Sitting in a Starbucks at Noon on a Saturday

I'm sitting here in a very crowded Starbucks (the northernmost one in Gainesville) around noon on a Saturday.  The weather has changed to cooler and dryer conditions...it's about time!  It also looks as if we'll be enjoying a late winter here for at least another week, too.  Somehow I managed to avoid catching the flu this year...maybe I'm just one of those few lucky ones inoculated that the shot actually worked on, who knows.  Then again, it's not over yet...and friendly, well-meaning folks are still going around sneezing, coughing, blowing their noses...and wanting to shake my hand...

There's a college basketball game starting about now between Florida and Kentucky in the O'Connell Center on the UF campus.  Both teams are working hard to get into the NCAA tournament with the 23rd-ranked Wildcats having the edge right now...the Gators won the first game in Lexington earlier but have suffered injuries to center John Egbunu and forward Isaiah Stokes this year.  Still,  Florida seems to have recovered of late after undergoing a tough 2-5 stretch of conference games that included a few close losses...but will they be good enough to stop Kentucky's revamped and formidable scoring offense?  We'll see...the Gators right now have a 19-11 record but to their credit have played a challenging non-conference schedule, something that the NCAA usually takes into account when selecting teams for their championship tournament...

Beginning last Sunday after work I have begun splitting up my training by going at that late hour to my local 24/7 gym.  It was tough at the beginning to make that left turn on University Avenue instead of going straight home as I am usually tired at that time (10 pm)...but it's more of a mental fatigue issue than anything physical.  Getting a little exercise at that time seems to both help with my sleep as well as the following morning.  I tend to focus right now on the elliptical cross-trainer when I'm there.  The place is Gainesville Health and Fitness at 4880 Newberry Road...I'm glad that I am using their facilities more now and the time of day I'm there it's not too crowded...

At my job I have been working a lot of overtime over the past two months, especially in February when I put in at one time seventeen straight full workdays, with many of them having me report there early.  The extra hours are still going on in March, but so far I'm getting back at least one of my off-days: today is one of them, then it's back to work tomorrow.  Not that I'm complaining about the overtime: after all, I signed up for it...

Well, this Starbucks was very crowded when I first entered it, but it's since emptied out considerably.  I guess it's time to go up there and get a refill on my iced coffee...