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

The date went well. I didn’t scare him off, he didn’t scare me off, and I’ll leave it at that. I like him, and I’m looking forward to seeing him again on Friday before he takes off for a week of vacation out of town.

I was going to sit down and write up the rest of the trip report, but I’m just too wiped out to do it, and I have other things on the brain tonight.

The race went well. It was wet, wet, wet, wet, wet. And not just the swim. But I’ll post more details later in a longer race report. I did finish, and about where I thought I would, which was not bad.

The trip was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed spending all that time with my parents. Again, I’ll post my final thoughts on that later.

Mostly my brain is focused on tomorrow. I have to run several errands on the final day of vacation, including getting a new driver’s license with the new address, picking up my backup glasses, a haircut, some exercise of some sort, and a dinner date. I’m actually excited about the date, which hasn’t happened in a while. But I don’t want to jinx it by overanalyzing it here. Suffice to say I’m looking forward to it.

So, until then, I’m going to go unpack and enjoy being back in my own bed (which doesn’t have springs to roll over in the middle of the night!!).

We got some internet access, so I’m posting what I’ve written thus far from the past two days.

5/30/06, Tuesday
It’s begun to rain. We’ve had a relatively quiet trip up thus far, but now, about a hour or so from the campground at which my parents and I will be staying the night it’s begun to drip a little. They’ve been predicting thunderstorms, and the camp did report some thunder when we called them a little bit ago, but this is part and parcel of what they’ve been getting up here all Spring, part of what almost lead the race director to cancel the race when he discovered the transition area under a couple feet of water just a few weeks ago.

It’s interesting traveling in an RV, you can get up and wander around, unlike a bus or car, so legs can be stretched and hungers sated. Both parents have driven at different times (I’m not about to attempt it, even if asked), and for the most part we go along at a pace that rarely brings us up against someone else’s rear end – most of the time we’re the ones being passed, and that’s perfectly fine. It’s not like we’re in any hurry to get up there now, with plenty of time to arrive before Friday.

There are also small quirks of their RV, like the one drawer whose latch doesn’t quite work, so you have to kick it back in every now and again, and the water pumps I wasn’t warned to turn back on when I needed to wash my hands (“Mom, are we out of water?”). The couch which will become my bed is pretty comfortable to sprawl out upon (there’s a full or queen sized bed at the back for them), and I’ve been fairly comfortable on it. When not staring out at the mountains, streams and livestock, I’ve read, chatted with my parents, and spent some time paying down my third mortgage on Animal Crossing (yay for new fruits from the other animals – they help pay those bills much faster).

Had one little diversion when a bad sign lead us down a wrong driveway. I got to drive the Psion around as they backed the RV out and went down the right driveway. While Dad fueled up and Mom worked to reconnect the Psion to the back I took the time to inform her that if the curious 33 year old had looked in the cabinet right across from the toilet while sitting, the curious 9 year old (my niece) was sure to do so this summer and that it would behoove her to move the box for her vibrator to a more secure area. The look on her face would only have been more amusing if she’d been drinking something when I said it. At least I know I get my sexual nature honestly.

…

5/31/06, Wednesday

One of the more difficult aspects of this trip has been realizing how my parents have aged. You see some of it at home, but it’s brought to the front much more starkly when discussing plans for the day that include a lot of driving and/or walking around. Parking in handicapped spots (for Mom’s foot problems – they have the plates), trying to get as close to places as possible, taking a nice break mid-afternoon, in bed by 8:30 or 9, these little things add up to a picture of my parents that I hadn’t quite arrived at yet. I’m glad I’ve gotten the chance to spend this time with them, and I look forward to more time with them, but I’m not sure when we’d ever get the chance to travel together like this again.

Lots of thunderstorms this afternoon here in Cooperstown. After visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame (and Museum), which was quite cool, even for someone who doesn’t follow the game regularly, we wandered a little bit along the two blocks that comprise downtown Cooperstown, then drove up around Lake Osteaga for a bit, then back to the camp to rest. I think we were expecting Cooperstown to be a tad bigger than it was, but all in all I think it was perfect. The downtown strip was fun, you didn’t feel rushed getting through things, and you could get to everything you wanted to see in a day (or more, if you wished). But man, the thunderstorms were something else.

Thankfully they waited until after we were ensconced in the motor home, but at least three waves came through, one of which temporarily knocked out the electricity from the campground (right in the middle of fixing dinner, of course). Lightning galore, lots of thunder, and rain pounding down on the roof. When it let up the first time, Mom zipped out for a few supplies from the under-carriage storage, and back in just in time for the second wave. It did cool things down considerably, so we were able to cut off the a/c, but with the threat of more storms we’ve got the place sealed up tight, so I’m not sure how useful that cooling will be as we attempt to sleep.

Nice weekend, spent it with the parents, in anticipation of the week we’re spending together starting tomorrow. We played tourist, visiting various Smithsonian museums and watched ‘Rolling Thunder,’ the motorcycle parade in memory of the fallen, zip down Consitution Avenue when travelling between museums. Was quite fun, but quite draining. One forgets how much energy it can take to deal with holiday crowds and large museums, as well as lots of walking/standing that doesn’t occur in everyday life.

The race is in five days. Five days in which I’ll have little to no access to the ‘net in order to post. Will update as soon as I’m able, and I’m sure I’ll be writing while out.

Hadn’t swam in a while, but did so at the pool here at the cult co-op this afternoon/evening. At first I was feeling a tad out of breath, which led to some bit of panic over my chances in the race. Thankfully after a bit I calmed down, and I came to that zen-like calm that can come over one while swimming. The swim’s not going to be the easiest, but I suspect I’ll get through it okay. The wetsuit will help, the extra buouancy means less effort spent staying up and more spent going forward. Of course, the water temperature will be a factor as well, but I suspect I’ll be relativelty well insulated with the suit, cap and socks. Only time will tell.

I’m doing a quick spot of laundry this evening, and have my stuff laid out for the race all over my bed. I’ll pack most of it tonight, and get up early tomorrow to finish it up and await my parents’ arrival for our impending trip. Looking forward to the time off, it’s most needed.

I hate when I overschedule.

I’m normally fairly good with putting things in the two different calendars I maintain (work and home), but I forgot to put in an after-work-work-function (aka happy hour with the other young attorneys) and scheduled dinner with a friend this evening as well. Given the relative positions of the friendships and what not, I’m choosing dinner over HH, but I hated having to spill the beans that I’d overscheduled and was not making HH (even with the real and good excuse that I have to run and get my new glasses after work today). Ah well.

Been in a mild funk the last two or three days with a lack of sleep, general feeling of pessimism, and dealing with the last bits of the relationship with CT (a handover of some things I left at his apartment). Not terribly fun, but I know it’s a temporary condition, just have to keep telling myself that.

The dining room table arrives today, as does a stool/side table for the balcony. The chairs are on backorder until the middle of the month, but that just gives me time to clear the remaining junk out of the way. Once the table’s set up I’ll have a chance to look at various designs of couches I’ve been looking at, to see if any of them would work in the space. For the most part the dining room table will be in the folded mode against the wall, so I’ve got some space for a couch in front of it, but I’ll need to actually see the space, as well as measure, etc.

Work’s nuts, with several things bouncing around. Thankfully the bosses are understanding since they’re bouncing on the same issues (as well as others). Fun stuff (not). Hopefully will settle down soon, but if not, oh well!

It’s strange how the smallest things will set off the strongest memories.

I cleared out the last largeish box in the dining room, broke it and two others down, and went to repack my box of old casette tapes into another, newer box (yeah, I still have casette tapes). At the bottom of that box I found a variety of things, including a a copy of a law review article from a professor I think I must have helped host when he visited my law school (just googled him, only vaguely remember the man), some other old correspondence from people I didn’t recognize, and three sets of pictures of myself, The Ex, and our four cats, Katie, Zach, Alex and Allison. I only briefly glanced through the pictures to identify them, but it was still enough to bring on a melancholy mood. I miss those cats, especially Zach and Katie (our first two, and the first two pets I’d owned outside of my parents). They’d be about 12 now, if they’re still around. Last I knew they were at The Ex’s mother’s place, and were indoor/outdoor cats, something we never allowed them to be when we had them.

There were pictures of all four cats right after we’d given them baths, looking all bedraggled and pitiful. Pictures of The Ex with them as kittens lying around him. Pictures of me with them. Pictures of them in two of our apartments.

Lots of memories, both good and bad.

I’m glad that was the last big box, I don’t know that I could’ve handled stumbling on any more of that kind of thing right now.

Drove down to the home of the parental units today. The drive was uneventful, though I seem to have maintained my case of leadus footus, and managed to get here in a little under 3.5 hours. I’m reminded of why I enjoy not owning a car, and not driving on a regular basis – it drives me batty (no pun intended). People don’t get out of the way when they’re not passing, they go slow in the left lane, they don’t use turn signals, etc. Ugh. But I got here just fine.

The niece is enjoying Super Princess Peach, and ’twas fun seeing her. My brother, on the other hand, lives like a pig. Admitedly, he was sick the past couple of days, but their apartment is an absolute mess, with stuff everywhere. Glad he’s not in a highrise or he’d have had bugs all over the place – they love that kind of environment. I shudder just thinking about it.

Showed my parents pictures of the new place via snapfish. I’ll get them uploaded & posted here sometime this next week, after I’m back.

Otherwise it’s quiet here. Going to do some shopping tomorrow with the ‘rents, and I think we may be doing cake for the niece. After that drive I should sleep like the dead tonight, and then I have to figure out if I want to swim or run tomorrow. Either would be good, it’s a matter of where & how long.

I’m in the process of putting an offer in on a co-op apartment down in southwest DC, near the Waterfront Metro station. Nothing quite like contemplating more than doubling my debt load (after student loans) in one fell swoop. Thank heavens for the tax benefits that come along with mortgage interest payments in this country.

I’ve otherwise been busy, helping with the club’s new triathlete program, working out myself, and just generally living. My calf is still out of commission; tried running last Thursday, a week and some after the initial injury, but ten minutes in at a moderate pace I could tell it was not ready yet. I’ll take this entire week off and try to be patient. Thankfully swimming and biking have not been affected by the calf’s little injury, so I’ve been able to stay up with those in the meantime.

For reasons I’ll not go into here I broke things off with CT last week. For the first time since the Clinton administration I’m single. And you know, I’m okay with that; I’m looking forward to having some “down time” from dating, to be honest. I want to get the new apartment arranged, do my race, get the new triathletes through their first race(s), and simply take things day by day otherwise. Heaven knows I need to take some of the down time and retool my eating habits; I’ve been eating for stress, not for hunger and fueling my body, and the scale’s been showing it this year. Not that buying the apartment and breaking up are doing wonders for my stress levels, but this has been just plain silly. There’s no reason my eating should have been that out of whack. Ah well, live, learn, and move on.

Got a starter Prince’s Wand (link not safe for work) last week. The starter version was nice, after a ton of cleaning (it was obvious they hadn’t cleaned it before they shipped it), but if I were to continue with one I think I’d have to go and get a custom one done by Steel Werks Extreme (again, link not safe for work). The starter one fits okay, but a more customized version would be needed for more than just hanging out in it, if you will.

(how sad, I just realized I didn’t have a “sex” category for that last bit of text; shows how little I’ve been doing anything in that department lately)

Anyway, brought some work home tonight so I need to go read that and get prepped for a semi-big meeting with my chief deputy poo-bah tomorrow.

The knee’s fine. The little ligament that runs down the inside of it is still mildly sore to the touch (technically a ‘sprain’), but with no pain, I’m cleared to exercise. So I’ve done that (exercise), with two spinning workouts on my tri bike this weekend (yay for spinning DVDs to keep one focused).

The new triathlete program for the tri club is coming along well. First meeting is next weekend, got the space lined up, hopefully have the intro workouts set for them, and we’re just waiting to hear from a race director about the first race for the two groups (sprint and olympic). Let’s hope it all goes this smoothly.

My own training has been semi-spotty; I’ve not been on the schedule as much as I’d have liked, but am getting back to it. Been running with a coworker on the treadmills at work, and that’s been fun. Is nice to run with someone else, and we’ve gotten to chat about a lot of work stuff (real work and gossip), which is always good. I’m still not thrilled that they don’t have towel service at the work gym, but the convience of not having to travel further than a few floors down and a corridor or two over is outweighing that little detail. For now.

The resolutioners haven’t quite disapeared from the pool yet, but the weeks are ticking down.

Seeing CT tonight, either shopping or a movie, not sure which. Food somewhere in there, too, I’m sure. Now that the weather’s dropped I get to wear my new jacket out (hooray for coupons from ye old credit card company) and hopefully not freeze my butt off. Alas, the March weather we had this past week died in the last couple days, with winds buffeting the scaffolding stuck on the outside of our building and driving us nuts whipping the ropes/cables against the windows new and old.

Well, so much for my doctor’s appointment this morning (the entire reason I took today off from work, truth be told). They just called, emergency came up, blah, blah, can you reschedule to tomorrow? Um, no, I had taken today off just to have this appointment, and I really don’t want to waste more annual leave take more time off from work, it’s not an emergency, so I’ll just see him in February when I come in for my physical. (insert ugly mutterings under breath)

Well, not quite true, I have other errands I need to address today while off from work, like laundry and getting my bike checked/fit adjusted so I don’t get IT band problems Every Time I Ride It More Than 20 Minutes, but hey, those weren’t the reason I took today off. Oh well.

In other news, after the fight CT & I did talk & resolve the issue(s). Still wasn’t fun to experience that, but into each life, rain, &c.

Anyway, time to get started with cleaning before I head down to the bike shop. At least I can get some of that done in lieu of the appointment, though I made pretty good progress on the main room last night.