Please Steal My Car

My Facebook status today is: Not entirely thrilled. Some of you know that's a slight inside joke but it more or less describes my mood today. Nothing is tragic, yet I'm not entirely thrilled.

My car may have shit the bed, though it more or less threatens to do this every 6-12 months. Oil is dumping out at an alarming rate. It may be as simple as the oil filter coming loose. Or it may be shot. Or somewhere in between.

Either way I had to walk to the train station on the coldest day of the year. Not bad, but when I got into the Millington cafe my forehead felt like it was going numb.

Somehoe the scale also jumped from 182 to 185. I know variations are normal but I haven't had a +3 in a long time. Didn't think the ride yesterday was that taxing but I guess it was. I'm really biding my time to see 181 and I'm confident I will, but for 2 weeks the bottom hasn't fallen out to that yet, indicating that I may be pressing just how low I can go right now. This is familiar territory in a way. Last time I was down here the weight loss just stopped. I think my methods are better this time but only time will tell. Currently drawing even with last week's weight number which throws up a yellow flag.

It's Friday. I turn 37 tomorrow. I hope to get a nice long birthday ride in but they "feels like" is supposed to be 11. That's awfully cold for a 3 hour ride.

Never Satisfied

FatCat

"Norm, You need to go back to evaluating the people on the train. Or posting pole vaulter pictures. Your regular life is pretty boring otherwise. ;)"

Jeez you people are never satisfied. Well I'm on the train right now and a reasonably hot Asian girl is sitting next to me. She's probably 30 and is falling asleep. I'd take a picture but I think I pressed my luck last time I did that stuff. Other than that not much to see here. I've given up sitting in the 2 seaters for a while. So she's just in the middle of me and some Hispanic guy who is translating Spanish text on his laptop, which is pretty neat.

I'm probably 40 comments behind now. I'd like to say I'll get to them all but you know I won't. I'll chip away at a few but then never knock them all out. So it goes. It's something which you all know is better than nothing, unless you're counting bee stings.

It was 23 degrees this morning. As much as I want to see how well my winter riding gear handles the cold that may be a bit much. I guess we'll see how that works out tomorrow.

Alice

"I am too very excited for new winter shoes."

I don't know who Alice is but I feel your excitement. My shoes have turned out to be an amazing purchase, really. All you could expect and more. Last year my feet were always a cold spot but no longer.

Walter

"I was pretty excited to buy stuff today too. Good to see you"

Like Alice, Walter was into the shoe sale as well though I think he bought lights.

Ok fine, this is all pretty boring. So the girl next to me just took her top off and is dancing on the seat...

Late Night Update

It's late, but I'm well home now. I managed to swing the whole trip in about 4 hours which included a 45 minute stop home. So off the train, to Morris Plains, home, to the airport, Morris Plains, then home in 4:10 total. Solid.

Back th bed now.

Your Blog Sucks

I was told recently by 3 different people that my blog sucks these days. Maybe not in those exact words, but the message was more or less the same. First my wife, then Terren, then my mom. Well ok then, here's something. It may not be on par with sliced bread but it's better than crap, I hope.

I'm on the train to Brooklyn right now, as my Facebook status can attest to. Since signing up for Facebook my blog has become a series of 1 line status updates. When it comes down to it, do I really have more than 1 thing to say in any given day? Probably not.

I ride my bike a colossal amount these days. This past week it was 15.25 hours. I WFH every Tue/Thu and the whole week every 5th week. So of every 25 days of work, I'm in the office 12 of those. That's 12 out of 35 real days. This allows me to pile on the saddle time. I'm good with that mix. I don't like working from home all the time and I don't like going into the office all the time. So that's a good middle ground to be in.

The temps dipped a lot the last 48 hours so now I'll really be testing out my cold weather gear. I'm looking to ride like this through the winter this year so long as it's not wet and sloppy out. My aim is to hit 8 hours a week on average at worst, hopefully more. I think my minimum week would be 6 hours even if stuck inside an entire week. I hope to use the trainer one day a week or less. I hate that thing.

On the 3 days I train to work I catch up on my Chinese podcasts on the way in. I've found a better resource which is progressive. I'm on lesson 27 of 270 (or so). I listen to 3 of the lessons on the way in then wrap it up. 3 is usually enough to stretch my brain. Then I'll either surf or read or blog. Today I blog. Once I hit the subway I'll read. Currently my book is Vonnegut's Wampaters, Foma, and Granfalloons.

On the way home I read on the subway then watch a DVD on the train. Currently I have Northern Exposure season 2 and The Big Lebowski. This is how I spend my train time. If my book is really good I read on the train as well. If a lot is going on with the team and site I surf and reply to posts, messages, and emails.

That's life.

Tonight I have to go to Morris Plains to get the in-laws boat-car then sail it to Newark Airport and pick them up as they come in from Taiwan tonight around 8:30. Then back home hopefully by 10:00. Tomorrow morning will be a cold one so I get to test out the winter duds for real. I'm pretty sure I can deal except for the gloves, which are still a weak point. I may have to break down and get mittens straight up.

Also, I've gotten serious about dropping pounds and I saw 182 last week which matches my all time low since grade school. That also represents a 14 pound loss since I started this. I'm using numbers this time to try and hit a 600 calorie deficit every day. I'm also charting how I eat through the day and identifying my poor eating habits, namely that I tend to eat too litttle in the middle of the day and too much at night.

Not sure where it will end but for 15 weeks or so I've been pretty much dropping a pound a week on average. I don't starve myself, I have chocolate, candy, or ice cream every day, still get 6-9 fruits/veggies everyday, and feel great. Ideally I'd like to see 171 for a 25 pound loss. But if I do that you can be sure I'll try to see the 160s too. For now I have my sights set on 181. Then 180. And so on. The journey of 1000 miles begins with 1 step. Or buying shoes.

Out of the tunnel and in NYC now. Enjoy your week. Maybe I'll see you Wednesday.