothing more than rambling. Nevertheless, I enjoy it! I try to write in a tone that any "normal person" would deem as safe. And since I am being woefully honest, what I share is often embellished just a little to keep my reader's attention. I mean, shoot, I could make shaving sound interesting if push came to shove. And if that doesn't do it, I could sell you, I mean tell you, a big ol' story about my trip out to the mail box. But for the most part, I share what's going on in my life. Whether it's interesting or boring is for you to judge, Hell, I can't worry about it too much. I gotta live it! I know that it's generally not a good idea to share one's meditations but I badly want to share today's experience with you. Just this once! Who knows, perhaps I'll even inspire another to give it a try, or to do a little research. Today I spent quite a bit of energy thinking about meditation. I asked myself if I was getting the most out of my meditations or if I was simply going the motions, kind of like my daily run. The answer, I think, is that sometimes they're deep and beneficial while at other times they're simply an exercise of repetition. I can't always find the gap! I concluded that regardless of the depth, the benefit is that I don't get out of the habit, so in the end I think that I'm good! Go Jimmy!! The simple goal of meditation is to quiet the constant chatter that is pervasive in one's mind. However, it's much easier said than done. I have a very busy mind. It's no simple matter stopping the auto-thought process that seems to flow endlessly. My mind is always active, whether I'm thinking about a past scenario or pondering some future event. Regardless, there's always some activity. Through meditation, however, I can find that gap, or that space between thoughts and stay there for a while. It's potentially life altering, and it's powerful medicine. I've read more than once that a good way to access this inner peace is to relax and begin focusing on your breathing. Personally, however, I have always used a different technique, but still this is one offered up quite frequently. And, yes, there's a story here so please be patient. :)It's coming!!! So, I was thinking,"when am I most in tune with my breathing?" For me the answer is simple. It's when I am running. However, when I am running I am usually in deep thought. I am thinking about a problem, a future issue, or rehashing something that recently happened with work, kids, bills, or life. What a challenge it would be to break through this barrier. Today I attempted to do just that. I would try to reach that quiet place while running, and stop that incessant thinking that is a normal part of my being. Halfway through my run I began to focus on my breathing while building imaginary walls to keep the "chattery" thoughts at bay. I was able to find a place I haven't been before. There were no thoughts streaming endlessly through my mind. Instead a deep focus on my inner being apart from who the world may think I am. My work day was just a normal work day. My after life at home was equally normal. While doing some reading I started my weekend laundry with the goal of having it done before Barley time Friday evening. I will meet that goal too! Because I made myself a birthday cake last weekend, I have been eating a piece each night. It's probably not doing a whole lot to help me stay fit n' trim (hey, that's dog food!), but it sure is goooooood!

Speechless...

next on my must read list... Ok. I knew it had to happen sooner or later. There had to come a day when I wouldn’t have a whole lot to say. The day began nicely and ended that way too. In between was nice also. Work was pretty normal and the day went by fairly quickly, which is always good. My run was uneventful, so much so that I can barely remember much of it. I do remember taking the back route on my return (the last mile) for a change of pace. That change of pace used to be my normal path but for most of this year I have been following another "last mile". It’s not all that unusual for me to tweak my run from time to time just to add a new wrinkle. It’s a pathetic means of spicing up life a little, I know. But, hey, whatever works. For a while, I would turn my home running loop around on Sunday’s just for a change of pace. That played with my mind a little, though, because when I’d hit the “regular” 1mile mark my body would think that it had only 1 mile left instead of the actual three. This next little story will show you just how boring my little life can be some timesJ. While walking Sparky this evening after work I was minding my own business when I heard some tires screeching which sounded really close. Upon glancing up I saw a car turning into my subdivision (about 8 houses up the road) sliding sideways and ultimately slamming into the curb and what appeared to be a fire hydrant. I recognized the car as it had passed me moments earlier when I was just leaving my house with Sparky. It was full of teenaged boys and girls. The sound was loud and the damage seemed fairly significant. I thought the car might even roll given the sped at which it entered the turn. Lucky for them it didn’t. They slowed briefly then went about speeding down the street in our subdivision. The car suffered considerable damage I noticed when it passed. I hope daddy takes the car! I decided to spend some quality time looking over the boat records brother Tommy left for me last night. After all, it’s now my problem. I was shocked to see all the receipts for repairs that he neglected to tell me about over the years. When I sold it to him in 97, it was in tip- top shape, although it did have a couple minor mechanical flaws. I called him to discuss one repair receipt in particular. He had spent $1000 to have the engine pulled and remounted and some "plugs" replaced. Yikes!!! As it turned out, he said that he had honestly forgotten about it and at the time was too embarrassed to tell me about it because he neglected to winterize the winter prior and the freeze out plugs blew causing it to take on water his first time out that year. Know this… Boats are a lot of fun, but a lot of work, and at times a money drain. There are lots of hidden costs; storage, winterization, insurance, and extra wear and tear on your towing vehicle. But, every man needs his toys-right? Speaking of toys... I don't think I have yet shared my next big planned purchase... a Russian mail order bride. Hey, she might get frustrated with me, and perhaps even throw a few things. And sure, she'll yell, but hell, I won’t understand a damn thing! Afterwards, we'll settle down for some Russian Borsht, a little Kompot, and then some Raspberry Vodka - of course!! I spent a better part of the evening curled up in my favorite reading chair totally immersed in “The Power of Now”. Today’s reading was extremely powerful stuff! You should pick up a copy. After a couple of hours reading, I retired to the hot tub. Again, it was totally relaxing!

Just an ordinary day

pics: fork in the road, half a moon rock My goals were simple. Enjoy yourself, friends, the weather, and the season. I think that I accomplished my weekend goals. Today, however, my focus had to be on my return to work. I really enjoy my job, but it's just that I enjoy Jim time even more. I told myself to go to work, be the work, do the work, then go home! And, hey, it was comforting to get up and realize that even though this was my first day back after the weekend, it was already Tuesday. One day closer to the next weekend. That's a sad outlook, isn't it? True, regardless. I had to take a double look at the clock when I got back from my morning walk with Sparky. You see, the stars were still out in full dress giving one the impression that it might be the middle of the night. Turns out it wasn't. It was time to be up and about. You see, I don't use an alarm. Never have. Instead, I just do a one eyed time check and then get up. Over the years it has served me well. I have it down to a science. My body just seems to know when it's time to rise. However, as my eyes age, my morning vision has worsened dramtically and it's not unheard of for me to mistake the time, get up, pee, brush my teeth, meander down stairs, begin my routine, only to realize that it's still the middle of the night. It happens a few times each year. My work day was realitvely successful. I completed the electronic paperwork required to make officia loffers to two candidates to fill my two openings. I am really excited for the two that I chose. One is an in-house transfer while the other is a new hire from outside. That should make for good team chemistry. Before I knew it was time for my run. I was a bit stiff today and I know why too. Anytime I walk 18 holes of golf, my legs and ankles a smidgeon stiff for a couple of days. I think that proves that you use entirely different "small" muscles when you walk versus when you run. No big deal, but I can always tell. I emailed brother Glenn today to propose a trip down to the Northern California coast to see the Sequioias or the Redwood forest on my visit whihc is coming up in about 8 or 9 weeks. That is something I have never done but have always wanted to do. I'll be content simply pubbing and taking in the town if we can't organize such a trip, but I don't know when it would be any more convenient in my life than it would be when I am out there this november. it can't be more than an 8 hour drive - maybe less. We'll see. Ashley called me today form her new job. She apologized for missing my b-day and for not calling in almost a month. No worries, I was 19 once too. My parents were the furthest thing from my mind at the time. I love her with a pssion. She's my baby and an awful lot like me in spirit. She told me thatshe won't be in school this fall because she's on academic probation. Shame, shame Ashley Marie! But she'll figure it out, I am certain. I have the utmost confidence that she will! I got in my hot tub shortly after 9PM. And for some reason it felt absolutely splendid. Sure, it always feels good, but tonight it felt that much better! guitar, email, blogging... to bed Special notes... Thanks Vicki for sharing your inspirational link. I've been visiting frequently. In fact, I have added it to my favorite links section. I want to encourage others to stop in and read, "Today's DailyOM" I think that you'll enjoy most, if not all, of them. CuzLiz - if you're out there. Send me your new email address.