struggling

i tried to get up early to run this morning but it was so cold in the room i just couldn't exit the caccoon. that doesn't get any easier as we progress to the next season. i ran last night and it was the first time since i've been trying to run again that i felt like a runner. how many times can i used 'run' or some form of it in a single sentance? anyway, switching back to saucony was the best thing i could have done. the fit just seems better for my feet...and the way the cushioning is set up seems to match my biomechanics. hopefully it helps with my knee pain i developed last year training for lakefront.

i've arranged to be home for the first pitch tomorrow. tds hd is superb so that should be cool. i still can't believe they made it. i wish i could enjoy the game with a beer but thursday is too long of a day to not feel well.

high of 59 today...fall is in the air and i'm loving it.

happy tuesday.

finally

boy, it's been awhile but worth the wait.

yea, i'm going have to leave work early on wednesday.

happy monday.

rough wisconsin sports saturday

well, yesterday was a buzz kill. maybe that will clear the way for a better sports sunday?

i'm spending the next 4 hours getting this paper done. so, everyone channel some motivation and concentration ability my way.

happy sunday.

real nice

it's nice to see that the politicians in washington are looking out for their constituents and not party politics. i've seen better communication and compromise from a group of kindergartners. i'm no economic expert, but my gut feeling is that we are on a giant precipice that we will inevitably fall over. in more ways than 1, this series of events mimics the beginnings of the great depression. i'm just saying.

i had a weekly manager meeting yesterday that (in typical form) deteriorated into a bitch session about a new system put in place...mostly because it was different than the old system. adults with power acting like children has suddenly become i theme i guess.

last night, i was in such a fowl mood because of all of this. poor robin had to deal with it. my school work output suffered. and it has carried over into today. plus, the starbucks i allowed myself tastes like crap...watery. i can make watery coffee.

well, there you go.

happy friday?

late to bed, early to rise.

i kicked off my thursday with a nice 6 mile jaunt in the early morning mist. while it hurts me to get up every time, by the end i'm into it and there really is no better way to start the day. i had some difficulty breathing but i'll just chalk it up to allergies.

last night i logged a couple hours at the library and then came home to switch between the mets and the brewers (both in hd). like i said yesterday, how can they expect me to do school work while this trivial drama unfolds? it's now a 4 game season...too bad the brewers only have 1 reliable pitcher. sheets is junk...i hate that when you need him he shuts it down. gallardo had reconstructive knee surgery in may and might pitch today, but sheets can't push through some elbow stiffness? it's a pennant race...this isn't intramurals!

and here we are with another work day ahead...

happy thursday.

wake up now

well, i had intentions of running this morning. although, it was much easier at 5:30 to decide that i need to ease back into this thing in terms of how much i'm running. so, i'll try again tomorrow.

i almost finished all my lab responsibilities last night except for a conclusion and summary on my lab write up. tonight.

that is all i've got.

happy wednesday.

you'll never win the way you won again

3 unique things happened to me this morning.

first, i got up early and ran. it was a meager 4 miles but you have to start somewhere. i love running in the morning once i'm up...but it hurts to actually wake up.

second, i agreed with bill o'rielly. he was on good morning america and i actually agreed with a few things he said...i still think he is a pompous a-hole, but none the less.

third, i dusted off 'down with wilco' by minus five and gave it a listen. this was the alter ego band of wilco during yankee hotel foxtrot. it is a good listen that i often forget about.

i managed to get 1 assignment done for my lab class last night. i'll try to get the other done today/tomorrow...and then it's time to refocus my efforts on my first 'big' paper due a week from friday.

happy tuesday.

if i could talk...

well, another weekend of school is in the books. now it really is crunch time. i've got deadlines within the next 2 weeks and i'm starting to feel the pressure...hopefully that helps my motivation.

chuck thinks we are going through a bout of 'senioritis' and i must say i agree.

i golfed yesterday with my long lost friend andy at u-ridge. i stunk it up...in fact, it was probably the worst i've played there. but, once the fog lifted it was a beautiful morning to be out on the golf course. we haven't talked in a few years and it was like we had seen each other last week.

i came back to a minor shit storm at work but everything is better now that i've extinguished some fires.

and now it's my first 5 day week in several weeks.

happy monday.

finally, a big w

the brewers won. that is news relative to the past couple weeks. i don't think it had anything to do with firing the manager, this has been a streaky team all year, and now they are heading back in the right direction.

why can't sheets pitch through his boo-boos? i get that his elbow has been bothering him for several weeks, but every year, when they need him most, he shuts it down. you'd expect more from a guy in a contract year.

i'm sick. i somehow caught a cold...i've been really achy the past 36 hours and that has been the worst of it. i'm slightly better today, but still feeling it for sure. so, i haven't been doing much of anything related to exercise. oh well.

i'm golfing at the uridge on sunday and, based on the forcast and the greatness that is uridge, i'm getting excited. now i just need to make it through another 14 hours of class...

that's all i know...i know, my life is pretty pedestrian lately.

happy thursday.

more.

more.

i'm really disappointed in the brewers. the sports franchise i love the most and have followed the longest has let me and the team down. if they make the playoffs i won't think about the feeling of relief after so many years, i'll think about a manager that was given the difficult task of getting a team full of prospects to success. he did what was asked and was punished for it. the fan base treated like this was a team full of veterans...and while these guys are more advanced than others with similar experience, they are still just kids. this isn't the mets of last year with beltran, delgado, wright, castillo, etc.

i need to get over it.

still in shock.

firing ned yost really bums me out. what if it doesn't work? i don't like the implications it has on the franchise...i mean, what good manager would want to come to milwaukee in the future? 1) it's the smallest media market 2) you may get fired even if you are tied for a playoff birth and your team has a better record than it's had in 15 years 3) you get a crappy bullpen year in and out, and 4) your fans boo you.

oh well, i guess that is why i'm not in a major league front office.

ran some hills a pope park last night. that place would be perfect for a cross country race. i wish there was an open cross country series in madison...there are enough great venues to have 1 race/ week for 6 weeks. that would be fun...

i'm having some serious motivational issues already this semester. i just sit and stare at a flashing cursor in ms word. i know generally what i want to write, i just can't get it started. try, try again i guess.

happy tuesday.

yost fired!

ned yost has been dismissed of manager duties in milwaukee. i, unlike most, thought he did a good job with a tough set of circumstances. i also think that melvin went 'all in' 1 year too early...and now yost pays for it.

the king is dead, long live...dale sveum?

(less) happy monday.

weekend that was

another weekend bites the dust. i don't have much to show for my efforts at writing this weekend, but i'm more organized and i know (generally) what i want to write so that is something.

we saw the new coen bros movie 'burn after reading.' instant classic in my mind...short, to the point, great characters (with equally great casting), strong dialogue, dark humor....loved it. it won't get great numbers, but the good ones usually don't.

and now it's monday. and robin is heading to iron mountain to help with some family issues. and i already miss her.

happy monday.

so far so good

yesterday, i managed several hours of work on my first paper of the semester. i was able to read some papers and start to organize my thoughts...so i started. besides that, we dodged rain drops all day getting mums for the front of the house and getting in 6 miles of running with some drills after wards.

the badgers almost got screwed on a botched replay of a fumble by wac officials. luckily, the good guys prevailed in a tough atmosphere. i guess i now know a little of how big time football teams feel...the 'national' play by play guy was totally rooting for the bulldogs. with the big ten looking flat this year, the badgers have a shot at the conference, if they can go unscathed over the next 3 weeks.

the brewers are in a death spiral. yikes.

today brings more work on the paper and maybe the new coen brothers movie (and of course the packer game). fall is for sports i guess!

happy sunday.

big pimp

well, it's friday. it's looking to be a soggy first half of the weekend, so maybe...just maybe, i'll get some homework done. that would rule.

got out for a 5.5 mile run last night and have decided that i'm going to buy a new pair of shoes. i'm going back to saucony, which allowed me to run without knee pain. the mizuno experiment might be done...

other than that, i was able to accumulate some journal articles but now i have to actually read them. then i have to organize my thoughts and actually start writing...i'm having a hard time remembering how.

happy friday.

cabbage worms

why do cabbage worms reside on broccoli? shouldn't they be called broccoli worms?

played a little tennis last night with my wife. as usual, she worked me over. i ate more frozen custard than i should have too. so, it was a good night.

happy thursday.

it's time to...

boy, i felt pretty bad yesterday. of course, work had to be a 'goat rodeo' (to steal my wife's term) which compounded my bad day. i managed a 5 mile run but i had a difficult time breathing and didn't take much satisfaction from the run except for the fact that i got it done.

but, to quote rem, today is a new day and the coffee is strong.

the best teams in the national league look like they are going to back into the play-offs...assuming they make it. why can't prince hit homeruns? while i think the homerun is overrated, ie, there are a lot of ways to score runs and win games, but when he hits them it buoys the whole offense. and the bullpen...yikes. when shouse is your best arm you know you are in a rough patch. oh well, hopefully they can pull it together.

time to work.

happy wednesday.

where was i, where am i?

tuesday...i've lost some days just like i lost a few hours yesterday. school is back full on. i'm light on homework for the next session so it's time to get ahead. sunday we watched greg perform well in the iron man. yesterday, i had an endoscopy which found nothing wrong...which is good and bad at the same time i guess.

and now it's back into regular scheduled programming.

happy tuesday.

well, here we go again.

the first session of class starts tonight...14 to 15 hours of class by the time we finish on saturday. 3 classes to be exact and during our lunch hour tomorrow we will be discussing our capstone project for the final semester. here is to less free time, more exhaustion, and to being OVER half done starting at 6 tonight.

to commemorate the last night of freedom, i ventured out to mt horeb to play some golf with greg. he wanted a cart but i guess with ironman on sunday i can't blame him. we're going to try to hit the links once a week this fall...that is until i can't find the time.

i had every intention of running this morning, but waking up at 5:45 to the sound of light rain on the window forced me to stay in bed. oh well, that would have just compounded my long day even more.

happy thursday.

man oh man

i love how you can say obama has no experience and it is just normal politics, no big deal. but, if you say palin has no experience, you are being sexist. i always thought i'd be ok with mcain as president, but i can no longer say that. he is showing that he isn't unlike other republicans. i'm not against conservatives necessarily, i've said it before, just against the republican machine.

5.5 miles last night with some drills for good measure. i'm into the running right now, and as long as my knees hold up i think i stick with it for a while. the fitness return on time investment is high relative to cycling and that is what i need as my life becomes a little more hectic.

happy wednesday.

well, that was a great end...

...to a great summer. while it is with melancholy that i enter the school year, this past weekend was a nice transition to school. we were able to balance housework with fun (including a paddle down the wisconsin river on sunday) and a little school work. it was a great weekend.

it's time to do this thing. i'm half way home and i only have 1 more semester with saturday class.

happy tuesday.