Still running in on the treadmill due to extreme cold.  Did 8.2 miles this afternoon while watching Deja Vu with Denzel.  Threw in a couple extra miles just for because.  The miles just breeze by while I'm watching the tellie.

Registered today for our local half marathon coming up in April at www.cheshirehalfmarathon.org. It'll be here before we know it!

OK, so 5.2 miles on the treadmill tonight while watching NCIS and Jeopardy.  Did you ever notice how Alex Trebek always acts like he knows all the answers--er, er, er the questions.  Like the contestant will get the wrong question and Alex will be like, "Oh, no, I'm sorry.  The correct answer, of course, is Who is King Gustav the 12th."

Anyway, I'm still on the treadmill due to extreme temps outdoors.  It's been in single digits and teens the last few days.  Like right now it's about 18 but it's warmed up considerably.  When I got up this morn it was 4.  I did see a guy out running pre-dawn and I respect his hardcoreness but frostbite is a real danger it would seem to me.

So I kind of cut it short tonight due to minor foot discomfort.  Nothing serious--I think the inside of my right sneaker is deforming a bit.  I don't feel it right away when I put it on but after a few miles it feels like there's a lump right beneath the ball of my foot.  Guess it's time to break out another pair.

On a lighter note I have an item for sale on the ebay.  I put up for auction a vintage Navy Uniform from the eighties.    My dress blue jumper and classic 13-button trouser.  I started the auction at 99 cents.  It's only up to $2.25 at the moment with about 14 hours to go but there is a whole slewload of folks "watching" it so anything can happen.  I'm really hoping for a big score here so wish me luck.

A quick 10K on the treadmill this evening.  DIDN'T run this one in the reverse direction.  That is all.  It's past my bedtime.

Another glorious day yesterday.  Mid-40's at run time allowed me outdoors for my 10K loop.  Ran it in reverse direction for a change of scenery.  Well, the same scenery just saw it all at different times of the run.  Going the regular way--counterclockwise I basically start and finish downhill so in reverse I start and finish uphill.  Doesn't make much difference as the timing is the same but I just mix it up once in a while.  Mid-50's today.  Crazy New England weather--it's supposed to be in single digits down to zero during this week so I''ll probably be running in for a while now.

Manti Te'o

So, just a few words Manti Te'o:

I feel bad for Manti.  I really do.  The media is obsessing over this story way too much.  Lookit, either the guy is dummer'n a box of rocks OR he is a brilliant and gifted actor who was in on the play from the start.  I suppose another possibility is he's a pathological liar but that doesn't really fit because someone is acting here, whether Manti or some other culprit(s).  But there's no half-way on this.  I mean, some folks think that he was scammed for a few years and then when he realized he had been scammed he just kept up the charade so as to avoid embarrassment.  If so, how well did that work out?  And if he's just a "dumb" guy, or "gullible" as those in polite society are calling it, then he's taken dumb to a new level.  

Either way, I sincerely hope the monumental flood of media coverage is not too much for this young guy to bear.  I suppose he'll be better able to cope if he was in on it all along.  Perhaps he's sitting around right now in egomaniacal bliss having a good laugh.  Whereas if he is just a stone cold moron with a fragile psyche then all this publicity--some of it quite cruel--should not prove beneficial to him.


I'm not getting into the details here because, quite frankly, I simply don't care.  Believe it or not, I had never heard of Manti Te'o prior to yesterday.  I don't follow college sports.  But I did read up on it once the story hit.  The most comprehensive article I've seen is this one: deadspin.com/5976517/ .  It tells you everything you need to know and essentially spells out quite clearly that this guy Ronaiah Tuiasosopo--either a friend or relative of Manti--was the mastermind of the entire thing.  As Adrian Monk would say, "He's the guy."  The primary question which goes unanswered is whether Manti was a confederate or a dupe.

A leisurely 5.2 mile walk on the treadmill this evening while watching The Big Bang Theory.  Got to be the funniest show currently on television.  I mean, I don't watch all the other shows currently on television, in fact I watch hardly any at all, but Big Bang is simply laugh-out-loud funny which is very rare these days.

Not quite sure why I cut it short by a mile tonight.  I guess just because I was walking it the whole way to rest my joints some and obviously that takes longer so I guess it was just to save time.

Went to a funeral yesterday for a long-time CT Army National Guardsman.  Here's the front of one of the prayer cards:  

Just thought it was kind of neat how the snow and the shadows create the American flag.  There was an Army ceremonial unit at the cemetery to provide military honors.  It was a very solemn and moving experience.

Squeezed in another nice 10K prior to the snowfall expected for tomorrow.  It's been in the 40's and 50's the last week or so and all the previous snow has melted just in time for the next snow.  Anyway, it's better that way--makes for easier clean-up without anything under the fresh snow. 

I guess it was in the mid-30's when I went out.  I was all bundled up, including hat and gloves.  Gloves I hardly ever wear but today was the day.  Good thing is the days are getting longer.  Left out at 4 in broad daylight.  Got back around 5 right at dusk time.  Was complimented by one of my neighbors for wearing my reflective vest. 

Been so busy today I've had hardly a minutes rest.  I was even multi-tasking while eating my supper.  My daughter got her ukulele in the UPS today.  I swapped out the motherboard in her cell phone.  Her old one had a broken touch screen so I got a donor phone off the eBay for 20 bucks and swapped boards.  After that I plotted out all my time off requests for work including recovery days for our half marathon in April and marathon in October.

Nice little 10K on the treadmill last night while watching Inglorious Basterds on TNT.  I had never seen it before.  It was decent but sometimes--probably all the times QT has just way too much dialogue in his pictures.  I liked it.  It was very suspenseful in parts but some of those parts just dragged on and on and on.

Would have preferred to run outside again.  The weather is still pretty good.  A bit damp and dreary but still mild enough.  I just ran out of daylight with all my running around with errands during the day.

The Spill and The Freeze

I am so gonna have whiplash tomorrow.  I'm starting to feel it already.  It's a good thing I'm in peak physical condition otherwise I'd be injured a lot worse than I am right now.

But check this out:  Do you have kids?  If they're anything like my kids were while growing up, and still are today to some extent, they'd always do what I call "the freeze" whenever they'd be involved in a mishap.  For example, if something spilled or broke or fell down they would just freeze in place and stare at it, making no attempt whatever to clean it up or move to ameliorate the situation.  Whereas the adults present, me or Maryann or whomever, would instantly spring into action to grab a towel or start picking up broken glass or whatever while the kids were frozen in shock or panic or amazement or who knows what.



So tonight I picked up Nattie (16) from work and she drove us home.  She's had her permit since October and drives every chance she gets to practice up.  She's been doing an excellent job since Day One and driving comes very easily to her, unlike some adults I know.  Anyway, she pulled into the driveway and went just a bit too far over to the right such that I'd need to step out into the snow to get out of the car.  It was raining pretty good at the time, by the way.  So I told her to back up and move it over a couple feet.  So after she moved we went to disembark and she asked me to grab her backpack and boots--those would be her sandy Ugg boots which she just got for Christmas (they had to be sandy, and during a conversation with her mother discussing same Nattie was heard to exclaim, "How can you not know what color sand is?  You grew up on an island!")--out of the back seat.  She travels heavy and was getting her other bag so I didn't mind helping out my baby girl.  

I closed my door--felt my foot slip a bit on ice--opened the back, threw a backpack strap over one shoulder, grabbed her boots--slipped a bit more on the ice, and then when I was closing the door slipped again, this time completely.  There's a slight downhill to our driveway and both feet came completely off the ground as I fell backward.  As I was going down I was thinking quite clearly, "Protect your head.  Protect your head.  Protect your head."  So I tucked my head as far forward as possible by the time my shoulders slammed onto the ground, cushioned only slightly by the backpack.  Also hit my elbow pretty hard.  

Due to the impact and my position I couldn't get up right away and could only lay there feeling water seeping through my skinny jeans.  I had no clue where the boots were at that particular point in time.  Nattie came around the front of the car--I suspect she knew something was amiss as I had screamed like a little girl on my way down to the Earth's surface--but then she just stood there staring at me--The Freeze had set in.  I was still trying in vain to get my leverage to at least roll out of the puddle and get up when she finally asked, "Are you OK?"  "Maybe just get your boots, Nattie.  I'll get up in a minute."  


A few minutes later I hobbled inside and went to report to Nattie in her room.  There she was, holding the Uggs in her hands, brushing them like a pony and lamenting that there were raindrops on them.  I was like, "HUH?"  Then while I was describing to her what had happened--after all, she had no idea why I had fallen--she picked up her backpack and started to study it inch by inch looking for damage.  It appeared to be OK but then she took her Camelbak water bottle out of a side pocket and noticed a dent in it.  She was mortified.  I was like, "Nattie, your dad is in pain here and you're more concerned with your boots, backpack, and bottle!"  She just stared at the bottle.  "Can you get me a new one?  After all, this was your fault."

Jack Reacher

Saw Jack Reacher this afternoon.  Wasn't really planning on it.  I thought I'd see Argo, Django, or Zero Dark Thirty but changed my mind at the last minute.  Actually, I had decided on Argo but when I went to look up movie times it wasn't playing at our nearby cinemas.  I mean, it's supposed to be such a great movie but it's not even playing around so I went with Jack.  I went to the 4:20 show so it was only 7 bucks to get in.  On the way out I found a dollar on the floor of the lobby so it was ultimately $6 total.

Jack was simply outstanding.  There's no other way to put it.  I'm not a huge Tom Cruise fan but he certainly was believable and enjoyable in the roll.  I breezed a few "professional" reviews and they seemed to be a bit down on it, particularly the acting, on average giving the show 2 stars or thereabouts.  Citizen reviews, however, seemed to like the show and were more in the 4 to 5 star range.

I loved it and I dare say I enjoyed it more than I would have enjoyed Argo.  It grabbed me in the first frame--the FIRST FRAME, people--and never let go.  It was smart, tight, suspenseful and humorous.  I don't know if I'm quoting Jack correctly here but it's close enough:  "I'm going to beat you to death and drink your blood out of a boot."  Perhaps not too funny here but in context at a certain point in the story it was hilarious.  

Anyway, go see it if you like action adventure, suspense thrillers, fight scenes, car chase scenes, and gunfights.  

5 STARS.  

Oh, and here's one of the trailers:

Managed to get outdoors again today for my 10K loop.  Nice mid-winter thaw:  hit 50 again, in the 40's at run time.  Was going to go with shorts but wisely put on longs at the last minute.  Sidewalks almost all clear now.  The only place there's any ice left is where they were never cleared at all since the snow.  Oddly the worst stretch of sidewalk is right next to St. Peter's Episcopal Church.  Not sure if it's their property or town property.  Whatever the case no one ever cleared it--a stretch of 150 feet or so.

Went outdoors today to do my 10K loop.  The day hit 50 and it was mid 40's at run time.  Just needed a little bit extra footwork and a little bit extra ginger with some icy spots where folks didn't clear or didn't adequately clear their walks.  Prob shouldn't have done another 10K right after last night on the treadmill less than 24 hours ago.  The legs felt heavy and I was a bit slower than usual but I haven't been out in a while and it felt great.  So invigorating.  Ran past the Legionaries of Christ campus on Oak Avenue.  Twenty to thirty seminarians were outside playing Ultimate Frisbee in the snow.  Whenever one of them scored he kissed his fingers then pointed skyward.  Not sure what that was all about. 

A quick 10K on the treadmill watching NCIS and Jeopardy.  Would've been a nice day to run outside.  Reached the mid 40's today and I saw several folks out running.  The pavement is calling out to me but there's still just too much snow and ice around for my liking.  Maybe I'll be able to get out there Friday or Saturday. 

Yesterday morning, Sunday, I was out pre-dawn and saw two ladies running in the pitch dark.  One down on Cook Hill and the other on South Main up by Lanyon.  They were both wearing headlights.  Why no tail lights?

Chili's Grill and Bar

Had a date with Maryann this evening.  Went to the outlet malls in Clinton and Westbrook to do some Christmas returns and, of course, some shopping.  Now, get this, we returned a couple pair of pants for Nattie and she wants to get a ukulele with the proceeds from the returns.  I'm OK with that.  Seems kind of strange that she'd want a ukulele but then again she is a gifted percussionist who taught herself guitar and piano so I'm sure she'll do well with the uke. 

Anyway, so when we started thinking about eating something it was round about 8 already and we were both so hungry we could have eaten the south end of a northbound skunk.  I suggested we head on back toward home and catch dinner at the Wallingford Chili's.  We had scored a few gift cards on Christmas from an adoring fan so we agreed and headed for Chili's. 

Arrived right about 9 and when we walked in Maryann excused herself to the powder room.  I told the hostess, "2 please," and she said we'd need to wait a few minutes while they wiped down some tables.  I said that would be fine.  While I was sitting there another party of 2 came in and a waitress greeted them and seated them immediately.  I thought it strange but didn't mind too much since Maryann hadn't yet returned from the head. 

She got back to me a couple minutes later and was surprised I was still waiting, pointing out there were several open tables out there.  I agreed it was strange.  Along the front windows there were like 5 tables, completely empty, which seated 6 each.  We would have been glad to take one of those tables but perhaps they were saving them in case a party of 30 walked in at 9:30 but how ambitious is that? 

Just as the original hostess returned another party of 2 walked in and when she told them they needed to wait they just looked at each other and walked right back out without saying a word.  Maryann said that we should just leave also but I couldn't let this go unaddressed.  So I got up and walked over to the hostess and told her there were plenty of opened tables and we weren't going to wait any longer and she just said, "Okay," and turned away from me. 

Despite my utter shock and disbelief I maintained my composure and while Maryann was saying, "Let's leave," I said, "Excuse me, but you might as well call your manager up here so I can fill him in on what's going on."  She again said, "Okay."  A minute later this guy "Sammy" comes up and I tell him the whole deal--describing to him the above and pointing out all the open tables.  I told him we were sorry but we were leaving. 

Sidebar:  Even at this point I still would have sat down to eat and Sammy probably would've comped us but Maryann was operating on the well-established rule of not eating after complaining at a restaurant.

To his credit, Sammy walked us out to our car, apologizing profusely for the hostess's "asinine" (his word) behavior, assuring us he'd find out what was going on, and inviting us to come back on one of his shifts later in the week so he could make it up to us.  Really nice guy but Maryann works second shift so it's difficult for us to coordinate. 

Anyway, we drove back to Cheshire, picked up Nattie at the house, and went ate at the Cheshire McDonald's where we were treated like royalty.  Angus burgers all around.  Guess we'll just use those gift cards another time.  We love Chili's and we will be back.  Probably go to Southington, though.

By the way, did you know if you go to YouTube and search "fat Hawaiian guy playing ukulele" you get this:  The late, great Israel "Iz" Kamikawiwo'ole...

Brian Dennehy

Just did a 10K on the treadmill while watching Law & Order SVU.  It was an episode with Brian Dennehy playing an old man dying of cancer who fesses up to Elliott and Liv that he was a wanted bank robber who also killed his partner and burned down a house with a dead body in it in order to save a 1 month old baby which he then kidnapped and raised as his own.  The grown baby, his "daughter," was played by the same actress who plays Prentiss on Criminal Minds--don't know her name and don't feel like looking it up.  Anyway, it reminded me of when I was working back at T.J. Maxx some years ago and I was at Bradley Airport waiting to greet a trainee who was flying into Hartford from Philly. So we're driving away from the airport and he says to me, "Hey, you'll never guess who was on my flight.  I met him in the airport in Philly."  I was like, "Brian Dennehy?"  He was like, "Yeah.  How'd you know?"  I was like, "I saw him walking through the airport from arrivals while I was waiting for you.  He looked right at me and stumbled on the carpet right in front of me."  And he was like, "I'm not surprised.  He was having a Bloody Mary when I met him.  We just talked about sports.  I wanted to compliment him on his acting but I couldn't think of any of his movies."  I was like, "How about Cocoon...First blood...FX."  And he was like, "Oh, yeah."  Anyway, just a memory.

An invigorating 10K on the treadmill while watching Blood Work.  Another classic from Clint.

Four miles on the treadmill Sunday night and another 10K tonight to help run off some of my New Year's Eve and Day celebratory eating.  A fine party in the Main Ballroom of the Gieseler estate last evening.  Watched "The Ball" drop at home with family then a luncheon party today at home with special guests.  Somehow I'm managing to maintain my weight.  So Happiest New Year to whomever sees this.  Have a great one!