Wins for everyone

I saw a wonderful film tonight, Win Win. This was a festival movie so I hope that means that it will get nominated this year. It really was a great movie with a stealth message that I didn’t see coming. I totally encourage everyone to go see this movie.

Got together with the regular Monday night group to run some mid-50s content with Aluatis. Good group of people. I think it’s going to work out well.

Here are a couple of photos from the belly dancing thing I went to on Sunday night.

The band
Clarion - Natural High - 15

Rose
Clarion - Natural High - 36

Robin
Clarion - Natural High - 41

I love it when a plan comes together

I had intended to get up in time for the 8:00 Mass, but when my alarm went off at 7, I was not at all ready to get up. I ended up sleeping for an additional 90 minutes and decided to go to noon. This gave me time to make breakfast before heading out. Mass was barely tolerable. The music was really bad. They even managed to take a beautiful song that I love (You Are Mine) and make me wish it would stop! The piano was fine of course, and Danny on viola sounded good as usual. I’ll even grant that John sounded good singing. But everything was mic’d such that all the bad parts got equal volume. There was at least one if not more than one string instrument that was way off and the singing was so atonal. Even the guitar was doing some really funky stuff that just didn’t go. I should just look on this as part of my Lenten sacrifice. It was painful.

Afterwards, I went to get some fro-yo. I selected Alpine Vanilla and I added mango, strawberry, blackberry, pineapple, and granola. Twas yum!

I snuck in a nap. Not because I was especially tired, but because I was procrastinating going for my run/jog/walk. Ultimately, I did go out and do 3 miles alternating walking and jogging according to my 5K training plan. Toward the end of the jogging, I was getting pooped. It eased up just in time.

And good news! I found online that there is going to be a Modesto 5K run on May 28th. This is actually 9 days before the end of my training period, but close enough. So I’ll be signing up to run. w00t!

Dinner was a steak with rice and green beans. And I finished up the evening with a few hours of LOTRO (some festival stuff and book work with Aluatis, my captain), and some television (Survivor and Merlin).

Now to bed.

S-A-T-U-R D-A-Y night

Had a pretty productive meeting this morning with the subcommittee to work on Liturgy Goals for the Parish Strategic Plan. We’re certainly going to have to plan another meeting for the near future though.

I helped with music for a funeral this afternoon. Aaron was there to sing and play piano, Jeff sang and played guitar, I did the same. It was nice to sing/play with those guys again. Aaron and I went to the reception afterwards to eat and talk with some of the friends/family of the deceased.

Finally, this evening I played 6 hours or so of LOTRO. I worked on Jaimee, my second Lore Master.

Now I’m tired.

Friday feeling fine

I had some very restless sleep last night. And some strange dreams. What the heck?

At some point during my morning, I got a message that someone had started following my tweets. This person’s name was @firePalinNow and his profile proudly proclaimed that he hates Fox News. I asked him why he was so proud to identify himself as a hater. It just makes me sad that people seem so ready to hate that with which they disagree. Can we not be haters please?

I got off work at 2:00 today and then went to do my 5K training. I ended up walking and jogging a total of 3.5 miles. My quadriceps feel like jelly now. I’m in that place where the dull muscle pain is producing a kind of euphoria effect. Or maybe it’s got something to do with lactic acid. All I know is that a few minutes ago when I walked over to get my mail, I was struck with a kind of LTH Syndrome and I burst out laughing at nothing! Sheesh! Tomorrow I rest and Sunday I do it again. Hilarious.

Tonight I will be playing LOTRO and watching TV and I suspect, going to bed early. Maybe my fatigue will help me sleep more soundly.

A day of rest

I spent today doing mostly nothing. It was great! I went to Mass last night so I didn’t even need to leave home to go to church. Speaking of Mass, this is the second week in a row that I didn’t think the music sucked. Yeah, I’m as surprised as you! Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t great. Not even close. But it wasn’t terrible. Oh, and I’ve watched a few televised Masses over the past few weeks. The music is consistently dreadful with those.

Anyway, I spent part of today awash in nostalgia for the 70s. I watched a Time-Life infomercial for Singers & Songwriters and also several episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I miss some of the fashion of the 60s and 70s. And of course, the 80s. I watched The Lost Boys again yesterday. Geez I really miss the 80s.

Other activities today: I cooked up 6 cups of rice along with a package of Freedom French cut green beans and 4 chicken breasts. Not only was it tonight’s dinner, but tomorrow’s and Tuesday’s too. I got the week’s laundry done. I did more festival stuff with Aluatis including getting the second Spring Steed. And I watched some other stuff on the TiVo; The Event, Walking Dead, No Ordinary Family, Modern Family.

I grow ever more eager for my Portland trip. Still a month to go. David is flying on Southwest from Texas. I hope his plane is crack free.

Thursday activities

I stayed home from work today. Despite having the whole day, I feel like I didn’t get much done. I did a bunch of festival stuff with Aluatis. I guess that’s something. I got a little caught up with Survivor. Mary should be happy. I refilled my prescriptions. That’s definitely a good thing. I went grocery shopping and bought food for the month.

Grocery list

Bag of frozen chicken breasts
pack of fresh chicken breasts
6 bags of frozen vegetables
4 packs of pasta
2 jars of pasta sauce
2 loaves of bread
18 eggs
6 packs of steak
4 boxes of cereal
8 boxes of oatmeal
2 packs of bacon
gallon of milk
ketchup
olive oil
bunch of bananas
bag of frozen fish filets
peanut butter
low sugar jam/preserves/jelly/whatever

The oatmeal is for work. I get three meals per box, so 24 breakfasts over the next month (3 more than I should need)
The cereal, eggs, and bacon is for breakfasts at home of which there will be 9.

I have 6 steaks and 9 chicken breasts. Add to that the 10 fish filets and that should get me 18-19 dinners. There will be three times this month that I’ll be at a church event or meeting where I’ll get dinner. So my total becomes 21-22. The pasta will get me 12 or so meals. So I should be covered for dinners. I’ll just have to figure out lunches and I’m set for the month.

I might need to buy more vegetables mid-month.

(Sorry to Suzanne that you had to read this twice!)



Tonight I had my ARISE group. It went well. We talked about doing a bible study after this season ends. I’m looking forward to that.

Let me explain. No wait, there is too much. Let me sum up.

I really didn’t want to get up this morning. I lay in bed for 15 minutes trying to figure out if I felt poorly enough to call in sick. Alas, I felt ok.

I did get a few of the catalogs distributed today. But I only had a couple of boxes of the bound variety so I didn’t get far. We did get in all of the loose-leaf boxes and I’m told we’ll have 16 boxes of bound catalogs within a few days. Apart from that, I got Tuesday’s agenda finished. So I was able to get a couple of things done today.

I skipped my walk today because it was rainy.

After work I went to pick up my new glasses. This make three pairs that I can keep scattered around town for my use.

I was hurrying to get home because I had signed up to do a new three-man instance in LOTRO. I met up with Theo and another player and we gave it a try. Several tries. But without a real healer, we didn’t do too well. 🙁

I think I’ll try to go to bed early tonight.

Just about the most boring day ever

Super lazy day today. I wish I were more inspired to do stuff. 🙁

  • Played some LOTRO. Did some book work with Aluatis.
  • Watched a lot of stuff. Episodes of Castle, Robin Hood, 30 Rock, Lie To Me, Smallville, and the movie Pandorum. Pandorum was interesting. I have questions about what the members of the ship were experiencing for the entire movie. I feel there are some unresolved plot points.
  • Called and talked with my dad.
  • Researched stuff to do in Portland. The more I look into making the trip, the more excited I’m getting.
  • Did not go shoot photos of Nicole for her website.
  • Cooked up chicken and pasta.

My beard is starting to get on my nerves. It will be a relief to shave it off.

It’s expected to be rainy and blustery all week. I hear frequent creaking coming from the vicinity of the roof.

Mini mixture of dried, naturally fragrant plant material, used to provide a gentle natural scent in houses

I have been walking the perimeter of the campus during my lunches this week. I’m digging it but, man! I sure wore the wrong shoes today. Tomorrow might be raining and if so, it will curtail my ambulatory activities.


LOTRO was doing some trivia quizzes today on twitter. A tweep of mine won one of the contests, but as she already had the prize (a special mount from PAX East), she gave the code to me! Yay for special in-game items!


I’ve been listening to the CBC at work. I have no idea why the thought of the Pacific NorthWest is so appealing. My chest aches with longing whenever I think about it too much.


Tonight was the Knights Officers’ Meeting.

Among the items discussed were:

  • Fish Fry – I have discussed this here already so all I will add is that we decided to not have tilapia, rice, and beans when we do our next one in April.
  • Retention – We reaffirmed that the Deputy Grand Knight is the chairman of the Retention Committee and that the Trustees are all members.
  • First Degree Team – We’d like to certify a new team to serve from now until June 30, 2012. I will ask Steve if he is willing, and would like, to continue as the Grand Knight of the First Degree team. If he is, I will ask him to put together the team (I have several names of men who’d like to be on the team).
  • Elections for 2011/2012 – The current officers will again put forth a slate of candidates for next year. Bill is planning to run for GK, so I will be retiring as scheduled. Dan will run for DGK, and most other officers will run for their current office. This leaves Warden to be filled. I am going to ask Ruben if he would consider running for that position. We also would like to take the roles of Inside and Outside Guard more seriously.

None of this is secret or confidential, but you are getting a preview here. 🙂

Something to do

Today consisted of

  • waking up not according to some predetermined schedule, but when my body was done sleeping (spring forward, who cares?)
  • watching some tv (an episode of V to be precise)
  • going to Mass (the music continues to be mediocre)
  • lunching at Sips Bistro with Steve and Fr. Ramon (I had the Chicken Cesar Wrap.)
  • spending a couple of hours at the milonga at Azucar (Silvia and I had made plans to go. It was mostly tango, but also a smattering of many other styles. Mary in particular was very kind and asked me to dance several times. If you know me, you know I like dancing and have no problem with partner dancing, I actually prefer it, but I do need to know the steps.)
  • more tv (forthcoming. Perhaps some Being Human or Ordinary Family. I should watch the dvd I have from Netflix, The Island.)
  • LOTRO (Aluatis needs to continue with Volume 1.)
  • posting here (which I just finished.)

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