Category: Uncategorized Page 53 of 157

Last evening, went to dinner at Fazoli’s – a fast-ish food Italian restaurant. The food is pretty good, the price isn’t bad, and the service is good. I can expect pretty much the same thing each time I go there – but I was not expected the pirates at the counter. Not behind the counter; these were customers. Turns out there was a whole table of pirates, along with a table of surgeons and several girls wearing diapers on the outside of their shorts. All teenagers.

And oh, wow, were they loud? They were loud. Like a sonic wave from that section where they were all seated. It made normal conversation in the rest of the restaurant almost impossible. They eventually headed out in groups – except for the pirates. They left the same time we did and loaded up into a jeep. Never did figure out why they were in costume.

Speaking of costume, I made a little progress on my Halloween costume. My initial ideas weren’t going to work and I had to re-think the plans. The revised design – which I mentally worked on while swimming – should be more mobile and comfortable, though my vision may be limited.

Next, an update on Thunder(cat)’s behavior. I had postulated that he was smart enough to recognize polite requests and I believe I was in error.

Yesterday, I had the closet door open and he darted in. I went about my business and ignored him, then moved away from the open door. In a few minutes – without prompting – he wandered out and went down the hall. So, it’s not so much that he listened to me, rather, he was only going in the closet to get “up in my grill”. Once I stopped being near that area he got bored and left.

Still, a learning experience. Now if I could just figure out how to keep him off the internet.

Finally, last update on the flip turns in the pool. I did a flip turn at each lane end for each lap yesterday and while I’m not a master at them, I didn’t drown myself. I was also quite a bit faster as a result. So, no more updates on flip turns – I’ve got them essentially figured out and I’ll slowly get better over time. Today will be 157 miles.

You know how everyone has that one weird neighbor? It’s like there’s a quota or something – like having that one annoying co-worker.

On Monday after work, I did my swim and decided to mow the lawn and do a little trimming when I got home. The previous owners of my house were really into vines and the fences are covered with them – including grapes. And this year, I had a pretty good crop of them.

So, when I was done with the yard work I picked some grapes, removed the stems, and washed them. I ended up with enough to share and filled a small container for the neighbors that I share a driveway with.

I also took some to my neighbors on the other side of the house. These folks I don’t know so well – our schedules don’t mesh – but I’ve talked to them once and always wave when I see them. I went around to the front of their house (my side yard is next to their back yard), rang the doorbell, and waited. Their dog was tied to the porch support post and was on the porch – and was freaking out. The guy came to the door and I re-introduced myself and told him that there were grapes growing on both sides of the fence and I thought I’d share. He gave me an odd look, said thanks, and then proceeded to yell at the dog. I said goodbye and headed out.

I thought it was a nice gesture, but as I walked away I realized how completely random that was. I’ve only talked to him once and only once to his fiance – she had told me they thought I was a killer because I’m so quiet and they never saw me.

So, I guess I’m the weird neighbor – at least as far as they are concerned.

After my “inhale the pool through my nose” debacle, I was a little hesitant to try the flip-turns again. But, it was on my list of things to do this year and since I had finally started, I needed to work on them.

Yesterday, I did 24 flips turns. 4 were dang near perfect, most were functional, 3 brought me to a near stop, and 2 of them sent water up my nose. They weren’t as bad as my previous jaunt in the pool, but annoying. I’ve got a long way to go before I can complete the sequence without thinking about it, but I think I was a little faster with my laps since I wasn’t stopping at each turn. Which is pretty much the point.

In other news… Thunder(cat) loves to play in my clothes closet. Every time I open the door, in he goes. He likes to chew on shoelaces and hide in the back behind the clothes. I don’t want him in there for fear he’ll shred something or get trapped without me knowing it when I close the door. I usually have to pick him up and drag/carry/toss him out when I’m done in there. None of which either of us enjoy.

Yesterday, I was changing clothes after work and had the door open. He darted in there and hid in the back. I wanted to tell him, “You’re never getting to Narnia, dumbass”, but instead I politely said, “Thunder, would you please come out here? It’s for your own good and I would really appreciate it,”

A moment later, he walked out of his own accord and trotted downstairs.

This has actually worked before when I asked him “Is that appropriate behavior?” when he was up on the mantle batting at the TV, but I figured it was a fluke. But it may be that he’s waaaaaay smarter and more refined than I would have given him credit. Maybe I just need to be more polite? This is a cat we’re talking about, so it’s pretty unlikely. Still…

Finally, had some huge and totally accidental success in Minecraft. I was deep in the Nether, making my way carefully across the lava pools and fields of slow sand, heading towards the fortress. In the distance, I heard a Ghast – a giant ghostly squid-like flying fireball shooter – purring and shrieking. I crested a ridge of netherack and suddenly the Ghast was on me. At point blank range, I switched to a pickax and swung just as he shot a fireball at me. The ax hit the fireball and sent it right back to the Ghast – destroying it with one hit. It shrieked one last time and vanished – leaving behind a Tear (a very rare item).

I hightailed it back to the Overworld and put the Tear into a chest for safe-keeping. Then I put my character to bed and called it a day.

I did a little prototyping last night on a couple of origami projects. A friend asked if I could make a Filipino Christmas star and I think I got close with a particular module. It’s not quite there, but I think I could further modify it – photos once it’s done. I also worked on a simple sailboat out of poster board for another friend. The lamp project is on hold until I get these done.

After watching a little Eureka and playing with the cat, I headed to bed.

I was up at 3 to use the bathroom, then woke up again later. It seemed really quiet in my room and I realized the fan – which I usually have running – was off. I thought Thunder(cat) might have unplugged it, but when I glanced over at the clock to see what time it was, the clock was dark.

The power was out.

I got up and went over to the dresser to check my watch. 5:30 am. I lay back down in bed for a moment and considered my options. If I tried to go back to sleep, I would most likely be late for work since there would be no alarm. If I lay in bed much longer awake, the headache that was starting would go full blown.

So, I got up and made my way back across the dark room to a storage container where I knew I had – along with other random junk – at least one unused glow stick. I found it, took it out of the package, and snapped it alight – much to the surprise of my cat.

Then, by the green light of a glow stick, I got dressed and ready for work. Thunder(cat), despite his clearly superior night vision, was no help at all. I found my phone, got my swim gear from my extra spooky basement, and went out to the garage. I pulled the release on the door and opened it manually – then closed it again after my car was out.

The rest of my street was dark – though the traffic light nearby was not. Nor was the rest of the neighborhood, except for a traffic light further down the road. Strange little pockets of power loss.

I got some breakfast and a sandwich for lunch at Sheetz and fueled up my car. I was early to work and got right into it.

I’m hoping the power is back on by the time I get home. I think this was my last glow-stick and I don’t know how long it will last.

For all the swimming I’ve done, I never learned how to do a flip turn. This is a move where the swimmer does a forward roll as they approach the wall and then kick off from the wall and begin the next lap inverted. It makes it easier to keep going and keep up the momentum.

I usually just grab the wall as I get to it, twist around with my head above water, and push off to start my next lap. Far easier for me since I tend to get disoriented when I’m inverted.

Over the weekend I was in a small pool and decided it would be a good time to try and learn. I tried a few times stopped near the wall and holding my nose. Seemed to work okay and the mantra of “push off when you see the sky” was working for me. Next, I tried with a slow approach to the wall to figure out the breathing and where I should begin my flip. Then, I worked my way up to not holding my nose during the maneuver and handling the recovery. I tried to do two of these in succession and then three – and that’s when my timing went to shit.

I inhaled underwater. And not just a little, I went for it big time. I came up sputtering, coughing, and choking. Felt like I had tried to shove an entire pool’s worth of water in my sinuses. I was dizzy and my head was pounding.

I got out of the pool and sat in a deck chair for a while until I was better. And that was pretty much it for me and the pool that day.

Today, I’ll be swimming after work again and I think I may try the flip turn. Wish me luck.

Last week, I saw an article online about… ummmm… cat crafts. These would be items you can make for your cat – not how to teach your cat to do crafts.  Which would be more entertaining, I think, but far less productive.

http://www.simonscat.com/Blog/2013-08-22/Craft-Your-Cat-a-Gift/

I took a look at this and thought, “Hey, I could do that. I bet Thunder(cat) would really like…”

And then I stopped myself with a swift, self-inflicted, blow to the head.

No. I am not going to make crafts for my cat. Not gonna do it.

Of all the toys I’ve gotten for him, Thunder(cat)’s favorite is a wadded up ball of paper. That’s it. Just a bit of scrap paper will keep him busy for minutes.  He doesn’t even like cardboard boxes that much.

Although, that scratching board would be fun to make… NOooooooo!

In other news… Pizza Hut. Their pizza is amazing, the service at our local Hut is awesome, and we have eaten there enough to be considered regulars. The server takes our drink order at the door – she usually guesses pretty close – and we seat ourselves. As a formality, she’ll stop over and take our order but doesn’t give us a menu anymore. The whole process has gotten more efficient the more times we’ve gone there. I’m pretty sure we’ll reach a point where we can just walk in, make eye contact, seat ourselves – and they’ll bring over drinks and pizza when it’s ready.

I know the server’s name that usually waits on us – Amber – but she doesn’t know us. I think I’m going to start introducing myself when a server does.

“Hi, I’m Amber, and I’ll be your server today,”
“Hi, I’m Anthony, and I’ll be your customer today,”

Or is that too weird? It’s tough for me to tell anymore – I come from a long line of fairly weird people and the line between “normal” and “weird” is a vast, gray fog.

So, back to work today and the parking lot is already full. There’s a line out the door of students to get their computers fixed. And I’ve got the mother of all parking surveys to build.  Welcome to Fall semester 2013.

I finished mile number 152 in the pool on Friday. Feels like I’m in the downhill stretch – though 48 miles is still along way to go.

Got invited to a minecraft themed party today – so, yesterday I bought some paper and made little minecraft blocks for the birthday boy out of paper. I think he liked the legos he got from everyone else better – and I can’t really fault him for that. It was a fun project and I’ll have some pictures on tumblr shortly.

The birthday boy’s dad had a project for us as well – they had cut down a tree in their backyard and a giant chunk of wood was left behind. A group of us tried to move it by hand without any luck, then we used physics and geometry – plus a tire jack and a big ass truck+rope – to first haul it over to a burn pile and then onto the pile itself. Well, mostly.

Then came the oil, gasoline, fire and then – disturbingly – more gasoline before it was roaring. I suspect it will burn for days.

Tomorrow is the first day of classes for UA. I’m bringing my lunch since I don’t want to brave the student union or drive anywhere. It’s going to be pretty crazy. I’m glad the crush of students is back – the summer is too quiet.

Time for a little folding, some tv, then an early night.

I had a headache Monday – pretty much all day. I realized that I had let caffeine creep back into my routine enough that a lack of it in the morning was enough to trigger a headache. I fought it most of they day and finally gave up and went home early. It wasn’t a migraine so I didn’t have any light sensitivity – so when I got home I laid out in the sun in my backyard. Even in the middle of the city, the backyard was kinda quiet during that time of the day and I was out there for a couple hours. My headache faded out as the evening went on and I was fine by the time I went to bed.

Leaving work early meant I missed my swim after work, so yesterday I went for a long swim. I was feeling well enough at 1/2 mile to start thinking about going further than a mile. At a mile, I figured I could easily do a mile and a half and at 1.5 miles I figured I might as well do 2 miles.

That last half mile was rough, though. My shoulder started to hurt, my knee was already bothering me and the breast-stroke kick sent my ankle into the pain-zone. I stuck it out and finished the 2 miles – and wasn’t that tired. So, stamina and perseverance up, but my hardiness was down.

If I do a mile today – which I’m planning on doing – I’ll be up to 150 miles for the year.

Went to the final ballet in the park this weekend. It was… uneven. Started out with a terrible vending experience. In line forever, over-priced soda in a can, and the vending maven was reluctant to give me change. When the show started, I was pretty excited. The first “act” was a kodo style drummer. Really impressive. There was another dancer that did a Capoeira style dance. And another that did a lively dance all over the stage in a shaggy costume. But the rest…

The dancers also sang, but not well. The other dances were uneven and disjointed. And there was way too much tap – including a tap off. Also a spoken word that was terribly out of place.

And the crowd was terrible. Someone lit a cigar. Another took photos. And the three women behind us would not shut up. I finally got up and told them that their voices were carrying. Which was nicer than they deserved.

The show went on and on. And the evening got chilly.

I was cranky – and admitted that to the people I was with. So, I adapted to the cold by taking off my shirt – mind over temp – and I adapted to being cranky by calming myself down. Well, as much as I could.

When we left, some older woman in a Buick tried to cut us off. I swore in her general direction – which didn’t help but made me feel a little better.

I had a coke to help with a headache while I was there and that interfered when I eventually did try to go to sleep. Not a great evening overall – but it didn’t turn me completely off the ballet.

Today, we hung out with my former co-worker and his super awesome family. We had lunch and then worked on some projects – including mounting his 50 inch TV to the wall. He explained that the brackets that came with the mount that weren’t long enough to fit his TV. So, we would need to cut a board, mount that to the TV, then mount the bracket to the board and to the wall. He got the board cut at his neighbors and we drilled holes in the board to get ready for the bolts. We needed new longer bolts so we went to the hardware store. Then back again because we had the wrong size. The holes had to be drilled out to make them fit the TV.

Finally, it was time to mount the board to the TV. We realized that the bracket was in two pieces – and the extra piece would make it long enough to fit the TV.

We didn’t need the bolts, either trip to the hardware store, the board – any of it. In a matter of a few minutes, we had mounted the TV to the wall. Total waste of time – but we still had fun. 🙂

Went to the ballet again last weekend and this was a much better performance. Or, at least, more engaging. I doubt I’m even approaching being an accurate judge of this sort of thing – but it was more fun. The downside? People in the crowd. We had folks that got there late and tried to sit in the front. Folks on scooters that nearly ran others over as they jockeyed for position. Two women and at least one kid sitting behind us that would not stop talking. And one woman brought her two dogs with her and they would not shut up.

Pro-tip: Dogs don’t appreciate ballet. Please make a note of that.

Speaking of animals, I’ve got a groundhog living in my backyard. Or if he’s not living there, he’s a frequent visitor. I can see him from my office window on the second floor of my house – Thunder(cat) is fascinated by him as well. The groundhog tends to hang out near the garage, but on one occasion tried to climb the weeds near my pine tree. Apparently he forgot that a) You can’t climb a weed since they won’t support the weight of a groundhog (and “hog” does not imply light-weight”) and b) “ground” hogs are not climbers.

He seemed embarrassed when the weed fell over and took off for a while.

In other news… I’ve been playing quite a bit of Minecraft. Here’s one sequence of actions I did:

Chopped down a tree to get wood. Crafted the wood to planks and the planks to sticks. Used the sticks and planks to craft a pickax. Used the pickax to mine stone. Used the stone and the sticks to make a sword. Used the sword to kill a spider (big spider!) and gathered string. Used the string and sticks to make a fishing rod. Used the fishing rod to catch a fish. Used the fish to lure and tame an ocelot and turn it into a pet cat.

The virtual cat followed me back to my virtual castle and moved in. He’s a lot like my real cat in that he gets into stuff and can teleport.

However, my real cat is confused. The cat in the game will meow and Thunder(cat) will walk back and forth between the speakers to try and find the “other cat”. After a few tries at this, he stopped and looked at me – then went to another room.

Thunder(cat) was not amused.

I got invited to the ballet in the park last weekend – or rather, ballet in the cemetery. I’ve been there before and it is as cool as it is creepy. It’s also rife with mosquitoes. So, prior to heading out, my friend and I put on some Deep Woods Off. Having seen him put on spray on suntan lotion, I cautioned him against spraying his face directly because if he got it in his eyes he would “cry forever”. I sprayed some DWO in his hands and he wiped it on his face – and promptly got some in his eyes.

I helped him back into the house and got him some wet paper towels so he could wipe his eyeballs off. Later, he would tell people that I maced him. I’m pretty sure I did the opposite of that with my warning and he sort of maced himself.

Anyway, off to the cemetery and the ballet.

Aaaaand, I didn’t get it.

I tried, I really did. Yea, Culture! But it didn’t work. Neither the costumes, the title of the piece, nor the movements told any kind of story. And while the dancers were very athletic and had some interesting movements, they also repeated those moves over and over. I kinda tuned out a little – though I didn’t read a book or look at my phone.

I did like the pants they wore, though.

The second act was much the same as the first – though this time they wore shorts and did an inverted bicycle move quite a bit. The third act – which we had been cautioned was rated “PG” (it wasn’t) – was a little more lively, but still…

Am I too comic-book, video-gamed, sci-fi-ed, to appreciate the ballet? Or was it just not that great?

Oh, and insult to injury? The concession stand ran out of candy before the third act. The Nerve!  And even though I had marinated in DWO – I got a mosquito bite on my cheek.

No wonder I didn’t enjoy it. The walk back to the car was kinda fun though – a few of us pretended to be zombies. And I got compliments on my lurching. What can I say? I practice.