Day 31 2010

Blogging 31 days in a row? That might be a record of sorts. I might have to breakout my blogger sweatshirt in celebration.

I was up early this morning and finished watching Densha Otoko (Train Man), a Japanese romantic comedy. It was a pleasant film about a hopeless nerd who has a chance encounter with a beautiful young lady on a train and then needs the help of strangers on the Internet to help woo her.

I got a huge gas bill the other day due to sub-freezing temperatures, a poorly insulated house, and turning the thermostat up for a guest. Since then I turned the thermostat to it's lowest possible setting and every now and then go by and tap the lever to see if I can nudge it a little more to the left. As a result, the house can be quite nippy at times. But I have discovered the secret. Layers, lots and lots of layers. If you have enough layers, you are can be quite comfortable even in the coolest house. The long underwear is in the wash at the moment, but normally that would be the base layer. Instead I just have a white T-shirt followed by a long sleeve cotton shirt, a grey ringer shirt, a long sleeve cotton sweater, a fleece vest, and a cotton sweatshirt. A knit cap keeps the head and ears warm. About the only part of me that is cold at the moment is my fingers.

Around 2pm I spent over an hour cleaning the bathroom this afternoon. I went in to give it a touch up and then realized that far more than a just a touch up was in order. I am embarrassed to say I don't think I had given it a deep cleaning since moving in. Well, it's been deep cleaned now. It smells clean and fresh in there. Pretty much every surface, every little nook, cranny, wall tile, and floor tile is clean enough to eat off of.

Around 4pm I headed over to my parents for dinner. Mom's are the best. I was fed much better than necessary and treated like a prince. (Mashed potatoes, eye of round roast, a nice salad, coffee, cake, and ice cream)

Finally home and have fed the cat. Now catching up on my social networks and trying to decide what form of entertainment I want to fall asleep to tonight.

Day 30 2010

Saturday. A friend bought me breakfast at Ikea and then we went shopping. I made it out of with just a couple of night-lights and spending less than $10. Which is good because I had my eye on some blinds, under-cabinet lighting, sheets, bookcases, and kitchen accessories. Was a nice way to spend the morning. On the way home I stopped at Publix and bought some groceries to get started on the weekend and possibly the week. I spent the day doing laundry, puttering around the house, and watching an episode of House and an episode of The Deep End.

The adventure for the day was when I realized that the vent duct for the dryer had come loose and the hot moist air was just spilling into my dinning room. The first clue was all the condensation on my dinning room windows. The tricky part was I cannot actually see the back of my stacked washer/dryer unit. It's a single unit and slides back into a dedicated closet. So I got out my digital camera and reached around trying to get a clear image of what was going on back there. Sure enough the vent duct had indeed come off. I pulled the washer/dryer out as much as I could with the power and water lines still attached, got down on the floor, and wiggled my way behind it. It turns out that the installers hadn't actually secured the duct to the washer/dryer with anything so it was hardly surprising that it had fallen down. With no real way to secure it, I got down on the floor and wiggled my way back out of the closet. I rummaged through the kitchen benches and found of all things a  replacement flexible dryer vent duct of the needed length. I have no idea when I got this duct, how long I have had it, what it was doing in my bench, or why if I have had it unused for years, I had not given it to goodwill or something. Regardless it was just what was needed. I wiggle back into the closet again, replaced the existing duct, wiggled back out again, and presto... I had a properly ducted washer/dryer.

view from the bus stop going to work Friday morning

Day 29 2010

I've had a cold since late Sunday night, today is the first day I could wake up and really say, I am feeling a lot better. Something is wrong in the universe, you never get over a cold right before the weekend! Another small kindness the universe gave me today was randomly bumping into someone from work at McDonald's and having them spontaneously pay for my breakfast. Don't know why, but it started the day on a nice note.

Went with Donald at lunch to run diapers to his son's daycare. Almost didn't make it back to the office in time for a pretty heavy one pm meeting. Immediately after the meeting I had a class to do so the afternoon flew by. I was a little late getting home, where I had some dinner, left over spaghetti, watched some Mad Men, and what else is new, fell asleep on the couch.

Day 28 2010

Successes:

• Took MARTA again.
• Finally made some progress on a work project.
• Ate an awesomely healthy baby spinach avocado feta cheese black olive chicken breast salad for dinner.

Watched an episode of Mad Men on DVD from Netflix. Watched most of Bones, but feel asleep during the last ten minutes. I know this because at the last commercial break I looked at my watch, saw it was ten till nine and thought, hey, I am going to make it to the end of the show without falling asleep tonight! Famous last words. Next thing I know I am trying to figure out why the characters from Fringe have invaded the final few minutes of Bones.

Day 27 2010

I drove into work today to have coffee and to give myself a mid-week break on public transit. I actually might be feeling a little bit better cold-wise. I am more congested, but feel less muddleheaded. Donald and I walked over to Schlotzsky's for lunch. I haven't eaten there for awhile. I did eat a little healthier dinner than normal, cooking myself a hot breakfast of scrambled eggs and blueberry pancakes. I watched an episode of Serenity I hadn't seen before, the latest episode of Castle, and went to bed early.

Day 26 2010

I did buy a monthly transit pass yesterday good for 30 days, dropping $60 at sort of commits me to the entire MARTA experiment for at least a month. It should also drive up my savings if I take it faithfully. $28 savings over the daily rate if I take it every day. $12 if I cheat and drive once a week.

I hate the muddle headed feeling that I get when I have a head cold. It almost feels like I cannot think straight. I came home after work, made some dinner, laid on the couch and watched the end of The Tournament. I watched the first half of NCIS then suddenly I was watching the first few minutes of NCIS LA. Fell asleep watching TV again. Must have needed the rest.                

Day 25 2010

I began the day after a really good night's sleep, with a cold. No, no, no! I don't have the time and energy to be sick! My first stop was the kitchen for some Emergen-C and Alka-Seltzer Cold. Next stop Starbucks Italian Roast and a Kashi rollup for breakfast that I quickly regretted. Starting Monday a little under the weather isn't helping my enthusiasm for the beginning of the work week.

The cold really hasn't been getting better as I have gone through the day. I did go out and get a huge bowl of hot ramen soup from the Tin Drum for lunch. Was exhausted when I got home. Killed a bit of time in front of the television watching The Tournament, your standard every seven years all the best assassins get together and have a dual to the death to see who is best. Not something I would have trouble following the plot of even with the worst of head colds. Fell asleep on the couch before eight, woke up long enough to drag myself to bed and the warmth of a down comforter.

Day 24 2010

It was a rainy drizzly Sunday. After meeting with friends for coffee, I did my grocery shopping at Trader Joe's and picked up a couple of things from Kroger. I watched part of Moon which was better than I thought it would be. I am usually wary of movies with very small casts. In the afternoon I went with V to a pet memorial service put on by Paws Whiskers and Wags for their clients. V's dog Daisy died very suddenly and unexpectedly a few months ago. I wasn't my first choice about how to spend a  lazy Sunday afternoon, but I am glad I went.

On the way back from the memorial it came a gullywasher, I almost could not see well enough to drive, but I did make it home okay. About that time I realized I had a cold coming on. The back of my throat was started to get all scratchy and my nose was starting to run. I don't have time to be sick. I really don't. The rest of the day was spent finishing up laundry, making chili, and curling up on the couch watching football. I really kind of failed on the watching football part. Between games, I finished watching Moon which I give a thumbs up rating, not the greatest movie, but interesting.) The late game, which I had intended to focus on, ended up putting me to sleep. The scores kept changing without any plays being run. Or one team would be driving and suddenly the other team would have the ball for some inexplicable reason. Finally I just gave up and took my sick self to bed where I slept like a rock. Evidently I was exhausted.

Day 23 2010

I had breakfast with friends at the Corner Bakery, then drove to Lawrenceville for Dean's funeral. It was moving and interesting in the sense that I had never seen a memorial service with a masonic element. Dean was a great guy and very generous with his time and energy. He helped me move my wife out of our apartment and he helped me move me into my new house. He was profoundly generous with his time and I cannot begin to say how much that meant to me. I had a hard time asking for help or even believing that people would help.

I spent the afternoon talking to a friend. Later I spent a quiet evening by myself, heated up a Trader Joe's Turkey Pot Pie, and watched Big Fan, a very interesting movie.

Day 22 2010

Friday. I took pubic transit to work which made 3 times this week. That translates to saving over 120 miles of driving which saved $14 in fuel alone. The total cost of those rides $12. So for the week I am up a couple of bucks of actually cash in my wallet before you even start on wear and tear on the car. I drive a 4 cylinder 95 Honda Accord given to me by my parents. I live in perpetual fear that it is going to need major repairs, especially since I have been learning to take better care of it as I go along. I can be such an idiot sometimes.

I took my lunch early and walked about a mile down the road to get my Starbucks on before returning to start teaching a class at noon. It was a nice day for a walk, although I didn't have time to sit and enjoy my latte and it was consumed long before I made it back to work. I should probably be grateful that Starbucks is a slightly inconvenient walk away from the office. At any given point in time, it's good for my waistline or it's good for my budget.

My friend Dean's memorial service is tomorrow and it was one of those days where people kept mentioning his name, I kept thinking of questions I would have asked him, my weekly Friday meeting with him popping up its reminder on my calendar. Not quite ready to delete it, but is it seems like bad juju to to have an outstanding weekly appointment with a dead guy. No good could come from keeping it.

Day 21 2010

Well, I got up and fixed myself and that's a start, for the record, eggs and toast. Took mass transit to work and did not get rained on. Work was okay, fairly productive in the morning, got some McDonald's for lunch, got to teach a class in the afternoon, and made it home without getting rained on.Not the most productive of evenings.  Didn't do so great with eating a reasonable dinner. Watched some of the movie Trucker on DVD, switched over to the networks to watch Bones...I am pretty sure I drifted off a couple times during the show, and went to bed soon after.

Day 20 2010

I awoke to the news that a good friend is a dad again as of 12:02a. Happy Birthday Brendan Martin Williams!

I woke up early and drove in today, so I actually had time have a cup of coffee and think for a few minutes this morning. Time is such a sweet luxury. Seems like I have not had any in 2010. So much on my to do lists, I try to look at that as a good thing, it means that I am alive and living.

I made myself breakfast this morning, a avocado chicken breast wrap, took the car into work, remembered to take a lunch break... even if it was quite late and I fed myself the highly nutritionally suspect McDonald's McDouble 390 cal (19 fat /33 carb / 22 protein) and a tasty if also nutritionally suspect Starbuck's Triple Vanilla Non-Fat Extra Hot Latte 200 cal (0 f/7 c/ 12 p). For dinner I had another wrap and a can of Trader Joe's Chili 460 cal (6 f /66 c /36 p).

I had a such a late lunch because I was teaching a class from noon till three on new products. I cannot believe how much I love to teach. It's funny how I get better and better and doing the classes the more times I repeat it. Sometimes I think I am going to be board to tears, but somehow its a lot more interesting teaching the class than it is sitting in it.

The air was off at work so I tried to come home to get some stuff done, but it just didn't happen. I watched an episode of Castle, and an episode of 24 (and I am still 2 episodes behind). It's just a little after nine and my eyes are feeling heavy.

Dean's funeral is Saturday morning. The weather was awesome today, but I took the car for the second time this week, which means I need to take the bus for the next couple of days. The forecast of course is for rain.

Day 19 2010

I got to work this morning and found out that a friend and close coworker had committed suicide the night before. It was like being splashed in the face with a bucket of ice water. I knew he was facing some challenges, but I had no idea that he had become so troubled that he would even consider something like this.

Dean was a good guy. He helped me become better at my job, he helped me move my wife out, he helped me move, and he would always lend an ear when I was stressing out about something.

Robert B Parker died yesterday as well. He was actually one of two authors that my ex-wife introduced me to when we first met and we had a shared a love of. (The other author being John D. McDonald). Parker wrote the Spencer series and other works, including some first rate westerns. Parker's death seems like another turning of the page as my life moves on to another chapter. There have been so many of these moments since the day I realized that I wanted to end my marriage it's seems silly, but I guess a marriage that write over 19 years isn't something that you close the chapter on in just a couple of pages or even a couple of chapters. People say it takes time, I hate it when people are right.

Day 18 2010

It was a long day at work. Didn't take transit because it was running a weekend schedule because of the MLK holiday. Got there at 6:30AM but didn't leave until 5PM. Traffic wasn't bad on the way home. When I got home, I tried to relax and take care of myself. I took time to actually cook myself some dinner, scrambled eggs and pancakes, and caught up on a few television shows that I have missed lately: Private Practice, Castle, and an episode of 24. I felt a bit better until I let myself get all wound up again and made the mistake of checking my work email.

I need to make an effort to get some positive healthy routines going. I've had a perfect storm of stressors lately and it's been getting to me.

Day 17 2010

Finally it is Sunday. Had coffee and breakfast with friends, but was feeling out of sorts and disconnected. I went grocery shopping at Trader Joe's, but had not made a menu plan for the week before going. So I don't know how well spent my grocery money was. I guess the rest of the week will tell the tale. I spent most of the day trying to get some work done to give me a head start on Monday and to catch up on some chores around the house. Honestly I felt a little cheated out of my weekend, like I didn't really have a chance to decompress and recharge my batteries. I felt like I was coming down with a cold so I was drinking Emergen-C every chance I got and popped down to the store for Alka-Seltzer Cold. It was a bit of a frustrating day. I watched bits and pieces of the playoff football games. I even tried taking a nap at one point, which might have helped a bit. I did make one good decision yesterday, I didn't stay up and watch the season premier of 24. I went to bed early instead. Based on how I am feeling this morning, that was a really good decision.

Day 16 2010

What is it about early mornings and coffee that is such a time devourer? I sat down to have my coffee, glance at the interwebs, and to try to come up with something add to the conversation. And then suddenly it's time to finish that cup of coffee, hit the shower, and launch myself into the day.

View To Greenville in a larger map
I drove my guest back to North Carolina today, two and a half hours each way. We left close to 3PM and I got home about 8:45. The drive up wasn't too bad, but the drive back in the dark and rain was a pain. I should have insisted on an earlier time. The pain was somewhat eliminated by stopping at the Commerce Starbucks both on the way there and on the way back. Of course the downside of running on Latte Power was feeling a little jittery and out of sorts after the drive was over, I was safe at home, and trying to wind down watching the Colts dissect the Ravens 20-3.

Day 15 2010

It's Friday which seemed to take its sweet time getting here this week. Work has been extra challenging this week and a couple of days away from it will spell sweet relief.

I didn't take the bus as I had planned on Thursday, I had to wear a sport coat to work and that was not compatible with the 21 degree temperature. But I made up for it on Friday.

It occurs to me it costs $4 to take MARTA to work. My commute is 40 miles round-trip. Using AAA's average cost per mile of 54 cents to drive a car, plus a dollar in tolls, the cost of driving is $22.60. So each time I take public transit I am saving $18.60.

So this hip single-speed bike I think would be really cool to commute on... if I put $18.60 in an envelope every time I take the bus... I could pay for that $800 bike by April 30th with zero impact to my budget. I need to look to see if my actual costs of owning a paid off 95 Honda Accord are anywhere near that AAA figure, but still it is an intriguing thought.

Before bed I watched an episode of Serenity as I work my way through the DVDs. It's funny how I have very little recollection of most of the episodes even though I really loved the series.

Day 14 2010

The sheer number of things that I need to be saving for is depressing, and I have a couple of debts that I am working on eliminating.

Debt:

• Eye Surgery ($500)
• Student Loans ($1,487)
• Mortgage

Things I need to be saving for:

• Home repairs: Furnace, AC, & roof
• Auto: Maintenance, unexpected repairs, and the next car
• Replace computer
• New Bike
• Rainy Day/Sunny Day Fund

Day 13 2010

I was nice to be able to drive into work for a change, but in a way I missed taking the bus. I have enjoyed  putting on the headphones and listening to Stephen King for a couple of hours to distract me from the real world. I have enjoyed watching all the different types of people you get to see when you ride transit through the city. I often wonder what their stories are, where they are going, what they are thinking, and what their lives are like. I could swear that this morning a pretty girl even flashed me a small from the other platform across the tracks. Riding public transit and walking definitely gives me a completely different feel for my environment. It makes me feel more connected with reality. Sealing myself alone into a metal box for hours at a time is a little too much like going off into my own head, it's easy to get lost in there. I think I will be taking public transport tomorrow just because.