The Coaster Ride Continues
2008-03-11, 3:04 p.m.

Day 1298

Glad I have a meeting tonight. I think it�s keeping me from doing something rash/stupid/unnecessary.

Yes, I found the smoking gun(s) last night. Wish I hadn�t. Makes it hard to have a normal conversation even. Makes it hard to even go anywhere, knowing that what you return to may be different from what you thought you left at home.

So it�s time to study a little harder, look for that serenity, find that safe place to hide the mind. I can see me renewing my hardcore gym efforts again. I may start cranking it up this week even, sorta get to a nice low simmer. When the kitchen is done, and I�m not so flippin sore/tired/beat every morning? Think I�ll go back to my varying weekday workouts and get in some monster rides on the weekends. Heck, I have a diabetes ride to train for.

Speaking of the Diabetes ride, they�re re-doing the course this year. According to the ride organizers, last years (and years past) course was only 99.7 miles long. They are supposed to be tweaking it to get it to the full 100 miles. (0.3%!?! Why worry?) I just hope they leave in the really good hills, like Court St. in Geneseo, a wicked � mile uphill grind. I think there�s a 300 ft elevation change in that � mile climbing up out of the Genesee River valley.. I need to check a few topographic sites to verify that. There�s also a quick little 1/10 mile hill (speed bump) coming into Avon that�s deceptively steep. Two of the more fun ones are dropping down into the valley on Rt. 63 into Piffard (40+ mph on that one) and another sweet downhill between Lima and Honeoye Falls (mile 85 or 90). I peaked at 43mph on that one last year. If I�d had any legs left, might have hit 45. In lycra shorts and a tight, tight shirt. You know � in the event of a fall, that helmet would do a great job of protecting my head, but to what avail? How on earth could you expect to have any skin left after hitting the road at 45? Guess I just won�t think about that. Kind of sucks the joy out of the speed, and if there�s one thing I like, it�s going fast.

Oh, yes!!! I see footprints again. No, not deer tracks in my yard (well, I do see those . . .), but I�m wondering if my buddy Serena is stopping by again. If so � you have (had) my number young missy � USE IT!! (Or should I just use the number you gave me? Such a dork, aren�t I?) I for sure have a 2 or 3 day trip to your town coming up in September. I would love to set aside an evening for you. My treat this time.

Kitchen. Hah. Took a night off last night. Mostly. I did get a dual gang box and a single pole switch at Home Creepo on my way home last night. But that was it. Cindy hit the gym, came home, ate the lovely, tasty diner I made, then headed to her AA meeting. I cleaned up the dinner dishes (manually!! Gotta get that dishwasher hooked back up), then flipped on the hockey game and tried to stay awake.

Anybody have any experience with copper cookware? Our set is an ancient Basic Essentials set we got from Kitchens Etc. during their going out of business sale (Only time we were ever there). It�s a nice set � very thick cast aluminum, Teflon coated. Got two sauce pans, a big stock pot, a huge braising pan and a smaller omelet pan. The stock pot is my preferred pot for jambalaya & gumbo. But they�re showing their age. The teflon coating is all but gone, the black anodizing on the exteriors is gone or light gray, one of the sauce pans got dropped and now the lid doesn�t fit so well � all minor complaints to be sure. But I�m getting a hankering for some new cookware anyhow. I mean, with the new kitchen and all, and a new stove � ya just gotta get new cooking implements too. I�m developing a serious hankering for copper. It�s kinda weird because everything else in the kitchen is stainless and/or black. We were looking at a set from JC 1 cent coin that was on sale for half off. But then we checked around and found that decent quality copper cookware can be outrageous. Single pans sell for as much as that 10pc set we were looking at. Granted, those were high end pans, but it makes you wonder how good a set can be when it goes for as much as a really good pan? Even read reviews on a C@lphalon tri-ply copper set. It appears that some people have unrealistic expectations. �Boo-hoo � the copper discolored when I heated it�, �Waaaa � it ruins my eggs unless I cook them on medium�, �I�m so disappointed � it got scratched so easily in the dishwasher!� Fer shits sake people � it�s copper. It does that!

So it�s hard to find meaningful reviews. Maybe I ought to just bag it and go all cast iron. Except for maybe a stainless pot or 3 for doing spaghetti sauce. Or enameled cast iron maybe. I don�t know.

Gah. Can�t concentrate on work. Feel like I should go apologize to my boss for not getting a thing done this week. I�m going to take Friday to try and clear my head and work some on the kitchen. Al Anon meeting tonight, therapist visit tomorrow, bowling Thursday, the promise of lots of hands on labor Friday through Sunday. That ought to help. I hope.

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