Thunder of Wade

I did 20 laps today – should have done more, but there was a swim meet going on and I had to share a lane.  That, along with a sore knee, a cramp in my side, and a mild headache, got me out of the pool before I really should have.   As a side note, the pool area smelled of tired people, bengay, and the stuff that’s used in elementary school to clean up and mask the smell of vomit.  So, that was fun too.

I did 24 laps in the pool on Monday. I think I could have done more, but I was tired and a little dizzy. I’m glad I’m pushing myself in the pool, but it has consequences.

My room-mate and I played Need for Speed last night a bit on the Wii. He says the controller gives him a cramp in his hand so we switched to use the controller like a steering wheel. It works okay, but is not as responsive as I would have liked. I played a little bit on my own and unlocked some new areas – I think it’s far better than previous NFS games I’ve played.

I think I finally got the spyware cleared off my computer at home. It was annoying and worrying. I also got Norton updated on my machine – I’m hoping that, plus a little caution, will keep this from happening again.

I’ve been working hard and getting a lot accomplished, but I’m not really feeling positive about that. Just sort of down – I think the winter blahs are hitting me again. The exercise is helping – but I also think I need to get going on a project at home. Feels like all I do is work and sleep anymore.

Well, time to get my pre-swim oatmeal and get back to work.

later…

I finally got up to 20 laps with a combination of crawl and backstroke. My arms are getting stronger, but it still wears me out. I had to drop back down to 12 last Friday since I was pressed for time. I’m headed to the pool again today, we’ll see how it goes.

I visited my folks and my sister and brother in law for the weekend for my sister’s birthday. We went out to Olive Garden for lunch and played some games – including a grueling game of Shanghai Rummy. Had a pretty good time just hanging out with the crew – but in the middle of a shopping trip to Menard’s, my room-mate called on my Dad’s cell phone for me. (my own cell phone was roaming and had 0 bars in the store and I’d turned it off).

He’d been using my computer and clicked on a pop-up that “looked” like the norton anti-virus requested to download an update. So, he did – and got the computer infected with some spyware. It’s a pretty nasty program that claims to run a virus scan, displays a bunch of phony warnings, then prompts the user for a credit card for to download the full version.

I got my room-mate stopped before he put in his credit card in – and when I got back, I spent the rest of Sunday evening trying to remove the spyware – with no luck. I managed to kill it in the short term, but it keeps coming back.

So, I fired off an email to one of my colleagues to see if he can help. I hate asking for computer help, but I don’t want to make things worse with an untested removal program – or damaging the registry files.

Also, confession time. Last week I looked for, download, and read the manual for some of the software we have on campus. It fixed the problem I was having, but I still felt bad about it. I joked with some people that I was going to start asking for directions when I’m out driving. Yeah, it was that bad.

that’s it for now…

I hit the pool again yesterday and this time got in 12 good laps. I think I got the breathing down for the crawl – though it’s not natural yet and I have to pay attention. I alternated doing the crawl and the backstroke and while I wasn’t fast, I did okay with some short breaks.

I was pretty disappointed on Friday when I could only do ten laps -but yesterday shows I’m on the right track and with time I should be able to get back up to my 30+ laps.

Not much else going on. Work has been stressful recently but I’m getting through it.

I’ve been playing “de Blob” on the wii. It’s fun, but the constant shifting angles gives me a headache after a while. Not as bad as Spyro the Dragon or Katamari Damacy, but still significant.

Oh, I also finally got up to 1/2 priced books. Got about $40 back from my books – and then spent about $53. So, saved a little money and got some new reading material.

Better get back to work – later…

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later.   We finally had our first injur-wii – that is, an injury involving the Wii.     It started off with a round of bowling on the Wii – I totally skunked my room-mate.   Like, I started the game with three strikes in a row.  I’d also kicked ass in the golf game, of all things.   

The sky was glowing last night – all the reflected light from the snow was making it look like dawn even though it was almost 10:00 when I looked outside. I was out for only a few minutes to put a bill in the mailbox, but stopped for a moment to appreciate the light and the quiet. But I was wearing my flip- flops and it quickly got too cold for that.

My room-mate has been going through some issues with his siblings and has been more stressed out than usual. When I’m around someone stressed, I find myself getting more calm and quiet. I guess it’s a way to find a bit of balance and maybe bring a little perspective to things. I also tend to get more excited about things when people are down – and inherently distrustful of hype. Might be a little zen and if so, that’s not a bad thing.

Today I hit the pool and switched over to the crawl and backstroke. I was only able to do 10 laps and I was exhausted. No power, no speed. Just… a crawl. Disappointing, but I’ve been told that this is normal when a new set of muscles are being used. I suppose that’s a good thing, but I felt… slow.

I’m hoping for a quiet weekend – with a bit of Wii to keep me occupied.

that’s it for now… later…

I got in my 32 laps yesterday and finished up my first 200 miles swimming.  Took me a couple years to do and I’m sure my next 200 will go much faster.   I joked with someone about how the English channel is next, but that it 21 miles (at a minimum) and has to be done all at once. 

I went and saw my FRM’s son play basketball on Saturday. I sat with his other two son’s and with his mom – there’s a long-standing feud going on and though FRM did stop by and shake my hand and say hello, he didn’t stick around. The game was fun to watch and I had a good time. It had been a long time since I’d see his other son’s – they are now both taller than me and one has a kid of his own.

On Sunday, I decided to set up a wireless network at home. A quick trip to best buy and I had the components I needed. Had a little trouble with the card for the computer and had to do that a couple of times to get it right. And then was a little cranky when I realized the router had extra slots for a wired connection to the computer. Which is not a big deal, just makes it more flexible later on. Once those were in place, I connected the Wii and set that up to get the news and weather and watched a video of a wii game I might like to buy.

Riding high on that success, I decided to hook up my PSP. That went much smoother than the wii and I was able to visit the university’s home page, then do a search on google for new PSP themes – and downloaded one. It was pretty cool in a really deeply geeky way.

In about 20 minutes or so, I’ll head up to the pool and swim 32 laps – putting me exactly at 200 miles total. Kind of a big deal for me – but I’m not sure what I’ll do to celebrate. Cheesecake, perhaps? 🙂

That’s about it for now. Later…

I’ve been trying to drink a lot more water, just in general. As a consequence, I’m headed to the bathroom more frequently than I used to be. Not normally a big deal, it’s not like I get my pay docked or anything. Today, however, both bathrooms here in the building have contained a most unholy stench. Eye watering, choking, pore clentching stench. I have never peed so fast in my life.

I had a dream the other night that I was living in Upper Arlington, Ohio and was looking out the window at a huge storm coming in.  I could see a hot air balloon show being swept along towards the house – some of the balloons had cars where the baskets should be.   I stepped outside to get a better look and after a moment I noticed a static electricity  feeling in my hands.  I raised my hand, brought two fingers together and when I drew them apart I saw blue electricity arc between.   The feeling got worse and I ran back towards the house.  I took about three steps and a bolt of lightning struck right behind me.  I realized I had actually run into and through the spot where it was going to strike.  I woke up then, a little shaken.