On This Early Friday, with Regular Routines Looking to Weekend Opportunities (and Storms)

 I have already slept most of the night, and the next day (Friday, May 8th) is about to unravel before me.  We're approaching the weekend, and part of it has me set up to try out yet another Depot aparkrun 5k,along wtih around 100 or so participants, including many seniors and a lot of young folks.  They like to proclaim that this isn't a competition, but you wouldn't know it if you saw it!.  To me, finishing it

with energy to spare is my overriding concern.Tomorrow it will be primarily a matter  of taking things lap by lap,restraining myself from letting my overcautious and comfort-seeking mind from prematurely deciding to quit too early, when my body still has plenty of juice to conquer the course.  Well, this morning, a couple of hours or so before dawn, I mentally wrestled with the idea going ahead, getting up, going to the bathroom, and getting started running in place in the living room while waiting for the coffee to brew.  I finished my mini-workout and am now writing this out.  Then I'll kick on the air conditioning and go back to bed, stirring up Peewee Daisy's excitement. today there should be some baseball action to follow on TV, and I wish you all a wonderful, fulfilling time as we head into what promises to be a rainy and stormy Saturday...

Walked Three Difficult Depot Parkrun Laps This Morning

 This morning was another installment of the DepotParkrun 5K odyssey that Melissa and I have been undergoing here in Gainesville in recent weeks.  Getting through the entire event was something I knew would be quite challenging.  I wanted to complete the four laps required to get my wristband scanned and my finishing time read and posted online.  Only thing is that in order to accomplish this, I needed to complete the four prescribed laps, either through walking or running.  In previous recent Parkruns, a completed event has been very elusive for me because I have tended to tire out too quickly to finish.  Today I started out all right, but felt crowded out by other, more pushy contestants...they wouldn't leave me alone!  And then some stern-expressioned dude comes up right behind me and Melissa and introduces himself as "my"tail walker! I think his idea was that I stood out as an impaired, incompetent walker, whom he was babysitting...that didn't hit it with me!  I managed to struggle through three laps (2.3 miles), and although I felt it (barely) possible for me to walk that last one, I let it ride after three laps and got into the car.  Maybe I'll swing the whole course next week, after today's particularly annoying Parkrun. I wondered if the others creeping on past me would ever let me go in peace, instead of inflicting themselves and their children on my presence and threatening to knock me down in the process. It seemed that although I deliberately held back on my walk today, I was constantly being approached and passed throughout the course...very irritating, and scary because I dared never to veer at all in any direction! I did get some exercise from the Parkrun experience...maybe things will turn out well next week.  In all, I did the three walking laps in exactly one hour, and Melissa helped me a lot by providing some electrolyte hydration after each completed lap.  My intention is to enjoy the outdoors for a little while this afternoon, inserting some backyard walking and/or light jogging into the mix, which I plan to keep short for the unseasonably hot weather.  Later on I'll check my Facebook to see if one of the Parkrun folks got a pic of me in that race...my suspicion is that they're deliberately shunning me. I'm still getting the chemo treatment for my brain cancer that was identified last October...let's see how the Lord gets me through it all...He's in complete control...  

Squeezed in Article Late Today

 It looks like my right small toenail cannot currently withstand tight-fitting, floor-hugging socks.  The nails are too long and get caught up and bent painfully backward by snug socks...this morning I'm going barefoot in the heat. I need to charge up the computer, too. Also,there's this headache that bothered me for most of today.I never did find my Joshua Khan Shadow Magic book. Melissa happily was able to get me watching live major league baseball, the Yankees versus the Giants in San Francisco. Tomorrow morning is yet another Depot Parkrun 5K.  My plan is to go down there and attempt to walk 5 full laps...Melissa told me she would drive us there and back.  Later tomorrow morning they've planned yet another anti-Trump protest rally, which I intend to avoid.  While I continue to receive oral evening chemotherapy treatment, I'll be grateful to find that book and make inroads on it.  It's still just barely Friday March 27, with Saturday the 28th just around the corner.  Late this morning a friend came over to do some lawn service...later Kim, our friend, p aid us a nice visit.More exercise, reading, writing, rest, recovery...and baseball...would mark tomorrow as a successful day.  I'm glad to have been able to squeeze in this little blog at the close of today, looking forward to the weekend...

Scump's Planned Bullying of Americans for When He Turns 80

One of thmost visually unappealing US presidents i've seen is the current one, DonaldTrump,also very unpopular as a monster egomaniac, andwihout ny concience to speak of,is due in a couple of months to celebrate turning eighty, a spectacle that I imagine will go off with shameless overhype and overspending.In the meantime i'm predicting yet another tedious "No Kings"Saturday protest rally at a local city park which i plan to boycott. See you then, coppers, when  then you setyourselves up for your own police riot...                           coming over then to,roundus ofd geezers                                                                                                                                              off to jail9(if they don't shoot us irst). sountil then it's all ""HOOray for myself.''.this dude seems to rival convicted and executed serial killer Ted Bundywith his own death obsession, how many people he hates and how many he thinks he will get away with killing...beforea higher auhoriyintervnes in rescue. WithTrump, I truly seea villain of our times.hohewants to bring America to its knee and degrade our own lives.. I believe he has the heart of a murderer. BUT like Michael Corleone in the movie The Godfather PartII, OUR President feels he has to have his buffer between hi sown button-pushers and hi viictim. An it's always the victim's fault, right?                                                                                                            aa                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Showed up with Melissa to walk Today's Depot Parkrun5k

 I walked, with Melissa, this morning'sDepot Parkrun 5K, held just a few blocks south of downtown Gainesville.Click HERE to viewtoday's posted results...Next Saturday should be colder here, so showing up will be quite an accomplishment..I'm stiill taken aback at Parkrun's refusal to recognize my latest volunteering effort there, which would be my tenth overall... that sounds a lot like ghosting (or shunning) to me and sadly diminishes any trust I feel for this group's leadership...'

Enjoyed Watching NFL Football Today

 Anticipating starting on my rounds of chemotherapy and radiation tomorrow, I spent the remainder of Sunday watching NFL football, and even enjoyed a few extra unexpected hours of sleep.  The Miami Dolphins have a penchant for getting stuck with having to play one or two "home" games on their regular season schedule across the Atlantic, usually in England: this morning they played Washington in Madrid, Spain.  Since the Dolphins usually lose these games, I was surprised that they pulled off an overtime field goal victory.  For the rest of the day, teams I supported tended to win more than lose.  If nobody I like gets into the playoffs, then I'll still have some preferences with them as well.  Anyway, enjoy the coming week...

Our Weekend Beach Visit

Melissa and I enjoyed our outing to Daytona Beach this weekend...we just got back into Gainesville.  There didn't seem to be very many people out there, and that suited us just fine.  The beach was fine for walking, and the swimming pool at our hotel was usually empty and we used it during our brief stay.  I'd like to say it's nice to be back, but frankly I'd rather be extending my stay over there...

Good Day Off for Me and Family

Today has been a day of relaxation, exercise, companionship with Melissa and our dog Daisy, and personal musings.  At the day's start I realized that the TV was on the news and there was a lot of anger...seething anger...going out from people outraged at this thing or that.  While information is a good thing in principle, how it's transmitted and how I receive it have become crucial elements of my own life in these divisive times we're living in.  I choose the path I want to go down...if others want to be slaves of media manipulation then I guess that is ultimately their own choice as well.  I find that while it's important to live each day fully mindful of the present and my surroundings, I also know that it's to my advantage to plan out at least a tentative structure for the future days, weeks and months ahead...and that's been at the roots of those musings I was referring to.  All in all, a good day, and I hope yours has gone well, too...

Contemplating Weekend Travel Adventures

I'm still contemplating some weekend adventures this year, where Melissa and I take off by jet to some distant location and come back in time for work on Monday.  Most likely such a scenario would involve visiting a city instead of going out in the countryside, something that would necessarily involve more time.  My first idea was to find a distance race being held at a specific city on a Sunday morning and then we'd spend Saturday traveling, getting settled and visiting...and after the race make a point of visiting some areas we'd like before heading back. Then again, there doesn't have to be a running race involved, either.  In any event, it's always fun to check out the possibilities...I'm also keen on visiting Canada sometime this year...

Enjoyed the Weekend

It's been an enjoyable weekend for me and my family.  Melissa and I enjoyed a weekly 5K walk on frigid cold Saturday morning and enjoyed church on frigid cold Sunday morning.  Another factor contributing to that enjoyment is the fact that while I thought it was fun to follow the ongoing National Football League playoffs, I didn't just sit there through whole games, instead catching bits and pieces of the four contests while doing other things as well.  As for the teams that advanced, two games (Baltimore over Houston and Kansas City over Buffalo) went my way and two (San Francisco over Green Bay and Detroit over Tampa Bay) didn't.  The main highlight was the Chiefs' close victory over the Bills.  Now among the final four teams left to play in the conference championships, I'll pull for KC and Detroit...but if the other guys win, that's okay, too.  When family members ask me each year what I want for Christmas, I always make sure to include jigsaw puzzles in my responses.  I've enjoyed finishing one thousand-piece puzzle this weekend and starting another one right afterwards.  And we got ourselves a walking treadmill for our home use...works great so far, but you do have to be careful to stay focused and not slip up and get thrown off!  Finally, I thoroughly enjoyed deliberately avoiding the political BS going on this election year...I pity those addicted to politically biased cable channels and talk shows that drive their ratings and profits by ratcheting up fear, anger and hate among their audience.  And I intend to stay the course and pay attention to only stuff and people that merit my attention: screw the rest...

Enjoyed Watching College Football Rivalry Games on TV Yesterday

Yesterday I enjoyed watching college football as the regular season wound down to its very end with rivalry matchups dominating the schedule.  The three games I followed were Michigan-Ohio State, Alabama-Auburn and Florida-Florida State.  All three turned out to be close-fought, exciting games...although of the three, easily the best was the late afternoon Alabama "state championship" Iron Bowl contest played at Auburn University's Jordan Hare Stadium. It was nip-and-tuck all of the way until it looked as if the Crimson Tide, behind 24-20 late in the game, weren't going to beat Auburn after they punted deep into the Tigers' territory.  But the receiver fumbled the punt and Bama recovered with a golden opportunity to go ahead...they needed a touchdown.  But on the subsequent series of downs, they made mistake after mistake, moving backwards from a first-and-goal at the Auburn 7 to a fourth-and-goal on the 30, with less than 40 seconds to go in the game and little to no hope of winning.  But Tide QB Jalen Milroe, with his stellar offensive line providing plenty of time for him to sort out the field, threw a long pass into the corner of Auburn's end zone, hitting his receiver for the highly improbable winning score. Until last season I had been rooting against Alabama, but then switched my allegiances.  This year I'm pulling for them to beat Georgia in the SEC championship game and sneak into the college playoffs, alongside Florida State, who came from a 12-0 deficit to beat my hometown Gators in Gainesville in the evening contest, 24-15.  As for that first game, I "kind of" pulled for Ohio State to win it, but to no avail: Michigan remains undefeated but will still need to beat Iowa to win the Big Ten championship and advance to the playoffs.  It should be fun to watch the upcoming conference championship games...including the game between Washington and Oregon.  As for Florida, their season is now over at 5-7, although in yesterday's game they showed some promise for the future...

Back from Extended Weekend Off

Well, after being off from work for four days, it's back to the grind...although truth be told, I don't have any problem with that.  Acknowledging the many blessings in my life has become a worthwhile personal habit, and my gratitude furthers enhances my daily walk. It's a terrible shame that people, being what they are, just can't seem to get along in the world...or in many areas within my own country, for that matter.  By most standards, you could call me a misanthrope, and yet I don't attach negative emotions to that label, only recognizing fallen human nature for what it is and refusing to adopt a Pollyannish worldview that would only continually crash down on me from letdown and betrayal.  I love my family and close friends, but beyond that I'm a little like those European immigrants to this great land featured in the Godfather movies who, while engaging and interacting with others, at the same time entertained a healthy skepticism about their character and motives.  Be nice to folks, sure, and don't always go around complaining about things, either.  But at the same time, I'm hip to the ways of the world and it ain't always rosy, just in case you haven't been watching the news lately...

Enjoying Beach Outing This Weekend

This weekend Melissa and I have been at the beach, Ormond to be specific.  It's been fun and a good change of scenery and pace.  We're returning home tomorrow...hope all is well with you!  I really enjoyed getting out in a decent pool and getting to swim a bit...maybe I'll finally get around to trying laps at my local gym's indoor pool after getting off from work at night.  In any event, it's a blessing to thoroughly enjoy outings like this while, at the same time, looking forward to getting back...

Skipped Today's Depot Parkrun Because of Mugginess and Heat

This morning I got up at six and took the dog out in the backyard to do her stuff, checking to see my cellphone confirm what I was already experiencing with the weather: it was 80 degrees with 93% humidity...ugh! I had intended to drive down to Depot Park just south of downtown Gainesville to participate in yet another of their free weekly 5K "parkruns", but experience has taught me that distance running over such a temperature/humidity combination is a formula for disaster. So, after I brought Daisy back into the house, I went back to bed...incidentally sleeping for another four hours. In retrospect, though, I probably should have gone anyway and just walked the course.  And walking is something I'd like to do more and more of, whether I'm just going around the neighborhood or doing a race.  Since it doesn't seem like it's going to get cooler around here anytime soon, I think that's a prudent move on my part...although I can still run within my nice, air-conditioned house or at my local gym until things get more tolerable outdoors.  Well, as far as the Depot Parkrun is concerned, there's always next week.  Yes, I really should get out there on Saturday mornings and make a habit of covering the distance, be it by running, walking...or crawling...

Rainy Day Hunkering Down with NFL Playoffs on TV

Today I'm hunkering down at home on this miserably rainy, cool day in Gainesville, sleeping in late and watching sports on TV.  Later this afternoon and evening will be two NFL playoffs games: Jacksonville at Kansas City and the New York Giants at Philadelphia.  It bugged me a little that the Jags and Chiefs will be playing each other at this stage since they happen to be my favorites out of the remaining teams...oh well, that means that at least one of them (probably KC) will survive until next week's conference championship game.  Tomorrow the Buffalo Bills will host last year's AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals while my current pick to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, the San Francisco 49ers, will be at home against the Dallas Cowboys.  Who do I want to win these four games? Jax, Philly, Cincy and San Fran.  A few years ago, when Lamar Jackson began his stellar career as the running quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, I wondered how long that career would last before injuries caused by that aspect of his game caught up with him like it has done with others such as Robert Griffin III and, this season, "my" Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa.  Well, it seems that Lamar has become something of a fragile athlete like these, dooming his team to an early playoff exit and raising doubts about his future effectiveness in the league.  It's no accident that Tom Brady has made it to the ancient age of 45 in premier-level sports by adhering to a more traditional drop-back-or-hand-off quarterbacking style, with his running almost exclusively focused on scrambling from tacklers in passing situations or short yardage sneaks behind his offensive line.  It seems, though, that the trend is more for the young quarterbacks of this era to have a few short, explosive seasons before they soon become too hobbled to be effective...so sad.  Are you getting this, Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes?  I didn't think so...but at least these two aren't quite as run-crazy as Lamar has been... 

Overslept for Depot Parkrun 5K This Morning, Checked the Park Out Later

 

This morning I had been thinking about going down to Gainesville's Depot Park for their weekly free 5K run, but since I get off from work on Fridays at 10 pm, I am already cutting into my night's sleep if I get up early to get ready and drive the 6 or 7 miles to the park for the 7:30 run...as it happened, I got up at 9:30!  Still, I thought why not go down there around 1 this afternoon and run there...so I did.  I was a bit shocked by how crowded the park was...I was lucky to find a parking spot.  And, you know what?  People were walking and running on the path in both directions, with me sometimes having to cut over the grass to avoid them...it was like the Matrix training program, if you've seen that movie.  Suddenly, I noticed there was a kiddie play area loaded with rides (and now, kids) as well as a wine/eatery place that had always hitherto escaped my attention.  I had especially wanted to see how I would react to running with heavier, but more padded, shoes: the jury is out on that, since I already was feeling a little out of sorts with so many people there...the above photo is at the start of the 5K run, probably the only time there weren't loads of people immediately around me.  If you only go to Depot Park early on Saturday mornings, I learned, you're bound to get a false impression of how popular it really is.  Later on in the day, it's more like New York City's Central Park...

Watching College Football Conference Championship Games Today

I've been enjoying my weekend so far, among my "activities" being sitting in front of the TV and watching college football conference championships games.  I was disappointed to miss last night's Pacific-12 championship contest between Utah...which my hometown Gators beat at the beginning of the season...and USC...which only had to win this game to go on to the four-team championship playoffs.  In the last couple of years, I have been undergoing a kind of sea change about my team allegiances...in the past I've consistently gone against both the Trojans and Nick Saban's Alabama.  Yet this time around I found myself rooting for the Crimson Tide and being disappointed in their tight regular season losses to Tennessee and LSU.  I thought they didn't have a chance to make the playoffs, but in the past two weeks a succession of improbable results involving schools ahead of them in the polls has now elevated them to consideration for a final championship playoff slot, now that TCU...hitherto undefeated but in a weaker conference...just lost their Big-12 championship game in overtime to Kansas State.  Now Georgia, Michigan and Ohio State are pretty much assured of being in the playoffs while that final spot comes down between the Horned Frogs and Tide.  I'm listening to the TV sports jocks and announcers throw their own opinions around and think that the selection committee will probably pick TCU despite today's loss because if they don't, then the playoff will consist only of teams from two conferences...and then the opening round will pit same-conference teams against each other.  No, they don't won't that kind of scenario and criticism, so even though I...and most others...believe Alabama is a better team with higher prospects of advancing, they'll pick the sentimental favorite TCU.  This in spite of the fact that TCU had to come from behind in the second half in five of their twelve wins and played opponents generally inferior to those that Alabama had to play.  Oh well, there's politics in just about anything that involves the act of subjective choice among people with power...sorry, Nick, but I think you're about to get screwed over...

Enjoying My Weekend Off from Work

I've been enjoying my weekend off from work, now on Saturday evening approaching the midpoint of it all...Smokey and the Bandit is playing right now on CMT channel.  Earlier I witnessed a couple of concurrent college football games, one...TCU vs. Baylor...ending spectacularly with a literally last-second Horned Frogs victory (keeping them undefeated and in the college football playoff picture), and the other a dismal letdown of a performance by my hometown University of Florida against Vanderbilt, bowing to the Commodores in yet another chapter to the Gators' horribly inconsistent season.  Now I'm toggling back and forth between Reynolds, Field, Reed & Company and the Tennessee/South Carolina game...looks as if relaxation is the word for today.  I had been strongly considering running in tomorrow morning's Cupcake Run (yes, they actually had the nerve to call it that) in Hawthorne southeast of Gainesville...they offered a half-marathon option among their scheduled races.  But the forecast has been for rain, and I've recently (and foolishly) run a half-marathon while ignoring the weather.  That's all right...early in December there will be a 15K race to check out...if the weather is halfway decent, that is.  On the reading front, I just finished reading Stephen King's epic time travel masterpiece 11/22/63, for the sixth time: guess there's something special to that book!  And now I'm tackling (again) another jewel: his psychological horror novel It.  No, I've been studiously avoiding the movie and/or television adaptations of these two great books...King's writing and my imagination have an excellent ongoing working relationship as it is, thank you.  Well, I see Jackie Gleason's making his appearance, so I'd better be going...