Things that break

I just busted my lawnmower halfway through my front yard. I've now managed to give my yard a mohawk. Yeah.

I managed to get through the back yard, for the first time this year. I think the thick grass did it in. Within minutes of getting around the front, the motor made a weird popping noise and cut out. When I touched the underside I got one hell of an electric shock. I'm fairly certain it's done.

So now I stop. I started this morning cleaning the kitchen in preparation for out-of-town company, who as it turns out is having car problems and doesn't want to risk the trip. I spent the afternoon, with my unexpectedly earned free time, playing a game. Now, I'm bogging with a mohawk yard. Isn't it funny that you can go days without writing only to begin the moment something frustrates you? I'm taking my frustrations out on the keyboard with my still-tingling fingers. At least for the remainder of the day I will have a constant reminder that I need to go borrow my neighbour's machine. But I've lost my mojo.

Now I don't even want to write - it kinda hurts.

Cheers.

What the hell was I thinking?

May has arrived. The month they announce the winners of the Olympic Torch Relay contest. I entered for a couple of reasons, one was the simple idea of carrying the Olympic torch. A rather prestigious honour. The other reason was my sheer physical condition. I'm ridiculously out of shape. The relay would be a great excuse to get off my lazy ass and do something again, not to mention a pretty good motivator to quitting smoking.

Last Saturday I started training. I started slowly, run a while, walk a while. The first two blocks weren't bad. I should've stopped there and called it a day. Holy shit did it hurt. I haven't run since the army days, and it showed. I picked up the pace again, trotting along in beat up tennis shoes and a hoody. Every step that hit the ground was a call to the couch. Every step hurt. My breathing was laboured and short. But I kept going. Half hour later I walked up to the porch and plopped into a chair. Exhausted.

It hurt like hell but it felt good to get the blood moving again. I need to do that every day, and every day go a little farther. That afternoon I felt good enough to punish myself some more, and heading out on the bike. I love riding, and on a warm summer day there is no better way to relax. But my legs wouldn't work. They didn't want to go, they just kept yelling at me as if to say why are you torturing us? Why don't you stop? ARE YOU STUPID?

I just kept going. It was a shorter ride than usual, the wind was pretty fierce and I didn't have it in me to keep pushing anymore. So I rode home, parked it, and flopped into the chair again. Done.

So I decided the grass should get it's first cut of the year.

Sunday was fun. As soon as I woke up I regretted it. The pain was intense. Muscles that hadn't been used in years were screaming at me to go back to bed. But the pain has a reason. Every journey begins with a single step. I kept going; I made it out of bed and down to the coffee maker. I sat on the porch with a coffee and a smoke, enjoying the fresh spring morning, admiring my neatly trimmed lawn (which truth be told the kids helped out alot with), and wondered WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING?

We wondered off to the church for Kim's pasta lunch fundraiser, which we were all helping with in various ways. Several hours and several plates of penne later, we walked home, where I again resumed my post on the porch. I pondered going again for another punishment session, or my bike, but imagined myself collapsed on a sidewalk somewhere. That's enough for one weekend. Time to relax.

I have to keep going. My fear now is that I actually win. That I actually get to carry the torch. At that point it won't be a pipe dream, it will be reality and the training will really begin. It's not a long distance by any means, I don't know yet how far the run is, but with 12,000 runners, I don't imagine it's too far. Certainly it will be more than I'm ready for now. On top of that, it comes through Windsor on December 23. Mid-winter. Yeah.

I hope I do win, It's the motivation I need to turn around years of bad habits and laziness. I hope I can set an example for my kids. Better yet, I hope my kids run with me.

Cheers.

Worst week

This week was the worst I've had in years. Too much at work. Enough said. I have no intention of going into details here. Suffice it to say I am taking sorely needed vacation time next week. I need to recharge. It's finally Saturday and the sun is shining, I will get some stuff done around the house today, and maybe play a bit. Just recharge.

See ya.

Things I wanted to blog about if I hadn't been sleeping standing up at any given time in the past week.

This past week has been nuts. We've finally moved into our new office, so therefore my free time has been spent sleeping. Laying down, standing up, while driving, wherever. Blogging hasn't exactly been first on my mind. So here's what I ignored this week, intentionally or not.

1. 15th anniversary.

This week Kim and I celebrated 15 years of wedded bliss. You didn't miss much, I was at work. Kim did a nice post about it, short, but well written and full of meaning. I can't outdo what she wrote, so I simply direct you there and say ditto.

2. Kid heading off to Muskoka Woods

13 year old is off to Muskoka for his grade 8 year end trip. 4 days with 500 students at a resort built just for kids. Nice. My grade 8 trip was to Peche Island in the middle of the Detroit river for 2 days. Yippee. The only thing that made that trip worthwhile was the rumours of it being haunted by the ghost of Hiram Walker, who had a house on the island over 100 years ago. Kid's bus left at 5:30 this morning, or as we used to call it, 0:dark early. Sheesh.

3. Taliban resurgence.

The Taliban is moving into Bulan Province in Pakistan, only 60 miles from the capital. Why the hell can't these idiots be stopped? Why did the weak government in Pakistan make a deal with these obviously dangerous morons to control Swat Province? Why should we worry? BECAUSE PAKISTAN HAS NUKES. Worst case scenerio - The Taliban holds one of their now famous show trials in which people are convicted of showing a toe or listening to music and have their heads neatly removed and handed to a relative, (along with the bill for the work). Except it's Isreal, or Jordan, or some other secular middle eastern country. Boom. Think about it. The resurgence of the Taliban is the biggest threat to world peace since Hitler.

4. Kim's fundraising efforts

Kim is raising money for her trip to the Odyssey of the Mind finals in Iowa this May. Today she is working a car wash BBQ, while planning a pasta dinner. They spent yesterday canvassing businesses for support, and managed to grovel up some nice donations. More is needed. Please visit Kim and donate all your hard-earned money.

5. Windsor on strike

Right now in our fair city the following organizations are on strike;

Veteran Cab - the largest taxi company around; the issue is the company wanting to jack up lease fees to cover their shrinking bottom line. Problem - the drivers also have a shrinking bottom line, this demand would create slave labour. 320 out.

City of Windsor Outside workers - Garbage men, parks and rec, maintenance, et al. Demands are pension related. 400 out, and the city now stinks, but parking tickets are optional.

City of Windsor Inside workers - licensing, social services, day cares, engineering, et al. Demands are again, pension related. 1400 out.

Red Cross? Yeah, I was surprised to. I didn't read the story, so hey, my research sucks this morning, give me a break, it's early and I can't read yet.

6. The big Three

So the city is essentially shutting down. Add to that the contract negotiations between Chrysler and the CAW regarding concessions needed in order to achieve a deal to save the company, from the federal and provincial governments. Fiat is in there somewhere, standing in the wings to 'rescue' the ailing company. But this rescue won't be any more than a transfer of technology to help Chrysler build smaller, more fuel efficient cars. Funny, you'd think corporate espionage would have handled that issue a long time ago. If that's all Fiat is bringing to the table, why bother? If Chrysler really wanted to build smaller more efficient cars they would have already done it by now. The fact is the corporate management has never removed their collective heads from inside their collective asses to realize that building massive guzzlers is a bad idea. Want to fix the car companies? Fire everyone making six figures and replace them all with soccer moms. Chrysler minivans are built here in Windsor and the assembly plant employs around 5,000. Spinoff from that line is in the thousands of manufacturing jobs around the province, most of them here in Essex County. I don't care what Chrysler and Fiat agree to. I don't care if they build toasters, just as long as someone comes to some agreement that saves thousands from losing their homes and this city becoming even more of a ghost town than it already is. Whether or not you agree with unions, we need those jobs. Shut the fuck up, cut the budgets, make agreements, and keep this city working.

7. Crappy TV

Why do I bother paying for cable? I have over 180 channels, 50 of which are playing CSI or NCIS at any given time of the day. 50 more are only broadcasting reality TV shows which stink. Another 20 are news channels which are completely depressing, and a few are sports channels that play obscure crap only people lacking in teeth and brain cells would watch. The TV has been taken over the youngest, I'm now listening to Hannah Montana in the background. All day, every day. Shut the damn thing off already.

8. The weather.

Spring has finally hit. I'll end this tirade on a bright note. I sat on the porch this morning with my coffee and a smoke, reading the paper, as the sun came up. Birds were singing, no cars were running, all was right with the world. I actually smiled when I realized I was out of cat food (as Stanley was biting my leg), I had to walk to the store. A wonderful 15 minutes of peace, warm spring breezes, and peaceful contemplation. I hope it lasts. Today should be around 30 degrees. Nice and hot for Kim's car wash, they couldn't wish for a better day. Too bad I have to work today, my bike would be out already.

So there, I've caught up on the week. Hope you've enjoyed sharing my little grey cloud, it's been therapeutic for me. Now I don't have blogger guilt.

Have a wonderful day.

Sunday Stuff

It's a wonderful Sunday, short of the cold rain. Started off with the Shanghai Grand Prix - in the rain. Played a game, did some dishes, attended a friend's daughter's birthday party, and had a wonderful dinner lovingly prepared by Kim. Being that I'm at the end of my posteable items, here's a blast from the past. I completely forgot about this guy until a couple of weeks ago, now I can' get enough of him. I grew up watching him. Too bad he's left us a few years back, the world needs more comedians like him. I've linked one of his best sketches, but he's brilliant at simply sitting in front of an audience telling jokes. Enjoy.

Cheers.