today's challenge is figuring out what to do. there are a few work kinda things i could do - although i really buckled down yesterday after my last post and made good headway on my assignment. i am i pretty good shape re:the classes i teach, and other side projects - of course, i could always do more, but am in the mood for something fun. the usual run, skate and bike isn't necessarily working for me today. neither is endless internet/tv surfing...i fear if i don't think of something, i'll end up wasting the day...oh yeah, it probably should involve the rest of my family and not cost much money...

i'm open to suggestions...

i went to lunch with some former co-workers, from the place i was laid-off from - close to a year ago. it was great seeing them again, it was odd being in the place i worked for so long, but this time as an outsider - seeing all the new people who have no clue who i am, talking with old friends, but with close to a year, with no shared experiences, feeling as though i don't have a lot in common with them anymore. still, on a personal level, it was all real fun and had a great veggie burrito - the people i lunched with i have a genuine affection for, i wish them all nothing but the best. they are a talented and wonderful bunch of folks with whom i hope to stay in touch with for years.

when i think about it, as challenging and stressful and tiring as teaching can be sometimes, i can't imagine not doing it - going back to my former career as a software developer...i had felt stagnant in that career for a while, though i still enjoyed aspects of it -including mentoring less experienced developers - i.e. the education process. i was considering switching careers to teaching for quite a while, and had applied for the teaching job i got months before i was laid off - at a time when it was clear the economy wasn't at it's best - but i never would have dreamt of being laid off...the rest is history - i guess timing is everything....

i will have to do something special to mark my 1 yr anniversary of being laid off sometime in november (13th?). perhaps playing the Stone Roses I AM THE RESSURECTION over and over - listen to the words, it's clearly about something else, but it certainly applies here! perhaps i will post the lyrics to that as my 1 yr anniversay - after, of course, clearing copyright

anyhow, while i was waiting for my colleagues, chatting with the receptionist, i saw an article in a local publication of the financial problems of the owner-at-the-time of the company from which i was laid off (auctioning off his ferrari, legal actions, etc). i would take great delight in this were i a smaller, more bitter person (hehe)

oh well, more procrastination keeping me from my homework!

focus, mike, focus....

last night before i went to bed, i did the check to see if the garage was closed and smelled SKUNK!!! as i moved around the house where we had some open windows, the smell was stronger still. i did a quick inventory of cats to see if any of them were outside and as such, possible spraying victims. i quickly spotted the small, old, evil white one, the big, middle-aged friendly grey one...but didn't see the young, goofy, mischief prone black and white one....black and white? what if the skunk, in amorous confusion thought our black and white cat was a skunk...could that be possible, or does it only happen in pepe lepew cartoons? as it turns out, he was inside, so whatever the skunk hit, it wasn't any of us...

i am grateful for the cleansing rain from hurricane isidore, which seems to be helping to tame the malodorous cloud in our neighborhood.

ah yes, my formal work done for the week, i can now get to all the stuff i need to do, but can't squeeze in to the first part of the week, incl. creating tests, my own homework, various side projects, etc...and as per usual, i get on my computer with the intent of working, but just have to check email, check my blog for comments, listen to bbc6 etc...before i begin....a long time goes by and i'm about to call it quits when i realize, i have not touched the work. focus, mike, focus...

oh yeah, here's a new link JenBen

courtesy of david here is a list of most over and under-rated in a variety of categories

perhaps a full entry on this will come...for now i'll pick in the category of musical genius...

overrated: brian wilson (runnerup:eminem) in either case, i just don't get it. the beach boys have some fun songs, a few interesting twists here and there, but to listen to some wilson hagiographers, you'd think he was bach, duke ellington, and john lennon all rolled into one...

underrated: the key here is underrated to who?...there are many talented folks who are well regarded by a narrow group, but virtually unknown by everyone else - so pick the one of the following you know the least about: thelonious monk, ornette coleman, ralph towner, badi assad, lindsey buckingham - and i'm sure i'll think of more...

since this week's onion is subpar, imho, here's a classic blast from the past

my wife had a "pampered chef" party yesterday. stereotypically, these parties are almost always strictly for women, and as such, since i was home for part of it, it was almost as though i had access to top secret information from the other side - foreign intelligence, if you will...

a shout out to frequent commenter wagner for this page in the future, i believe this will be the standard scale for rating things...

also this is the funniest thing. ever.

the official web site for the race lists me as 2nd in 200+lb division...
perhaps they had a bunch of plaques and were just giving us all winner trophies - for what it's worth, there was only one other guy in my age group - and i beat him, so i had best time in that division...

oh well, by the time i have grandkids i'll be sure to make up an appropriately thrilling story to sort this out...

was in a minor accident this AM. no injuries, no damage to my car. only real damage to the other car was a broken head light. i was going to make a left turn into the school and was part way into the intersection, but was unable to make the turn while the light was green, leaving me part way into the intersection, which i didn't think was cool, so i looked behind me, saw no one and backed up slightly. there was another car just partially in the turn lane and i clipped her. she was real nice about it (she might have been a nun - kind of dressed like one and was going to a conference at our college center that the diocese was having). she didn't want to call the police and i wasn't sure. as it turn out an off duty officer came by - who was an ex-student! he told us for simple cases like this we can just exchange info, etc...and he phoned it in...so really minor, no big deal, but not the way i like to start the day. i have to be careful, cause even small things like this, when couple with all the other stressors, tend to make my mood spiral downward...

it's fall here for sure - happened pretty quickly. i REALLY ache from yesterday's race - my back - not sure if i went out too quickly or the weather or lack of post race massage or the bumpy course - i felt way worse after 5 miles than i did 2 weeks ago for the 12 mile..anyhow, this pretty much kills any notion of trying the 26.2 mile niagra falls marathon this year. as the weather turns cooler, i may buy some exercise equipment so as to not be sedentary. last year i inline skated throughout the whole winter - probably went no longer than a couple of weeks without skating, but i was, um, between assignments at the time, so was available everyday. as the weather turns nasty, you have to pick and choose your days and balance it with the work schedule - anyhow, i want other options, although i plan on skating and trailrunning as much as i can. ice skating starts in about a month and that is fun...

WORLD'S HEAVYWEIGHT INLINE SKATING CHAMPION!!!

ok, a slight exaggeration, perhaps. however, i finished 1st in the clydesdale (over 200lbs.) division of today's 5 mile race.¹ course was ugly. very bumpy and parts were on a busy road. there were cops to help us out but still. am playing with the notion of doing the niagra falls skate marathon in october. might be a nice weekend jaunt. but as crummy as i felt after 5 miles today, i don't know about 26.2!

¹while strictly speaking, it is true that i won the clydesdale division. i believe i was the only competitor in it, now one could took the pessimistic view and say that winning a race in which you are the only competitor is not particulary difficult. however, being one who prefers to think of the glass as half full, nay, overflowing, i prefer to think of it as an indication of how amazing it is for someone my size to compete in this sport.