RAMBLINGS VOL. V

On the way home from dialysis yesterday I just happened to catch the 36 bus while I was walking to the Metro.  I boarded the bus at 4:40PM and arrived home at 5:45PM.  It was a refreshing change of pace, and I observed a house for sale on Branch Ave.  $220K or thereabouts for 4brs and 3bths.  Also located the Harris Teeter grocery store for future reference.

I tried the bus thing again about a week later because I was feeling lucky.  The ride went well until we got to the Anacostia River and the Souza Bridge; I could have gotten out and walked faster.  Instead, I politely asked the driver if I could disembark.  (The bus happened to be stopped right outside a McDonald’s.)  He did what every bus driver does with me in this situation:  he said no and started telling me about how he would get into trouble.  I then thanked him very politely and went back to my seat, and waited about ten seconds until he shamed himself into allowing me to leave the bus.  Works every time.  I went to Mickey D’s and got three McChickens, and crossed the street to catch a bus going in the other direction back to the closest Metro station.  I killed about five minutes waiting for the next bus by eating one of the McChickens and washing it down with some cool water that I loaded up with at the dialysis center before heading home.  That McChicken that I ate while standing at the bus stop was the tastiest bite of the day.  A McChicken straight out of the thingamajig that they cook it in is pretty good!  I got home around 6:45 instead of 5:45.  No big deal, as it was a well-fed and comfortable journey home from there.

I love how I can turn a hum-drum commute into a survival skills test!

Men still like to wear watches.  They tend toward large faces nowadays.  I prefer the traditional-size dials.

Almost every penny I have and spend derives from my SSDI income.  I earned this money 6 yrs ago, or 10 yrs ago, or 15, 20, or 25 yrs ago.  Or 30 yrs ago.  I keep this in mind when considering every financial transaction.

I ran one mile outdoors without stopping this morning.  It was a slow mile, but it is a benchmark.  On to the next one.

I was on my way out the door to dialysis when I noticed that I had forgotten to put on a belt.  I did a quick time v. confidence check and went on without it.  I had to hitch my pants up a few times on the way home as I was about 10 pounds lighter than when I left, but other than that no worries!

I just finished off the last four spicy wings.  This batch was especially tasty.  Spicy but not too hot.  Almost as good as Jenny’s Wings.  I must ask my wife where she purchased them!  (If you ever visit DC, stop by the Southwest Waterfront for a meal.  You can eat a la carte or order to go at the Wharf, or sit down at Phillips’.  Or Jenny’s.  Super wings!!!) 

It’s early Monday morning and I am listening to “Tonight’s Gonna Be a Good Night” by Black Eyed Peas.  It’s a good song to start the day with!  Not to mention start the week with….

The days of Easy McGreasy are gone.  Everything must be earned.

I am becoming an elite athlete.

I’m checking out my first IT expo in many years today!  FOSE in DC.  I’m “just browsing”.  Yeah right.  I’m actually excited because I’m not on any sort of a mission; I just want to check things out and do my best to stay current.  Perhaps make a couple of contacts.  And stop at Safeway on the way home.  I haven’t felt this way about an IT expo since 1994 at the Javits Convention Center in NYC.  I was just cutting my teeth in IT back then – I mean I had just gotten access to the data center, but still wasn’t allowed to touch anything.  Just thinking about those days has me grinning like a dog that just sneezed!

You know what I miss the most about work?  Patrolling the corridors.  Going to offices to fix an e-mail problem or mess with a blackberry or fix a printer jam.  Looking at the pictures on clients’ walls and making a brief personal connection.  Looking at a person’s desk and immediately being able to tell exactly how much they care about their work.  Juggling schedules so everyone gets to leave an hour or so early.  Fixing problems before anyone is even aware that a problem exists.  Taking a quick break every now and again to chat with a receptionist (especially Hilva and Sonia).  Stuff like that there.

“Until now you have not asked anything in my name.  Ask and you shall receive, and your joy shall be complete.”  John 16:24

If I only get to experience the way I feel right now for another 24 hours, it was worth every bit of the hard work involved.

I did 60 push-ups non-stop this morning.  Goal One of the Army Physical Fitness test has been met.  Goal Two:  66 sit-ups in two minutes.  Goal Three:  Run two miles in 14:24 or less.  Deadline to perform all three in one morning:  Sunday, October 2.  Boo-yah!

I am phasing apples into my diet.  Also popcorn.  Cheetos are out.  Fare thee well, Cheetos!  Fare thee well.  The fact that Granny Smith apples taste pretty good makes me feel better.  They smell pretty good, too – especially when a dozen or more of them get together.  I may never get over the Cheetos thing, though.  Sometimes I crave Cheetos more than I crave Newports!

My lovely wife Hilva brought home a lot more of those delicious wings!  She is good to me.

I had an excellent workout today:  I broke with my usual routine.  I did zero pushups, but did 30 or 40 straight reps on the chest press.  I didn’t count my reps on the ab blaster; I just did reps in time to the music until the song ended.  Same thing on the sit-up board.  And I did that balancing-on-the-balls exercise for core balance.  Also tried the reclining bike for the first time.  It’s amazing how your body immediately tells you that it’s not ready for a particular exercise!  I also left the basketball upstairs for once, and did no hand-eye drills.  I think my body was appropriately shocked, and I’m going to mix this type of workout in on a regular basis going forward.

“Until now you have not asked anything in my name.  Ask and you shall receive, and your joy shall be complete.”  John 16:24

How do you eat an elephant?  A little bit at a time.  A sandwich here, a steak there, a rib now and again – it will take some time, but eventually you will have consumed the whole thing.

Upon review, I see that I wrote John 16:24 twice.  It’s the latest bit of  Scripture that I am trying to commit to memory.  The old Dave would delete one sentence so it wouldn’t look as if I was “losing it”.  The new Dave knows that he’s not as sharp as he used to be, and is cool with that.  I’m still pretty damn sharp.