I have nothing to report due to Dice being gone, and also the fact that I’ve been feeling very bad the past couple days.  I don’t know why, but it’s happening.  Please look forward to blooming good health for me in the near future.

In the meantime, please read this interesting article about how bottled water is A. usually just municipal tap water; and 2. devastating to the environment.  99% of people would do better to buy a new Nalgene (not old) bottle and refill it from the tap, or filter.  It’s cheaper and exactly the same water.  Yeah, buy a bottle when you are on the go, or otherwise in the middle of the desert.  But otherwise, don’t fool yourself.  I myself have a filtered pitcher at home, and at work I refill a water bottle from the tap.  When it gets dirty, I clean it.

Whose denizens can turn upon the world
With spitting tongue, an odor, talon, claw,
To sting or soil benevolence, alien
As our clumsy traps, our random scatter of shot.
She swept to the kitchen. Turning on the tap,
She washed and washed the pity from her hands.

Carolyn Kizer (b. 1925), U.S. poet. “The Intruder” (l. 25–30).

June Challenge: 86.60/13.40 miles

Helloooooo!  Fantastic weekend all around, although not much went on in the way of activities.  Friday night Dice and I stayed home and re-heated frozen lasagna that I made last weekend.  Which of course was dee-lishus because lasgana is always better after it sits.  Saturday morning Ray and I did a pretty easy 5-ish mile loop around Grant Park and back.  During the day I cleaned the house and watched several episodes of The Wire.  And in the evening the Handitards went to Osteria 832 in celebration of Ray’s day of birth, which was technically Sunday but since Sunday is a school night we celebrated on Saturday.  When we got home we took the giant Kroger cake I had gotten and champagne and went over to the Canadians’ house where K&M and T&R were also in attendance.  A very good evening, especially since the Canadians got a new puppy on Saturday afternoon, a beautiful (and large) German Shepherd named Jack.  Hello, Jack!

Sunday was very much a day of rest.  We went to our F1 race at Hudson Grill in the early afternoon.  The race was pretty good, not too exciting, and lunch was only okay.  Later in the evening the other half of the Handitards came over and we had more cake and more celebration of Ray’s birth, lo those many years ago.

I finished my 30-mile week on Saturday with an extra couple of miles, which is a good thing because I realized today that I’m leaving for LA Friday night, which effectively means that I will have to end my June challenge on Friday, 27 June instead of Saturday, 28 June.  Because I sincerely doubt that the Super 8 will have a fitness room.  One full day’s running lost.  But, I’m not worried.  I can do it.

Dice has already gone off to LA, which means I’m single this week.  I actually have several things planned that’ll keep me busy.  Not that I need to be kept busy, one of the best things about having Dice gone is having precious alone time.  Among other things, dinner at Fritti with the female half of the Canadians and Sandra, which is long overdue.  Plus packing and other things incidental to travel.

June Challenge: 76.60/23.40 miles.

This morning I upgraded to Firefox 3.  It’s trippy, yo.  In a good way.  It actually takes everything I like about IE and nothing I don’t like.  It’s more clear and has some other visual and non-visual improvements.  If you are a Firefox user, I recommend it.

The good news is, nothing has happened in the last 24 hours that will either cost me money or ruin my life.  Yay! This is a step in the right direction.  Of course, now that I say that something very bad will happen.  Right now I am thinking a lot about my great aunt Dotty who’s traveling in Luxembourg this week as part of the 60th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge.  She’s spunky, but she’s also 90.  Watch me cross my fingers and think positive thoughts for her safe return.

My June challenge is going well, despite a slight derailment surrounding my birthday.  I stall ran every day, but on a couple days there it was only 2 or 3 miles.  This week was scheduled to be a 30-mile week and I’m still on track for that.  My inner competitiveness is really irritated at myself, though, because usually I like to be ahead of the schedule, by a significant distance.  As it is, I’ll finish this week with just 75 miles and will do the final 25 next week.  Again, this is how I scheduled it.  Dammit!

What’s happening this weekend?  Some stuff.  Sunday is Ray’s birthday so we’re going out to eat on Saturday night in celebration, with cake and champers afterwards.  Sunday is also an F1 race, airing at a decent hour, so I’ll go to that before doing whatever Ray decides she wants to do.  To prepare for all the festivities Dice and I are staying home tonight to eat lasagna and watch The Wire.  Big surprise, eh?  Yay for birthdays every weekend!

Have a nice weekend!

June Challenge: 66.20/33.80 miles.

Yesterday I got stuck at home due to a visit from the plumber. What I thought would be a 2-hour visit in the morning turned into a 5-hour fiasco that lasted most of the day and prohibited me from going to work. I worked from home, naturally. I don’t actually get a day off unless, well, unless I take a vacation day, which is rare given my travel requirements. The bad news is our plumbing is shot and the entire system needs to be replaced. And the other bad news is, if we don’t choose the more expensive method of replacing the pipes that connect our house to the sewer line under the street, we would also have to remove the large tree in our front yard. This means we’re screwed either way. It also means we’re not going to do anything right away. For now, it works. Not for long, but at least for now.

In other news, Dice washed his cell phone on Monday. No, he didn’t lovingly swab it with a slightly moistened towel. He left it in his jeans pocket and put the jeans in the washer. When it came out, it was dead as a doornail. It’s time for a new cell phone for both of us anyway, so this morning I ordered us both new ones. Because we ARE that cool. We actually got lower end Blackberries, so we aren’t being too extravagant. It’ll be nice to be able to check my email on the go.

That’s all I got for now.  It’s Thursday!

June Challenge: 62.10/37.90 miles.

The nicest thing about my birthday yesterday was the thought that so many same-sex couples will also have it as their wedding anniversary due to the California repeal of the ban against same-sex marriage. Although I understand the big crush will happen today. Still, it’s a day that will be remembered by people who love each other. And anti-gay bigots. Also, I would like to point out that Massachusetts is way ahead of the curve. As USUAL.

I never got around to talking about Top Chef yesterday. I was SO WORRIED that Greasa would win after one of the judges (Gail) fawned all over her dishes. Richard totally choked, which happens sometimes and you just have to forgive him for it. Stephanie won, thank goodness! She certainly deserved it, and I’m very glad for her. My fears about Greasa were well-founded, though, because it illustrated a fundamental flaw in the manner in which they judge the competition. Afterwards I read somewhere that at every judge’s table they tried to judge every meal on its own merits. Excuse me? I’m sorry, but if that’s the case, why bother having a top chef? Just bring in 12 new people every week and judge their food randomly, it’s practically the same thing. The WHOLE POINT to having a so-called “top chef” is to create a track record, to prove that you have a solid foundation which can only be shown by winning several of the challenges. Judging each meal on its own merits without weight towards the contestant’s track record allows woefully under-skilled and -talented people to slide by simply by not fucking up AS BADLY as others might, while very highly skilled and talented people get booted off simply because they made one very bad mistake in one solitary challenge. Badly done, Top Chef. Badly done.

On a side note, on his blog Tom Colicchio answered some of the vociferous anti-Lisa vitriol by explaining that during the regular filming of the season they have very little interaction with the contestants other than a few minutes when he goes into the kitchen to check on their progress, as well as the time at judge’s table. So it’s understandable that they might not realize what a complete double-chinned, acidic bitch she is. The viewers can see it, and when she stands there at the judge’s table looking like a cement block, it only reaffirms what we already know. But the judges would give her the benefit of the doubt, and rightly so, because often people act like that when they are being judged. By the time the finale rolled around, though, they should have known better.

Anyway. I’m very fat now, after the cupcakes we had at work yesterday and then dinner and cake last night. The Canadians actually got TWO cakes from Alon’s Bakery, and of course I had to have a slice of each. And this was after cheese dip complete with margaritas and a quesadilla. Basically you could stick me on a desert island and I’d live for about 3 months just on my body fat and the sugar content in my system right now. If given the choice, I’d rather not have a birthday AND not be fat.

Which was one of our topics of conversation at dinner last night (with the Canadians, K&M and Robin): would you rather not age (not be immortal, but look and feel young up until you die) or be able to eat anything you want and not get fat. I’d rather not age, personally. It’s really not that hard to eat right and exercise, but at least you can control your weight. With age, you’re totally out of the driver’s seat. What a surprise, I want more control. Heh.

June Challenge: 50.60/49.40 miles.

So, today marks the thirty-third anniversary of my illustrious birth, and it’s also one day closer to death. Which makes it not unlike any other day of my life, except with cake. Yay for cake!

I had a pretty nice weekend. Friday night The Commune went to the Glenwood for dinner. They just started offering their summer menu this week, which is much preferable to their winter menu. Specifically, they brought fried mozzarella back, which makes me very, very happy. It’s two large globs of mozzarella fried and topped with a chopped tomato sauce and a side of greens with tomato that’s pretty much a side salad. And it’s an appetizer so it’s cheap. Plus, I also got the fries. They make great fries. Dice is happy because they put the turducken burger on the menu permanently.

Saturday Dice went to work and I watched chick flicks and cleaned the house all day. I also made lasagna and froze sections of it for eating later. It turned out perfectly, too! I make a good lasagna. So that’s what we had for dinner Saturday night while watching season 4 of The Wire. Sunday we lounged most of the day, watching The Wire and hanging out. In the evening the Handitards went to Alfredo’s for dinner where I had the most delicious fettucine alfredo with broccoli, holy cheeseness it’s good! We were so full we didn’t even have room for dessert, which is probably a good thing.

Tonight the Commune and possibly other friends are all going to cheese dip in honor of yours truly. The female half of the Canadians has apparently also made or purchased a cake for post-cheese dip frivolity. Since my co-workers already gave me cupcakes, I’m pretty much going to be old AND fat by the end of the day. I won’t live long enough to work off those extra pounds! Oooh, the best thing that happened was that my co-workers also got me a $50 gift certificate to H&M! That’s right, folks, the long, cold winter in my closet is over: H&M at Atlantic Station opened last weekend! YEEHAW! And Atlanta joins the global economy! And Jenka is happeeeeeeeeeeee!