My two priorities are getting a better job and improving my health. Â As they are priorities, I’m actively working on them and they win when they get in fights with other tasks. Â I go into work late and stay late if I have a late night running and social events lose to work functions that may allow me to advance myself. Â Part of the “better job” priority has been catching up on actuarial math and preparing to re-take exam P/1. Â My calculus muscles were very out of shape when I started and I cursed myself for not remember if it was the integral or derivative of f'(x)/f(x) which equaled the ln(f(x)) but after a bit the work grew on me. Â I was again dealing with things where I was unambiguously wrong. Â Data at work can be misinterpreted, interactions with people are indecisive but with sample test questions I had the opportunity to do something I had missed, being simply and irrefutably wrong. Â In that I find freedom.
Author: Terry
First 10-Miles
Today is the Superbowl and somehow that inspired me to run 10 miles. Â I set the treadmill to 5.3 MPH which is pretty well the slowest speed that I still consider jogging and set off. Â The first hour was unremarkable and passed by watching an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and then by watching short videos on tips and tricks in multivariate calculus. Â I was still moving at a fair clip until about mile 8 when I ran out of videos and started listening to music. Â At mile 9.64 I had a side stitch and, refusing to stop, did a will-powered turbo-hop for the last 1/3rd of a mile. Â My knees felt weak and I looked somewhat drunk while walking even after showering. Â My housemate was having a Superbowl party with two score dishes so I decided to celebrate my victory with…. a Caesar salad.
Back in the Saddle
Klondike Derbies are a Scout event that reward scale and planning. Â These outdoor skills competitions require boys to work together at the basic unit of the sled (3-8 youth) and each sled contributes an adult to run an event or station for the day. Â The program is self-scaling so if 30 sleds register you have 30 stations as long as the planners have enough activities planned and with appropriate equipment. Â This year, a troop asked me to run a station as most of their adults were busy and I dusted off the atlatls for the first time in three years. Â I arrived early, set up a range, and met the leader that would take over for me around lunch when I had to leave. Â I enjoyed getting back into running actual Scout program as each sled would have one or two boys old enough to remember me from my halcyon days as Grandmaster of Program for Playwicki District and the forest rang with someone shouting “TERRY!” every ten minutes or so.
Even though I now weight lift, I no longer have the sheer momentum I used to and my atlatl darts didn’t travel quite as far. Â In one or two cases, a kid would out distance me and be hailed as champion by his peers. Â I smiled.
On the way out, someone mentioned that another leader had said the guy running the atlatl station was a bad influence on kids because he was wearing shorts on such a cold day and that the guy who used to run the Klondike Derby did that but wasn’t around anymore. Â I smiled again.
Drinks, Discs, and Dinner
Todd, Joe, Dylan, and I are getting together tonight for dinner at Christine’s in Yardley and for some reason I thought I should get my oil changed. Â I stopped by STS, was told it’d be about an hour before they could service my vehicle so I walked to the Neshaminy Mall to get lunch. Â On the way there, laying on a ledge by Wal-Mart was this:
IMG_0495.jpg
It’s not every day you walk by the solid gold hits of the 70s.
I was feeling pretty jazzed about this as a reward for walking instead of driving but this was balanced out by someone throwing a Slurpee, a frozen drink sold at local convenience stores, at me on the walk back to STS. Â I wasn’t hit but I did get considerable splash on me and looked forward to having to pre-rinse out the orange food coloring. Â There was the off chance that the driver could have simply not known I was there and was planning on throwing his gauche symbol of consumerism across a lane of traffic anyway but I think he was gunning for me. Â I was miffed, had my knife in my pocket, and his car was stopped less than 100 feet in front of me at a traffic light. Â I declined slashing his tires but would like to think I would have if his F 150 were equipped with TruckNutz.
Back at STS, my oil had been changed and rims repaired, and I drove home with a noticeably smoother ride and smelling of citrus extract. Â Dinner was excellent and the company equally so. Â I hope the boorish knuckledragger who deigned to turn his philistine potation into projectile had a nice even of fighting with his baby mama over who’d get to watch their stories. Â Lackwit.
Future Uncle
My brother and sister-in-law took my father, mother, and me out to dinner and revealed that they were expecting. Â Their child is due in August meaning my sister-in-law has been with child for a few months and my parents and I took to learning this differently:
Mom: I thought you had a bit of a glow about you.
Dad: I knew something was up when you said you’d stopped drinking.
Me: I noticed no changes in you that suggested that you were pregnant.
Sister-in-Law: Thank you, Terry.
Affecting the Senses
My body has changed over the last 18 months. Â I’ve shrunk, but legion other changes have happened as well, for instance:
- For a brief period of time sweat from some parts of me had a vague peach scent
- The distribution of hair on my chest has changed such there is a much more distinct center line
- I get acne on the back of my neck due to pore blockage from sweat if I don’t stay mindful of it
- It takes longer to shave as my face is less round and uniform
There are other ones as well that I can’t mention in mixed company but today I noted a disturbing trend, when I pass wind it sounds like someone choking a duck. Â No longer do I thunderous flatus with the full-bodied timber reminiscent of a Viking. Â Now it is a shadow of former self, all destroyed by months of doing seemingly innocuous glut lifts.
Man Chopping
Running and weight-lifting have gotten somewhat dull so when a new exercise form presents itself around the house I’ve been quick to take to it. Â Today’s was chopping wood and I was excited enough to do it that I didn’t bother changing after coming home from work before starting. Â The wood was poplar which cuts poorly and burns worse but that didn’t matter. Â I was holding an ax. Â The wood was wet and some rounds were almost spongy but that didn’t matter. Â I was holding an ax. Â After about an hour of working this terrible lumber my cloths, skin, and hair were covered in wood bits but that didn’t matter. Â I was holding an ax.
I ran out of wood to chop and went inside to change and caught myself in the mirror covered in tree bits, wearing a baby blue pointed collared shirt, slacks and sunglasses, and listening to Nabakov’s Pale Fire over Bluetooth headphones.  Sometimes I’m just a bad ass.  Next time I may add war paint.
Phoning It In
It was Monday. Â Monday means bringing in a baked good to work. Â I had no already baked baked goods and while some days I’d prepare something before going to work today was not one of those days. Â I had a large box of Cheez-Its left over from my winter party and I brought those in. Â No one complained.
Dog Walking
My only prior experience with dog walking involved either watching a friend take a small dog out to poop or walking a larger dog that would drag its walker to their doom. Â Mike has dogs, Mike doesn’t mind walking, so why not walk Mike’s dog with Mike?
His first dog seemed to find being walked somewhat novel. Â The dog would go 10-15 feet at a reasonable pace and then stop for a second, drink in the sights and then move on again. Â This averaged out to a little over 2 MPH which is… slow. Â The dog did not enjoy walking along side roads being transited by actual cars so Mike and I returned to his place and replaced dog #1 with dog #2. Â Dog telepathy kicked in and dog #2 simply sat defiantly in the yard. Â Gandhi must have screwed up secretly in his last go around on the karmic wheel because he has been reincarnated in dog form as an exemplar of non-violent resistance.
Cousins Unite
My cousin’s wife decided to host a get together of the Robinson cousins and my brother, sister-in-law and I traveled to King of Prussia to meet everyone. Â I’ve never much enjoyed family functions but this one went well. Â Cousin is close enough that you can lean on family as a connector but it doesn’t become a straight jacket. Â Before departing and after a good amount of drinking we took a group shot where most of the ladies wore funny hats.
Me: That’s interesting. I have a tiny hat in my car.
Cousin #1: That’s beautiful. Â You should wear your tiny hat.
Cousin #2: Go get your tiny hat.
Brother: You’re not wearing a god damn tiny hat in a family photo.
Cousin #1: If he wants to wear a tiny hat he can wear a tiny hat.
Cousin #2: What’s your problem with your brother’s tiny hat? Â It’s probably a lovely tiny hat.
Brother: Could everyone please stop saying tiny hat and someone take a picture?
Cousin #3: Everyone say… ‘tiny hat’ and smile.
Group: Tiny hat!
Brother: I hate all of you.
There are times when I love my family.