Eclipse

As I get Boodini settled for another day on her own as I am off to work, I tell her to make the best of another tough day. It's not storming now, but after a while it probably will and then her trauma begins. When I do return and see the wood shavings on the floor from the door to her room, it's obvious that thunder and lightning had natures effect on this dog's life. The story goes like this, well Boodini it's not so bad, after a short while your eyes will get that milky cloud and your sight will begin to fade. That arthritis in you hips will start to make it tough for you to run anymore, and eventually getting up and down will also give way. Right now you have the energy to move about and   you feel strong. That too will change as your liver begins to have problems processing the protein you eat so most days the best you will do is rest your head on your paws. As you look up you'll wag your nub to acknowledge us around you and let us know that if you could go for the walk as you used to enjoy, you would if you could. Your face already is showing the grey of a dog that has had fun. You learned many things when you were in school, carting, agility, search and rescue. You can almost catch the squirrels in the yard. In a few days you will be nine, that's like 63 in human life. In a little more than a month I will be 63 as well. Seems like at this time we're going through the same things at our age we share. It's not too impossible to see the turn of events as lives begin to fade. But hopefully I will be the one to get you to Rainbow Bridge.

Living the Dream

Up at 2:30 am as the storm breaks loose with sizable force. It really gets Boodini every time the weather looks like Katrina I suppose. The last few days we once again get a reprieve with rain, and it looks like the neighborhood won't be burning to the ground anytime this month with the drought conditions. So it is also at the salt mine, with roof leaks and "tired of the vanilla ice cream attitude" from tenants, I get their grief! That's why after a long weekend it's great to get right back into the swing of things with all the thankful people. It's so easy to feel inconvenienced at anything and everything. If something was perfect it sure wouldn't be on this earth. I was reading about a mountain race that got cancelled halfway in because of mountain weather. Tough break for the runners. Sometimes, most of the times, it happens, and the best well made plans go up in smoke. Oh well, it could be a lot worse, way worse. So today in spite of the rage, this rat is enjoying the cheese delivered to the cage.

Lying When the Truth Sounds Better

 No Boodini isn't in lock down for looking at animal control funny. In fact she puts in 15 miles running weekly, has lost a few pounds, and overall is a little more chill with life. For the moment. But she will turn on a dime and give no change back. She'll be nine years old June 1, send treats. The hood has got the neighbors in the area paranoid with car break ins, kick door burglaries and everyone is profiling with what they see, but don't give license numbers or pictures of who they do see. Prop 1 for the club got shot down, and there is going to be a picnic. It's a about to be a holiday weekend and things are a changing. On the national scene, gays are still the antichrist and Obama care will end Amerikka as we know it. The Somalians are crazy to mess with Navy Seals and still end up dead. So as you can see the picture is what you paint, and it ain't nobody's business but your own. So the real question is why aren't we in Costa Rica? Well, if we had a pot to pee in, and there wasn't a bunch of deadbeats sucking the life out of you, yeah sure as hell you would be in Costa Rica, Peru or some foreign place. But we're not. At the end of the day, we can say we know nothing about having it bad, because we're still sorry peasants as far as we can see. And one more thing, you can call customer service all you want, they don't give a Boodini's back side about posting on the blog, cause you'll still end up with me!

The Slither

Boodini is getting her licks in on the run now and probably has lost those additional pounds. Today being her off day was a good occasion to run Bull Creek. I have added the lookout trail and on the way back to the most commonly used trail I came within a few feet of two rattlers about three foot slithering along in tandem. Our six beady eyes turned in a lock of luv but they kept on not having anything to do with my old slow washed up ultra ass. Hill country living, it's a great day to be alive cause the sun still shines when I close my eyes.

Do I Think I Hear the Fat Lady?

Forty five years ago I began working for the man to buy me stuff. For thirty years, I did everything possible and moved myself up in the culinary world with some very rewarding positions and received  recognition in the Statesman and wining Grand Prize awards in several cooking competitions. In my private living as a teen, till now, many running challenges and awards have come and gone. At the time, I might have felt like a contender, it could have gone to my head, it could have been a good feeling for a while that sense of worthiness. But in the passing of time it all vanishes. Then it can become a feeling of nostalgia, or wish to strive to do it again, that seems normal. But really it's best to just forget about it. Fourteen years ago I made another turn back to construction, remolding and property management for a businessman that I formely ran two of his private food services for UT students. Now as a property maintenance engineer for a very large property management company I was told that the person and myself at our property had won the Stream Cup, a number one within our company. Of 50 managed properties with some 300 employees in the area we took overall kudos for the care of the facility of 10 buildings on a 17 acre campus. We are rated on 80 categories and have a survey from the tenants we serve which tally points of total. Five years when I stepped into the professional side of this, I knew I was surrounded by some very knowledgeable and talented people, actually it was quite intimidating, and I figured it would be a matter of time before I would be replaced. Of course that can happen anytime. From the Bank of America building downtown to Riata, Stonebridge, and many facilities the company touches in these properties with large staffs, here the two of us work with a large plate. So for just today I will relish this, and then move on. We should not feel that today, the next day, when we do this or do that will we be worthy. Nor should we ever think that because we won this or that are we somewhat special above someone else.
But for today alone I know that working made a difference in someones eyes, and then move on for good.

Two Finished

Boodini might have been the student left behind, but still enjoys reading. So on opening the pages of  Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses, it was a very slow and difficult novel to get through. Basically because it is full of satirical, metaphorical, and personification that left one really bewildered and challenged. Rushdie was given a fatwa in Islamic law by Ayatoliah Khomeini in Iran to be executed for what Muslims felt was a blasphemy in this novel. There were nine failed assassination attempts, one of his translators was killed, two others serious hurt, till he went under an alias Joseph Anton, which is his latest book, on his hidden life from Islamic assassins. So when a few weeks ago picking up the second novel Midnight's Children, I was already doubting that decision. It really was tougher than the first to get through. It is about India's independence, and he as a character is born with magical powers and gets into the political struggles and factions of that continent from Kasmir to Agra. The intense layout he presents is full of every walk of life and religious belief in India, and there is no way to describe the writings, he is just very good. Like the first book I thought about just laying it down, reading should be fun, so I disciplined 25 pages a day as an option. Even though I usually read beyond that, finally I finished. Looks like I am free to finish the other two books I started with Midnights Children only because it was hard for me to get done.

Hello!!!! is Anyone There???

Dear Board Members:
   I hardly respond to our email list, ok that's right I don't ever. I realize you are probably in a closed door important meeting and cannot be disturbed, ok maybe you actually have a life and don't just sit around waiting to answer incoming emails like a few of our members who expound on their vast experiences which include anything and everything on the planet. But thank you for the free email address, even though lately it has us rebooting because of the notices telling us of our bouncing emails? There has been lots of discussion. After the Community run, that's the new name for races that cost $100 no matter what the distance, lots of members were ready to form a posse and become vigilantes to snuff out someone who had their music serenading wild life, and gravely ruining the sounds of breaking wind and hard breathing from running trails, whether in shape or not. It makes it hard to just concentrate on the pain with all that loud music, so as you can see members were upset, and some thought you should do something about it! Then of course the member who wants to come off as a conscientious volunteer, who actually on the down low is a high paid employee of  a company that puts on "Community Activities", had to give us a list of courtesy checks. This is actually the list of any RD, wanting to make their enterprise easier if the runners followed their thoughts. Things like blowing your nose and then reaching for food with those same hands for aid station cuisine. Obviously loud music was on the list of how we all should behave, and then the long talk about how the world is no longer  a nice place and everyone is just plain selfish. So what else is new. I'm not sure, but I think they want you to send more free volunteers to attend to all these infractions. Most of all we had several "elites", or at least wannabes, who proposed that we were no different than them. We are all capable of carving out a faster, stronger runner, but we will have to work, that's right, and work hard! That way within a few years we burn out, quit running Community events, hate running altogether, as they seem to have done. It's been a great week of emails so far and
comedy relief is always there if you only look. Because in a world as pitiful as this, everyone should
be able to invent some sort of discussion and be thoroughly amused. Lastly I don't give advice, because I found out the shoes I really like are for  someone with polio and over pronate!
P.S. When are you ever going to give us that Free Pizza like I think you promised?

Opening Door

It started out cool and slowing got warm as the sun radiated off the granite domes at Reveille, the same twists and turns like Ink's Lake. This was a chance to get in a few miles, 26.2. Now that it is done the door to running swings open and if staying power is present the summer could be productive. Till now Hoka had been the go shoe, but I stepped into the Altra Olympus for the entirety and came home without my toes rubbed raw or blistered, and it looks like for me anyway this will be the ultra shoe now. They have great cushion, good traction on a course that creates a lot of diversity, and with time I will get used to the low heel. I mentioned this to the woman of the house by mistake and got the comment " well good, with the fifty other shoes you have, now you have one you run in". I should have seen this coming, after DNFing. Leadville one year and she had been to the pre race meeting the year I finished it and she remembered the Rd's Ken Choulber's pep talk, her reply for my DNF was " I guess you didn't Dig Deep enough". Ouch! This am Boodini pushed me through sore legs for her 4.5 short quicky. That leaves a good start to May's mileage. Let the Heat begin!