bullets

Time for a bulleted list, since I have a bunch of stuff rattling around in my brain and feel too lazy to make it into something halfway cohesive.

• -A friend called me yesterday to let me know that a mutual friend had her baby--a little girl. I guess she thought I'd want to know, and I suppose I did...but as she was telling me this, all I could think was that this woman's due date was after what mine would have been. I feigned interest for as long as I could stand it, then abruptly changed the subject. I wish I could just get over it, already. Most of the time I think I have, but then something like this comes along and it's like March all over again. Fuck.
• I recently discovered my new iPod's stopwatch function. Not only will it keep lap times, but it will save the info for each workout so I can keep track of my progress. I've been playing with it on my last couple walks, and I think I've mostly got the lap function down. This will be super handy when I start running again.
• Speaking of running again, I ordered some shoes the other day. I've started to have problems with the outer part of my foot when I walk in my current shoes, so I thought maybe they're going end-of-life on me. These are the most expensive pair of running shoes I've ever bought, even after shopping around for the best possible deal ($60 + shipping from foot locker via Amazon, after applying for credit to get the initial purchase discount).

  I don't know when I intend to start running again, but I've been reading and researching it. I want to lose 5-10 lbs before I start, and also get my fitness level up to the point that I can walk 3 miles in 50 minutes while keeping my heart rate below 130. I figure that until I can do that, I don't have a prayer of running in an aerobic HR zone. I don't plan to be militant about HR again, but I don't want to run myself into the ground and quit, either.

  My plan for now is to walk 3 miles during my lunch hour every day, unless I bike to work. Once I can do that under 50 minutes and 130 bpm, I'll throw some running in there. This plan has the joint benefits of earning work fitness points and keeping me away from Mexican restaurants as well.

• We bought the Stick It DVD last week, and after watching it a couple times this weekend, I completely fell in love with the soundtrack. So I downloaded it, and added 14 new songs to my workout playlist. Guess what FMF is going to be about this week?
• My rides this weekend were faster than usual. One of the regulars from my group branched off and formed an ultra-beginner ride, which left me with only the faster members of my core group. The last couple weeks, we have been sustaining 15 mph without having to wait for anyone at the regroups (well, except for me, last week). This week, I also rode with the Sunday club ride, which I haven't done since last year. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I arrived at the starting place 10 minutes after everyone had left. Since that wasn't a huge disadvantage and I knew the route, I took off at commute pace (not a sprint, but not leisurely, either) and hit a shortcut to catch them. I did end up catching the tail end of the 30 milers on the last loop, and I came back in with them. My average for that one was 15.6 mph. So this weekend, I rode 42 miles with a 15.3 mph(-ish) average. It's progressing.
• Because the car I got in the trade this past week has no aux port, I had to dig out my other iPod and the FM transmitter after not using it for a few days. As if sulking about being replaced by a thinner, prettier iPod, it started refusing to play the songs I asked for. It would play some songs, but if I selected others, it would skip over them like they didn't exist. It played audiobooks fine, but music playlists were hit-or-miss. Finally, this morning, I hit on the commonality between all the songs it wouldn't play--they were all iTunes downloads. A google search, knowledge base article, and reauthorization later, all the songs play again. Audrey and I have reconciled...just in time to get my car back and relegate her to backup status again.
• My latest batch of booksfree books included A Confederacy of Dunces. It was recommended by a co-worker and won a Pulitzer, so I feel like I should give it a go. However, I'm having some trouble with the main character. As in, I hate him. Really, lip-curling-in-disgust-ingly cannot stand Ignatius Reilly. I understand it's a farce, and he's meant to be repulsive, but I'm not sure that I can stand to read another however-many pages about him. I spent most of the first chapter hoping he'd get hit by a bus, and the rest of the book would be about just how every life he touched was better without his selfish, repugnant ass. Maybe he gets more tolerable in chapter two. If he doesn't develop a redeeming quality by chapter 5, I'm done.

  This is like The Shipping News all over again. I really wanted to like that, too. Does the Pulitzer committee have a requirement that at least one of the primary characters be completely unlikeable? I guess not, since Gilead was pretty good. Though, now that I think about it, the friend's son was an asshole. But he was at least a likeable asshole.

  Sigh. Maybe I should just stop trying to read "good" fiction. Or I could hope that The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (on its way now) is good enough to redeem the entire Pulitzer list for me. With an assist from To Kill a Mockingbird, which I loved.

• I've been tired and moody for the past week or so, and craving bland, warm, comfort food. I had french fries on Saturday, grilled cheese & tomato soup yesterday, and today I'm thinking mashed potatoes. I think this trend, along with the weepiness and this scatterbrained post, can be explained in just three letters.
Posted by Joy at October 2, 2006 11:17 AM

Ooh, ooh, The Amazing Adventures! That's a fantastic book. You've got a treat ahead of you.