a few announcements

1. I didn't intentionally neglect my musical duties. In fact, I even copied some files to my hard drive for posting "later". Then the holiday weekend came and went, and "later" didn't end up being anytime soon. Better late than never, though--they're in the extended entry.

2. I have a teammate for the Urban Assault Race! While I'm kind of sad that Noah didn't want to do it again, I'm excited about racing this year with someone who likes to ride as much as I do. I still don't have any delusions of winning, but I think we may be able to make a middle-of-the-pack showing in the women's division. Let the route-planning begin!

3. I know that I'm, like, a week late to the party on this, but you know what sucks? Watching 2 hours of boring, bloated crap, only to miss the two minutes of the Idol finale that I really wanted to see. And the official apology with the line comparing the live Idol finale to sporting events...please. A sporting event's run time is far less controllable than a variety/entertainment show. Most of the stuff in this show had zero effect on the outcome, and could easily have been cut when it looked like they were running short on time. I understand that they paid the artists to be there, even if they were horrible (I'm looking at you, Midler), but the Golden Idols? They were stupid and unfunny last year, too. Why give more airtime to the audition freak parade? It only encourages more of the crazy next year, and the audition episodes take up way too much time the way it is.

   That said, the episode may remain on my DVR for all time, just for that Doug E. Fresh/Blake performance. Awesome. I'm a little embarrassed to admit how many times I've watched it.

4. I've been very good with the food/exercise for about 4 days now. I probably shouldn't say that I have a handle on this again, because history has shown that such pronouncements are generally followed by an epic screw-up. However, I'm going to chance an "I might". Today, I even ended with my calories under 1500 (barely--1497, per sparkpeople)!

5. Inspired by this book (which I'm really enjoying, though the constant pop-culture similes are starting to wear on my nerves a bit), I've started walking for 30 minutes every day, whether I feel like it or not. I didn't today, however, because I went to my old sculpting class this afternoon instead. OH. MY. GOD. I was shaky from the neck down for about an hour afterward, and I didn't even use any weights over 5 lbs. During the lunges, the instructor walked by and said to me..."I think it's been too long since I've seen you in here." I was like, "yeah, me too." Dude...I am weak. I'm not at all sore right now, at least, but I see it coming in a day or two.

6. My left ankle is getting better, but it's a two steps forward, one step back sort of healing. The daily walking isn't doing it any favors, but it's not hindering enough that it's worth breaking the habit. The lunges were a little rough today, and I had to be really careful to skip/go easy on any stretches that caused any kind of discomfort for the Achilles. I think in another couple weeks, or maybe a month, it might be back to pre-running condition.

7. Of course, you know the reason I'm so gung-ho about the food and the strength training and the walking, right? I want to build my damned bike already. The Pilot is working fine, of course (except for a vexing issue with the front derailleur hitting the chain in the bigger gears...it's a cable adjustment thing, and while a kind soul at the club ride did fix it for me Sunday, it's back), but as it nears the 5000-mile mark, I'm starting to get antsy. I want to ride the Orca in the duathlon in October, and I have to lose 1.5 - 2 lbs/week in order to make that happen. Which means no more Ms. Nice Joy...if I have to kick my own ass every single day for 4 straight months, I am going to lose those 30 lbs. God as my witness and whatever.

UPDATE: Music links removed.

And here it is--the music I was going to post 4 days ago. As threatened/promised, it's all Idol-related. I tried to find one from every season I've watched (4, 5, & 6), but couldn't find any mp3s from the Taylor year. Mostly because I could not stand his spastic ass. So anyway, here you are...

Independence Day - Carrie Underwood

Within a Dream - Bo Bice

Somewhere Only We Know - Keane (yeah, not an Idol...but downloaded because of one)

You Give Love a Bad Name - Bl@ke Lew1s

Right-click, save-as, see you tomorrow.