Bummer dude
2007-12-19, 3:52 p.m.

Day 1214

Dish dudes finally showed up at 6:45. I took a half day vacation so they could show up after dinner. Final outcome of it all? My neighbor has a very large oak tree that is blocking my view to the required satellite. There isn�t a single spot on my lot (all � of an acre of it) that has a clear line of sight to the HD satellite. The one potential solution, a tripod with a 6 foot mast attached is a no go because of the snow on the roof. Regardless of their companies regulations, I can�t be letting those guys up on my roof with over a foot of snow up there. They might slip, fall off the roof and end up in the pond. That would be way too traumatic for the fish.

So the bottom line is this: Option A is I talk Chuck into creating literally tons of firewood out of that oak tree. It�s freakin HUGE. Pushing 3 feet in diameter at the base, well over 60 feet tall, maybe even 80. Not bloody likely. Option B is wait for spring when one of two things can happen. B1 is we get the 6 foot mast installed. B2 is the satellite company decides to move the HD signals to a different satellite, which they are actually considering doing. Option C is try to hit a warm spell, have a crew come out to do a line of sight survey and maybe get them to install the mast then. During our �January thaw�.

So that�s what I didn�t do on my half day vacation. I did get the fudge cut, got those streusel bars put up, did the chocolate peanut butter balls and called in to a work meeting. Also finished up a spread sheet and did hmmmm, 12 separate bar charts out of it. Not a total loss, but it kinda chaps my ass that I burned half a vacation day for nothing. Plus � we got no HD signal. DVD�s will look fine, but everything else will just be bigger, not necessarily better. Bummer.

This might be bordering on the TMI department, but here goes. The last couple of spin classes have seemed to highlight a move called �hovering�. This consists of moving ones hands way forward on the handle bars (like grasping the lower section of the rams horn style bars), getting ones butt up out of the saddle, but keeping it so close you can feel it slapping your butt as you pedal, and pedaling such that your head and upper body remain motionless.

This maneuver does a wonderful job of isolating ones legs. The upper body is nearly horizontal so there�s no contribution of body weight. All there is to provide oomph is the legs � quads on the way down, hamstrings on the way up. Curiously, none of those seem to mind the exertion, but the glutes! Owwie!! Especially the lower glutes heading down into the upper thigh out toward the edge of the hip. Man � I can feel it when I sit (like now even). Doesn�t hurt, per se, but it definitely lets you know it�s there. (Seems to make SOME girls like to squeeze my butt too. Don�t know how that happens . . .)

This is a sign of several things.

A � the interval training on the bike is nice, but in no way replaces just slugging it out on the treadmill for 30 or 40 minutes.
B � I REALLY have to get back to the weights. All that spinning is doing nothing for actually building muscle. It�s just making the ones that are there tougher than nails. Except for that whole achy bit.

C � Toning the rear is good for flirting with the wife. If she starts squeezing my bum first, well . . .

So. Time to think about beating the New Years Rush and get re-established on all the fun Nautilus gear. It�s just that with spinning only I get to work at the ungodly early time of 7:10 or so. If I add the weights back in, I don�t get here till 8:00. I�m not an hourly employee, so arrival time isn�t a huge deal. But there�s stuff that must be accomplished during the course of the day and sometimes getting started a wee bit earlier is a benefit.

Especially when you have to go see your shrink, like this afternoon. Glad I looked at my calendar. Thought my appointment was at 4:45. Turns out it�s at 4:00. I gotta try and reschedule our couples session too.

Holiday luncheon here at the zoo today. Scrumptious holiday fare being provided by our cafeteria. Yum. (not) I know Cindy sometimes heads home for lunch, so I propositioned her. Haven�t heard back yet. I was thinking we could both head home for lunch and share a little leftover Chicken Chipotle Chowder. (It�s delicious and very low fat. Kind of a pain to make, but worth the effort). Maybe that would get interrupted by some bum squeezing that would then lead to a little afternoon delight. Even without the romantic interlude, it would beat the hell out of sharing some marginal, mass produced cafeteria food with 200 of my favorite co-employees. And waiting in line for 30 minutes just for the privilege. I can be home in 15 minutes. I may go home even if Cindy can�t make it. Only thing is the round trip will take a gallon of gas, and at 3.17 a gallon . . .

Bahhh � hung out at work, had some not too terrible food and saved some gas. Al Gore would be proud.

Got some candy canes made by Jelly Belly. The two I have are �Juicy Pear� (sort of a dark green on light green stripe) and �Buttered Popcorn� (red on yellow) I am dying to try out the popcorn flavored one. I�m thinking it�ll flip me out, tasting popcorn when expecting mint. They hit your taste buds so differently. I�ll have to report on them later . . .

I gotta wrap this up and hit the road. Need to spend some quality time with my favorite shrink. See if maybe we can make some progress on why I have so much trouble concentrating and staying on task . . .

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