I haven't felt this way about a technology since I discovered iTunes

Late to the game as usual, I finally gave in to this Tivo/DVR business everyone already has. Best. Invention. Ever. Seriously. I may never watch live TV again. LOVE IT.

Although, maybe after the T-W fiasco (did I tell you they sent me a bill for $199? After I canceled? That included charges for which I had already paid? On the bright side, the lady I talked to on my irate customer call was very sympathetic to my story, and assures me that I don't actually owe them any money. Of course, I didn't really need her assurances to know that I wasn't paying them another f'ing dime, but enough about that), I'm just delighted to have equipment that actually works. And the Dish Network stuff does work. Beautifully. Simply. Immediately. Every time, every channel. And the picture's better on the flat screen with dish, even on standard channels.

Now if AT&T would just activate my damned DSL (was supposed to be yesterday), they'll have a customer for life.

Other than that, things are coming together. Both cats are moved, and Jackson is nursing his moving trauma by throwing his weight around with Norman. Because he was there first, he thinks he's got dibs on all the good sleeping spots. I imagine Norman will win in the end, though, since he's got size going for him. Being an 18-lb. cat has its advantages that way.

I've stayed the last couple nights there, and mostly gotten used to the sounds around the house. The first night I was up till 3 am.. It was so quiet that every house-settling noise had me dialing 911 and checking the house for intruders, my finger hovering over the "talk" button. Finally, I found Armageddon on one of the movie channels and watched until I passed out. The past two nights have been better--Noah stayed with me, and it's easier to ignore the strange noises when there's another person around.

I haven't worked out at all since the move, and I do feel a little guilty about that. I meant to go to a spin class this morning, but I was exhausted by the time we got back from Walmart last night, and I just didn't feel up to a 4:30 wake-up call. I'm going to try to hit a 5:30 tomorrow morning, so this week will not be a total loss. Counting spin classes, I've got 117 miles planned for next week, so I need to get back into the groove.

Speaking of that, I was looking over the charity ride schedule for the months leading up to the MS150, trying to work out a tentative plan. I've signed up for the Frostbike 50 on 1/28, and then I'm riding solo long rides till March, when I'll pick up the charity Sundays again with the Continental Classic and the Bluebonnet Express. Then I want to do the century course for the Space Race this year, which is on 4/1. After that, I'm on my own again until the MS150. In the 14 weeks between now and then, I'm hoping to put about 1600 miles on the bike, which equates to around 100 hours in the saddle at my current speed. That's not counting the spin class miles, and I plan to do two of those per week. Hopefully, this will be enough training to make for a successful MS150.

Also helping this cause are the new wheels that Rob got me for Christmas. On my first ride after the shop put them on, I was a little disappointed, because I didn't really see much performance improvement in anything other than cornering, and I felt like I was riding through molasses for most of the ride. I chalked it up to wind and the fact that I had just come back from vacation. Checking the tire pressure before my beginner ride on Saturday, however, I discovered that my tires were at 40 psi. Yikes! I assumed the shop would fill the tires to 110, but they had probably just put enough air in to roll it out the door. Even allowing for some seepage, that first ride on Monday couldn't have been at more than 80 psi, which explains the whole "riding through molasses" thing. As you can probably imagine, the wheels were a totally different experience at the correct pressure. The cornering was still lovely, and I gained nearly a full mph's worth of speed w/the same level of effort. Fabulous. I can't wait to go out on a solo ride so I can play with them a bit more.

And finally, I was down a lb. on my home scale today. I'm hoping for another one by Friday.

So, life is good. Between finishing off the moving jobs, work, and getting back to the MS150 training schedule, it promises to be busy-busy-busy around here for a while. I'll try to get some songs up on Friday (I forgot last week), but I doubt you'll see much of me before then.