Food Cravings

I've heard it said that when you have a craving for a particular food, you should satisfy it, no matter how outlandish the craving is. The idea being that you're going to want that particular food until you get it. This means that if you're craving a hamburger, but you eat a salad instead, because it's "healthier" (or for whatever reason), you're still going to crave that hamburger, and you might just give in and eat the hamburger later, and now you've had a salad as well, thereby increasing your overall intake.

So anyway. Sunday, I had a killer craving for the cinnamon swirl french toast at 5 Spot. Normally, I don't eat breakfast foods, so this one was a bit out there for me. But by the time I got there (and got seated--busy!), they had sold out of the requisite bread for the french toast. Gosh!

Today, I was siezed by another craving, this time for Mexican food from Gordito's. It worked out OK, because I had to swing past that part of town for a game store anyway. So off I went to Greenwood. Only to discover that Gordito's is closed on Tuesdays. CRAP!

As a result of this unsatisfied Mexican food craving, I've been snacking all day. I think I'm up to half a bag of potato chips and a bowl of ice cream. And now I'm craving cake....

It's a Conspiracy

Woke up this morning early to RIDE BIKE! As I was airing the tires, F called to say she couldn't go this morning. Bummer, but ok, no worries. I took the opportunity to allow for a slight schedule change, giving the sunny morning a chance to go over 40 degrees. Smart, right? No need to freeze myself if I'm on my own....

And then ... a customer of mine popped up on email with an (admittedly) urgent issue. So I fired off a several-message salvo to get that fire tamed if not yet put out. This, of course, took time. A luxury I would have realized that I didn't have, if only my window faced south.

So I finally get on the bike after handling work and prep, and head off for Log Boom. Today there was one of those slight tailwinds--the kind that's gentle enough that you don't notice vegetation swirling, but you are getting a nice boost in pace. And then ... of course you turn around. By the time I hit Log Boom, there were whitecaps on the lake, and the clouds were looming. So, yes, of course, I got rained on. And blown on. Headwinds suck.

Today I put the 'grr' in 'GRRRRUMPY'.

The Fantastic Flop (Four)

Oh, wow. This movie is so bad, I can't even bring myself to write more, as that would be a waste of text.

Organ Donor Holidays

To the confused: the title of this post is a two-parter.

I found one good thing about the death of my old road bike today. Wheelsets! Because the wheels were unharmed in the parking incident, I have a spare set... to use when I break a spoke on the other set. Yay! So I walked my extra rear wheel down to the LBS, and worked out a plan to put the existing cassette on the old wheel so I can get back up and running quickly, and buy an 11-23 for the new wheel, so that I'll have a good "flats" gearset when I'm riding in Sweden and Denmark.

The LBS errand naturally took me to Downtown Ballard (you know what I mean, NW Market at 22nd Ave NW "ish"), so I planned a couple of other errands (and lunch) around the trip. First stop: LBS. Second stop: Licensing office. I received the title for my car from the lien company, but it's a California title, so I need to get that shifted. But in observance of the holiday, the licensing office was closed. Oh well, time for lunch!

Wander down to the Hi-Life, which is the way to satisfy the hefty mac-and-cheese craving that I had already loaded on. Because today is a holiday, they have their weekend menu. Weekend menu no-havey mac 'n' cheese. Bummer.

Sunny Day

Today dawned bright and sunny, with some scattered clouds, but plenty of blue. Why, oh why, did I have to break my bike yesterday?

The King Has Abdicated

After putting off a long ride for a bit too long, I woke up this morning with one intent: Mercer. Wandered downstairs, made myself some oatmeal for a solid breakkie. Got the bike ready, packed on the layers, and headed out. As I was heading for Seward via the BGT, I managed to take a wrong turn, and found myself down on Lake Washington Blvd. This meant that I had to climb back up to the intersection with Madison. Died. Wtf?

Rode down along Lake Washington Blvd through Leschi to the turn off to the I-90 Trail. Climbing up that fried me. Wtf? The little climb up from the I-90 bridge to the Lid? Cooked. This sucks! So the TdF "King of the Mountains" jersey is going off the hanger straight into a drawer, preferably under lock and key. I'm not fit to wear it anymore.

But I may have the right to a different kingdom. As I started out from the Lid I heard that all too familiar ting as I broke a spoke. Yes, folks, that's right. He's done it again. The King is back, baby! This time it only involved a mile walk (instead of six) back to the Lid where I awaited the arrival of my friend and savior, Eve. At least this time I knew how to carry the non-rolly bike, and to warn the bike shop to make sure to order the spoke and the nipple at the same time.

Stop laughing, F.

Dictionary Words

While I get a good chortle out of my email address, the trouble is that it's a word that can be found in the dictionary (my password is not, so don't get any ideas). This means that in the ongoing war of word salad and spam email, it was just a matter of time until somebody started using my email address as their spam sender address. I woke up this morning to find a whole batch of emails in my spam folder. They were nearly all bounces from other domains, and since the sending address had been set to me, I got the returned emails. The good news is that they're all landing in the spam folder. It's just annoying. And now people think that I'm spamming them! NOOOO!

Forgetfulness in Exercise

Today I went for a ride. The first one in about a month. It's amazing how much my body had forgotten. My ass forgot the saddle, my neck the crick, my lungs the breathing, my legs the pedaling, my feet the cramping, and my hands the drops. (About that last one, have to remember to replace the Bar Phat from my old bike.)

The one thing that came back in style: the appetite. Yay! I'm going to make the most of that.

January 2nd

I forgot to include one other complaint in yesterday's post, and I was going to edit it to make the amendment. But Chris has already posted a comment, so I'll leave it be. So now, let me bring you page two of my New Year's Rants.

This one has to do with resolutions--those promises we make to ourselves and others as the clock chimes twelve, vowing to change "bad" behaviors. Why is it that taking down one calendar and putting up a new one prompts us to reevaluate our position in life and try to affect positive change? If you look at yourself, and recognize the need for change--whether to stop smoking, lose some weight, exercise more, or just plain be nicer to the people around you, why is January 1 the day? Why not July 8th, or the Vernal Equinox? I feel the same about people who limit their philanthropy to the "Holiday Season". I'm a firm believer in striving to make positive change whenever the need is realized, and in being good to people year-round.

Like my Y2K New Year's Eve, I did have one positive experience with New Year's Resolutions. It was Y2K+3, and I was with a bunch of close friends. A low-key evening celebrated with food and spirits at a friend's house. When midnight struck, we realized that none of us--not one--had come up with any resolutions. Hard to improve upon perfection, I guess. But then someone turned to me and said "I've got one for you: Shut up and buy the damn car already. Stop talking about it, just do it." That was the pebble that started the avalanche. Suddenly, everyone had resolutions for everyone else. None of it was mean-spirited or wicked, but it was the kind of stuff that only your close friends can see. And I think that having your friend give you a New Year's Ultimatum is better for enforcement, as well. They have a vested interest in making sure you follow through. So what resolutions do I need to make?

Crappy New Year!

The last good New Year I had was the Y2K transition, despite the threat of imminent doom as all of the world's nuclear power plants went nova, all the planes fell out of the sky, and the rest of the world's computers sent us all back to the Stone Age. Yes, flying in the face of all of these dreadful predictions, I had a great time.

Since then, the evening of December 31 each year has been a humdrum affair, nothing really to take note of. In fact, I really don't like the whole New Year's celebration thing much. I mean, it's just another day. How often do I stay up until midnight? Just about daily. And the bit where people think they're being clever when they say "See you next year!" Yeah, it's tomorrow, dude. Just say "See you tomorrow." Jackass.

The thing that gets me most about New Years is that somehow it's become this couples thing. One fellow last night told me that he had a running string of eight New Years where he had someone to kiss at midnight, and he "wasn't about to slip this year." When did staying up until midnight a deux come into vogue? I guess I just get grumpy about the implied need for a date. I have the same complaints about Valentine's Day. Silly made up holidays!

Are these just the grumps of a single man? Perhaps. The cold I caught (exposed to four different strains during my holiday odyssey) might be a contributing factor as well. So it's not Happy New Year, it's "Hey, how about that Sunday, huh?"

Update: I should be honest here and say that I did have a decent evening this New Year's Eve, spending time in the company of some friends--old and new--but my gripes about the implications of the holiday stand.