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Birfday Month(s)
2006-12-06, 5:35 p.m.

Day 836 Birfday Month(s)

This is a crazy time of year in our family. Used to be just December, but with the addition of a new generation, it�s extended partway back in to November too. We have birthdays literally coming out the wazoo. In November we have 3 birthdays running from the 13th (Eric, Son #2) to the 18th (younger brudder), with Eric�s girlfriend thrown in there for good measure.

Yesterday was another younger bro�s b�day (they�re ALL younger, dangit). Then, coming up the week before Christmas we have 3 in 4 days, my mom, me & Cindy. We could stretch a bit and include my maternal grandpa, whose b�day was the 24th, but he�s been gone for 45+ years now, so even my mom kinda forgets it every now & then.

What sucks about all this? Nobody gets a party. Not anymore. Too damn difficult. What with Thanksgiving, hunting season, shopping season, all those pesky Christmas parties, it�s just too much to try and sneak in a birthday party.

Now we did throw Eric a few parties when he was a young�un, but really, who wants to be trapped indoors with 10 or 12 eight year old boys all cranked up on a sugar buzz? Yeah. Garage, Chuck E Cheese, McD0n@lds, anyplace but in the house. We had enough parties for him that he thought he was loved & cared for and called it good.

One other things sucks about birthdays, especially those within a week of Christmas. Presents. You always wonder if your Christmas loot was reduced by the amount you got for your birthday. Didn�t help that quite often the birthday presents were wrapped in Christmas paper too. We were always suspicious of the brother with the June birthday, thinking he made out better than those of us cursed with the holiday season birthday.

Now that I�m older and somewhat more mature, I could really give a rats ass, but I still wonder about what could have been. What if I�d been born in April, huh?

Let�s see, workouts lately. Quickie 2 mile run yesterday, followed by a little leg work on the Nautilus. This morning was a 30 minute session on the elliptical followed by an upper body weight session. Tomorrow, if all goes according to plan, will be a 5K run (or maybe just a 30 minute run) followed by more leg torture with the weights.

I had originally started using the ellipticals as a way to relieve the pressure on my right foot. Have an old softball related injury in there. Seemed to have popped a ligament or three in the bottom of my foot several years back. Just by running. Well, turning a corner too, but still, just running. Doctor said it was just a bad sprain, even though I complained that it felt like a rubber band had snapped and coiled itself up under the ball of my foot. Got x-rays done, confirmed it was a nasty sprain. It�s get better on it�s own.

Here we are, several years later, and my right foot is still acting a little wonky. I�ve gone through 4 different pair of shoes, a bunch of different machines and still � after 10 minutes or so on the ellipticals, my right foot just turns off. I can feel where it starts, I can feel the big numb spot on the ball of my foot. It just spreads from there and pretty soon my whole foot is numb. This past summer I noticed it wasn�t happening while running. More recently, on the treadmills at the Y, it doesn�t seem to happen. Only on the ellipticals. That numb spot nicely coincides with where I felt the snapped rubber band thing way back during that softball injury.

I�m a little leery of getting it fixed. I�m afraid it�ll involve some sort of surgery that will keep me off my feet for an extended period of time. Worse, I�m afraid I won�t be able to run or do elliptical work or ride a bike for even longer. If I could be assured it�d a cortisone shot or two, maybe a week of no pounding the feet � I could accept that. But if it�s going to be 8 � 12 weeks of no running, lordy, I�ll turn into the blob that ate Manhattan. It�s bugging me enough lately that I�ll schedule an appointment to get it looked at and find out what the options are. I don�t know enough to be afraid of anything � except not knowing what�s going on in that foot.

Friday we go to Syracuse to attend Zach�s graduation ceremony. We�ll be taking one helluvan entourage with us. All told there�ll be 9 of us watching the Z-man walk the stage � Cindy & I, my mom, her dad, Zach�s girlfriend (damn near fianc�) Jill, son #2 Eric and his girlfriend AND Jill�s parents. Tried to get this planned out to minimize driving, but there will still be 4 vehicles wandering up & down I90 Friday, just to see Zach. Kid better feel pretty special. Oh yeah � group trip to Sm0ky B0nes for dinner afterwards. Table for 10 ought to be pretty fun to manage. Hope I�m not buying!


Here�s another filler, this one �borrowed� from The Queen of Ass
The rules are pretty simple: One-word association.
Yourself: bored
Your partner: confounding
Your hair: disappearing
Your Mother: Jehovah-ing
Your Father: resting
Your Favorite Item: bicycle
Your dream last night: forgotten
Your Favorite Drink: milk
Your Dream Car: Countach
Your Dream Home: tropical
The Room You Are In: office
Your Ex: non-existant
Your fear: uncertainty
Where you Want to be in Ten Years: here
Who you hung out with last night: family
What You�re Not: ambitious
Muffins: cornbread
One of Your Wish List Items: bicycle
Time: lunch
The Last Thing You Did: eat
What You Are Wearing: jeans
Your favorite weather: summer
Your Favorite Book: latest
Last thing you ate: lunch
Your Life: busy
Your mood: calm
Your Best Friends: missed
What are you thinking about right now: report
Your car: inefficient
What are you doing at the moment: typing (duh!)
Your summer: short
What is on your tv: dust
What is the weather like: blustery
When is the last time you laughed: always!

Updated weight stats:

Start: 206.5 on 1/1/06 (265.0 on 1/15/05)
Current: 188 on 11/25/06 (New rut. At least it isn�t going up.)
Next: 12/9/06 (I didn�t dare last week)

New target � Aim is 180, by Christmas. Better get the rear in gear.


The Keep on Truckin goal: (miles piled up on elliptical trainers and/or running)
Miles at speed 12/6/06: 982.42
Miles with cool down: 1080.74
Target for 2006: 1000 miles at speed (cool down miles don�t really count)

Thought about trying to hit 1000 on my birthday, but it would require too many days of no or very little running. See the comments on weight for why little or no running is a bad idea. Yeah.


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