bwhahahaha

Now the riff can be stuck in YOUR head.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bQZ6l_cq5Y

its upgradin' time

But first, what's truly more important - Iowa kicked ass and took names today. FOOTBALL! Man I love football season even though it means for the next 11 Saturdays that I'm going to be a paranoid neurotic mess each time the Hawks kick off until the final gun (at which point they will hopefully be ahead on the scoreboard). Eastern Illinois goes down to the Hawks 37 to 7 ... Should've been 50something to 7 but we fumbled 2x... Otoh, no Stanziballs (interceptions) or Rick Sixes (a Stanziballs returned for a TD).

Courtesy of my parents' estate, I've decided to start upgrading my work wardrobe. This means buying Ripoff Ralph. And nice skinny ties. I love skinny ties. Last weekend I bought three pairs of Weejuns (shoelaces and I have major issues I like loafers much better), this weekend it's button shirts and ties. I'm not that wild about khakis per se so I've made the choice to go slightly funky and wear Levi Super Skinny 510 twill weave jeans... Macy's here does not carry the Docker super skinny khakis (I have the feeling I'll have to go to the east coast to find those). 

Anyway THERE'S A SALE so I scored two Ripoff Ralph button downs in light blue (California is into The Complete Pimp Look and it's harder than he'll to find classic button downs) ... And I don't usually look at suits, but I saw that blazers were on sale and I got a new Michael Kors in navy for half off. My old blazer is creeping up on a decade old and while it's in ok shape it's time to think about supplementing it. I'm down to 155 and if I can get back down under 150 I might think about buying a couple of new suits.

I love clothes...

is it saturday yet?

About time for this young man to come out and plaayyyyy.... Eastern Illinois will be a nice scrimmage, I think.

behold the human pincushion

I must admit that I was little apprehensive to try acupuncture, but ever since (I think) managing to torque my lower left back, hip, knee and probably things I can't possibly pronounce without an advanced medical degree, starting back in Summer 2008, I've been searching with slightly quiet desperation... if not for a cure, for relief to the weird pains and cramps I've been having with my left leg.

I went to PT 2x... I was so tight the first time around, when the tech grabbed my left quads, they were so tight I screaming like a little girl or my ex-wife giving birth (take your choice, hers was more like a groan, I was biting the pillow when he put his thumbs into me). The 2nd time, I wasn't quite so tight - that had improved - but I got put into the joys of traction (not really that bad) and given more stretches to do than I had hours in a day to accomplish. Being in that leather saddle/harness/wtfitwas lying on my back was kind of kinky but not in the happy ending sort of way.

So, I've gotten better, gotten worse, and I actually was probably about as good as I've been in a long time the first weekend in August when I came up with the brilliant idea to run 13 miles over a two day period (9 the first and 4 the 2nd) and the whole darn thing flared up again. As one of my triathlon friends noted to me "DUH".

(It probably did not help that I'd also scheduled a work road trip the following week where I was sitting for long periods of time in a car driving down into the San Joaquin Valley and back).

So, Urban Cow was definitely out (hopefully I can do the 5K instead) and I took, more or less, two weeks off from running, and ran the Race for the Arts last Saturday without too much pain during the race or afterwards. As I was scarfing down my REAL sugary flavored acid afterwards - known as Regular Coke, eating a cookie and a Philly cream cheese smeared bagel, I walked the exhibit booths, and one of the local acupuncture clinics was offering free ear exams.

Now, I've never tried acupuncture until yesterday, but I've bumped into many hoomans here in Kalifornia Who Claim That Yes, It Works. So the doc took something that disconcertingly looked like a really nasty dental probe and probed my left ear and found spots that *hurt* corresponding to different areas of the body, and I let her pusher - er assistant - talk me into scheduling a free consult for Monday.

So Monday, I go in for the consult and decide, what the hell, let's try this. If after the 3-6 visits that are required to feel "real relief" I still feel like it sucks, its still less torture (well, they generally don't put two dozen needles into you at PT each time, still, PT isn't that much fun) than PT.

Yesterday, I arrived for my appointment, filled out what felt like the same paperwork people filled out to get on The Titanic, and was ushered into the exam room, where Tian Li Wu, the doc, after reprobing me (but with the right ear this time), had me slip off my shirt, and lay facedown on the table. I was little worried (but not really, she does an excellent job of bullshitting you to put you at ease)...

I didn't even FEEL the first few needles go in... she started with the back of my neck, worked her way across my back, put some in my left lower back... a couple of those did hurt a bit, and then slipped some into my ITB and back of the left knee. Then she said "DON'T GET UP AND MOVE, I'LL BE BACK IN 20 to 30 MINUTES"... turned off the light and closed the door.

I tried to keep my mind clear as I've also been told that it helps the acupuncture do what its supposed to do be as Zen As Possible. So, I'm lying there... I actually started to drift off at one point, then started to freak out that I might try and roll over (doubtful because I was in one of those face massage things) and shove the needles in further, then I'm listening to the stuff going on in the clinic outside, wondering if they'll forget I'm in there or what if there's an earthquake or alien invasion and I'm stuck there stuck full of needles.

But it was also cool because I could feel my body r e l a x i n g while I laid there... and Wu came back and pulled out the needles, then informed me she was going to "do a cupping to pull out toxins" and started pouring oil on my back and got out these giant suction cups. Now I know what being assaulted by octopus in a horror movie is like - well, not really, but she warned me that it would leave a mark, and I've got a giant suction cup hickey on my back now LOL.

That didn't take long, and I was done for this appointment. Got my shirt back on, and made an appointment for 5:00 today... which I'm actually eagerly anticipating. I'll have one more this week, and then 3 next week, and taper off after that.

I noticed almost immediately that the part of the ITB on the outside and back of my knee is less tender and tight. I did not run this morning... I'll try that tomorrow, but other than some mild soreness where I was stuck, I feel pretty decent...

so my run mojo ain't what i thought

Ha, so I thought that I was Superman, but I'm more like the Our Lady Peace version. Dead. I got the brilliant idea to run 13 miles in a weekend three weeks ago, and by Tuesday I could hardly walk, with apparently what was a re-aggravation of IT band syndrome (look it up in Google, explaining it is tiresome, but basically I'm old and falling apart like a 1,000 year old vampire exposed to sunlight). My butt hurt, my back (left side) hurt, my left hip felt like I'd been hit full speed with a football helmet on the pad - repeatedly, my soleus on the left leg was sore as hell and I developed, later, shin splints and a bruise on top of it all.

So Urban Cow as a half-marathon is out. No time to train - or more accurately, no time to *heal*, so I've emailed the sponsors and said "Please, because I am a complete 'ing moron, change my registration to the 5K." I haven't received a response, but I imagine I'll be allowed to change, if it hasn't already been done, by the time of packet pickup (I suppose I *could* walk it - just so I get my cowbell... but that will take me three hours (then again, what do I have to do on that day anyway?). OTOH, if I do the 5K I'll be done in plenty of time to go to the free massage tables before the half marathon winner is withing farting distance of the finish line. If I walk, all the food will be gone and there's not much eye candy in the part of a race where most of the people are walking...

Speaking of 5Ks, I took about two weeks off from running at all, and ran The Race for the Arts 5K on Saturday. We had a nice cool marine layer come in over the weekend, so I actually ran in long sleeves with my black # 12 Iowa football jersey over it. Now, that's Ricky Stanzi's #er (the starting QB for Iowa this year and the purveyor of the infamous Stanziball (also called "Rick Sixes" when they are intercepted for a TD by the opposing defense), but it is also the former Pittsburgh Steeler QB Terry Bradshaw's #er, and since our jerseys are based on the 1970s Steeler uniform (really really, you can google "Hayden Fry/Iowa uniform" and find a video of Lord Hayden talking about that whole thing), people confuse my Iowa jersey with the Steelers all the time - which is OK, because Steeler fans are everywhere.

I got a shout out at least 4 times during the race "Go Steelers!" and a guy drove by me in his car after the race saying "I still say the Immaculate Reception hit the ground!" (OK, I'm probably getting way too much into football at this point for those of you that don't give a shit about football).

Anyway, a lot of people wore costumes - it is a race that benefits Art organizations, after all - but I've almost always been the only guy in a football jersey in the 5Ks I've run around here (California, outside of pro football, is not that crazy about football, which is one of the things that's Terribly Wrong With California IMHO)... and I mean, that's what recreational 5Ks need, another short, skinny (well, I'm not that skinny) in a giant football jersey looking like he's going to fall over dead at any second running the 5K.

I also wore gangsta length (well, not quite) running shorts this time. I've racked up enough credit at Fleet Feet on J Street that I got a pair of Nike Dri-Fits for $8 and I was surprised that its more comfortable to run in semi-baggies (the Nike ones are more skinny than say Brooks or the other brands) because mine have a tendency to creep up on me in the leg when I run. So I strapped on my iPhone, and actually ran decently considering I'm not training worth a shit, which means I Beat The 80 Year Old Guy to the finish line (he ran a  10:45 mile, and I'll bet he can write his name in the snow too if he can do that). However, a 78 year old guy kicked my ass, so, the universe does restore balance as much as possible.

The ITB didn't act up during the race or afterwards, but I can feel the effects of the injury s lo w in g me down, so this morning I had a consult with an acupuncturist and tomorrow, I get stuck for the first time. I'll do a half dozen treatments and see how it goes. She had me stick out my tongue - Chinese docs learn to read your tongue - and said "Um, you're not sleeping very well and you're very nervous right?" Um, she happens to be right.

Of course, I have this newfound love for beer recently. Now, I've never been a big beer fan, but now I can *drink* it, and I kind of like it. I suspect enough taste buds have finally died that I can guzzle it without ill effect. I hope the needle doc can fix whatever it is that's ailing me - because I signed up for the Northern California Warrior Dash 2010 somewhere west of I-5 near Los Banos. I get to run through muck, crawl under barbed wire, scale obstacles, and leap over fire for 3 miles and then they give you beer. One only, and they urge you to drink responsibly. I plan on wearing my black Iowa shirt so I'll stand out in the crowd when I'm covered with mud (which hopefully will keep me from getting more than 2nd degree burns, right? I have no hop, but perhaps seeing a pile of burning logs in front of me will urge me to jump, um higher).

Oddly, I've lost a little weight over the past month... stress related I'm sure, stress that I'm not going to blog about because, well, everyone has problems. I miss my children a lot, who started school today.  Meredith didn't want to go to school at all... I noted to her (they called after school was over, I'll give their Mom kudos for actually promptly returning my request for a call after the first day of school was over) that "You can have Mom pack your bag for Sacramento, and you won't have to go to school until next Tuesday. But you'll still have to go to school."

She didn't take me up on my offer. She gets to experience the 2nd Hurricane of Her Life this week (she was 3 when Katrina came through Jackson, MS), because Earl apparently is going to skate on by Connecticut this weekend... as a hurricane.

Oh, and I'm taking lessons from another guitarist right now, and the material is totally kicking my ass. Which is a good thing...

return of run mojo

I didn't train nearly as much with the children here as I should have, although I didn't have any scheduled races in mind during those three weeks last month in mind, the plan - such as it was - had me running 2.3 miles each morning during the work week. Well, I sort of end up blowing that entirely off after about the first week they were here, and by the third week I didn't run at all.

No longer needing to drive to work so I could take them to summer school and pick them up at the end of the day, the past two weeks I've been on my mountain bike for the 10 mile daily round trip to work. Since I  hadn't been on a regular exercise sched, the last week of July I just rode the bike - no running. This week, I decided that I'd see how I felt after that week of riding to find out just where the old run mojo, which has been missing since Summer '08 with the knee/hip/whateverthehellkindofinjuryitwas had gone to... and I had a good enough run on Tuesday to say to myself "hey, I think I *can* do and finish - no PR, but finish - the Urban Cow Half Marathon on October 3rd." So, I'm registered and committed, and I have a half-assed training plan - which boils down to running 4x a week - Tue/Thur/Sat/Sun - 3.6/3.6/longrun/3.6 between now and October 3rd.

I really have no idea where my physical conditioning is right now. I've always had a lot of stamina but I know from the couple of 5Ks I've done this year that I'm nowhere near the run shape I was in during 2007 when I finished the CIM marathon. The speed isn't there, but the back of pack isn't such a bad place to be, lots of interesting people in the back :)

To test that conditioning, I decided this morning to see starting with a long run of at least 7 miles to see how I felt at the 3.5 mile point, and go further to a turnaround point if I felt OK. The idea was to set my long runs in the next 6 weeks or so to 7, 8, 9, 10, 10, 10 and then taper with no long run on Week 7 with the half marathon on Week 8.

Ran my usual route to the American River Parkway via Sac State, but, surprisingly, the ped bridge over the river is closed between campus and the north side of the river, so I ran down the south side almost to Watt Avenue and back, pulled off a 9 miler. I did not run it fast - the objective was simply to see how I felt after a run of at least 7 miles. Not bad, the plantar fasciitis isn't too bad afterwards either. I'm sure I'll be sore in the morning when I do a 3.6 miler "recovery run" but I feel decent all things considered...

man that was fun

Amazing how quickly three weeks with your children fly by. The original plan until about 5:00 on Saturday was for their mother to fly out on Sunday and fly back with them on the redeye, but, the planes were packed (such is the randomness of flying standby as a non-revenue passenger), so she called me while we were on the way back from the Arroyo Pool and asked if I could send them to ATL on the 11:50 flight yesterday morning, where, assuming they got on the flight here in Sacramento, she would meet them and take them on to BDL (the airport abbreviation for Hartford, CT). They would fly as unacccompanied minors; they'd done this before on a short flight from Savannah to Atlanta but SMF to ATL is a four hour haul (although I honestly can't see that much of a difference between a 40 minute vs. 4 hour flight other than its likely one child or the other will need to go to the bathroom perhaps. Airport mugshot...)

Both of them  have already flown multiples of the times that I've flown in my life going places with their mother (mostly to Savannah) so they are very experienced travelers and know how to behave on an airplane (as well as in an airport). This, however, would be my first time placing the children unaccompanied on the plane by me, and I was very nervous about it... not actually them getting on the plane - I mean, hey, once they're on, the plane buttons up, and flies off, they're not going anywhere LOL but still, I'm their Dad, and I worry about what I can't control when I'm not with them.

I must say the Delta counter staff at the main counter and at the gate made it all very easy. Probably what was making me jumpier during the wait - to see if they would actually get on, and they don't know if they'll actually get seats until about 20 minutes before the flight's scheduled leave time - was having my iPhone 4 (yes, I jumped off the cliff with millions of other lemmings, and I *like* my iPhone very very much) go off about every four to five minutes with updates from the Ex on the seat status. Now, the actual calls aren't the issue so much but in my own twisted sense of humor I used the "Alarm" sound for her cell number and that damn sound will make you jump out of your seat sometimes.

After being a Bad American Parent and feeding them Burger King (hey, they're on vacation, they love Burger King, and they really don't go out to eat that often at home), we killed some time by walking down to the opposite end of Terminal A - where Southwest has its gates - in the 3+ years I've lived here, I've never been to that part of Terminal A, and just as we get to the end, the phone goes off, and Meredith says in a dramatic voice "Mom!" I about dropped the phone laughing, but it was her announcing that they were on the standby list and would get their seat passes.

(As you can see in the picture above and the one below, Meredith got both of her pairs of glasses on Thursday and has been a good girl and not complained too much about having to wear them... except this morning she apparently forgot to put them on when she got out of bed and they were out and about doing errands (I talked to them around lunchtime today). I reminded her and The Ex that if you don't want her to have that wandering eye become permanent, she needs to keep the glasses on. Also, don't you think the above picture makes excellent blackmail material for when Davis is a teen (and I think he's started puberty; he's got a few zits now and its time for the loofah and the Phisoderm, I guess) - "Look, Davis made bead necklaces!").

Gave 'em a big hug good bye at the gate, and I wasn't nearly as teary-eyed as I was last summer seeing them off. Perhaps not seeing them in their mother's clutches helped LOL - but they're so much more grown up than last year. I don't see any reason in future trips for her to accompany them beyond the connecting airport to bring them out.