Another Week

Looks like running has been in the tank for sometime, mileage is at an all time low, and if Boodini wasn't on her weight fitness program since her Vet visit that 12 miles would be zero for me. There has always been hills and valleys in our horizon, but now even lifestyles are changing. At first it was just a phase, or because of real deal responsibilities, and when everything is added and compounded, well it's tank time. Work continues to be out of control, so there is no letting up there, it will take energy and will and suck it right out of you. It's not a question of age, because it spite of the rage, we feel pretty chummy. There is a marathon for me at the end of the week, and it will be another grin and bear it to the finish. Providing there are no thunderstorms, where Boodini will be gnashing her teeth, and I just don't crater and not show up, it will provide a chance to sweat and redeem something of what is left. But this isn't the only thing to living. Because amidst the in betweens of what used to be and what is there is always another week ahead, and greatly daring to just take what you have and realize that many don't even have that much.

The Other Side

With the dread of the the annual veterinarian visit, and going through the repeated antics with this ordeal it's great to be done. The shots were administered, blood and fluid samples taken, and now the only hope is that everything is in range and we don't have to return. This year I am sure we payed for a new machine for the clinic and the excuse is always "well Boodini is older and there are more things in different parts of her body that can go wrong"? If it was up to her she would be happy to have nothing to do with any of it! That was Good Friday alright. Holy Saturday with her nub turned downward it was obvious she was sore and leave her best alone, cause the girl does get grumpy. Easter had that resurrected side to it cause her nub was up and the cats were in sight. Boodini probably figured chances were slim I would be taking her back to the Doc, so things were a bit more chipper. So now we concentrate on losing a few of those added pounds, diet and exercise is our mantra and that ought to take us all the way to Pentecost.

How Holy Week

If you are one that made a few changes to your routine over the last six weeks leading up to the end of this week, Easter Sunday, you can start heading to the barn for your sacrifice is in the bag. In a few days you can return to whatever it was you left alone for your intentions and good reason. For me, all my hopes of sinning less obviously was a big letdown, and no matter the good intentions things have just about played out the same. However, staying the course and running the race in hopes of some victors crown would also be a laugh at best. Still taking all things in stride it is best no matter to continue with the small things and even smaller steps. Being still above the ground there is always today to keep moving forward, doing your best and forgetting the rest. Maybe if there was a Easter egg hunt to go to it would seem a bit more exciting, but it is always what we make of it.

Test Ride

So yesterday I finally got the chance to run in two new shoes. For the first loop of Bull Creek I had the Hoka Rapa Nui which is a narrower fit compared to its cousin the Evo. Using Hoka shoes has been a huge learning curve because for me the sizing seems to be all over the page. Even with the Evo which fit fine I had issues with the toe box grinding away my toes. Nonetheless the Rapa has  a much firmer feel and doesn't project the usual cushy feel that the Bondi or the Evo have. Maybe after a few more uses they will break in and feel more flexible. They are light and have a 5mm drop, and I am not aware what all that means, but I will use that comment for the next pair I tried on the finishing loop. I switched over to the Altra Olympus and immediately my first thought was I am wearing a moccasin. The feel was a definite change, the toe box is wider, I could feel the cushion, the drop was the same 5mm, but they felt far more flexible, and felt broken in with the first push. I really enjoyed the run in these shoes. I have the Lone Peak but haven't run many miles in them, and not in a race because I wasn't confident I was familiar with the zero drop philosophy. Yes both shoes are going to used in races in the future, but I think in this test the Altra won hands down!

The Great Boodini World Tour Cancelled

I purposely stayed later this morning from going into work, testing to check out my BiLocational techniques. But when the phone rang and it was the technician I was scheduled to work with and he asked where I was, and I replied, "I'm in the shop" and he said, "No you are not, cause I'm standing outside the shop and the light is off and no one is home???". That's when I knew I was at home and not at work at the same time. When I got to work, I called home, and she answered, " How's it going at work today?", and I told her,"I'm in the garage", and she said  "No your not! I'm in the garage loading some clothes to wash, and I don't see your happy ass cause your on the phone with me from work!!!". Things were not shaping up, and I had no control. You have to be able to switch it on and off to make this work if your in show biz. Well Boodini, hell she was ready. She has plenty of costumes and hats and can do her agility tricks and herding techniques, so when I told her it was a no go she was obviously very disappointed. Well it's back to the same old ten two and four around here in Mudville. We had our moment of bliss and it is just quickly erased before you even know it was there.

Transcendental

I have finally reached samadhi, nirvana, Boodini and I will probably be headed on a world tour now. The Great Boodini traveling show it shall be called. Earlier today I was contacted and told that I had finished the 50K this past weekend, which I almost yelled back, No I did not! But your name is on the finish results  he said. I told him I was at home as stated, in a previous post, that Boodini turned hostile and I stayed back to play referee, and did nothing. But I think I have the power of BiLocation. I stayed at home and at the same time in another place I ran the ultra. It is impossible to explain, but now it is true. Maybe even some of the other runners will say" Yes he was running alongside us", hence World Tour. It is not something I can recall, and have no memory of this happening, but nonetheless, the memory does play tricks on us all. I am pondering what next event I shall run while never leaving the confines of my home?

Goalie

It is obvious that if there is a carrot in front of a horse's snout it will try and eat it. So it isn't too terribly amazing, that if there is a desired result at the end of the tunnel, and this is tried and true, you will set out to accomplish getting the hell out of darkness and into the light. If I use the formula prescribed of establishing X amount of miles a week to run, and note the progress, it becomes a job that needs to be done. Boodini works well when there is a task at hand, and will only see that task versus some evil behavior. We are very much alike in this aspect. However, there also must be some quality versus quantity involved. But in the meanwhile, it is good to know that the path to success can be achieved by being resolute to a plan. Without it nothing gets done. It would have been nice to be a freak flag waving hippie and doing what the hell one wants, because everything is cool, but you would end up blitzed on good ideas, and no concrete results done. Now go make a goal, get a hair cut and a shave, quit looking at life through the wrong end of the telescope, and get a ticket on the train back to reality.

Another Day in Parasio

We have a target on our back when we cruise the hood, and if we don't watch out we are hit blindside by a runaway dog. This morning I wonder why we have to hold each other together with a leash yet other folks don't, and they are the ones that have to invade our space. I have so wanted to drop the leash, let the gloves fall, and let Boodini have their ass, but I don't. One morning a dog came running out of the yard and Boodini whipped around and nipped at it, and that dog ran it's happy ass right back into its yard where it came from. On the way into work, I was thinking how today was just another day, why?, I never think that, it should have caught my attention. At work, roofs were leaking, a lap top from the office was stolen, door locks had to be changed, another tenant was irate about the usual nothing, there was nothing ever " just another day today". Should have felt that when that dog left it's two frolicking owners this am off leash and charged Boodini. The frigging whimp dog cowered when it got close to Boodini whose growl and spitting sounding threatening enough. Just go with the flow because twenty five years from now well never know the difference.

Summit Everest

He has all kind of ideas, destroy the grand canyon , run all the trails of Big Bend while finding new ones. Then there is do a double marathon Austin marathon race day. Now it is pay boo koo dollars and buy your award to run five 50 milers in a series. Lots of great challenges, nothing like shooting for the stars and hitting the moon. That's what great thinkers accomplish, because if you never dream you will never get off the front porch, and it probably has to do with how big your dog is. Ha! Nevertheless, that's what makes this guy a good puncher, pusher, what have you. He is always stirring the Dutch ovens until they simmer and produce. Now what are you going to do?  Congratulations, get out from the wall and give something, nothing ventured nothing gained. So what's the plan going to be?

Dance in the Rain

So Boodini had been acting a little jiggy, not actually, for sure! Maybe like most frustration, stress, or the plain lack of excitement in this world makes one just that, jiggy. Problem is like a well oiled machine, the lack of all its functions moving easily, causes her to lash out for no apparent reason. Hurting someone's feelings that is trying to be kind and nice, completely devastates any confidence or trust from that person. In turn it is her one friend left holding the bag of ill content. Well after eight years this is nothing new. So I hang back and take the lead, and keep Boodini out of harms way until the evil passes. Who needed to run 50 miles anyway, take advantage of the extra sleep, read more novel, and then really do absolutely nothing. Even if there is plenty to do, right now figuring out what is just a matter of putting at least one foot forward. Time for the remedy, the cure, and it looks like a run in the hood always gets Boodini's mind right. Why not on such a crappy weather morning. Dance in the Rain!

See you at 2:30!

Finally with the beginning of high school the past of Brownsville could be left behind. Lunch period there had turned into a boxing match most days with me in center ring. Going to seminary school had me bunking in an open dorm room with seventy other kids, and in ninth grade it was our class. Coming to San Antonio was like a big city as well, and now at all meals there were new friends, Sullivan and Merrion from Chicago, Cooney and Ricke from Denver, Sipos and Trendle from New Orleans, and Vaughn and Dempsey from Richardson. We sat every meal together and bashed and joked amongst ourselves. One day I looked over at Dempsey and told him we would see him at 2:30! He looked worried, and like a shark sensing blood it created a hallmark for many to come. Later that day I got with Cooney and Sullivan my two Irish friends, Cooney was 6'5" 230, and Sully was 6' 200, but he was strong as an ox. We contrived a plot. At 2:30 am in the dorm the three of us quietly crept over to Dempsey's bed, and in one swift movement we flipped his entire bed over to the floor. A loud thud! We hauled ass back to our beds and laid it down. Lots of commotion from the other guys sleeping now awaken, and then all the dorm lights came on. The Priest in charge, Father Degeorge standing mid center of the room asked what was going on, no one really knew, and the three of us tried hard to muffle our laughter. Vaughn barked out "Nothing!", Degeorge came back with the famous line"Who said No please?, which was always repeated amongst ourselves from then on for no reason or rhyme, jibberish, "Who said No please?  If we were caught, which we were not for this infraction we would have received disciplinary action, maybe kneeling all night on a broom stick, loss of recreational privileges, or once a month a General Permission to leave campus for the day, a Gp as it was called, that would have been the big slap. From then on we set a standard that other classmates would utilize, the horror words"See You at 2:30!,and some nights in the wee hours you would sometimes hear the thud, and then the lights, and everyone would always repeat, "Who said No please"? Whether you did or did not, just the mention of those words would have someone waiting in their bed all night to see if someone was coming.

Baskin in the Cream

One really happy job back in the day was director of food service for a affluent private UT dorm. It was always a challenge to stay on the cutting edge of quality food, junk food which all college students wanted, and present a wide variety of culinary delights. In particular the ice cream bar, had ten flavors, toppings, and unlimited seconds. One particular day a student came up to the ice cream bar and went into a rage, yelling for all to hear and directly at the server Julie " I am sick and tired of this vanilla ice cream!". Now we all know that day to day pressures really can accumulate until one might bust at the seams. Classes, paper deadlines, exams, the normalcy and routine come to a screeching halt. I still laugh at that remark of the student, it seems to be a mantra when I have really had it, yes, I am sick and tired of that vanilla ice cream and like"Network" I am not going to take it any more! But we do, maybe we don't have much of a choice, bills, keeping up our standard of luxury( what the hell am I talking about), commitments etc. It can lead one to think that being a deadbeat, like our cats at home who do nothing but eat and shit, might be a lot easier way to live. Sometimes the same old things we see everyday that are fixtures in our path can tend to grate on our nerves, we see it over and over again. Yes and finally we just have to admit" I am sick and tired of this Vanilla Ice Cream!!!".

Stressing

Can't sleep to good, have the hebejeebees, don't know what's shakin. Olga wants free pizza with the remaining funds. Our elected President wants to go public with the club HCTR, but no one seems to care. Some like the email, others prefer facebook, someone is worried about our scant $15 dues and what to do with all the money, that's why Olga wants free pizza, maybe people will show for the meeting and help decide if they really care or not. I never went to the meetings, well maybe once or twice. Maybe there will be interest. Back in the day there are a few of us who remember the beginning of the club, it actually was a cool thing. Maybe it still is for some, but things have changed, and things move on. But I shouldn't let this get to me, Boodini will sense this and turn even more erratic. She likes her life like a stop light when it's red it's red, when it's green it's green, none of this jumping around stuff, or it's a nip,nip nip! Life really has a way of messing with the routine. So I guess the saying goes"Relax, nothing is constant".

The Fool

Celebrate with Boodini, for it is truly a commemoration of things past and things to come. Never does the fool think clearly of the present, so never is the correct choice made. With that the same results follow day after day, leading to the downward spiral of poor decisions. However on the opposite side one can enjoy all the pleasures and allurement which living in this marvelous world can bring. After all drink and be merry for tomorrow never comes. When it does though, and somehow no matter how short life is Boodini is once again King Fool of the Hill. You can play tricks and make up funny ditties to prey upon those you know, but for us two we just lead the life we have been living and we will always play the fool. Happy April's Fool!