This Weekends �To Do� list
2007-05-04, 3:40 p.m.

Day 985

Gary (the sadistic bastard cycling instructor) was in his typical Friday morning form. Uphill sprints, down hill sprints, slogging through bogs then sprinting some more. Then he had us do these things he was calling �quad burners�, referring to the big muscle in the front of your thigh. Tomorrow morning, he wanted our quads to let us know how much they appreciated the extra attention this morning. Well, you know? That�s just peachy. Especially when I�m planning a 3 class morning tomorrow. Oh well. What doesn�t kill us makes us cry like a 2 year old. (please note the lack of a gender reference there!!)

So. My 2 year old thighs (I almost wish) and I have a lot of stuff to get done this weekend. Started to list it yesterday, in a haphazard sort of way, then lost interest. That�s probably foreshadowing how the weekend is going to go too, but I�ll ignore that for now. Yes, denial comes in many forms.

The list: (sort of in order of importance)

Watch Sabres game tonight (hey � the weekend starts Friday night!)
Do the crazy man 3 class cycling session
Refill 2 propane tanks
Paint the section of house where the window was replaced (at least the priming is done)
Re-hang the shutters when the paint is dry. (restores the exterior to normal at least)
Repair people door on west wall of garage.
Change oil in the van & car (van needs windshield washer juice too)
Change oil in the lawnmower
Mow lawn (a one hour job usually, no biggie)
Plant new perennials (picked up 11 new perennials last week!!)
Clean out the garage (again) � toss 6 billion �rags� out
Go for the 1st real outdoor bike ride of the season (sad, I know, but this IS Rochester)
Till veggie garden � thin the garlic?
Haul scrap metal to salvage yard (couple hundred pounds of aluminum & lead)

Someplace in there will be meals and a beer or two.

Got a call from Zach as I was headed out to yesterdays meeting. He had just finished up his job interview. Felt it went very well. He felt comfortable with the interviewer and said he wasn�t really nervous at all. Zach kept commenting on how the interviewer kept saying what a good fit he�d be with their group, how his skill set matched what they were looking for, and how well his personality would fit in with other team members (well, he IS my kid ya know). The interviewer also told Zach he was looking forward to taking things �to the next level�, what ever that is supposed to mean. I imagine that means another interview, possibly with team members and also getting down to specifics like salary requirements (they were mentioned yesterday, but not discussed), and more detailed skill set investigations. Zach was advised to brush up on his Autocad skills, so if anyone has a version of that floating around that they�re not using, I can provide an address for you to dispose of the discs. If it�s a newish version, maybe even a little fiscal remuneration. But remember, we�re talking about a poor college student here. All in all, the interview lasted an hour � not too long, definitely not too short. He�s very optimistic that he may get hired on with these guys.

Personally, I think local is nice. A good place to start and if things go well, he can move on from there. If bad things happen (company tanks, firm isn�t as nice as he thought, what ever) he�s at least near home and has someplace to fall back to. I know he�s itching to get out of the house and so is Jill. They both are bothered by Cindy�s drinking and would just as soon not have to put up with it. Believe me, there are days I wish they were already established in an apartment so I could go join them. I�ll just have to make sure they keep a couch handy for me when they do head off on their own. I know they�ll understand the need.

Meeting last night was rather unspectacular. I am still far from comfortable sharing most of the types of things I should be relating every week. Mostly because I hate coming across as a whiner. Something to just get over I guess. Need to practice more.

Both meetings I attend regularly are having anniversaries next month. I signed up to help, try and up my involvement a little. Maybe feeling a little more invested in the groups activities will help the comfort level and allow more openness. Worth a shot.

Been trying to do some research on Peugeot bikes. That�s what the $10 Trek guy will have for sale this weekend (I hope). Unfortunately, the most recent I see any Peugeots being manufactured is 1990. That�s not significantly newer than my old dud Huffy, but it is better quality. If he asks a decent price we may still strike a deal. Plus � I�d love to start training on it. Only 5 weeks till the tour and my butt needs to get used to being in the saddle for 5 hours. (Starting to become a scary thought)

Maybe if no bike deal is made this weekend, I ought to just head down to the one very big hill I know of on the course and try riding it a few times. It only sounds a little insane, and I could try it Sunday morning, when Cindy is either at the gym or nursing a hangover and not talking to anyone. (bets anyone?)

I don�t want to be here at work, I don�t relish going home. There�s really only another hour or so to go and I can scoot. Maybe get a few things crossed off my rather ambitious list. Hmmm. Stop & get oil on the way home? Could get the lawnmower & tiller ready. Van & car will be too hot to mess with. Maybe toss out all those nasty rags in the garage. Get The Bob�s computer hutch down to the basement (heavy little thing!). Put away the painting tarps. Get the garage suitable for the ladies to park in there again. Has to be done before the Sabres game starts though. Then I turn into a slug. (But I deserve it)

Suppose I should allow for cooking dinner in there somewhere too. Oh. I�d better remember to send in Eric�s rent payment for fall semester too. Shyster landlord wants the first payment in by May 1 (oops, that�s 3 days ago, isn�t it), when Eric won�t be moving in until mid August. That�s 3 months he has my money and I get nothing for it. Leech. Stuck paying him though.

Ah well. Think I�ll post this then scoot. Can use the extra time to get stuff done before the game tonight.

GO SABRES!

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