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

Yay, the arc lamp came in (from my order at the beginning of the month). Boo, the connector for the shade (on the arc) was completely crushed in transit. The base and shade (differently boxed) were fine, thankfully. Will have to drag it back tomorrow to the store and hope they either have a replacement in the back or that they can order a replacement piece quickly. I’d drag it back tonight but I’m waiting for Kelrick & Kenny to arrive now – they texted a bit ago and weren’t too far away.

Went out last night to JR’s, had fun seeing folks, chatting and what not. In a change of pace I had bourbon for the first time in forever (I’ve been sticking to wine & beer of late), and wasn’t too painful today from it. Met a couple boys as well, got some numbers. We’ll see how that works.

And there comes Kelrick, so I need to zip.

Arrived at SFO with no hiccups. We did have one weird wing dip & over-correction coming in over the Bay, but otherwise the flight was quite nice. Got an exit row seat on the aisle, and managed to get 2/3 of the way through another hat (navy this time) before we touched down.

It’s somewhere in the low 90s here in Oakland where I’m staying with Dean, which actually means it’s warmer here than it has been in DC for pretty much the entire month of August. Hanging out shirtless on the deck has been nice, as was the much-needed post-lunch nap.

We’re debating options for this evening, but I expect to see my friend Mark tomorrow for breakfast, then catch Ray to hang out some as well. Rice is out of town, but there are certain other people whom I shall have to take more aggressive measures to bug soon if I’m to catch them. Not to mention someone else who is here visiting. And of course my lone family member who’s on this side of the planet. I think a good night out at a bar or two tomorrow is in order!

Chatted briefly with my parents. I forgot to tell them I was going out of town. Whoops. Was fun to chat with them about the job search stuff and catch them up on how that’s going.

Until then, we’re going to hunt down some food, and perhaps a bar later this evening.

Hmmm, been a bit since I updated.

Saw the podiatrist yesterday about the plantar fasciitis coming back. I had run last week and spent the rest of the day limping around in pretty severe heel pain. It’s gone down since then, but is still there in a low capacity. He cleared me to cycle and swim until my heart’s content, but no running for the next couple of months. I’m also scheduled (again) to go in for ESWT on the 3rd. Hopefully the zapping will help kill this off once and for all – I’m getting tired of sleeping in a brace, and tired of pain when I walk.

Still trying to figure out what I want to do with my exercise routine, though. Did bike this morning, and I’ll head into the gym to swim this evening. I may switch my swims to the morning, since I won’t be running then, if it’s not too crowded (the pool is hardly ever full when I swim in the evenings, and frequently it’s just me in there). There’s the advantage of having the gym 3 blocks away – I can go in the morning and then come home to breakfast & change for work after.

And, I need to do weight training. As I’ve mentioned before, weight training bores me to tears, though I do appreciate the results from its consistent application. It doesn’t help that I don’t really feel like I know what I’m doing, and don’t really want to hire a trainer, either. Eh, I’ll muddle through for now. It’s not like I don’t have enough books on tri training with weight training suggestions to pick and choose from, either.

The date Friday was fun. Too much alcohol was involved, and I actually went shirtless at the DC Eagle (though wearing an armband and gloves), a first for me I believe. He lives in Richmond, so I’m not sure if I’ll see him again any time soon, but it was still fun. I think this is the new Rule #6: “The hotter the guy online, the further away he lives.”

Work is work. I have a colleague who has worked in both the Executive and Legislative branches, as well as the private sector for the Beltway Bandit crowd, and she’s offered to chat with me some about her experiences. Haven’t taken her up on it yet, but I may do so. I’m a little bored in my job at the moment, still, and it can’t hurt to know something more about what other options there may be out there. It’s not that I don’t have plenty of work to do, I do, but I’m not terribly engaged by most of it these days.

Looking at more options for an entertainment center. The Ikea site has actually got some which might work in the space (I’ve been measuring), so I’m thinking a trip down there on Saturday or Friday might be in order to get an idea of how they look in real life, get more measurements, options, etc. And that would be a better price point than the design console I was looking at (though it’s still in the running – the shelving looks a lot better than Ikea’s options).

Had an excellent refresher massage class at PMTI with Jon on Sunday. I’d taken this once before with Doug back in 2000 or so, and it was good to get the refresher. Bonus that I got to put my hands all over Jon, too. I had an extra spot since BC dropped out, understandably, after the breakup, so it made a nice housewarming present for Jon. Appropos of that, I also signed up for the November CBE class (link NSFW). Again, it will be good to get a refresher there.

And that’s about what’s going on here.

Rains, pours, etc.

See y’all at the Eagle Friday night.

Got to see Richard for dinner this evening. Was good to catch up with him and his various travels, past and future. He’s doing well, which is always good to see. Dinner was good Chinese down in Farragut, then we wandered up into Dupont for shopping and extended talking.

Saw another new friend, Y, for lunch as well. He’s a student in town, former military, good guy. Not the first time we’ve lunched, and won’t be the last. He’s good people, and I’m enjoying getting go know him.

Trying to plan a space for the next work happy hour next week. New places are always a good thing, and we have a couple of options, but I’m trying to get a lunch group together for one on Friday I think will work. Not sure if that’ll happen at this point – no one has bitten on the offer as yet. Still have time to grab folks, though.

It’s a good thing when I remember to take in a ton of water after drinking early in the evening – no hangover this morning. The friend showed up shortly after I posted the last entry, and we got some dinner & got into a showing of Hancock. Not a bad flick, though several of the elements were a little obvious. It would be fun if they did a prequel to the movie, showing his origins.

Foot’s a little better this morning – I had run yesterday, which was probably why it was so sore. Definitely having a full recurrence of the PF, though, so back to the podiatrist next week. I suspect he’ll want to do the ESWT this time, and I think I agree, though it may kill doing the last two races of the season.

Forgot to put on a watch this morning, a rareity for me, so I’m going to be dependent on the electronics fir time telling today. I know there are people who never wear a watch because they always have their cell on them, but I like the familiar weight of a watch on my wrist. It’s part of my normal routine, and more convenient than hauling out the phone.

It is a dangerous thing to say to me, oh, just meet me at the bar after work, and then not meet me for over an hour after I left work. He’s not here yet and I’m lightly toasted.

Started training again this morning, after a two week mostly-break. Was hot as all get-out, but got through it. My next race is in 4 weeks, in Luray Virginia (pronounced “LOO-ray,” not “luh-ray” as you might think), another olympic race, so I have to get prepped for that. Remind me not to take an exercise break after my next breakup, it’s not worth it, even if I am feeling blue.

In other news regarding the breakup, I seem to have gotten some of my tolerance back. Not that this is necessarily a good thing, but it is nice not being completely worthless after having drinks.

I’ve finally managed to break out of some of the isolation I’ve had especially in this two week period, but also to a degree since having moved down to southwest. I’m trying to be more active about getting myself out of the apartment and around folks, and spent a good part of the weekend doing just that. And that’s been fun. I’m not quite sure how I’m going to work in training for all three sports in the tri, but I’ll muddle through somehow. In the meantime, I’m enjoying getting out of the house more, and look forward to more of this.

Is it really only Tuesday? This week feels like it should be done already.

Checked on the cats this evening for Richard. They’re still alive. Boris was tres fussy, and Natasha was calmer than she’s been in ages.

Went out this weekend, had vodka for the first time in forever. Ugh. I remember why I’ve not been indulging in that particular vice of late. Monday was less than pleasant, though not entirely miserable. Won’t be repeating that particular slip until after the IM, I think.

Friday was a glorious day off. I biked to get new running shoes, a new biking jacket/vest (convertible!), lunch with J, and new tubes for the blown one I had to replace on the way out the door.

Dinner ended up being liquid bread, aka lotsa beer, at Nellie’s and then Cobalt (birthday of a neighbor dragged me out for once). Ran into Don, who I really hope took home the cute, tall man who was attempting to hit on me (and Don!) before I had the chance to explain that, while he was tall and cute and would be tempting, I was taken and not amenable to breaking that particular promise. They disappeared, but not before I told Don he’d be a fool not to grab that one. Heaven willing that wasn’t bad advice.

The urchins are sort-of screaming outside. Someone called the cops earlier, which got rid of them around quarter to midnight, but they’re back outside again. I have an early bike ride in the morning (“Hi, this is what you’d look like hung over. DON’T DO THIS!!”), so I’m hoping they stay quiet and I don’t have to call the cops on them myself. As with all things in this city, I’m crossing my fingers but not holding my breath.