Day 151: New Music

I hit up downtown Alive today and checked out a musical performer I hadn't heard before. The guy's name was Nathan Angelo. He kind of looked like a fatter version of James Blunt and he sounded like Coldplay. It was ok, I suppose. It got me out of the house.

Day 150: Yoga Master

Not quite, but I did teach a couple poses to some girls down in the park today. I was laying out down by the river reading some short stories and caught myself eavesdropping on a flippant conversation on the subject. I schooled them on the basics; vinyasas and a few basic poses. I had them tumbling and crashing all over the place. Perhaps not the best teacher, but it was very entertaining. Nearly as much as when I took a tumble a few months ago.

Day 149: Tried Hummus

And it was just plain gross. I think it was the cumin in the dish that I gagged on. Oddly, I liked all the ingredients. Just not mixed together in that horrific blend. I didn't even finish the pita bread. I just trashed it all.

Day 146 - 148: Memorial Day Weekend

No, I didn't forget about this. I just didn't have internet access out at the lakehouse this weekend. I was lucky enough to get invited down to Lake Murray this weekend by a very old college friend. She just got married over a month ago and threw a huge get-together this weekend at her parent's house on the lake.

Anyway, let's get into it. On Saturday, I rode a jetski for the first time; specifically a Kawasaki XR something. That's the first time I've ridden one of those suckers. It's a little frightening at first. But after about 10 minutes, I was racing around like a pro. I even caught a little bit of air in the wake of a speedboat.

On Sunday, about 15 of us went out on a pontoon rental and fished in a quiet section of the lake. It's the first time I've ever tried fishing before and I can't say I'll want to do it again. It's so insanely boring that I gave up after about 30 minutes of not catching anything. I just don't have the patience I suppose. I also learned how to bait a hook properly. Whoop-de-doo.

Today, I drank Long Island iced tea for the first time. It was definitely the southern version of it. I think there was a 5-pound bag of sugar in that concoction. I also saw the new Pirates tonight when I got back from Lexington. It was a decent ending to the tale, if you stayed to the end of the credits.

Day 145: Pub Crawl

I went on the annual pub crawl this year after work. We went to several places over the past several hours, but I did get to visit a new bar down on Coffee Street called Eddys. It was a cool little hangout down by Corner Pocket. I'm definitely going to return to it some time soon. Anyway, I'm far too buzzed to keep typing.

Day 144: Extra Crispy

Ha, I was finally roasted by the students today. My crazy antics finally caught up with me. Several of the creative writers and a couple visual artists did a very entertaining skit about my pension for sarcastic commentary and obvious lack of interest in my job. It was superbly accurate.

Actually, I'm surprised I wasn't toasted by the drama kids. I certainly provided them with enough bootleg episodes of The Office this year.

Day 143: New running route.

I upped my running regiment to twice a day this week and I think I'll keep it going from now on. I've been feeling a little lethargic lately, so I thought it would be best to boost my metabolism. Today, I started exploring a section of the city I haven't been to and found a third park to romp around on the north end of downtown. It seemed secluded, basically surrounded by an upscale neighborhood. Anyway, good for me.

Day 142: Whistling Dixie

I went out for sushi last night and decided to wander into Dixie's Tavern tonight. I'd never been inside since it was opened, so I figured it was time. It gives off a Barley's / Wild Wing type of vibe. I didn't hang around for too long, but I did see a couple people I knew.

Day 141: Running barefoot

Or close to it. I found a pair of Nike "Free" shoes on clearance today and snatched them up. They are the barefoot running shoes, essentually designed to act as if you are running barefoot. This will build up the muscles within the foot when I run.

The shoes are different than anything I've ever seen. The soles bend in any direction. If I flex my toes, the shoe flexs with it. There is also tons of ventitalion within the shoe to allow for airflow on my bare feet. No socks with these obviously.

Anyway, it will be very interesting to run with these in the morning.

Day 140: Mallard Crossing

Today, something new happened to me rather than something I decided to seek out. A giant duck decided to cross paths with my Buick this afternoon while traveling on the Interstate. It flew directly across my windshield and seemed to smash both of its feet onto the metal and glass. I watched it crash into the grassy side of the road as I flew away at a breakneck (no pun intended) speed. I either crippled or killed the poor creature and I feel terrible about it. It took about 10 minutes before the adrenaline wore off.

Day 139: Cooked dinner for my family.

I've never actually done this for the entire fam and I was looking for a way to pitch in this weekend. I whipped up a little strawberry spinach salad, grilled lime garlic chicken over a bed of Spanish rice, and chocolate trifle for dessert. I figured it was the least I could do.

Day 138: Took a nap at an airport

Late again, sadly due to lack of internet access.

While sleeping isn't such a monumental task, I actually konked out at the airport while waiting to pick up my sister. Her plane was late by an hour and I just fell right asleep. I'd usually be wary of sleeping in a public place, but my local airport isn't exactly the pinnacle of crime. Hell, I don't think there are more than 10 gates in the whole place.

Day 137: Brazilian Lunch

I went to a new place to eat today, the Rio Grill. It's down in the West End. I noticed it during a run last week and made a note to try it out soon.

The serving style is quite unique. You pay a blanket price for the meal and the waiters walk around with giant skewers of meat; anything from chicken to pork to steak. I have a chip on my table that indicates if I want a slab of the meat. I just flip the chip back and forth depending on my specific tastes. It's basically a nonverbal indicator. There is also a salad bar for the veggies, which seems very out of place in that restaurant.

Anyway, it was something fun to do today. I needed a little bit of that.

Day 136: Toe Armor

This is a bit of an odd one, but I decided to take a little better care of my feet today. I tried out a pumice stone on the thick, hard shell of skin on my big toes. It's the only place on my feet that seems to build up layer after layer of skin. I like to call it my Toe Armor. I could imbed a thumbtack down there and not feel a thing.

I also slapped a layer of vaseline on the soles to soften up the skin. It's all gooey in my socks right now.

Day 135: Spent the night in the hospital.

Sorry about being late on this one, but the title says it all. I slept very poorly on a couple of chairs while covered by a thin jacket.

Day 134: Discovered Threadless

Where have I been since Threadless was created? I bought two new shirts today, the one about Haikus and a cool artistic one called Holding Pattern. I'd elaborate more, but I'm dead tired.

Day 133: Sugar high

Oh, I'm about to explode with chocolatey goodness. As a general rule, I never buy any pre-packaged sweets at the grocery store. Too much saturated fat and calories. But I made an exception today due to a shitty couple of days. Dopamine and Serotonin are having a party inside my brain due to a new flavor of Ben & Jerry's I tried; New York Super Fudge Chunk. It's basically chocolate ice cream with white/dark chocolate chunks on the inside.

Manufactured bliss in a cardboard package, even if it's just for a few hours.

Day 132: Not much to say

I went to a new restaurant in Sparkle City today as well as trying bananas foster for the first time, but I'm not sure I was even there mentally. Most of the day has been a blur. I tried to get my Mom's mind off the impending operation by introducing her to the world of Lost, plus it will be fun to watch during her recovery. But anything she wants to do this weekend is fine with me.

Day 131: Cancer

When I was ten years old, I remember being taken to the hospital nearly every night for a couple of weeks while my Mom was being treated for breast cancer. I can recall being scared all the time, but pretending to act normal so my sister would feel more at ease. I also remember crying while praying every single night, desperately trying to barter a deal with a God that I didn't understand. After extensive chemotherapy, she recovered and has been cancer free for the past 16 years. She runs 5 miles a day, eats healthier than me, and has been the model of health for quite a while.

Today, I found out my mom has a cancerous mass in her uterus and has to have an emergency hysterectomy right after Mother's Day. This is something I never wanted to face as an adult. I almost envy that kid, clueless to mortality rates and stages of growth. I'm so fucking numb right now.

Day 130: Watched a street performance.

During my very lengthy run this afternoon, I passed by a theatre troop performing down on Main Street. It wasn't the folks from the Warehouse, but rather a traveling type of troop. I always blow by these sorts of deals, but I decided to stop and watch for a bit as a change.

Sadly, it was too windy to hear half the lines. But they certainly put their all into the performance, even if the crowd was fleeting.

Day 129: Getting my Cubano groove on.

I tried a mojito for the first time today. I've wanted to try one just for the hell of it and decided to make it my new thing for today. I watched the bartender assembly this one for future reference. It looked like Bacardi rum, juice from a fresh squeezed lime, a few mint leaves, and a dash of sugar drowned in a bath of club soda. The drink looks ridiculously stupid, essentially appears like a cup of tea leaves.

But, I really did enjoy it. So much so that I may switch to it for a while.

Day 128: Career thoughts

I took my first career aptitude test today. I've been searching for something else to do for several months based on my job skills rather than matching myself to a job. Anyway, it didn't tell me a damn thing I didn't already know. It recommended a career in Human Resources, which is what I specialized in during college. I was half expecting some sort of revelation, but I wasn't rewarded with one.

Here was the synopsis conclusion: "You will speak your mind when you have to, but you are really more of a follower. You always try to make everyone happy, which usually leads to your own unhappiness. You have goals, but don't have the killer instinct needed to reach them. You will always work for someone else, but at least you can pretend you have power by doing the hiring and firing."

Day 127: Don't drop...

This might sound odd, but I've never actually held a newborn baby until today. As I was walking back to lunch today, I ran into an old friend from high school that was taking her new baby on a stroll through the park. We got to talking for a while and she asked me to hold the little guy while she grabbed some coffee. I pretended not to freak out and kind of just cradle him in my arms. But seriously, I was afraid a million different things would go wrong.

But after a couple minutes, it seemed to get much simpler. The little fellow grabbed onto my pinkie a couple times and wouldn't let go. He just kept smiling up at me and laughing as well. In the world of babies, my appearance must be hilarious. All in all, it was a very enriching experience. Almost too cute for words.

Day 126: Lacrosse

I got a chance to play lacrosse today down in the park today (which was a perfect 70 degrees) and it's quite entertaining. The toughest part seemed to be catching that little ball in the net most of the time. After I learned the basic rules of the game, we had a little 4 on 4 scrimmage; which my team won despite my worst efforts. The rules are very much like hockey, but playing on grass seems much easier. I never learned how to ice skate properly.

Anyway, it was a hell of a workout. I think I ran more today than I have in my combined workouts for the week.

Day 125: Hollywood

Or as close as you can get to it in Greenville. I perused the Hollywood Gallery for the first time today, kind of looking for some small black & whites for a framed grouping of photos. They didn't have exactly what I was looking for, but I did see a couple excellent Marylyn Monroe prints that would look great on my walls. I also found a hilarious picture of Jack Nicholson with a goofy smile staring into a magnifying glass.

Still, I'd be shocked if they stay in business for long. Many of the prints are very overpriced, reaching professional gallery prices. I'll probably just find the prints I want on the net and frame them myself.

Day 124: Crashed a luncheon.

For some reason, I felt really confident today. One of those types of days where everything just clicks. I pulled off an excellent prank on a couple students this morning, solved an "enormous" (according to the perception of ignorant people) problem at work, and even coaxed a free coffee out of my favorite barista girl all before lunch.

Anyway, there was a large shin-dig setup in downtown as a precursor to Cinco De Mayo. Similar to St. Patrick's Day, it's a weekend celebration rather than a single day around here. So, I snuck a nametag from the main table and dished myself up a plate of fine hispanic cuisine. I believe it was a city sponsered event as I saw folks like the mayor strolling around the area. I must have looked like I fit in with my dress clothes.

As long as you look important enough, I guess you can blend in anywhere.

Day 123: Broadway

Today I bought a birthday gift for a lovely young lady who truely deserves such tokens, specfically a ticket for a Broadway show. While it was the first time I purchased a birthday gift for her, it's actually the first time I've ever bought a ticket for a Broadway show. I've saw Phantom & Les Mis in the late nineties along with Chicago & Avenue Q a couple years ago, yet never paid for anything myself.

Anyway, it feels good to give. I've been on an altruistic high all night. :)

Day 122: Change

I've always been a bit of an asshole when it comes to the homeless. For some reason, I get asked for change all the time. I'm not sure what in my face screams "Free money", but it just does. I always see some of the same people walking the streets every day, but I avoid all eye contact. Hell, that's partially the reason I shove headphones in my ear on my daily commute.

Anyway, my frozen exterior melted away a bit today and I emptied my pocket to a lady that's been sitting on the same bench for a week, all day. Just a trifle though. And I'll still wake up as an asshole tomorrow.

Day 121: I hate squash.

I actually hate the vegetable too, but I'm referring to the game. I played my first (and last) game of squash down at the Y and I really stink at it. I couldn't tell if it was poor eye to hand coordination or just a limited range of motion. I was leaping all over the place trying to smack that tiny rubber ball, but wasn't having a bit of luck. I know I'll be sore all over tomorrow as well.

I'm just going to stick to tennis for now.