Not So Bad
2006-07-20, 4:52 p.m.

Day 697 Not So Bad

Turns out the Saturn is fine. No signs of imminent clutch failure. Maybe it was a seat adjustment thing � after all Cindy is a towering 5�1�, so if the seat were a notch or two further back, maybe the clutch pedal would feel a little funky. I took it for a little spin around the neighborhood, made a couple of trips through all the gears and thought it was fine. Asked Cindy about it that evening and got no response other than a dirty look. Of course, she was already well into her cups, so there�s no telling just what was running through her mind at that point.

No update on the woodchuck wars. Little shits are still out there threatening my beans. If I get real bored this weekend, maybe I�ll set up a chair on the roof of the shed. I can wait for the fuzzy foragers to try sneaking in from the woods, then pop them with an arrow as soon as they cross my property line. Won�t have to worry about them running off � I bet they�ll be pretty securely nailed to the ground. Could also set up shop in a maple tree right in front of the shed. Anything to get a little elevation & cover.

Zach & Jill had their 3rd anniversary of dating yesterday. To celebrate, they headed out to Red L0bster for a nice romantic dinner. Well, ok, a nice seafood dinner. Can�t see Red R0bster being even remotely romantic. Still � 3 years for those kids. Met at Six Flags Darien Lake working the Go Karts or something. Now they�re unofficially talking marriage in a couple more years � soon as Jill finishes up her Dental Hygiene program. As long as they behave themselves, looks like I�ll make it safely into my 50�s before they make me a grand pappy. Whew! That�ll make me feel little better. Course, there�s still Eric & Kelly to consider, but I think they�re not looking quite so far ahead. Both of them will need to do some grad school work to get set up in their fields, so marriage & kids are probably not in their immediate plans. I hope.

Didn�t get to use my favorite elliptical machine (#10) this morning, but still managed to get in a reasonably vigorous workout. Usually, when I see someone on my favorite machine, I�m kinda disappointed because they�re trudging along at 5 or 6mph on some real low resistance level. This morning though, a 30-ish young woman was on it, tooling along at a respectable 9 � 10 mph doing some serious hill climber routine. That was pretty impressive. I didn�t feel so bad seeing as my favorite machine was getting a decent workout. If I see her again, I might ask her which routine she runs so I can try it. Maintaining 9mph at some of the resistance levels I saw her trotting along at is hard. Wonder if the resistance levels are adjusted based on your body weight? The machines do ask for your weight when you start � although that could just be for accurate calorie calculations. Hmmm.

Oooh � I gotta get my next race registration form mailed in. The Karknocker 5K. An evening race over in East Rochester, in conjunction with the fireman�s carnival. Should be a nice flat course, and we gat free carny food after. Funnel cakes are good for you, right? Plus, any t-shirt with the word Karknocker on it, along with a picture of a steam locomotive has got to be pretty good for workouts.

After that one, there�s a benefit race in my old home town, Scottsville. Lady there started a 5K as a birthday present to her sister, who has Lupus. The race is to raise money for Lupus research & treatment. I don�t think there�s a free t-shirt for this one, but the registration is only $13, it�s for a great cause and it�s in my home town. Why not go? Might actually see someone I know and surprise the crap outta them. Very few people there are aware I�ve quit smoking, so seeing me do the race ought to be a real trip for a few folks.

Got to settle on an address decoding scheme and register assignments for variables & such. Then I can move forward with this VHDL coding project. Soon as that�s done (couple three weeks maybe), there�s more lasers to blow up. Don�t you wish you had my job?

Man, I should have been a forest ranger. Might be an entry in that thought, ya think?

Al Anon later today. Lets see if I can muster up the gumption to actually contribute a little tonight. Might want to read the books a wee bit too. Catch up from last week. Also gotta email Cindy and tell her I�ll be late tonight. Wonder if I should tell her why too? Nah, not in an email. But, if there�s a sober moment when I get home tonight (HAH, *FFC!) I can drop the bomb then. Maybe I�ll be calling in sick Friday as a result. The ensuing discussion could be a doozy.

Updated stats:
Weight start: 206.5 on 1/1/06 (265.0 on 1/15/05)
Current weight 186.25 on 7/15/06 (IT MOVED!!)
Next weigh in: 7/22/06

New target � 8/22/06 to be at 180 (my 2 year quit anniversary)

The Keep on Truckin goal: (idea stolen shamelessly from Marn�s Big Adventure)
Miles at speed 7/20/06: 558.49
Miles with cooldown: 614.18
Target for 2006: 1000 miles
Plus 45+ miles biking so far.

* Editors note � FFC = Fat Fucking Chance

If you use a pop-up blocker, hit "Ctrl" when you click to leave a comment