Of Moose And Men
The Best Laid Plans Of Both Often Go Astray

I spoke too soon on the supposed end of “The December plague” – it’s still here and kicking, as evidenced by a lovely, sweat-filled, rolling sleepless roll in the bed when I was supposed to be actually, oh, sleeping. Just shoot me now, I can’t take another week of this.

Mind-numbingly boring work today. We’re reviewing emails in response to a Congressional inquiry, and actually what we’re doing is reviewing the work of the summer interns, and while I’m sure the member was expecting to find something smoking, what we’re finding instead is that people are really, really dull over email. If I have to read one more argument about where to go for dinner, or an announcement of another new baby, I may scream. Unfortunately the torture continues tomorrow.

Oh, and a manager (not in the counsel’s office) at the not-so-BGA called me today unsolicited to let me know there were attorney openings coming up there, and offered to answer any questions I had. I’m going to take her up on it tomorrow, since finding the actual structure of the counsel’s office there has proven to be a futile task. Again, nice to have folks with whom I’ve worked think of me for such things.

So, after the doc review, as a treat I stopped off at Jenny’s and picked up Chinese take-out (mmm, Fiery Tofu…). Ate at home, cleaned stuff up in the living room (pre-gaming chore), then set myself to setting up the Xbox. I actually crawled under the “entertainment center” (aka my desk) and unhooked all the cables from the PC that’s not worked in months now due to lack of a fan, and got that cleaned up and put away. Then the Xbox itself was relatively easy to set up and get into. Used the same old same old user name on there, ‘legalmoose,’ because my first choice was already taken and I didn’t feel like trying to come up with something else. Got hooked in, got the free month of Xbox Live Gold membership, and then popped in Bioshock.

Wow. Blown away. Absolutely loving this game, as evidenced by the posting here at 11:30ish. I had actually set an alarm on my phone (appropriately enough with the old horn “ah-OOOga” sound) for 9:30. That got snoozed a couple of times. I just played the thing on Easy mode, but am really enjoying it.

This is actually the first time I’ve played with a controller of this type. I know, scrape yourself off the ground, but up to the DS purchase, all my gaming had been on the PC. Now I’ve the DS, a Wii and an Xbox, and I love all three for the different types of experiences they give. Still having problems with the camera (for some reason I want to push down to move the camera up, and vice-versa – holdover from some other, older game on the PC maybe?), so occasionally I miss stuff, but the plasmids are quite fun. I’m playing the nice guy, rescuing the little sisters instead of killing them, ’cause for this one I wanted to see how that played out. Next time, slaughter.

So I have Bioshock, and Mass Effect (still in the shrink wrap), and two games that came with the system (some racing game and a Marvel Comics marketing ploy, I mean game). A fun addition to the living room, I have to say.

Forgot that I got to do a video conference via iChat with my parents down in the Tampa area. They called while we were at Dad’s place to see if they should go swimming then or wait until later. Life is so rough in retirement. But the chat was a lot of fun. It’s so neat to be able to do something like that now and have it work so easily and clearly. They loved their gifts, which was fantastic, and it was a great way to visit with them for the holiday.

Wiped out. Completely wiped out. But a fun time was had in getting to here.

I spent the past three days with BC and his family. They do big stuff for the holidays, culminating in a big party the evening of the 25th at his Mom’s place. The 24th was relatively sedate – some last minute wrapping, prepping food for the next day, and some good Indian take-out for dinner. Wine and spades (the card game) after dinner, then a late bed time. The morning of the 25th bloomed with BC’s younger sister (29? 30?) coming in and announcing that Santa had come and we had to to come out to see what he brought.

At least, I’m told she did. I don’t recall it at all, and BC says I just buried my head further and snuggled up closer to him when she came in. Eventually we got up and did gift exchange with BC, his younger sister, Mom and Step-Dad. After that we cleaned up and then it was off to his oldest sister’s house for brunch and more exchanging of gifts. His brother-in-law did a fantastic job with the food, and including vegan dishes for me. Had fun picking on his niece (12 y/o), then it was off to Dad’s place.

The event at Dad’s went very well. This was the first time bringing a boyfriend to Dad’s event, and I think it went well. Step-mother’s family was in full force, and they were a trip and a half. Unfortunately there was not a damned thing there I could eat, so nibbling, just sipping of red wine over the course of the afternoon. Whew. Dad was gracious and pleasant, so was a pretty good time. Finally it was time to return to Mom’s house and the party, already in progress.

Plenty of food for me at Mom’s, which I dived into as soon as I could. And more wine. And then there was singing.

A big family tradition is the singing of carols. I have a fairly strong baritone (aided by the wine), and I’m not shy of singing in such a crowd, so I kept us mostly on key and pace, which I think Mom appreciated. No solos this year for anyone (thank heavens), but it was quite fun. At the end of the night BC volunteered the two of us to clean up and sent Mom & her husband off to bed. We got it pretty well policed, all food and dishes put away, and everything else straightened up nicely for the morning.

Slept in this morning, obviously, and thanks to lots of water at the end of the party and while cleaning, there was no hangover. And, as an added bonus, the plague that’s been stuck in my system for the last 2-3 weeks seems to have finally, finally been killed off. Late brunch, relaxing at the house with BC while his parents were at work, a good movie & cuddling. Finally came home at 5 or so.

No energy whatsoever tonight, so not going to set up the new Xbox 360, nor pop in any of the games I’m playing at the moment on the Wii. Working the next two days, and a good, long sleep tonight should be just what the doctor ordered. Get to have a talk with da bosslady this week about job prospects and how to proceed with these things. I trust her, so I know it won’t be a problem to tell her I’m considering some other options, but it’ll still be an interesting conversation.

With the plague over, hopefully there will be a return to regular training. I’ve missed getting out to run, and being active generally, and I know from past experience how much I need that activity for my physical and mental health. So, time to dig back in, and prep for the year to come.

Xbox 360, Bioshock.

Sweet.

Happy Hogswatch to all, and to all a good night.

A tad too much beer at the club holiday happy hour, but hey, I can breathe, so I’m good.

Chatted with a bunch of folks, both club business and not, and it was a ton of fun. Tomorrow may hurt (as yet to be determined), but tonight was worth it. I’m psyched about next year’s race season, and next year’s new triathlete program. It’s going to be a good one, we’ve learned a lot these last 3 seasons, and number 4 is going to be great.

Tomorrow’s it until next Thursday, and next week and the week after are 2 day work weeks for me – the joys of having some leave built up and not being afraid to use it.

Dear Postal Service,

The point of having a self-serve kiosk is so that customers who cannot make it to the post office during regular hours can help themselves and still pay you money. Closing the outer doors so that customers cannot use said kiosk defeats the entire point of having it in the first place. Thanks for nothing.

No love,

A Frustrated Customer

PS: That $0.17 upcharge for cards? Totally a rough fuck without lube. Bastards.

Nothing quite like having maintenance cut all the electricity in your building to tell you it’s time to leave. They’re doing some routine work on the electrical system that required it all to be off. I’m just glad I’m not staying home today with this cold, and that I don’t regularly work from home.

Getting up at the butt-crack of dawn, driving an hour to Baltimore, and then running a 5 mile race in the low 30s is perhaps not the best way to get rid of a head cold. That said, I had a great deal of fun at this race.

Chips aside, the race is a fairly low-key event. If a race with around 2,000 people in it can be said to be “low-key,” that is. Regular registration was $10, $45 if you wanted the jacket. Having seen the race shirts from prior years, I sprang for the jacket – embroidered, not ironed-on, and very comfy for post-race attire (and would work well to run in as well). Money well spent.

Started a few minutes after the stated time, which I find to be normal with a race this size. The beginning was a nice uphill to get the heart rate going and warm us up. BC ran this one with me, and save for a couple of moments in the middle, and right at the end, we ran together this time. Was nice to chat with him as we ran. The last race, a turkey trot right before Thanksgiving, he and his dad left me in the dust, which isn’t a big deal, but it was nice to have some time running with him for once.

After the initial hill, it was a roundabout, gently rolling course around Druid Lake park, with one of the final miles around the lake itself. The course wasn’t too crowded, folks were able to pass and be passed without much difficulty. The one water stop could’ve been a bit better laid out from what I saw (I had a bottle, so didn’t stop), but the volunteers there were very friendly and helpful from what I heard while passing it. Which was pretty much par for the course here – the volunteers were, hands down, some of the best I’ve seen at a race. Friendly, happy to be there, and enthusiastic with cheering out on the course.

The initial uphill was the final leg coming into the finish line as well, and I picked up a bit of steam coming down it. Actually, a bit too much steam – I ended up with that lovely “hi, I’ve run too fast and now I want to puke” sensation after the finish line. Whee! Didn’t ralf, thankfully, but it’s not the most pleasant sensation. My own fault for kicking up my heels a bit too much at the end.

What was pleasant was that immediately after I could breath clearly for the first time in days – my sinuses were completely clear, and no cough. Not the case at the moment (later this evening), but it felt great right as we got done, and lasted until we got ready to leave Baltimore, post-brunch.

There were a ton of folks at the race from the tri club as well, and it was great fun to wave at folks while running, and hang out with them before and after (as well as at brunch up the road at Cafe Hon).

All in all a great race, and one I’ll happily run again.