I can do this

This picture a day thing isn't working out so well. I meant to take a picture of the upper cabinets, now freshly primed, but that didn't happen. I meant to take a picture of the newly primed cabinet doors, currently spread out in the garage. That didn't happen either.

Imagine these are the upper cupboards

What did happen was the toughtest day yet of my new exercise regime. It started with my knee feeling a little wonky when I got up. Not so much painful as... soft on the outside. Just like yesterday, my run seemed to shake everything out, including the knee. I got back from my run, took about 10 minutes to change and get my stuff together, and felt good hopping on the bike.

It's something of a joke between Superman and I that I only have 2 speeds on the bike. I pretty much only have 2 speeds while running too, but even more so on the bike. Full tilt and dead stop. So this morning I was full tilt up the park hill, which according to Google Earth is almost exactly a 300 ft. elevation gain. It seemed like more when I was walking the bike up the hill.

I didn't time the ride, but I'm guessing it took somewhere close to an hour. I then proceeded to lift, carry, and repeatedly climb up and down a ladder for the next 4 hours. Basically I put everything back into the lower cabinets (what my Mom hadn't already put back), emptied the upper cabinets, mudded the bathroom window, and primed the upper cabinets boxes and doors. Then I cleaned everything up and rode back home.

The ride home was much easier. I really REALLY like speed, and riding down that 300 ft. elevation change is much more fun than riding up. It probably took about as long though, because my legs were TIRED. I got really hungry on the way home, too.

This is what I felt like on the way home
Until I got the grum-bellys

When I got home, I ate a little too much. That's what happens when I get over hungry. So I wasn't exactly prepared to do the Insanity DVD right away. I was kind of scared to do it, as tired as I was. Eventually though I sucked it up, got changed back into my running clothes and put the DVD on. Boy was I glad I did! Today was "Cardio Recovery," which  turned out to be a lot of stretching with a bit of deep muscle work. I didn't exactly hold the deep squats and lunges, but I did the slow repetitions and pulses. The stretching helped the dead feeling in my legs. I won't say I'm back to normal right now, but I'm certainly not feeling as bone tired physically exhausted.

Tommorow I have my appointment with the county, to discuss my food stamps application. I planned to ride there (12 miles) and back (another 12 miles), but I'm thinking better of that idea. I still need to run, and tomorrow's back to the really insane Insanity workouts. Also, I'm riding to Superman's at some point, which is an additional 13 miles. 37 miles in one day seems a bit excessive, when I only had my first ride of the season today. Besides, Aunt Gertie reminded me I really have to take the car out every week or so anyway, just to blow the dust out of the exhaust and charge up the electrical system.

Tomorrow and Thursday will be the most difficult, physically. They both have the same intensity of workouts, although Thursday's bike will be split and I'll work at my Mom's in between. Friday I have off from the Insanity, which will be nice. I'm doing the runs by feel and the bike by need, so will not know until Friday if I will have a complete down day.

What I do know is, so far, I can do this.

An AHA moment

Not surprisingly, I woke up stiff this morning. I wasn't as stiff as expected though, and while my 3 mile run was exceedingly slow, it also loosened up a lot of that stiffness. I felt halfway decent going into the 3rd day of the Insanity program.

I've decided I really don't like jumping around in my house. The floor is solid enough to walk on, but I can feel it give a little and creak when I jump. Or maybe that's my imagination. It was actually cooler and breezier outside, so I took my laptop and yoga mat out back to jump around.

This is, of course, where I had my aha moment. I had the laptop set up under a tree, to take advantage of the shade. It was difficult to see the screen for many of the exercises, which was less than helpful in the stretching portions. I found, however, that I could actually complete the exercise section this way. The key was in not actually trying to keep up with the class and instructor, who are obviously in far better shape than I. Because I couldn't see how fast they were going, I did the exercises at my own, considerably slower pace.

This is not to say I didn't stop, because I did... several times. My feet are tender, an indication that I should not have done the warmup yesterday in bare feet. Mark that, because it may be the only time you'll ever hear me suggest shoes are better than bare feet. With all the jumping jacks and running in place, the balls of my feet took a pounding. It would have been worse today, as there were several exercises that had me comletely off the ground.



The first 2 minutes of this video shows what today's workout involved. Multiply it by several sets. Again, just warming up is killer. I was happy to see my pushups today were better than yesterday's, although still nowhere near as deep as they should be. I actually got some bend in my elbows, and felt them in my abs. Maybe next time through the program I'll actually travel with them, like they did in the final set.

Energizer Bunny swears by Mike's Mix Recovery Drink. She gave me some to test when she gave me these DVDs, and I've been using it every day after the workouts.

I have to say it does seem to help, at least for a while. I'm not as sore during the day as I expect to be, though by bedtime I certainly feel the stiffness setting in. It seems the transitions are the worst. I'm fine as long as I'm sitting or standing or moving or doing. It's going from sitting to standing, or standing to sitting, that is difficult. I don't know if I would be more sore without the recovery drink. I honestly don't want to find out. I'm convinced enough of that, I emptied my Paypal account to purchase my own personal stash. When every penny I spend freaks me out, that's saying something.

Tomorrow is going to be interesting. I'll get up early enough to run 3 miles before biking 9 miles to my Mom's. I have to put the lower kitchen cabinets back together, mud and prime the bathroom window, take apart and empty the upper cabinets, and prime those. Then it's back on the bike for another 9 miles home, followed by what Sean T. calls "Cardio Recovery" in the Insanity program. This is where I see if I can continue to follow the program religiously. I will not compromise on the run or the bike, so if something's got to go it's going to be the insanity.

Huh. Go figure.

Ow

I am laughing at myself right now. I started the Insanity workout yesterday with the 26 minute Fit Test. I was whimpering just getting out of bed this morning. My form sucked on that test, by the way. Compared to the people in the video, I did not kick as high, squat as low, or have nearly the energy they did. Understandable, since they've been doing this a while. I was surprised however. I certainly thought I could hang better than I did.

Today was 42 minutes of Plyometric Cardio Circuit. Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow! He wrecked the entire class by the time he was done. I don't think any of them made it all the way through. I only made it through the warm-up. Let me say that again. I ONLY MADE IT THROUGH THE WARM-UP. This is in part because I was sore from yesterday, but also in part because the warm-up would kick a lot of people's ass. Sweat was dripping off me by the time he started doing a stretch session, which I thought was the end of the whole thing. I was sorely mistaken.

The following is a sped up version of a more fit person attempting the day's exercise. The first 3 and a half minutes are just the warm-up. Like I said, that's as far as I got.

It may very well take me the entire 8 weeks of this program just to get fit enough to do this program. I'm already planning to do the whole thing over again at least once. Forget the more advanced DVD's my sister is talking about, until I can get this set down. I'm also trying to figure out how I can continue running, how I can bike where I need to be, and how I can accomplish the work at my Mom's while doing this.

The thing is, I need to do something like this. I need to work my upper body and my core. I used to be able to do several and several good push-ups, and now cannot even get down an inch on one. Doing this will help my running, though it's obviously going to hurt it for a while first. I've already decided to scrap my original running plan, which included a gradual increase in mileage. Three miles a day is plenty while doing this. I did not try to run today, either before or after the Cardio Circuit. My plan has been to run 3 or 4 days, then take a rest day. Yesterday was day 4 of running. I'm going to have to find a way to balance the two, along with biking everywhere. I haven't figured out how to do that yet, but I'll find a way.

Tomorrow I'll try running early, then do the 40 minutes of Cardio Power Resistance later in the day. We'll see how that works. Honestly, I'm a little frightened. Determined, but scared. Luckily I don't have anywhere to go, that I might also need to add the bike into the mix.

As I told Superman, expect a lot of whining in the near future.

My new ride

This is my car, and this is how it's going to stay for the time being.

This is how I will be getting around for now. Gas is expensive, and until I have money coming in I really need to cut corners. This is one place I can do that. The farthest I go on a regular basis is to Superman's, and I proved last year I can ride to and from his place no problem. It's time to start doing that again.

In addition to biking upwards of 20 miles, 5 days a week, I've added another challenge to my goal list:

Just doing the Insanity fitness test today slowed my out-of-control running down to 11:20 minute-miles. The goal is to strengthen my core, which appears to be the weakest link to my current running form. I can run 10 minute miles, but I cannot sustain them, and my core is what tires first.

Specifically for Goddess (from a conversation at lunch yesterday)...

goal  /gōl/ noun 1. the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end

It is a goal to complete this Insanity program, while also running as many days as possible, while also riding everywhere I need to be in lieu of driving. I don't know if I will achieve these goals. In fact, I already know I cannot currently run every day without injury. The best I can do is try, and keep on trying, until I either achieve my goals or decide it's in my better interest to find new goals. I do know this will likely put me in the best shape of my life, or at least of the last 15 years. The most important part, as far as I'm concerned, is that I have goals I am working toward. THAT is what keeps me motivated to continue pushing forward, motivated to continue trying to improve.

It's a never-ending story

If all goes well, I should be done with my current project at my Mom's by mid-May. This is the project I started with my Dad, though there have a been a few changes since he's gone. He was adamantly opposed to redoing the floors, but my Mom was thrilled to at least have the carpets pulled. He had no plan to do the living room, but after seeing the holes left from rewiring he was finally convinced it had to be done. He planned to finish the bathroom himself, but that never happened. Luckily it's only a window and a bit of trim, which is easily added in on a slower day.

Dad decided we would not replace the molding on the 2nd floor, after pulling molding and baseboards for the electrical work. Mom would like that molding replaced, as well as baseboards and molding put in the kitchen. I've agreed to the project, but it's going to have to be done on weekends after I'm working again. I am uncomfortable giving up the time I am right now, when I could be studying to gain marketable skills. I can't leave her with the house in the state it's in, though. I have to finish what I started.

There are other projects in the wings as well. The fireplace in the living room needs work. The basement stairs never got a second coat of paint, and the stairwell never was repaired after the new stairs went in. The paint for the back porch has been in the garage since last summer. There's paint for the main staircase as well. The walls behind the radiators need repairing, which requires the radiators be pulled. The radiator boxes also need attention. Then there's the garden I agreed to help my Mom set up on the 2nd floor porch. There's no way the bunnies and deer will eat her produce up there!

I know when I get these things done, there will always be other things to do. The kitchen and hallway floors should be redone. The thresholds left over from the carpet still need replacing. Neither the door to the back hall, nor the door to the dressing room close all the way. These are all things my Dad planned to get to, at some point. I am not my Dad, though I am willing to take on the handyman role, at least to the extent of my knowledge. He taught me a lot, but he knew more, and I'm not capable of handling everything he managed over the years. I will not paint the outside of the house. I will not waterproof.  I will probably not attempt the utility room floor repair he planned.

Right now I'm focusing on finishing the first floor. And getting a job. And learning at least one programming language. Once those are done, we'll see about the rest.

Snippets and Snapshots

Today began with this article in my email:

I'd seen the study results saying recruiters only spend 6 seconds on each resume. This basically elaborates on where those 6 seconds are spent. I promptly reworked my resume, adding bolded subheadings that hopefully will draw attention to the actual work I did as opposed to simply the title I held.

Afterwards, I went about my day. I added my newly updated resume to job sites, searched those sites for potential positions, and applied if I found one even remotely close to my qualifications. That was the plan, anyway. I did get my resume updated on one site, and I did find several potential positions. What I did not find, upon closer inspection, were any even remotely close to my skillset. This prompted me to Google "junior DBA," which is the position I'd really like to have (a DBA is a Database Administrator). That's when I saw this article:

Note specifically the section in the red box. That's right, I'm screwed.

I'm smart, but I've made some really poor choices relating to my career and job hunt. I chose to put off the job hunt in favor of finishing school and helping my Dad (which I do NOT regret). The problem is, recruiters do not want to entertain the thought of hiring someone who's been out of work for over a year. They actually want someone who's currently working, because people who survived downsizing are the people who are really GOOD at what they do. They also haven't forgotten how to do it due to lack of use.

I chose to hold off on teaching myself the actual skills I would need to change careers. I thought I would have more time. I was tired from physical labor. I had trouble mentally wrapping my head around both school and self-directed learning. (FYI, I'm having to learn how be good at self-directed learning. Give me a class any day.) Now I find out I apparently chose the wrong skill set to learn anyway.

I understand these are excuses, and results are what matter. I understand I can't change the choices I've made. I can't make recruiters look past the time I've been unemployed. There's nothing I can do about that. What I can do is teach myself a skill that actually will help me get a job. If I need a job as a junior developer in order to get a job as a junior DBA, then that's what I'll do. A lot of the junior developer jobs I see posted are looking for .NET, so I'm switching my focus a little. I'm still going to play with the website I mentioned. I'm still going to learn PHP and SQL. I'll need those for the DBA position. I'm also going to learn .NET and C#, for the junior developer position. For those to which this is all gobble-de-gook, those achronyms are all programming languages.

I did have some good news today. In addition to the job hunt, I spent quite a bit of time gathering and scanning documents for the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. I've actually been emailing back and forth with a live person, who told me We may still be able to help you for 15 months (MPA/mortgage payment assistance) total mortgage payment made by the program. Only barrier would be if your property is actually 5 or more units. That barrier is moot, since while my building does in fact have 8 units, I only own one of them. If this happens, and if my food stamp application goes through (the web site says the Department of Jobs and Family Services acknowledged receipt on the 9th, but I haven't heard anything from anyone yet), I may actually have the time I thought I did to study. The JFS will help me find a job, which may not be exactly the one I'm looking for but at this point any job will do.

I also ran close to 3 miles in very close to 30 minutes. Funny, since I almost talked myself out of going. I don't know the exact time and distance because my GPS went wonky again. It announced one mile at somewhere close to 2.5 miles, then announced 2 miles somewhere within 500 to 1K feet of 3 miles. This is a route I run often, so I know these things. The time spent running said 30.++ minutes, which I'm assuming really means I was close to 10-minute miles the whole way. I didn't feel quite so much like I was dying, either.

You guessed it

I accomplished everything I set out to accomplish at my Mom's today. Everything below the counters is now primed, including drawer fronts and doors. I also put bumpers in the cabinet by the sink and finished priming the dining room. Thursday I'll paint the interiors of all the lower cabinets, the cabinet doors, and the window and door frames.

I did not get my run in as planned. I'm still having sore calf issues, though I really can't complain when I hit a 10 minute mile the other day. I've apparently changed my form, resulting in a funny sort of problem. I can't figure out how to slow down. Every run is at the burning edge of my lung capacity. I've tried changing my stride to slow down, in a way to that used to work. Now it apparently makes me run even faster.

I'm only doing 3 milers right now, because I'm still trying to run every single day. That hasn't been working so well for me lately. By the end of 3 miles at my current speed my legs are tired, my calves are sore, and my lungs/diaphram hurt. 3 or 4 days of this, and my runs are downright painful. That's when I take a day off, which seems to help. I've goals of upping my daily mileage so I'm running an hour a day, but the way I've been feeling lately that's a long way off. I just have to keep reminding myself to take things slow. Every time I run too fast or too far, too often, I get hurt. I'm trying to reign myself in so that doesn't happen yet again.

I R Geek

I slept until 11 this morning, after staying up until 3am filling out on-line forms for various types of assistance. I keep checking my email, but have yet to see a response to anything I did last night. I'm not surprised. I expect there's a massive influx of applications. I'm not the only one being cut off.

Besides a half hour run and maybe an hour of video game, I then spent the better part of 12 hours doing this:

It doesn't look like much, does it? "It" is actually more than the three screens you see. What those screens show is the home page to the web server I installed on my little netbook computer. I connected the server to my home network and the internet. I can now access it from anywhere on the web. I can't do any configuration from other machines, but I can access and update my own personal wikipedia this way. I set that up today too. I actually had one on a free website, but that free website embedded code that screwed with the wiki's functionality. I had to format everything with code, which was fun to learn but time consuming and unneccesary.

I'm glossing over the details, like figuring out how to lock down the web server so no one can hack it and make unauthorized changes. Someone could probably figure out how to log on to the page you see, but there's nothing they can do other than look at the different extensions I have installed. I did several other computer related things too, like configuring backups and creating my first html webpage. That last consists of a image and the words "Jan's first webpage!" and apparently is not yet visible to anyone but me.

Is any of what I did today going to get me a job? Probably not. Was it fun and engrossing? Yes. Will it help my learning curve? Yes. Eventually it won't take me 12 hours to accomplish what I did today. Eventually I'll figure out how to put all these bits and pieces of information I'm gathering together in a meaningful way, without needing notes or to look everything up again and again.

It's now 1:30am, and I'm still up. It doesn't take much to skew my sleep schedule these days. I do have to log off though. I want to run in the morning, before heading to my Mom's. I hope to get all the lower kitchen cabinets primed, along with the other half of the dining room. That includes disassembling cabinet doors and contents, and I have a bumper to add to one very deep cabinet as well.

Think you can guess what tomorrow's picture will be?

A picture a day: Easter

When I told Superman I was back in blogging mode, he told me about a friend of his who is posting a picture a day on Facebook. I like that idea a lot.

This was today's Easter dinner. We used to have Easter dinner at my parent's, but my Mom's house is not currently fit for a party. The living room furniture is all piled up on itself, the walls are mudded and waiting for prime. The dining room is half primed, filled with bits and pieces of kitchen, and everything is coverd with a thick layer of construction dust. The kitchen is closest to being back together, but even that still needs all cabinetry primed and painted.

For a while, we had Easter dinner at Aunt Gertie's. This was when we divyed up the holidays amongst the local households. Easter at Aunt Gertie's, which was a couple hour drive but made it so she didn't have to drive in and back out again every holiday. Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day were at my house, because with my tiny condo I could only host that many people in a picnic setting out back. Then my Dad appropriated Fourth of July, which was fine. He made a big thing out of grilling steaks every year. Energizer Bunny did Thanksgiving for almost 30 people once you added up both sides of the family. Christmas was at my parent's until all the renovations started. The last few years, while my parent's house has been in various stages of construction, we've done Fourth of July and Christmas at Big Bro's.

Since Aunt Gertie moved to Florida, we've been at a loss for Easter. My parent's has been under construction. Energizer Bunny already does a HUGE spread for Thanksgiving, and Big Bro does most holidays with his wife's family. Last year we tried to go to an all-you-can-eat buffet, but the lines were literally out the door. We ended up at Quaker Steak and Lube, because it was the only place we could think of at the time. We decided to try that again this year, but I don't think anyone was truly satisfied. Burgers and wings just don't say Easter, in my book. They had a $20 buffet with prime rib and ham, but it was well picked over by the time we got there, and I wouldn't call it worth the price even fresh.

Next year my Mom's house will be in company condition. I think we're moving back to the old homestead for Easter. I like that idea a lot, too.

I'm not dead

I know at least one person missed me, and I'm sorry I never responded to her e-mail. I stopped blogging because it's time consuming, and more than a little narcissistic with only a few followers. I was trying to post on a regular basis, and struggling to find interesting content to talk about. It got to be too much. I still read my list of blogs and comment when I actually have something to say. That in itself is a time sink I probably don't need right now. I've thought about posting... when something happened I actually believed worth sharing. Like when my Mom's kitchen turned yellow. Or when I ran 5K at a 10:26 pace.

I'm still working on my Mom's house - painting the first floor, which is the final step of the original project. There are of course new projects on the horizen, but I'm down to 2 days a week and hope to be done by the end of the month.

The rest of the week I'm studying PHP, SQL, and Python. The idea is learning these programming languages will give me a marketable skill, since I'm still unemployed. I may eventually link a website I'm working on. It's a running database similar to Daily Mile, but without all the social aspects. You'll be able to log in, post your runs, and run reports. It's designed for introverts like me who just want the numbers please, and don't want the high fives for every 3 mile training run. I might add a forum for people to be social, but it won't link to each run like Daily Mile. That's going to be a while though, as I'm only at the beginning of learning the code that will eventually let me set up the interface.

Mostly, I haven't posted because I'm fighting depression again. I thought I had several more months to learn what I need to learn, to get a job in the field I've chosen. That is not the case. The State of Ohio is doing well enough they have cut their unemployment extended benefits. I'm applying for anything and everything over here, with not even a nibble. This is only a little bit frustrating, ovewhelming, and terrifying. I'm also still having difficulties over my Dad passing. You would think I'd be better by now, but I still miss him hard every single day. The combination has alternatly kick-started and stalled my motivation.

Ultimately, I decided once again that it doesn't matter if no one reads my blog. If I have something to say, I'm going to say it. I still like the idea of coming back to it years from now and reading it like a diary. I've done that with past blogs. Interesting, going back to read that. I didn't like myself then, but I like the way I portrayed myself, now. Funny, the final post on that blog was right around Easter, which for me is a celebration of Spring rather than of Zombie Jesus. Spring, which is a time of change, of both endings and beginnings.

Let's begin again, shall we?

Photo Credit: Jeff Sumner

I'm incapable of being wordless

First there was this:

One room down, two to go.

Then there was this:

BAM!

Come at me!

I'm apparently incapable of being cautious, as well.

Running with the devil

I ran 4 miles today, after an 8 mile long run yesterday.

There is no denying I've cut a full minute per mile off my time.

One thing I'm certainly doing is pushing harder, but even when I don't push harder my pace has improved.

I feel like I'm tempting fate, running both faster and every day. (I've officially run every day in January, btw). Until recently, I believed I was injury prone, but until recently I also had perpetually tight hips. That is no longer the case since I started running every day. Either that, or not since I reduced my mileage. I was running 10-milers and up every weekend. Since getting sick, 8 is the longest run I've attempted.

Today's run was also after over 4 hours at my Mom's, moving furniture, climbing up and down ladders, sanding, and mudding. The dining room is almost ready for prime and paint.

Bronte was, as usual, extremely helpful

Tomorrow I will wipe down the dining room walls, along with everything else in the room. I might have to wipe everything down again before painting, since sanding dust permeates the entire house. Hopefully not, though I know I'll have to wipe the furniture down again before calling myself done. I expect to find a few minor mud areas that need sponging, but otherwise the dining room will be ready for priming by the time I leave tomorrow. That leaves the living room and kitchen, both of which already have some mud.

A lot of the kitchen needs to be completely mudded over, which will be fun when it comes time to sand. I've been picking at the mudding in the kitchen whenever I finish something elsewhere and still have mud.

After I wipe down the dining room walls, I'll have to empty the living room of all the stuff I originally took out of the dining room. I'm thinking of putting as much of that as I can into the basement for the time being, so my Mom can still use the dining room table. I will also have to empty the shelves in the living room, but luckily there is an empty bookshelf in the storage room as well. If I stay focused, I can probably finish the living room next week. At this point I have no idea how long the kitchen will take. There are cabinets to work on. There are walls that have yet to see mud. Maybe the project will be done by the end of the month. Maybe.

I'm a believer

After screwing up yesterday's run through overindulgence the night before, and with clear (if chilly) skies this morning, I opted to run my long run today. Not every run is stellar. After a week of good runs, today's was less than comfortable. I spent the first two miles telling myself I would do two 4-mile laps. If my calves, ankles and feet didn't loosen up, I planned to cut the run short at 3 miles. I must have started to feel better at about the 2-mile mark though, because where I was going to turn toward home, I went straight. By the third mile I was definitely feeling warmed up, though not exactly full of energy. I started planning the rest of my route, trying to determine if I would do six, seven, or the originally intended eight miles. I wound my way up and down streets, guesstimating final mileage as I went. By the time I hit 5 miles, I knew I would do 8.

You can tell where the uphills were, and that I wasn't feeling this run the way I did my last few. I could tell you I just started out slow, as that would have been the responsible and smart way to approach a long run. That's not what happened though. I wasn't trying to go fast or slow. I was just running as best I could while feeling slow and uncomfortable.

I'd like to draw your attention to the final mile. I've decided I believe the GPS was correct last week when I posted those 11-minute-mile runs, even though the app needed updating. Otherwise, how could I post an 11-minute-mile today, as the final mile on the longest run I've done in months? Granted, this was technically "downhill" with maybe a 10 to 15 foot elevation loss. That doesn't take away from the fact that I pushed hard and ran it though.

After my run, I went out to get some bubble wrap. I have a very special package going out in tomorrow's mail.

These are the result of the domestic archeology at my Mom's house. Three 8mm film canisters (one marked Family 1964, one Family 1965, and the 3rd unmarked) and eight unmarked Super 8 reels of various length. I'm shipping them off to imemories.com, where they will be converted to digital for the low price of $9.99 per 2-hour DVD. I'm thinking there should be no more than 6 DVDs, if that. Once imemories has the film, they will digitize it and post it on their website. I can then view the videos and choose if I want to have them burned to disc or not. They return the originals to me with whatever DVDs I order.

I'm so very excited to see what's on these films. I wish there were some way to convert the sound recording I found, labeled John Micheal (I'm guessing Big Bro, though that was also my father's name). The site also do photographs, so I'm half tempted to send off the books and books Energizer Bunny is currently working on scanning. I'm back to one of her favorite sayings. "There are three ways to do a project: cheap, fast, or well. You can only have two of the three." So. Fast and well would not necessarily be cheap, but this might be cheap enough.

Freeze Your Thorns Off 5K Race Report and a rant on Apple

Last night I ran The Boring Runner's Second Annual Freeze Your Thorns Off virtual 5K race. Being an overachiever, I actually ran 4 miles instead of the 3.1 specified.

I spent the day at Superman's, and didn't get a chance to run until after 5pm. The good news? All the snow from earlier had melted (or maybe just hadn't fallen in my neighborhood). The sidewalks were a little icy, but clear of snow. The bad news? I was running out of time before sunset. I really wanted to run outside because I'm still having calf soreness issues running any real distance on my treadmill.

a picture speaks a thousand words

I've never run so fast in my life. It was windy, which at one point helped me by pushing me along, but mostly was in my face or pushing me to the side. Mile 3 was a steady incline. I focused on my form, on picking up my legs, kicking my feet, and using my arms. I actually felt like I RAN the entire way. At the same time, I do not believe my GPS results. The first thing I did when I got home was plug my iPhone into iTunes to see if there were any updates. There was an update for the GPS app, so I'm still not certain I ran a 10:30 mile. I'll know if the app was correct by how it reads over the new few days runs.

If you're here for my race report, that's pretty much it and you should probably stop reading now. The following is a somewhat lengthy rant. Proceed at your own risk.

So I plugged my iPhone into iTunes and saw there were actually several apps to update. To update apps, however, one has to log into the Apple Store. I entered my password, and got this:

Now I've had an iTunes account for quite a while, and I KNOW the login name. I also know the password, because I recently went through the very painful process of having to change it when Apple decided I'd had the other one for too long. That password change process was painful because the Apple system used my birth date as a security question, but the birthdate they had was incorrect. The other option for reset involved them sending me an email, which for some reason I never received. I was finally able to change my password through contacting someone at their help desk. The email exchange went something like this:

Me: I need to update my apps, but cannot log into my account until I change my password. I am unable to change my password because your system has my birth date wrong, and for some reason I am not getting the email when I choose that option.

AppleGuy: In order to log into your account, you will have to change your password. Please go to our website and follow the reset password instructions, then try to log in again.

Painful. I was finally able to convince AppleGuy to manually reset my password and send me a dummy one which I could then change. I went about my merry way, believing he also fixed my birth date and the email issue. Turns out I'm rather naive.

Fast forward to last night. After the fiasco above, I know my Apple ID, and I know my password. What I didn't know, because I was still not receiving Apple ID emails, is Apple changed their login name protocol. My Apple ID is now my email address. I spent at least half an hour trying to log in before Superman remembered his had changed, and suggested I try that. Bingo! So I'm logged in, but in the process realize 1) I'm still not receiving Apple ID emails, and b) they still have my birth date wrong.

Oh and by the way, iTunes insisted I update my credit card info, but wouldn't let me update it with a card that expires next month. I do not have the replacement card yet, and could not update my apps without the new security code. I had to enter a different credit card into their system to proceed. Happy me.

I attempted to contact the person who helped me before, thinking he was already familiar with my ID issues. Apparently AppleGuy was not in last night, and had not one but two people monitoring his email. I ended up communicating with one of them, who ultimately told me I was the only one who could change my birth date in their system. To do that, I just had to log onto the Apple ID website. I followed the link, entered my new Apple ID email address and password, and received a message that Apple had to verify my new Apple ID before I could proceed. A verification email had been sent.

No email arrived. Now my iTunes account is old enough I'd set it up with my Yahoo email address, which I haven't used now in several years. I still have my Yahoo mail forwarded to my current address, but Yahoo is funny about forwarding mail. There is no option to keep a copy of the forwarded mail on their server. Also, it apparently forwards everything, including spam. Either that or it automatically empties the spam folder instantaneously. When I log into Yahoo, there is literally nothing there. This made me suspect the Apple ID email was getting deleted as spam on the Yahoo server, since it wasn't forwarded and it wasn't in my current email spam folder.

I changed my Apple ID email address in iTunes, which caused them to send another verification email. This time I used gmail, which is also forwarded to my newest email account. Gmail, however, allows me to save my forwarded mail on their server. I am also able to view the spam folder on gmail.

There was no Apple ID email. I gave Apple considerable time, and even requested another verification email be sent. I never received any email.

Because gmail is also forwarded to my current email account, I decided to give Apple the most direct path to my inbox. I changed my Apple ID to my current email address. A verification email was sent.

I never received the email. At this point, communication with the Apple help desk had also broken down. My last message indicated I wasn't receiving the verification emails, that I had double checked the email address for typos, and the emails were not landing in my spam folder. The person I was communicating with never responded.

You may be able to understand my frustration at this point. Superman and I had plans to go out to karaoke, so I opted to walk away from the issue. I thought maybe I would wake up to an inbox full of Apple ID emails.

As an aside, let me say that the new karaoke place is small and I can't sing off Youtube like my regular show, but I sang A LOT and got completely obliterated off of only four drinks. They pour heavy, and the drinks cost literally half what I pay at my regular show. I'm also now convinced my regular show waters down their drinks, as I normally would have had more and not been nearly as trashed. It's probably a really good thing I only drink like once a month or so. 

I checked my email when I woke up, and found nothing from Apple or the person I was working with last night, so looked up their support number and called. When you call Apple, they want to know what device you're calling about. The website said the number I called was for software issues, but there was no arguing with the automated phone tree. When I finally did get a person on the line, she told me my iPhone was past the 90 day window where you can get free support.

I'm a bit hung over this morning. My frustration tolerance threshold is probably lower than normal, and this situation had me ranting even before I went drinking last night. When she told me I didn't qualify for free support, I was instantly enraged. I am sorry to say I yelled at her. I swore at her. I told her it was f*cking ridiculous I would have to pay for support when all I want to do is log onto their site and correct my birth date in their system.

She told me she would make a one time exception for me. She then proceeded to spend at least 5 minutes (I'm not exaggerating - it felt a lot longer) rearranging her bookmarks in order to find the one she needed. Because the phone tree had directed me to iPhone support, she pulled up a chat window with the person she thought would have the answers. That person promptly reset my password without telling me first. Apple has a strict password policy. Your password has to have a capital letter, a number, and you cannot use one you have already used within the past year. I'm running out of passwords that fit that criteria, that I will be able to remember. It was all for naught anyway, since I still wasn't receiving Apple emails.

Ultimately I ended up talking to the girl's supervisor, who (hopefully) fixed my issue. I didn't realize this at first, because his emails went straight to my spam folder and got buried beneath a host of spam dated 2017, 2018, and several months later in 2012. I wish I knew how spammers did that. After finding the supervisor's emails, I went back and checked to make sure the earlier emails were not in my spam folder too. I would have felt horrible if they were, but they were not. He said he was able to bypass the system somehow, to send them. I'm hoping the system now works, because it would have been nice to get that notification email telling me my login ID was now my email address.

I was on the phone with Apple for an hour and a half. It turns out my birth date was wrong in the system because my account is so old. The first iteration of Apple accounts did not ask for a birth year, so there was nothing in that field in their system. Of course, had I tried to enter it that way the system would have told me it needed a year to proceed.

I set up a different security question, which has nothing to do with my birth date. I want to change my email address Apple ID to see if the email situation is fixed, but I'm afraid to do so because I'll have to start all over if it's not.

The End.

Random

No, this isn't the 11 random things post everyone has been doing. It's just random things.

1. If you look to your left, you'll notice I added easy-peasy widgets for you to see my posts either by RSS feed or directly in your email. With all the changes, and all the opinions about the changes going on with Google and Google+, this offers a simple way to keep up with your favorite blogs when Followers and Friend Connect go away.

2. In the process of what my Mom calls "domestic archeology," I found a box of 8mm and super 8 film canisters. Some were purchased (Mickey Mouse and a Christmas concert by the Philadelphia Orchestra). Some are home movies. I also found the projector, and planned to watch/refilm them with Superman's digital camera. It turns out the projector needs work, which may or may not be possible since parts will be difficult to find. Sad Panda looks at the film and projector sitting in my living room every day, wondering what is in those canisters.

Today I found a film transfer service that will convert them to DVD for only $10 each. Guess what I'm doing this weekend?

3. It's official. Christmas is finally over. If you remember, I was a wee bit upset when my attempt to participate in a blogger gift exchange didn't work out as planned. Rose from Eat, Drink and be Mieri took pity on me, and offered to exchange gifts. I happily went shopping, sent mine off, and promptly forgot about it. Her gift arrived the other day, and I have to say it's far better than the silly socks and headband I sent her.

The package smelled of strawberry, which scent promptly filled my kitchen. This was from the Gotein protein powder, something I tried to win in at least one contest several months ago. You're supposed to put it in a 20 oz. water bottle, but I've tried other protein powders in water with horrible results. I put it in a 24 oz. bottle of milk. Let me tell you, there's easily a half cup of powder in those packets. It took a good several minutes of shaking to mix it all in. The result was... ok. Bland. Nothing spectacular, but I didn't really expect rainbows and unicorns. I can drink it after a run without dread or gagging, which is good enough.

I haven't yet tried the dried bananas, and smiled at the KT tape. Those I will use! The Chi Running book is one I've looked at in the stores, but hadn't gotten around to purchasing. Overall I'm a happy camper, and wanted to give a shout out to Rose. Thank you, my friend! You made the "positives today" list 3 days running now.

4. Today's weather forecast:

Today's weather (so far):

I'm thinking today will be a treadmill run. Maybe speedwork. I obviously need more speedwork, as my gps app will attest:

Straight out the door, with no warm-up

Straight out the door.
No warm up
with a net elevation gain

After the previous mile, so warmed up
and basically down hill

I really wish I could have hung on for that last one, but I ran out of oomph. This speed increase is brought to you by my running every day. I haven't done any speedwork. I haven't lost any weight. I certainly haven't been eating right. I wasn't even well hydrated. The only difference has been running every day. 

5.  You learn something new every day. 

source

Apparently the definition of Kung Pao is "with peanut." I did not know this, and with no descriptions on the menu at the Chinese place last night, ordered Kung Pao Shrimp. I am allergic to peanuts. Not in a "I'm going to blow up and die" way. More like "I'm going to break out horribly tomorrow and be very uncomfortable with the way I look for the next week." It took me until my late 30s to figure out peanuts were the cause of my lifelong (since puberty) acne. This is still sadness-making. It's like being allergic to chocolate or bacon. While almond butter & jelly is good, it just isn't the same. Every once in a while I throw caution to the winds and accept the consequences for a Reese's or Snickers. Yesterday was not one of those days though, and I had to change my order to General Tao's chicken. I didn't trust them not to take my plate in the back and simply pick the peanuts off. 

6. Speaking of eating, I've decided to walk away from the OCD goal of tracking my food within an inch of my life. While I'm not super happy with my body, and I certainly don't want to gain weight, I'm not really interested in losing weight either. I want to not be obsessed with food. For this to happen, I have to stop making myself analyze every calorie I consume. At the same time, I have to think about food enough to make healthy choices. My main meal for the week is a mix of beans, berries, and vegetables ala Salad Bar style:

source

Add in some salmon and as much spinach/spring mix greens as I want, and I won't go hungry. I might add trail mix. I might have some crackers. I will definitely have my coffee, and maybe even a cookie or two. What I have to focus on is whether or not I'm hungry. My biggest problems are emotional eating, and evening boredom or fatigue eating. These have nothing to do with hunger. I'm thinking if I eat the salad stuff all day, that will let me graze to satisfy the emotional thing. Adding the berries gives the salad a sweetness too, which will help. I can then have the salmon later in the evening. The protein should fill me up and hopefully satisfy whatever hole it is I'm trying to fill at that time. I'll be increasing my running mileage too, as an offshoot of the 1K and marathon training goals. If I can stop the emotional and late night eating, my body should normalize and I may lose weight. I wouldn't complain if that were the case, but it's not the main goal here.

All this planning doesn't sound obsessive at all, does it?

If it were MY house...

After pulling the baseboards to upgrade the wiring, in preparation for insulating the house, my Dad had me wallboard the spaces between where the walls ended and the floor. The object was to keep the insulation in the walls, to keep it from being blown into the house. His handyman asked why he was doing this, saying it was a waste of time. My Dad looked at the handyman like a deer in the headlights. Was the handyman questioning his judgement? Was there a better way to keep the insulation from filling the house instead of just the walls? Suddenly, the handyman relented. "I get it! You're doing what I would do if it was MY house!"

I'm not sure the handyman did get it, but it did turn out to be necessary, the boarding up of walls behind the baseboards. We still got a small amount of insulation in each room, but I'm certain there would have been much more had we not spent this time and effort.

I started the day yesterday prepared to sand and mud the dining room. I'd also brought my heat gun to remove the last of the adhesive from the kitchen walls, from where my Dad had glued paneling some 30+ years ago. I rearranged the dining room for sanding, then decided I'd really rather start with the adhesive. Then I decided I really didn't want to sand after all.

The heat gun process removed paint as well as adhesive, which may have influenced what happened next.

This is the largest of my mother's kitchen cupboards. All of her cupboards are lined with at least one layer of contact paper. This particular one has two layers, though I didn't know that when I started. There have been multiple discussions with Energizer Bunny and Mr. Math about how to handle the cupboard renovations. The most recent ended with the plan to simply sand the cupboard doors, prime, then paint. My mother is going from an antiqued orange to a high gloss white.

I sanded the little counter in front of the cabinet, in part as a test of the sanding process and in part because there were huge chips and gouges only sanding could fix. There are still gouges, but they are much better now. This process reinforced my concerns about sanding the insides of the cupboards. The belt sander cannot reach the edges. I was concerned about the layers and layers of paint, and about the residue from the contact paper.

I decided to heat strip the insides of the cabinets. Not the inner walls, which need a great deal of repair work. Just the shelves. I am CERTAIN Mr. Math will roll his eyes when he finds out. I could hear Energizer Bunny saying "There are 3 ways you can do a project. Inexpensively, quickly, or well. You can only have 2 of the 3." I opted for inexpensive and well. This is how I would do the project if it were MY house. How could I do my parent's house any differently?

As an aside, my Dad would have loved to learn the top shelf has been replaced. It's a different type of wood, and was missing at least 2 layers of paint the other shelves had (including a primer layer). My Dad was convinced the house has been through a fire at some point, and enjoyed finding evidence of its history. This would have prompted an entire afternoon of discussion.

I started the day late, caught up again with Bridezilla. I'm walking away from these shows. They are horribly addictive, even though there really is no redeeming quality in them. They actually are starting to piss me off.

In addition to this revelation, I got 4 miles in before finally showing up at my Mom's 3 hours later than normal. I've definitely shaved about 30 seconds off my average cruising speed. My calves were slightly less uncomfortable, but I'm still a little worried about my long run this weekend. I think the running every day is starting to catch up with me, and I have to be careful I don't allow my ambition to override my bodies capabilities. Maybe 4 miles today and tomorrow is not the best idea. Maybe I should incorporate more 1 and 2 mile rest days into the week. At the same time I'm thinking these things, I'm considering a 3 or 4 mile run after working at my Mom's today. While I am an intelligent woman, I've never claimed to be entirely rational.

Superman informed me last night he will be wearing tails, spats, and most likely a top hat and cane at our wedding. Probably white. I will be wearing 3/4 length gloves, which means we will probably be married in the fall or winter. Imagine me, silver-haired and 80-something, in this:

in white, and without the cigarette

Check!

I can take my Mom's closet off my list of things to do. I still have to paint over the holes from the shelf hangers that didn't work, but that is a quick brush stroke or two when I already have the primer and paint out for the first floor. I told my Mom it would be several weeks before I get to the touch-up, so go ahead and put her clothes up. I'll take down what I need when I'm ready. The placement of the holes means I can immediately put her clothes back up and they won't even come close to touching the wet paint.

After finishing the closet, I worked on finalizing the mud in the dining room. I say worked on, because this corner is all I got done in this room. I really need to focus on one room at a time, but find myself wandering from dining room to kitchen to living room, picking at things here at there. Slowly though, it's all coming together.

The green velvet in the corner of the picture above is the lid of a camera case. While I worked on patching, Superman worked on cataloging my father's camera equipment collection. Superman is very knowledgeable about cameras and photography equipment. He even has a "guy" with whom he trades, sells, and purchases photography equipment. My Mom, like just about everyone else in the world, has gone digital. We are hoping at least some of the film equipment has value.

I'm still stuck wasting time watching bridal shows, though my focus has changed. I'm done with the dress show, and am now mesmerized by the insanity of Bridezilla. I've watched a few shows, and it's like driving slowly by a train wreck. I both do and do not want to continue looking. The brides so far have been completely spoiled brats. There is a lot of whining and crying and stamping of feet. A lot of OCD and demanding perfection, with a healthy dose of "I shouldn't have to do anything" and "what is your problem?!?" I'm just sitting here with my mouth open, stunned, alternating disbelief with hysterical laughter. Laughter is good, right?

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Positives for the day

1. Hysterical laughter, no matter how inane the subject matter (see Bridezilla above).

2. The weather continues to hold, allowing me to run outside for the better part of this week. It looks like snow for the weekend, but it was supposed to snow all week so maybe the running gods will continue to smile in my general direction. Otherwise, I'll have to figure out a long run either before or after the inclement weather, as I'm not yet ready to do 8 miles on my treadmill.

3. I found out today Monkey Boy will be home on leave in June, and then again over Christmas. He has missed the last 2 Christmases here at home, so this is very exciting!

I'm stuck

I don't understand my fascination. I talked Superman into agreeing to marry me shortly after we started dating. I convinced him to give me a ring, the equivalent of a cigar band, which subsequently broke. I keep telling him the wedding is completely up to him, because I've done this before and he hasn't. At the same time, it appears I have far more opinions and ideas on the subject. Periodically, I go through phases where all I can think about is weddings.

This is one of those times. I'm stuck watching episode after episode of Say Yes to the Dress on Netflix. I can't imagine wearing any of the dresses or paying anything like the prices on this show. I've been watching almost nonstop for the past two days.

I think about being married to Superman.

I think about what it will be like when my boys get married.

I think about having a wedding without my Dad.

I think about choosing a dress with my Mom.

I get all sad and romantic and mushy and crazy. I've lost my frickin' mind. Again.

I did get out and run both days. 3 miles each day, and I'm shaving seconds off my time every time I run that route. I'm down to an 11:26 average mile. My calves still hurt through the entire 3 miles, but my hips are still not tightening up. I've noticed my calves do loosen up a bit on the longer runs, though longer in this case only means  6 or 7 miles.

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Room for improvement

1. I've lost touch with not only my goals, but also the things I absolutely have to be doing. I have to reign it in and get back to putting in a resume a day. Which leads me to...

2. Focus. I'm learning things about myself here. I'm really good at focus for a few days, a week. Then it all falls apart and I have to regroup. I was hoping the blog and the calendar would help. That does not appear to be the case, mainly because again, I'm not keeping up with them.

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Positives for the day

1. I'm shaving seconds off my runs, even while running every day.

That's all I got. Nothing else happened today.

A Better Day

I did not attempt any huge projects today, so by default it is a better day than yesterday. Instead, I hung out with Superman all morning (one of my favorite things). After, I stopped at the grocery store for:

source

Somehow I managed to escape the grocery store with this and only this. I went home and put the crumbles in my vegetable glop for the week. This week my main meal will be very green tasting, but also very garlicy. It's in the crock pot now, stinking up the house.

After putting my weekly menu together, I went here:

and ran up and down this:

7 miles today. I knew they wouldn't be glorious, since I was up several times last night with my lower back and calves bothering me. Regardless, by the 4th mile I was feeling pretty good. Even with 20+ degree temperatures, lower back and calf issues, walking part-way up that hill, stopping to take the frozen creek picture, in the snow, on an icy path, with ~600 feet of elevation gain over 2 miles... I still banged out a 12:28 average pace. I know that doesn't seem like much to all the Speedy McSpeedertons out there, but it still amazes me when I run faster than I expected. Last year those would have been 14-15 minute miles.

I came home, threw my sweaty clothes in the washer, and soaked in a shower as hot as I could stand. Now I'm setting up for Shots and Beer Night on the game I play. About 20 of us get together and run our characters through the older content. Every time one of the main bad guys (a "Boss") goes down, everyone takes a drink. Every time we wipe (everyone dies and we have to start over) everyone takes a drink. Our group is rated in the top 10 on the server, which means we have some pretty powerful characters. A lot of bosses go down on Shots and Beer Night. As the night progresses, we invariably wipe more and more. All the while, we are using a voice-over-IP program to conference call in real time. It's a party over the computer!  

This is who I will be tonight.
Jal is the highest level a character can get
and 2 points below the highest gear score a character can have.