I normally order a soy chai latte in the morning. I like getting the soy chai from Starbucks because they use vanilla-flavored soy. That way I'm getting all the spicy flavor goodness of chai, plus the vanilla flavor, and the low-fat and healthy soy lovin'.

The other day, though, the barrista (he was a guy; does that make him a barristo? Just curious) asked me if I wanted cinnamon or nutmeg on my chai. And, after a microsecond of reflection, I realized, that, yes, of course, that's exaaaaaactly what I wanted: cinnamon. The perfect flavor to add to the vanilla/spicy chai combination. Mmmmmm.

So, this morning, because I wanted caffeine instead of whatever stimulants chai has, I ordered a soy latté, instead. And I decided to try the cinnamon sprinkles on top of that.

Meh. It's not nearly as good as the soy-chai-with-cinnamon. Oh, well, I was feeling experimental, anyway. • 6:17 AM 0 comments

After posting last night (see below), I called my friend in a panic, telling him that we weren't going to stop, that we were going to drive straight through, because there was no way in Gehenna that I was going to miss Radiohead.

Luckily, he was able to talk some sense into me. The gates on Saturday open at 11 AM, so it was obvious that Radiohead was going on stage at 9 PM, not 9 AM. Which makes a bucket load of sense, considering.

Man-o-man was I tired and cranky yesterday. Not thinking straight.

Oh, right, here's the set list. See, what confused me is that the times for each stage are listed in reverse order. It's not my fault, really. The fact that I was already grumpy has nothing to do with it. Honest. • 6:07 AM 0 comments

I'm packed and ready for my trip. Some of the odds and ends that I'm bringing:

• Sunscreen (I "tan" like an Englishman (in other words, I don't)
  
• My Maglight
  
• Two Cuban cigars (Cohiba longs)
  
• Running clothes and shoes
  
• A Sharpie (for autographs -- Coachella is supposed to have a high celebrity count)

...I don't know, I can't think of anything else to bring. I'm bringing one long-sleeved technical shirt, and one pair of jeans, just in case. But I expect it to be warm and dry the entire time. I could be wrong, I suppose...

What might also be interesting is what I'm not taking: my iBook. You have no idea how this tears at my soul, not bringing it. It totally sucks, having a portable computer and yet not bringing it on this trip... aargh. But it would suck more having it stolen.

I am, of course, bringing the iPod. But, as I said a week ago, I am not letting it out of my sight. Sight, hell -- it's not going to be off my physical person the entire trip.

The plan for tomorrow: Be well-rested. I work from 7 AM to Noon, go pick up the rental car, go home and get my stuff, get some lunch, pick up a few last-minute items, and pick my friend up from school around 3 PM, then head south.

It's about a 17-hour drive, which puts us pulling into Indio, California around 8 AM Saturday. Hang on, let me check the website....

Roly-poly fuck! They posted the set times, and Radiohead is playing at 9 AM on Saturday! Looks like I won't be able to catch a nap between arrival and the first show! I am not going to miss Radiohead, and, more importantly, I want to enjoy listening to Radiohead, so... man. I hope being in better shape is going to make up for being old. • 8:54 PM 0 comments

Exercise / Diet update:

I've got my calories/day almost to maintenance level. Well, it's at maintenance level for all intents and purposes: my weight has held steady around 171 for the last week, and that's where I'm stopping for now. Amazing -- from last fall, I've lost 54 lb.

Ran 4+ miles yesterday morning, as planned, and ran to work today (5 miles running, another half-mile at each end walking/warmup), and I feel great. I did better than last week, I think. I left the house at 5:15, and the time when I crossed the Hawthorne Bridge was 6:15. Assuming I did the first half-mile warmup in 10 minutes, that means I covered the 5 miles in 50 minutes; almost exactly a 10-minute pace. I feel like I could do it again tomorrow morning. Not that I will, of course; I need to be well-rested for the 18 hour drive to the Mojave Desert where I'm going to party my ass off.

Whoo-hoo! • 6:32 AM 0 comments

They've put up a map for the Coachella festival. It shows where all the important things are: food, beer, shade, and, most importantly, where the bands will be playing.

Almost the first thing I noticed is that they've added Beck to the lineup. Cool! I'd read that last year he just showed up and started playing with another band. He must live close by or something.

Wonder if he'll be playing stuff from Sea Change? That would be cool... • 6:19 AM 0 comments

Here's the link to the Snopes page about sneakers on power lines.

Bottom line: there doesn't seem to be any one specific reason for the sneakers. We're all a bunch of copy cats, it seems. • 6:17 AM 0 comments

Update:

My friend informed me that his professor is very strict. The professor would fail anyone who misses two or more classes, and my friend has missed one class already due to work. He doesn't want to fail, and I don't blame him.

So my focus has shifted to enjoying the bands we do get to see.

I so need a vacation. Am looking forward to this little road trip very very much. • 6:14 AM 0 comments

An urban legend I've heard for years now concerns those pairs of sneakers that are often dangling from power lines. I've heard it said that those are gang signs, marking their territories. I've never known how to read them, and, in fact, I've never done any research on whether or not that particular legend is even true or not.

It could make sense, I suppose. Maybe it was true at one time, but as the story filtered out to the 'burbs people began doing it for other reasons. Who knows? (Well, Google probably could tell me but I'm feeling lazy tonight.)

Consider that it's true, though, for just a moment. What, then, are we to make of this:


(Image opens in a new window. Full image is 1200x900.)

What kind of trendy gang would hang Starbucks cups from the power lines?

I guess my 'hood is caffeinated. Yo. • 8:57 PM

I talked to a friend today, who is really into indie music, and I showed him the website for the Coachella festival. There were a lot of bands playing that I'd never heard of and wanted his opinion of which ones were "don't miss" bands.

He went totally nuts over a bunch of them -- sadly, they were all playing on Sunday, the day I won't be there. Unless I can convince my friend to stay for the second day.

Of the bands playing on Saturday, he liked Radiohead (but not overwhelmingly), and gave grudging respect to The Pixies for their reunion tour, but pointed to Death Cab for Cutie as the only band to seek out.

The bands he went ga-ga for on Sunday were: The Flaming Lips, Air, Belle & Sebastian, Basement Jaxx, Le Tigre, and Pretty Girls Make Graves. He said that if someone's never seen The Cure live that would be a good show; he would see it but only if they weren't up against one of the others (unlikely since The Cure is Sunday's headliner). He's kind of jaded that way. Which is one reason I asked him.

I really really want to talk my friend into staying through Sunday... • 6:12 PM 0 comments

Behold the genius that is Christopher Walken. • 6:07 AM 0 comments

With all the stuff going on in my life right now, it's good to have my exercise routine to establish some regularity.

That being said, I've got to deviate from my "every other day run" schedule, because if I kept up with that, I'd be running on Friday -- which is also when I leave for Coachella. My friend and I are driving through the night to get there by Saturday, so I need to be well-rested. Which, to my mind at least, means I shouldn't be getting up early on Friday morning to run.

So, with that in mind, here's what I'm planning for this week:

• Monday: Run 2-3 miles in the morning
  
• Tuesday: Hiking with the Mazamas after work
  
• Wednesday: Run 3-4 miles in the morning
  
• Thursday: Run 5+ miles to work in the morning
  
• Friday: Off
  
• Saturday: (At Coachella) Dance like there's no tomorrow
  
• Sunday: Probably be hungover and exhausted -- drive back to Portland

Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

Oh, I've listened to some of the CDs I bought last night, and plan on posting some reviews in the next couple of days. Briefly: I like Death Cab for Cutie and Modest Mouse, and am still trying to decide if Stereolab is my taste or not. I had Stereolab confused with a local band, StereoVision. I really like StereoVision's music, but, because I was expecting that particular sound, I was taken aback by Stereolab's sound -- very ethereal and trippy. Anyway, I'll be posting full reviews of them shortly. Stay tuned. • 9:00 PM 0 comments

Scariest thing that's happened to me lately:

Tonight, my evening was about over. It was a half-hour to midnight. I'd left my friend, and was winding down a bit before heading home. I'd bought some CDs tonight (Death Cab for Cutie, Modest Mouse, Stereolab -- two of those bands are playing at Coachella in a week, and I wanted to have some of their stuff for the drive down) and went to Starbucks' to rip the CDs to my iPod.

I got my usual (tall soy chai latte), sat down at the table, pulled out the iBook, and once I got a signal, reached into the side pocket in my backpack where the iPod... wasn't.

Roly-poly fuck!

It wasn't there. The headphones were there, but no iPod. My confusion condensed into fear.

In a second, I mentally retraced my steps. I remembered riding the MAX, my backpack slung over my shoulder, the punks standing behind me -- had they stolen it? It wouldn't have been difficult; the pouch was open at the top, it would have been easy to slip it up and out...

If that was what had happened, then I was screwed. My contacts and credit card information, including PINs, were all on the iPod. It wasn't just my music player; it was my PDA. And none of that stuff was protected with even a token password. That's not possible on the iPod; a design flaw that I hadn't ever given any thought to.

I hoped that wasn't the case. In my mind's eye, I saw two other possibilities: first, I had stopped by my office earlier and had been listening to the iPod at the time. That was the last moment I remembered having it; maybe I had left it on my desk, forgotten to put it back in the pack.

The other possibility was when I had bought the CDs. I had checked my backpack in at the counter. It was the only time that the 'pack had been out of my physical possession. Maybe the iPod had fallen out. I had little hope of recovering it if that was the case. My opinion of human nature being what it is (cynical and angsty), I doubted that someone working in a music store who found an iPod would be eager to give it back.

First I checked my office. Of course, the whole time, I kept thinking of those punks on the train... The iPod wasn't on my desk, wasn't anywhere nearby, like on the floor or something. Argh.

Lucky for me, the music store I shopped at was open late, until midnight. I still had time to run up there and catch them before they closed. I power-walked through the streets, past the partiers and prom-night kids, getting yelled at by drunken teenagers who were able to scrape together the $80 it takes to rent a limo..

As I walked, I was thinking about my checking account and realizing that I had enough money to replace my iPod. Shit. $500. Five hundred fucking dollars that I could be using for something else, like my vacation or just about any-fucking-thing-else other than replacing a toy that I had lost, or had stolen, or had just had the bad karma to allow out of my life. I thought about having to replace it. I thought about the inscription on the back of my iPod: "It's the best thing that you ever, ever had". It's a line from a Radiohead song... Radiohead is headlining at Coachella in a week... I wasn't going to have my iPod for Coachella... my friends were going to find out that I had lost five-hundred-fucking-dollars and then turned around and spent another five-hundred-fucking-dollars on another one...

It was embarrassing. It was more than that; it was humiliating and financially ruinous and stupid and among the dumbest things I could do and yet I knew, of course, that I would do it.

I got to the store, stood impatiently at the counter. The sales guy saw my pack and started to hand me a claim chip for it...

"No," I explained, "When I was here, earlier, and checked this in, something fell out."

"Oh. What?"

"My iPod."

He looked relieved. Not as relieved as me, but still, relieved. "Oh! Right! Here!" He turned and pulled it out from a shelf behind him under the counter. He must have been glad not to have the responsibility of tracking down the owner.

I'm pretty sure I swooned. All the adrenaline of the past twenty minutes suddenly left my body and I was near fainting. No, I am not kidding.

"That would have been an expensive thing to lose." I don't remember if it was me, or the store clerk who said this, but the words still echo in my ears a half-hour later as I post this.

I am never, never, letting it out of my sight again. • 11:47 PM 0 comments

Awkward moments in dating:

Playfully teasing a woman you've been seeing for a couple of weeks by calling her a stalker, and having her sheepishly admit that, in fact, that's exactly what she's been doing.

Uh...

Time to run... run far, far away! • 8:57 PM 0 comments

Ran today. Planned on running 5 miles. Original plan was to get up early, go downtown, change at the gym, then run up and down Terwilliger.

Woke up around 8 AM. Too tired from being out late last night. Had to trash the original plan. OK, time for a new plan.

New plan: get up immediately get up, throw some street clothes and some workout clothes in my backpack, go downtown, change, and run up and down Terwilliger.

Got up, went to the bathroom, weighed myself (169.5! Whoo-HOO!), got a Cliff Bar, checked my email, went back to bed.

Woke up around 10:30 AM. OK, OK, new plan: same as previous plan, only getting up right now.

I resisted eating another Cliff Bar (which hurt me later), but realized I didn't want to carry around a full backpack when I was downtown this afternoon. Since I was getting such a late start, I knew that once I was out of my house and downtown, I wouldn't want to come back home to drop stuff off. So, I had to dress for the day, instead of planning on changing at some point this afternoon.

Alright, then, newest plan: hurry up and get some workout clothes on, go running in my neighborhood, starting right now. Good plan.

An hour later, after checking my email, chatting a bit online, and otherwise goofing off, I finally got out the door. There was a brief moment of embarrassment when I realized that my drunken neighbors were having their weekly "yard sale" -- sucks to be out of work and needing money, I guess. They asked me to buy something, but I pretended not to hear them over my iPod. I did wave, though. I'm only partially a snob.

Since I wanted to run 5 miles (still), I was going to go down the Springwater Corridor trail to about the 2-mile mark, then turn around and come back. That 4 miles, plus the half-mile on the beginning and end that I run to get to the head of the trail, makes a 5 mile round trip.

Unfortunately, my lack of a real breakfast and my dehydration hurt me, I think. I was struggling to make the run out, and by the time I turned around, I was panting, hard. I died and had to stop and walk right at the 3.5 mile point, and continued to alternate walking and running the rest of the way.

Nutrition is important, OK?

Tomorrow I plan on doing a short run in my neighborhood. Hopefully that will make up for the poor performance today. • 5:02 PM 0 comments

Rapture.

World Cup, the coffee shop inside Powell's Books, now has free wireless InterWeb access, courtesy of Personal Telco Project.

It's the perfect combination: good, non-Starbucks coffee; more books than anyone could possibly desire; late-night hours; a high concentration of people who like to read; and now, a place to surf, blog, and email to my heart's content.

For the record, if I'm not at home, and it's outside of work hours, you can find me there. • 8:02 PM 0 comments

Going to run to work tomorrow. I'm actually looking forward to it.

I ran the waterfront and Eastbank Esplanade on my lunch break yesterday. Got frustrated because the Steel Bridge went up just as I was approaching it and I had to stop. That kinda kept me from getting a rhythm going at first, and contributed to my overall dissatisfaction with the run.

(It's still amazing to me that I'm getting into this so much. It's good to be addicted to something that's so good for me, though.) • 10:41 PM 0 comments

The barista just told me that I looked like I needed a nap.

Of course, they'd probably kick me out if I fell asleep in one of their comfy chairs. Hypocrites. • 5:01 PM 0 comments

First day at 2200 calories, and it's feeling pretty good so far. Had my normal breakfast (Cliff Bar and tall soy chai, mmmmmm), and just had a burrito and chips from Taco del Mar, and I still have 1000 calories left for tonight.

I'm going to the Baghdad Theater to see a documentary filmed partially in Portland, and the Baghdad is one of those micro-brew theaters that serve beer and pizza. So I'll probably use up the rest of my calories tonight. I haven't had beer and pizza in months on this diet.

It's difficult to type this post with all the drooling I'm doing. • 12:51 PM 0 comments

Running yesterday made my nipples bleed.

Ow.

I was wearing a non-cotton shirt! • 6:17 AM 0 comments

Some more references for the essay I posted yesterday on the evolutionary benefit of male jealousy, presented in no particular order:

• "The Red Queen", Ridley, Matt
  
• "Consciousness Explained", Dennett, Daniel
  
• "Freedom Evolves", Dennett, Daniel
  
• "The Selfish Gene", Dawkins, Richard
  
• "The Mating Mind", Miller, Geoffrey

Just so you know I've been doing some reading on the subject... • 5:34 PM 0 comments

I saw 170 lb. on the scale this morning, but I think that's just a random downward spike. I'm pretty sure I'm still holding steady at 172 for most purposes. And next week I'm adding another 200 calories per day to my diet, bringing my daily intake to 2200. If I am still losing at the same rate I was a couple of weeks ago, then I'm still 800-900 calories down from my "stable" intake, at least for this amount of exercise. So I might, in fact, be losing some more weight before I stabilize, which is OK by me.

Speaking of exercise, I ran from Duniway Park up to the Charthouse restaurant, along Terwilliger Blvd. again this morning, a round trip of about 5 miles. It was rainy, but not pouring down. I was cold at first, but warmed up nicely. I think I did it at a 10 minute pace, too; I left the gym at noon, and got back to the gym around 1:15, so, subtracting the time to walk the 10 blocks to Duniway, I did the 2.5 miles up and down in about 55 minutes. Well, OK, that's more like an 11 minute pace. Still, pretty good for as steep as it is.

Last time I ran Terwilliger was on March 11, about a month and a week ago. I weighed 181 that morning. Means I've lost 11 pounds in 5 weeks, or just over 2 pounds per week.

Today brings my weekly running miles to about 13. I'm still amazed at that total. I can remember when the idea of running a mile seemed beyond me.

Also, this is the first time I've actually worn my iPod for the run. It did OK -- only skipped two or three times, and that was after about 25 minutes of operation. The iPod is only really sensitive to jostling when nearing the end of it's 25 minute buffer, and what will usually happen is that it will pause for longer than the normal 2-3 seconds between songs and then skip ahead to the next song in the playlist. Oh, I was playing a specific playlist, not playing on shuffle; when on shuffle mode, the hard drive will spin up after every song. Not good when working out. • 4:28 PM 0 comments

An essay I wrote recently on evolutionary psychology. Sorry for the stilted language; it was inspired by the books I've been reading, especially David Buss' "The Evolution of Desire". Enjoy.

Most observers will agree that for men, the primary sexual strategy is to inseminate as many females as possible, to ensure that at least some of their genetic material will survive into the next generation. However, there is a secondary sexual strategy that men can, and often do, choose: to provide their resources of time, attention and material goods to a single female, in order to reap the benefits that this strategy promises.

Those benefits include (but are not limited to) status in the community, as well as more secure knowledge of the disposition of their progeny.

Men are at a disadvantage, in that it is difficult to be certain that the progeny of their mates are, in fact, their progeny. Those men in the past who provided their resources to a female in order to raise children who did not share the males genes would be at a disadvantage, evolutionarily speaking.

Determining paternity is a challenge for mammals, primates, and especially humans, because conception takes place internally in the female. Maternity is never in question for the female. Therefore, humans have developed adaptive mechanisms for dealing with this.

One such mechanism is psychological in nature. It is called "jealousy".

From the standpoint of evolution, a man and a woman who are mates are providing each other with some benefit. The man who has opted for the secondary sexual strategy of long-term commitment is offering his resources to the female, and is expecting the female to provide him with a return benefit. In most cases, the benefit he is expecting, and therefore the attribute a man most values in a long-term relationship, is fidelity. Men who are seeking long-term mates do not value promiscuity in females, and do not see infidelity as a positive. They stress fidelity and expect their mates to provide them and them alone with sexual access.

Thus, it is expected that males who are seeking long-term mates to view a woman's activities with a jealous eye. Since paternity is always in question, a deeply-rooted fear of being cuckolded, well below the conscious level, likely exists in many, if not most, men.

To be sure, jealousy is active in females as well. A male who is active with other females is a threat to the woman, as the male may decide that other children are more valuable and may split his resources, or begin providing them to the other mother and children exclusively. However, the adaptive challenge that is present for the male (to ensure that his resources are only going towards his own children) is not present at all for the female, and in fact a woman may exploit the paternity challenge by getting resources from one male while bearing the children of another. In this way she can have the best of both worlds.

This female strategy, however, butts right up against the challenge posed to men, and few men would endure this situation for very long. The typical male reaction to infidelity is anger or other violent action, while the typical female reaction to the same circumstances is sadness. For the male, a promiscuous mate means that he cannot be certain any of his genetic material will survive into the next generation, thus, his genetic line is threatened to its root. For the woman, infidelity simply means that the males resources may be withdrawn, and, depending on the other resources available to her, this may range from merely inconvenient to a life-threatening action.

Although the past illuminates the root causes of jealousy, and the differential response the two genders have to the acts that trigger this emotion, it does not condemn all humans to suffer the extremes suggested by this essay. Remember, though, that adaptations to evolutionary challenges, such as this one, provide a framework for understanding individual motivations.

In the prehistoric past, it may have been common for men to sequester their mates from all other male contact, and to become enraged at a male's attention towards their mate; enraged to the point of murder. In modern humans, this is, sadly, still all too common. But much more likely, and much more palatable among humans that ascribe to a moral code, a man may simply decide that a woman who wishes to entertain other male company is not offering acceptable behavior for a long-term commitment and will choose to terminate the relationship and look elsewhere.

Among civilized humanity (I apologize for the loaded term "civilized" but can find no other way to separate modernity from our ancestry) relationships need to fulfill both parties needs, and, due to our evolutionary history, males primary needs in a long-term relationship is fidelity in their mates. • 11:32 PM 0 comments

While walking I came up with a quick metaphor and wanted to make a note of it (it probably will make no sense once I write it down):

A man and a woman -- separately, they're like stable chemical compounds. But, mixed together, they form a highly reactive substance that spontaneously combusts. • 4:34 PM 0 comments

Walked east on the Springwater Corridor trail today. I needed some stuff, and decided to see if the trail ran all the way out to the Fred Meyer store at SE Johnson Creek and 82nd. It did.

Total round trip, I'm guessing, was about 7 miles. Not a lot of great scenery as it goes through the Brentwood-Darlington area along Johnson Creek Blvd., which is mostly light industrial. But the trail itself is a nice hike, mostly straight and if there's a grade it's very gentle. It runs past a park, the Tideman Johnson Nature Park. Apparently, if you continue east beyond 82nd, there's a botanical garden before you get to Gresham. Someday I'll head out farther. • 1:52 PM 0 comments

Another milestone!

I ran to work this morning. And, unlike last week, this week I ran all the way across the Hawthorne Bridge, making my total run at least 5 miles!

Didn't see any racoons this morning, though, but two guys on bikes did pass me on the trail. Probably the same two guys from last week. • 6:28 AM 0 comments

I have never felt more powerful than I did today.

I am in the best physical shape of my life.

I am surrounded by friends who share my interests and spark my imagination and who support and challenge me.

Financially, too, I'm better off than any previous point in my life (not that that would take much doing, but it's a start).

Lastly, my social circles are expanding in ways I've never even dreamed to be possible.

Honestly, I'm not bragging. It's just been a very good day. I'm savoring. • 8:43 PM 0 comments

Plans are in place. A friend and I are taking a road trip south, to Indio, California, to attend the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. We only have tickets for Saturday, but, man-o-man, what a lineup. Death Cab for Cutie, The Pixies, Stereolab, among lots and lots of bands I've never heard before... but mostly, I'm going because Radiohead is the headlining act. I've liked Radiohead for a long time, and have always wanted to see them live. Now's my chance.

I only got the ticket because a friend of mine was unable to go, due to his starting a new job recently. Thanks, man! I owe you big time.

In addition, I'm going to be exposed to so much new music. So cool.

I've been so burnt out recently, even though on the surface things are going really well, that having the anticipation of a road trip helps pull my sorry ass through the financial serfdom.

We'll be camping there overnight. Transportation is being provided by Dollar Rent-a-car, in spite of all the nasty things I've done to their cars on past road trips... Hopefully Dollar representatives aren't reading this right now. As long as I don't link to their site I should be OK. Unless one of you, my faithful readers, decide to squeal. Don't be a squealer. • 8:32 PM 0 comments

I woke up, barely, this morning and realized that I could not come in to work. I wish I knew why I feel like that sometimes. I don't link that feeling to anything besides a strong desire to simply hide in bed all day.

I say I hate my job, but when I actually sit down and list the things I'd want in a job, my current job meets most of them, even in spite of the antagonism between my boss and myself. Downtown location, lots of variety, decent pay, doing stuff I know how to do well, the side benefit of working closely with law enforcement (I always wanted to be a detective; have I ever mentioned that?) Really, except for the awful relations between me and management, and the near-total lack of challenge, my job is pretty much perfect. Oh, I'd like more flexible hours, too, but now I'm just whining.

And socially things are going well for me this week, so that's not something to hide from. Caleb and I are planning that road trip; that's going to be fun, and it's giving me something to look forward to. Then there's my diet, which I've successfully completed, and my newfound energy and running...

There's nothing bad going on. So why am I so drained? Why do I feel like there should be dark clouds overhead? Am I wishing there were more bad things in my life?

I dunno. It's counter-rational. • 2:45 PM 0 comments

I'm nearly done with my diet. My weight has stabilized around 172-173 lb., and my calories/day is nearly to the level of maintenance.

I went for a short run today; I planned on 2 miles. However, I could not make it that far. Not sure what was the problem. Could have been my lack of sleep (got to bed around 2 AM last night), could have been what I ate yesterday (a Wendy's Double with Cheese for lunch, then snacked the rest of the day, ended up eating popcorn at the movies last night (I saw "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" again because the rest of the group hadn't seen it yet and we didn't like any of the other choices)), could have been my allergies which have picked up quite a bit with the warm weather, could have been my lack of water.

Or it might be that I've been pushing myself harder lately, trying to pick up my speed and increase my endurance at the same time. Maybe I dumped my "coach" too soon? Maybe I still need some guidance for improvement? Maybe so.

I'll just have to start dating an experienced runner again... • 9:26 AM 0 comments

I should write something today. But I don't know what.

I'm sitting in Starbucks, at Pioneer Courthouse Square (of course), people-watching. In fact, hang on...

...OK, now I'm facing in a better direction for people-watching. There's a band playing down in the Square. According to Citysearch, the band is sponsored by Multnomah Bible College, although the music doesn't seem to be specifically Christian; the last song they did was a note-perfect cover of The Police's "Message In A Bottle".

There are two Japanese girls at a table next to me, conversing in their native language. If Jake was here I'm sure he'd say something to them. They appear to be studying; textbooks open in front of them. One of them has a little PDA/calculator/device open, and it's covered in stickers of other Japanese faces.

There's a blonde-haired guy with another iBook; he's here as much as I am, it seems. He almost always has the chair next to the power outlet (there's only one here at Starbucks' so the tables next to it are very popular.

I had lunch at Wendy's today. A Double with Cheese (no mayo) is 640 calories. It was delicious. I held myself back from ordering fries, even though I had the calories to spare; I want to have a decent-sized dinner tonight. All I had for breakfast was two Cliff Bars (250 calories each) so I've still got over 800 for the day. • 3:40 PM 0 comments

Went to my nephew's first Little League game of the season last night. It was a night game; started at 7:30 PM out at Alpenrose Dairy Farm, which is home to the Little League World Series. I'd never been out there before; it's a great facility for kid's baseball.

I showed up late in the third inning, and his team was down 3 runs (score was 1-4). My nephew got up to bat (he bats 10th out of 12) and popped up right to the first baseman. Hey, at least he made contact. We cheered him on.

The other team scored another run in the next inning, and my nephew's team couldn't get any offense going for a while.

They only play six innings total, so there's not a lot of time to get a rally going. But then, in the fifth inning ("our" team batted last) the kid ahead of my nephew got on base with an infield grounder. My nephew got up to bat, man on first, no outs, and after getting a full count, swung away and knocked a low pop right between the pitcher and first basemen and over the head of the right fielder, who had pulled too far in. The kid got a double out of it! And the kid on first made it all the way to home!

That was the start of the rally that led to their team tying up the game at 5-5 and sending the game into extra innings. They only needed one, though and they ended up winning their season opener.

My nephew had the biggest grin on his face at the end of that game! He'd done good, and helped keep the rally going! • 7:55 PM 0 comments

Normally, when I sleep, I sleep on my side, with my legs pulled up and bent. I heard that it's better for your back if you bend your knees like that and started sleeping that way.

But now that I've lost so much weight, when I lie down like that, my knee bones bump up against each other, and my legs don't fit together well. I've had to start sleeping with a pillow between my legs in order to be comfortable. Just another thing to get used to about my new body. • 7:51 PM 0 comments

Another milestone!

This morning I ran to work. I've been talking about it for a while, and I finally made it happen. Yesterday I brought a change of clothes and left them in my office, along with the stuff I needed but didn't want to carry when I was running. Which was, basically, everything: my wallet, my bus pass, my cell phone, my iPod (I don't run with my iPod), yadda yadda.

Then, this morning, I got up before 5 AM, threw my contacts in, took my vitamins, got into my running clothes and shoes, and headed out the door. It's taken me about 2 hours to walk downtown before, so I figured that would give me enough time to run and have time left over to shower and change. I was out the door at about 5:10 AM.

I started running about 5 blocks from my house. From there to the head of the trail is about 1/2 mile (according to Yahoo Maps), then I stopped to do some quick stretches, then ran the rest of the distance, all the way to the Hawthorne Bridge, another 3.8 miles according to the signs on the trail.

There wasn't many folk on the trail at that time of day; I saw two lone bikers and a racoon. Once I got going I found it very peaceful. On my previous runs I've found it necessary to think about other things; plans, or my stories, anything but the run. But this morning I was able to either just notice the scenery around me, or zone out entirely and just move.

I walked the rest of the distance to my office, but in the future I plan on running across the bridge, which should make it a 5-mile run. I did feel a pang of guilt that I didn't go the full 5 miles today, but that was immediately followed by the positive voice in my head telling the negative voice to shut the fuck up. I mean I'd just run farther than I'd ever run before!

I got to my office at 6:28 AM, plenty of time to shower and change before I had to start at 7:00 AM.

My right hamstring is bothering me today, so I may not run again until Saturday. I'll stretch it out and maybe even go sit in the hot tub at my gym tomorrow or Friday. • 6:47 PM 0 comments

In a burst of spending, I went ahead and registered for two more 5Ks:

• The Lake Run 2004, in Lake Oswego, OR, on Saturday May 8th, and
  
• The Mount Tabor Challenge on Saturday, June 19th.

Both of them should be pretty challenging.

I might be willing to try an 8K or 10K event by the time I've completed these. We'll see how I do. It's exciting to have something to look forward to! • 9:01 PM 0 comments

They posted the official results for the Bridge-to-Bridge.

Jake finished in 19:49, with a 6:23 pace, 2nd in his age group, 26th overall, and 25th overall men's.

Caleb finished in 25:57, with an 8:21 pace, first in his age group, 81st overall and 68th overall men's.

I finished in 30:25, with a 9:47 pace, 10th in my age group, 184th overall and 100th overall men's.

Woo-hooo!

Now we're all going to improve our times by two minutes in the next one, right? Right? Who's with me? • 2:13 PM 0 comments

It's always interesting overhearing other people's conversations.

Walking past the tanning booths at my gym this morning, two women were getting out. One woman said to the other woman, in a happy-and-amazed voice, "I orgasmed twice in there!" She was facing away from me, but turned to see me as I walked by.

I stopped dead in place, and put on a mock-shocked expression, which made the girls (both of them) laugh and blush.

Women do that in there? • 2:47 PM 0 comments

Whoo-hoo! I finished today's race at least 5 minutes faster than the Shamrock Run! A friend saw my time as I crossed and tells me it was 30:33 or thereabouts. Which means I ran a sub-10-minute pace!

As I was crossing the finish line, I saw the clock for the 10K race, thinking that was my time, and I was so disappointed because it showed over 40 minutes. I thought that I had done significantly worse. Good thing my friends were there to correct me :)

Here's a pic of Team Saponified for the Bridge to Bridge 5K 2004:


From left to right, that's myself, Jake Edge, and Caleb Phillips. Full image is in the Picture Gallery. • 2:05 PM

An hour and 25 minutes to go.

Wish me luck. • 7:29 AM 0 comments

Working on a Saturday?

Yes, I am. And, of course, the race tomorrow.

Another lost weekend. At least I was smart enough (and had enough saved vacation time) to take Monday off. • 6:58 AM 0 comments

OK, here's two days I worked up, and they both fall within the 3000-3100 calories/day range:

Day One: Total = 3026 calories

• Energy bar
  
• Soy latte
  
• Candy (snacking throughout the day)
  
• Roasted chicken SubWay, foot-long
  
• Sun Chips
  
• Soy Chai
  
• Quesadilla, 10" flour tortilla, chicken, w/salsa and sour cream
  
• Chips & salsa

Day Two: Total = 3010 calories

• English delight (English muffin, cheese, egg, ham)
  
• Soy chai, 16 oz.
  
• Wendy's Double w/cheese
  
• Biggie fries
  
• Baja Burrito, steak (From Baja Fresh)
  
• Tortilla chips & salsa
  
• Beer, pint

I just thought about what I would typically eat in a day. Or what I used to eat. And, like I posted before, that's a lot of food! And, as long as I remain as active as I am now, if that's all I ate, I wouldn't gain or lose weight. Interesting, yes? • 6:28 AM 0 comments

I mentioned last week or maybe the week before that I've started adding more calories per day to my diet. Doing it slowly, so my body can adapt, and so it doesn't hang on to the calories that are coming in.

Even so, I'm still losing about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds per week, which means that with the calories coming in and my current activity level the numbers still show that I require about 3000-3100 calories per day to maintain a given weight level.

Man-o-man, that's a lot of calories. Or it seems that way, after months of about half that number...

It's interesting to me that the numbers seem to match. It's also interesting to me that there's so much mysticism about food and diet, when from my experience, it's pretty much all about the numbers. Sure, there are things you can eat that do other things for you, and maybe I'll see that in the long run, but in the short term, if all someone cares about is losing weight, it really doesn't matter what you eat as long as your burning more calories than you take in.

I'm not trying to belittle the process; it's been hard, and I've gone over the self-imposed limit many times, but even so, I've had greater success longer with counting calories than I did with the Atkins diet. The Atkins diet, once you're past the induction phase, is just a sneaky method of reducing calories, I suspect. Someday I'll run the numbers on that to see if my hunch is correct.

In the meantime, I'm going to calculate what a 3000 calorie day would look like and post it here. • 6:05 AM 0 comments

I'm running in the Bridge-to-bridge 5K on Sunday. It's going to be challenging. I thought it crossed the Fremont Bridge, but looking at the website the 5K only goes across the Steel and Broadway Bridges. The 10K, however, does cross the Fremont.

My friends are running, too, and they're probably going to kick my ass, but that's OK, it's my second-ever race. I just want to finish.

In anticipation of pain, I made it a long weekend by taking time off from work on Monday. Here's hoping I don't have to spend my day off in the hospital... • 7:22 PM 0 comments

Restricting my diet has had an interesting effect on me. For the past few days, after consuming the last of my calories for the day, I've had the overwhelming feeling that the day is over and that there's nothing left to do but go to bed. Weird, huh? Like my entire day revolves around consuming calories. It was especially strong tonight, as I was wandering around downtown on a First Thursday, gorgeous spring evening after a great warm day, seeing all the open art galleries and other things to do, people wandering around... but still all I could think of was, "Well, that's it, time to head home."

I've framed my day totally by the food I eat. Is that a bad thing? • 7:18 PM 0 comments