Full Metal Lunchbox

 
Did anyone else have trouble sleeping last night?

I've heard from several people last night who were up too late, too early, or both.  One person I know decided to combine alcohol and housecleaning.  Another went to bed right after finishing work at 7PM, only to awaken at 2:30 in the morning thinking "Now what?"






In my case it was a combination of circumstances.  First I procrastinated my nap, causing me to sleep until late in the evening.  Then, upon returning from my procrastinated workout, drank a bottle of Monk's Flemish Sour Red Ale.  I haven't had this beer in a while and, in addition to it being tasteless cheap swill, it caused an allergic reaction that kept me dehydrated and staring at the ceiling last night.  Some beers do that to me, but I never know which ones until I try them.

So I was up late last night and up early this morning.  Oh, well.

At least I made use of the extra time this morning and rode my bike to work.  (I need the exercise, and it usually only takes me 10 minutes longer to bike to work than to take the train.  But I'm generally running late or too lazy.)  It was nice seeing the city's giant Christmas tree in Daley plaza before sunrise without any people around.

Lessons learned:

1.  Don't drink cheap Belgian ale.  Spring for the good stuff.
2.  4PM is too late in the day to nap, no matter what your schedule.
3.  Alcohol + housework?  Sure, why not!  (Dedicated to DH.)
4.  Working too much?  Staying up late is the cure.  (Dedicated to LF.)



Tonight I'm on the midnight shift again, as my regularly scheduled 3rd shift co-worker again will be disappearing for mysterious reasons.  So anyone who can't sleep tonight can call me after 11:30PM.

 
This weekend I had a very special guest pug stay with me for the first time: Breeze.  It's her fault that I had to blow off some cool people this past Friday night.  Sorry guys!   :(

Breeze normally stays with Justyna because she (Breeze, not Justyna) is very anti-social.  She hates you, me, and pretty much everyone you know.  But being the good divorced pug dad I am I spoiled her rotten and we got along splendid.   She even sat on my lap and let me pet her while I drank whiskey.

Before leaving me tonight, Breeze asked me to relay this message to all of you:

Woof!  I hate you all.  Don't even try to pet me unless you are female and speak only in soothing tones, and then perhaps I'll let you touch my head for 5 minutes.  Give me food.  Why do all you people listen to Radiohead?  It's so boring!  Tell Josh never to play "Hello Computer" ever again.  Now get away from me.  Woof AROOOO!

Now it's just Sadie and I, relaxing together before I have to go to work in a few hours.  Yeah, that's right I'm working the midnight shift tonight.  But at least that gives me all day tomorrow to do what I like--which will probably involve all kinds of sleep.


Here's what I just had for dinner: omelet (with marinated peppers, artichokes, hareesa, and provolone cheese), doritos, and bottle of New Glarus (Unplugged) Enigma.  Ah, the life of a bachelor!



P.S.  None of photos from the housewarming party are suitable for publication in this blog, or anywhere.  I guess you had to be here.

 
The housewarming party was a big success.  Thanks for everyone who stopped by!

I don't have any pictures from the big party, yet.  But I felt like posting some kind of photos to my blog, so here are some random snapshots.






 



Here's one more marathon photo.

(Cue corny music)
I'll cherish the memories forever.















  new leather chair













  leaving my messy bedroom behind for an evening out













  Sadie relaxing in a basket of warm laundry...













  ...and with the morning newspaper.












Appologies to all my RBF friends reading this blog, but I still don't have any running-related news to report.  I've only run once since the Chicago Marathon, and Tecumseh is looming dangerously closer.  I'm so under-prepared that it's kinda funny.

At least I worked the midnight shift last night, so I'll have all day to procrastinate before I eventually get around to jogging over to the gym.  I don't have the best workout discipline, but it helps that my new gym is directly across the street from the Hopleaf.

--

P.S. I almost forgot to mention that I do have one bit of running news.

On Sunday evening, just as I was feeling depressed after the departure of my out of town guests, I got a phone call from none other than Running Jayhawk inviting me to join her team for next year's Great Midwestern Relay.  I'm flattered to be invited along, even though this team doesn't have a name yet.  The map makes this particular race look daunting at first glance, but unlike Tecumseh:

• it's a relay (so I wont have to run far)
  
• it's on pavement (so I wont get lost in the woods or shot at--probably)
  
• it's a long way's off (so I have time to procrastinate training)
  
• the finish line is 5 blocks from my apartment!
  
• there is almost certainly beer involved!
  

In fact, looking at my evolving calendar for the coming year, every race I've signed up for so far is going to involve alcohol--and that includes next year's Chicago Marathon.  Hmmm...  I guess it's good that my new gym is across from the Hopleaf.  Cross training!!!

 
I'm having a housewarming party Saturday night at 8PM.  To make sure I'm well rested, I turned my phone off and went to bed last night at 9PM.  (This was necessary since my body is accustomed to waking up at 4AM each morning.)

At 12:30AM I was awakened by the door buzzer.  It was my retarded friend, showing up for the party 19 1/2 hours early!  

It's been an hour and I still can't get back to sleep.  Damn it.

So, to my friend who shall remain nameless, I dedicate the following public service announcement:









Let that be a warning to the rest of you.

 
Yesterday was a great day to resume my marathon training.  Though I've allowed myself to fall miserably out of shape since the Chicago Marathon, I'm gung ho about getting in even deeper over my head this time.

Distance:  3 miles
Avg. Pace:  11:18/mile

Not bad for my first run since the Chicago Marathon two weeks ago, no?


Soon it will be time for the Tecumseh Trail Marathon!






My primary goal for Tecumseh on December 2 is to finish dead last.  My secondary goal is to not get shot by deer hunters.

I'll be running with Shea (faster time) and Kathleen (shorter distance) and Borris (my imaginary friend that only I can see).

 
I've been thinking since I got up this morning about how best to blog about yesterday's election.  So much to say.  So much to gloat.

One might think that I would be reserving my best "nyah, nyahs" for my humiliated republican friends.  But no, I can't bring myself to do that.  At least republicans (many of them, anyway) have principles they stick to, and I respect that.



The target of my wrath today is John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and all of you other "democrats" who stood behind Bush and allowed him to launch his stupid war.  This gloat is for you.

Come on, don't deny it.  Lots of you (I'm talking to the American electorate here) were originally for the war that has resulted in nearly 3000 American fatalities and anywhere from 70,000 - 900,000+ Iraqi civilian deaths (depending on whose statistics you believe**).  You believed Bush and Cheney and Rove and those other jerks when they lied and told you that Saddam had nukes and was partially responsible for September 11.

Come on now!  What were you people thinking?

Fortunately, judging from yesterday's results, you (the American electorate) have at least partially come to your senses and sent many of Bush's oil-loving, gay-bashing, women-hating bastardos on the run.

We have new democrats now who aren't as stupid as J. Kerry and H. Clinton.  Thank God.

Leading the charge is Nancy Pelosi, who is now poised to become the first ever female Speaker of the House!



So long, Dennis Hastert!  You can go home to Peoria now, duct tape your windows, and await further instructions!




--


Ah, that felt good to get off my chest.

By now all of my republican readers have stopped reading and have removed my blog from their sitefeeds.

And my runner readers are probably wondering why they still read my blog at all.  But for you, at least, I have news.

Starting tomorrow I will resume my marathon training.


My motivation is Dean Karnazes, who as some of you know just completed running 50 marathons in 50 days.  One of Dean's marathon days was at Tecumseh, where he ran the same course I'll be undertaking with Shea next month at The Tecumseh Trail Marathon.



Dean writes:

Hardcore. ... Along with the 3,500 feet of climbing, most of the course was on technical single-track trail, with numerous stream crossings, hordes of logs and branches to climb over and navigate around, deep pocket of mud, slippery rocks, and gnarled tree roots hiding silently under thick canopies of fallen leaves.

The switchbacks were difficult to follow, and if you looked up for a trail marker, it was easy to stumble and fall, which many people did, including yours truly (multiple times, in fact). A lot of the runners were cut and scratched from falling or getting snagged on the thorny bushes that we passed through. I’ve spent some time on the trails over the years, and this trail run was as challenging as any.

Shit.  I'm nowhere near ready!

So tomorrow I'll be hitting the road again.

(And keeping my mouth shut about politics for a while.)



** The higher figure of 900,000+ civilian Iraqi deaths comes from an exhaustive study by the British medical journal The Lancet.  Some critics have contended that the stastical methods employed in the article might have produced an exaggerated death toll.  Others have suggested that the actual death toll is even higher.  I dunno.