Saturday, November 6, 2010
11/6/10
"Just what I needed..." How many times in your life have you used that expression? Quite a few times, I'll bet. I'm gonna go ahead and use it here. Tonight was, indeed, just what I needed. My work shift only took six hours, so I was home by 8pm for the first time in a long time. My unfortunate lodger has gone to Ohio for some sort of family gathering. Today has 25 hours for some reason that I'm not sure has any validity in the year 2010, but whatever. I'll take the extra hour. And my start time for tomorrow is 3:15pm, a bit later than usual, meaning that I don't have to get out of bed until I damn well please. I have draft cider in the fridge, pizza rolls in the oven, and a heating pad under my ass. Ahhh... Just what I needed.
Friday, November 5, 2010
11/5/10
Life is nothing but double-edged swords. For instance, my weight training has progressed somewhat well in spite of my... situation. Each time I reach a given number of repetitions of a given lift, I bump the weight upward for the next time. As this process is repeated week after week, I actually get stronger. Go figure.
So I was sitting there tonight, taking a break between sets of hammer curls. A fella sat down nearby and started doing preacher curls with a 40 pound barbell. I looked at the floor and saw that I was using a pair of 70 pound dumbbells at the time. My belly is still ample enough to ensure that I won't be posing in front of a mirror in the foreseeable future, but for a moment at least I thought I was kinda strong. Then later in the workout, as I got to my overhead tricep extensions (or whatever you would call it technically - I hold an EZ bar behind my head and then straighten my elbows), my third set called for 115 pounds of weight. The heaviest pre-packaged EZ bar in the place weighs 115 pounds. If I care to go any higher, I'll have to start sliding plates onto an empty bar.
The other 'edge' of the sword, as it were, is that those heavier weights put an awful lot of strain on the tendons and joints and shit that connect everything together. After tonight's arm workout, my left elbow is killing me. This aging shit is for the birds.
Work was okay though. Two loads, five stores altogether, no worries. And today was payday. Apparently I made $1,450 last week. I know I was burned out by the time all was said and done, so I guess that sounds about right. I surely won't be invited to any high brow cocktail parties in my lifetime, but for a blue collar dude from Downriver I manage to keep the bills paid. That's enough for me.
I think I only have one load for tomorrow, but I'll have to confirm this with the dispatcher when I go in. The way that my assignment is listed on the board seems a little ambiguous. Anyhow, if it's only the one load and those damned Fighting Irish have the weekend off, I may have an enjoyable Saturday for a change.
So I was sitting there tonight, taking a break between sets of hammer curls. A fella sat down nearby and started doing preacher curls with a 40 pound barbell. I looked at the floor and saw that I was using a pair of 70 pound dumbbells at the time. My belly is still ample enough to ensure that I won't be posing in front of a mirror in the foreseeable future, but for a moment at least I thought I was kinda strong. Then later in the workout, as I got to my overhead tricep extensions (or whatever you would call it technically - I hold an EZ bar behind my head and then straighten my elbows), my third set called for 115 pounds of weight. The heaviest pre-packaged EZ bar in the place weighs 115 pounds. If I care to go any higher, I'll have to start sliding plates onto an empty bar.
The other 'edge' of the sword, as it were, is that those heavier weights put an awful lot of strain on the tendons and joints and shit that connect everything together. After tonight's arm workout, my left elbow is killing me. This aging shit is for the birds.
Work was okay though. Two loads, five stores altogether, no worries. And today was payday. Apparently I made $1,450 last week. I know I was burned out by the time all was said and done, so I guess that sounds about right. I surely won't be invited to any high brow cocktail parties in my lifetime, but for a blue collar dude from Downriver I manage to keep the bills paid. That's enough for me.
I think I only have one load for tomorrow, but I'll have to confirm this with the dispatcher when I go in. The way that my assignment is listed on the board seems a little ambiguous. Anyhow, if it's only the one load and those damned Fighting Irish have the weekend off, I may have an enjoyable Saturday for a change.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
11/4/10
Well, shit. I simply don't know. Things are supposed to get better with time, right? I slept all morning and much of the afternoon. That was nice. I took it easy all day. That should be helpful, but I wasn't feeling like a million bucks. Still though, it was good to relax for a while. It seems that the days have been far too short lately.
I went to see my old buddy in the hospital for a while. He can lift his left arm and move his left leg now, so apparently the rehab process is going well. The doctors still don't seem to know what exactly has been causing the trouble, but ole Mr. Pedro is getting better by the day. Or so I'm told.
Then I went out to dinner with Mr. Pedro's son - the reverand, and my unfortunate lodger - the non-reverand. Neither of those candyasses was willing to pick a restaurant, so I decided that we were going to Vito's. (Blog address unrelated.) When I was a kid, Vito's was the go-to place in Lincoln Park after any kind of event. Then Vito sold the place and went back to Italy, but the pizza was still awesome. Then Vito came back from Italy and bought Roma's, leaving Vito's as a competitor to Vito, but that's another story.
So anyhow, Vito's has a bit of nostalgic value for those of us from the LP. I went there many years ago with an ex-girlfriend and found that I didn't like what the new owners had done with the place. Now someone else owns the joint, so I was curious to see how the pizza would measure up. It was pretty good, all things considered, but it was no Vito's pizza. Bummer.
After a few hours back home, spent mainly reading through news headlines and such, it was time to head to the damned gym. Off we go...
I waste a lot of time. Since I have a pretty pitiful social life and I have no responsibilities to anyone, I can afford to waste as much time as I like. The weird thing is that it really bugs me to waste time unintentionally. I drove all the way out to Novi. I changed into my workout clothes. I headed upstairs. I did a quick cardio warmup. I grabbed a barbell... and... fuck!
I set down the barbell. I limped downstairs. I changed out of my workout clothes. I drove all the way home from Novi. What a waste of time. And now I feel even worse than I did before. I just can't figure this shit out.
Oh well, maybe tomorrow will bring a better outcome. I do have two loads again, which seems to be the case somewhat consistently nowadays, but they shouldn't be too tough. Three stops in the Flint area and then another two in Toledo. Maybe, assuming that I can walk upright after work, I'll get to tonight's scheduled workout, just a day late and so forth. We'll see how it goes.
Now, for the second time in recent memory, I must drink. The beers didn't really alleviate the pain last night but, as a good Irish lad, I'm confident that they'll work a little better this time around.
I went to see my old buddy in the hospital for a while. He can lift his left arm and move his left leg now, so apparently the rehab process is going well. The doctors still don't seem to know what exactly has been causing the trouble, but ole Mr. Pedro is getting better by the day. Or so I'm told.
Then I went out to dinner with Mr. Pedro's son - the reverand, and my unfortunate lodger - the non-reverand. Neither of those candyasses was willing to pick a restaurant, so I decided that we were going to Vito's. (Blog address unrelated.) When I was a kid, Vito's was the go-to place in Lincoln Park after any kind of event. Then Vito sold the place and went back to Italy, but the pizza was still awesome. Then Vito came back from Italy and bought Roma's, leaving Vito's as a competitor to Vito, but that's another story.
So anyhow, Vito's has a bit of nostalgic value for those of us from the LP. I went there many years ago with an ex-girlfriend and found that I didn't like what the new owners had done with the place. Now someone else owns the joint, so I was curious to see how the pizza would measure up. It was pretty good, all things considered, but it was no Vito's pizza. Bummer.
After a few hours back home, spent mainly reading through news headlines and such, it was time to head to the damned gym. Off we go...
I waste a lot of time. Since I have a pretty pitiful social life and I have no responsibilities to anyone, I can afford to waste as much time as I like. The weird thing is that it really bugs me to waste time unintentionally. I drove all the way out to Novi. I changed into my workout clothes. I headed upstairs. I did a quick cardio warmup. I grabbed a barbell... and... fuck!
I set down the barbell. I limped downstairs. I changed out of my workout clothes. I drove all the way home from Novi. What a waste of time. And now I feel even worse than I did before. I just can't figure this shit out.
Oh well, maybe tomorrow will bring a better outcome. I do have two loads again, which seems to be the case somewhat consistently nowadays, but they shouldn't be too tough. Three stops in the Flint area and then another two in Toledo. Maybe, assuming that I can walk upright after work, I'll get to tonight's scheduled workout, just a day late and so forth. We'll see how it goes.
Now, for the second time in recent memory, I must drink. The beers didn't really alleviate the pain last night but, as a good Irish lad, I'm confident that they'll work a little better this time around.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
11/3/10
You know what I did tonight? I took my first step on the road to 2012. I bought 96 incandescent light bulbs and put them in my storage room. (Admit it. You thought I was making some sort of political reference there. Wait, I kinda was... Nevermind.) I figure I'll stockpile a few boxes of those suckers every now and then. This way I'll be able to run some kind of black market operation when you can no longer buy a regular 20-cent light bulb in the 'Land of the Free.' My unfortunate lodger mentioned a couple of days ago that "we" needed light bulbs and toilet paper. By "we," of course, we're talking about me. I'm the guy with the job and the income, after all.
Once I wrapped up a tedious but largely uneventful four-stop milk run tonight, I stopped at Meijer to do a little shopping. You may or may not be aware of this, but I don't enjoy shopping. So I tossed one of those gigantic 2,000,000-roll packages of toilet paper in my cart. Won't be buying that stuff again for a while. Next came the light bulbs. It was $2.39 for a 12-pack. Sweet. I grabbed all eight packs that were on the shelf. I'll do it again sometime too. You can count on that much.
Aside from TP and bulbs, I just needed a few odds and ends to finish off my shopping list. Bottle of vitamins, pack of beef jerky, etc. I got everything into my car and headed home. As I was driving down I-275, I started to wonder - How many of these cheap bulbs can I store before the feds take over that aspect of my life in a couple of years? A few thousand, I think. I'm gonna shoot for a few thousand.
Given the way things have gone lately, in terms of these damned 24-hour days proving to be too short, it was nice to have a fairly short day of work. I didn't start until 3:30pm and I was done by 10:30pm. In addition, today was a scheduled day off from that Godforsaken gym. My weary body was grateful.
So... off early... no gym tonight... no need to get up tomorrow morning... yeah, I'm drinking tonight. I would have thought, back when I transitioned to local work, that I would be having beers on a frequent basis. This hasn't been the case. Not even close. The drinking occasions seem to be few and far between since I started lifting again. Even before that though, I just found that I wasn't often in the mood. I'm gonna have to work on that. Until then, let's just hope for a pain-free night with tasty refreshment. We're well on the way there...
Once I wrapped up a tedious but largely uneventful four-stop milk run tonight, I stopped at Meijer to do a little shopping. You may or may not be aware of this, but I don't enjoy shopping. So I tossed one of those gigantic 2,000,000-roll packages of toilet paper in my cart. Won't be buying that stuff again for a while. Next came the light bulbs. It was $2.39 for a 12-pack. Sweet. I grabbed all eight packs that were on the shelf. I'll do it again sometime too. You can count on that much.
Aside from TP and bulbs, I just needed a few odds and ends to finish off my shopping list. Bottle of vitamins, pack of beef jerky, etc. I got everything into my car and headed home. As I was driving down I-275, I started to wonder - How many of these cheap bulbs can I store before the feds take over that aspect of my life in a couple of years? A few thousand, I think. I'm gonna shoot for a few thousand.
Given the way things have gone lately, in terms of these damned 24-hour days proving to be too short, it was nice to have a fairly short day of work. I didn't start until 3:30pm and I was done by 10:30pm. In addition, today was a scheduled day off from that Godforsaken gym. My weary body was grateful.
So... off early... no gym tonight... no need to get up tomorrow morning... yeah, I'm drinking tonight. I would have thought, back when I transitioned to local work, that I would be having beers on a frequent basis. This hasn't been the case. Not even close. The drinking occasions seem to be few and far between since I started lifting again. Even before that though, I just found that I wasn't often in the mood. I'm gonna have to work on that. Until then, let's just hope for a pain-free night with tasty refreshment. We're well on the way there...
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
11/2/10
♫ Runnin low...
Runnin' on empty
Runnin low...
Runnin' blind
Runnin' low...
Runnin' into the sun but I'm running behind ♫
I don't know man. I seem to get about as much rest as I always have. Work has been busier lately, but nothing terribly extreme. The gym workouts are pretty intense, but I've skipped an extra day here and there since, well, you know what. I'm not sure that there's any simple explanation. I'm just plain worn out. Not necessarily physically tired, but worn out just the same. I don't even care if this makes any sense. I'm too worn out to try to explain it any further.
I recall, back before I was worn out, sitting in my dorm's TV lounge in November of 1994. I have never been much of a TV watcher, but I always have been something of a political junkie. The more opinionated cable news phenomenon didn't exist back then, so I was just following election results on one of the networks. Gingrich and his crew swept into power by gaining 54 seats that night. My core principles haven't changed since I was a little kid, but I would have to say that my issue-by-issue views have become quite a bit more refined since that year. Back then I just knew that I thought Bill Clinton was a douchesquirt, so I rather enjoyed watching him rebuked by the American voters.
I had my FloTV in my car tonight, so I flipped it on and checked out some of the coverage before my workout. Now that my viewpoint has had several years of development, this shit isn't all that exciting or inspiring anymore. If these Republican characters do what they said they will do, the voters will toss them out before long. Reduce the deficit, eh? "Keep the government out of my Medicare!" Morons. The Democrats pretty much did what Obama said they would do, after all, and look how that went. Maybe hopenchange was actually just a catchy slogan or something. Or perhaps when people got all fired up about all this awesome free shit that was gonna happen, they should have taken out a calculator and done the math. I don't know man. Maybe I'm just worn out.
Dingell won again though. I guess this is pretty exciting news. My union sent me a letter telling me to vote for him, so I'm sure this means he really knows what it's like to be a working fella in Michigan. I mean, he only went to Washington 55 years ago. That's practically yesterday.
Speaking of yesterday... or something... I think it's tomorrow already. Two long milk runs, some election watching, and a long workout will sure as hell burn through some hours. Better get a little sleep. Only one run tomorrow thus far, but I have other stuff to do beforehand. I'm worn out man.
Runnin' on empty
Runnin low...
Runnin' blind
Runnin' low...
Runnin' into the sun but I'm running behind ♫
I don't know man. I seem to get about as much rest as I always have. Work has been busier lately, but nothing terribly extreme. The gym workouts are pretty intense, but I've skipped an extra day here and there since, well, you know what. I'm not sure that there's any simple explanation. I'm just plain worn out. Not necessarily physically tired, but worn out just the same. I don't even care if this makes any sense. I'm too worn out to try to explain it any further.
I recall, back before I was worn out, sitting in my dorm's TV lounge in November of 1994. I have never been much of a TV watcher, but I always have been something of a political junkie. The more opinionated cable news phenomenon didn't exist back then, so I was just following election results on one of the networks. Gingrich and his crew swept into power by gaining 54 seats that night. My core principles haven't changed since I was a little kid, but I would have to say that my issue-by-issue views have become quite a bit more refined since that year. Back then I just knew that I thought Bill Clinton was a douchesquirt, so I rather enjoyed watching him rebuked by the American voters.
I had my FloTV in my car tonight, so I flipped it on and checked out some of the coverage before my workout. Now that my viewpoint has had several years of development, this shit isn't all that exciting or inspiring anymore. If these Republican characters do what they said they will do, the voters will toss them out before long. Reduce the deficit, eh? "Keep the government out of my Medicare!" Morons. The Democrats pretty much did what Obama said they would do, after all, and look how that went. Maybe hopenchange was actually just a catchy slogan or something. Or perhaps when people got all fired up about all this awesome free shit that was gonna happen, they should have taken out a calculator and done the math. I don't know man. Maybe I'm just worn out.
Dingell won again though. I guess this is pretty exciting news. My union sent me a letter telling me to vote for him, so I'm sure this means he really knows what it's like to be a working fella in Michigan. I mean, he only went to Washington 55 years ago. That's practically yesterday.
Speaking of yesterday... or something... I think it's tomorrow already. Two long milk runs, some election watching, and a long workout will sure as hell burn through some hours. Better get a little sleep. Only one run tomorrow thus far, but I have other stuff to do beforehand. I'm worn out man.
Monday, November 1, 2010
11/1/10
I seem to encounter an endless variety of reminders of the general boredom and drift that define my life in its present circumstance. I spent today running errands, washing some clothes, and having dinner with my parents. All the usual stuff that tends to comprise a Monday off, of course. You know what thought kept entering my head though? I can't wait for Saturday because I really could use that extra hour. Seriously. A new low on the excitement meter? Perhaps, my friends. Perhaps.
There won't be enough hours in the day tomorrow. I'm already pretty sure about that. I have to get up in the morning and go sell myself out to big corporate interests... or whatever. Then I have to get the oil changed on my car. In order to preserve the warranty on my new engine, the first oil change has to be done within 1,500 miles. We're getting pretty close. Then I have to head to Livonia for a noon pull and a $300 day on the job. First scheduled $300 Tuesday in quite a while, so I guess we could say that things are picking up in the dairy biz. Then off to the gym. I skipped tonight's workout, for reasons that we probably already know but I'd rather not discuss, so I'll definitely have to lift some weights tomorrow night. Yeah, tomorrow is gonna be a long one.
We'll leave you tonight with a little palate cleanser to warm things up for the conclusion to a grueling campaign season. Some guys stopped by last weekend's Comedy Central shindig with a video camera and a sign. Asking the important questions... and getting the important answers.
There won't be enough hours in the day tomorrow. I'm already pretty sure about that. I have to get up in the morning and go sell myself out to big corporate interests... or whatever. Then I have to get the oil changed on my car. In order to preserve the warranty on my new engine, the first oil change has to be done within 1,500 miles. We're getting pretty close. Then I have to head to Livonia for a noon pull and a $300 day on the job. First scheduled $300 Tuesday in quite a while, so I guess we could say that things are picking up in the dairy biz. Then off to the gym. I skipped tonight's workout, for reasons that we probably already know but I'd rather not discuss, so I'll definitely have to lift some weights tomorrow night. Yeah, tomorrow is gonna be a long one.
We'll leave you tonight with a little palate cleanser to warm things up for the conclusion to a grueling campaign season. Some guys stopped by last weekend's Comedy Central shindig with a video camera and a sign. Asking the important questions... and getting the important answers.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
10/31/10
I'll toss this in quickly, just because I said that I would mention any changes to the status quo. Now my left ass cheek hurts. Not sure whether or not it's related to the issue on my right side. Nothing further on that topic.
Probably not a whole lot on any topic, come to think of it. Just another day of delivering milk and lifting weights. Oh, the excitement of being home every night! I finished up my workout a little earlier than normal and kinda sorta thought I might get to bed at a decent hour, but that appears not to have happened. You start reading the news of the day, then one headline links to another headline... Now I'll probably end up sleeping away the entire morning of my day off. Such a dumb pattern.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)