Happy Hollandaise!

The Hollandaise were good to the Purplestaters this year -- despite (because of?) an almost total lack of preparation on our part. I mean, for reals -- no tree, presents purchased on the 22nd, no plan for the weekend? How can that work out? Well, my dad decided he wanted to come visit last minute, and the in-laws hosted a feast, and we all got to hang out and have fun. I even watched a good 30 minutes of NFL football, which I think is about right for any given 12 month period.

Big ticket items for the fam was the suite of equipment required to play Lego Rock Band. This is a guitar hero spinoff, with, yes, Lego figures as the performers. We've never owned any of this stuff before, just envying other's cool guitars and rapidly descending bars of color, but now we rock out. Well worth the expense, and as soon as we get a drum kit all three of us can play together which will, I expect, be even more fun.

Me, I gots me a new bike -- new to me, anyway. B found an ad on a forum for a gently used Quintana Roo 2003 Caliente in my size, and after some negotiation I went ahead and got it. Going this route saved me $700 over a brand new bike, which I promptly put towards a wheel with a power tap. "Why ride with power?" I hear some of you asking -- hi mom! -- well, its all about getting accurate measurements of effort. In training last year, I was working to ride ~20 mph over the distance -- which, while a laudable goal, is tough to train for, on account of the differences in terrain and any-given-day conditions on the road. Its far more useful to train to crank out 200/220/240 watts for 5 hours at a time, so that on race day you can do that, at which point your finishing time is dependent upon the terrain. If you have trained properly, you have a better idea of what you are able to do, and focus on that rather than on the clock. You may recall, faithful reader, how I nearly blew up on the bike at IMMoo --- here's hoping that this training tool is going to prevent that.

I've signed up for the DC marathon in March, again, and hope to crush my 3:52:00 time this year -- 3:30:00 is my goal again, and if all goes well in the next 12 weeks of training, I'll aim to go somewhere south of that. My 1/2 marathon in November suggests that this kind of time is well within my reach, if I can keep to the training schedule. Which, barring the hellish snowstorms of two weeks ago, has been pretty consistent.

The dissertation is approaching completion. 33 pages into chapter 5, I hope to finish that by tomorrow and then start working on the intro/conclusion. Defense is set for February 22, if I can manage to get through all the hoops on time. On the job front, lots of applications out, no nibbles as yet. Too soon to worry about that, though -- Feb 1 is my "panic" date. I wonder if I can still get a job teaching ballroom with a PhD? (Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!)

Track workouts in VA are overrated

So, after the 10K sunday, took monday off, then ran 45 minutes down 16th street, (23 out, 22 back). That works out to be about 4.8 miles. Yesterday, took the Metro to VA where I ran a track workout -- 5x400, 4 mins per (8 min miles) with 200 easy jog between. 1 mile warmup/cooldown, 5 miles net.

So, this track is in VA, right? 45 minutes to get there, 90 minutes home, and I functionally ran by myself. B was insistant that this was a good thing to go to, there are a lot of people there, blah blah blah. Did I mention that it was 30 friggin degrees yesterday? Hence the title of the post -- going all the way to VA to do this run was no way shape or form worth the trouble. There's a perfectly good track ten minutes from B and I, and if we're going to do the work, why don't we go there?

There is a weekly poker game not too far from the track. They were playing texas holdem, and B was going. But I have one firm rule for cards -- don't play if you can't afford to lose. So, I said thanks, got back on the metro, and headed home to M, cranky because I had been gone for 4 hours and she was having a bad thyroid day. B did well though, finished up two bills; but that is kinda my point -- I couldn't have afforded to lose those two bills, and that's what playing at this game means -- you have to be willing to put more than a bill on the table to not be pushed around by big stacks, and you may just have a night where you have second-best hands. So, I am grumpy - I would have liked to go.

Family is coming to town today -- My dad gets into Dulles at 3:30. Proximal cause is the funeral of his brother-in-law, from the side of the family that I haven't been much in touch with in the last 20 years. There have been series of bad-blood-inducing incidents in that branch of mi famiglia, and so despite the fact that a cousin of mine lives in the metro area, and has a kid 2 months older than J, I've not gotten in contact. Which should make for an interesting weekend, no?

My uncle was a major general in the army, and is being buried with full honors at Arlington. We decided that J should go to this event; J was unsure, and thought that perhaps he could just visit the grave with flowers at a later date. I had a troubling experience at the first funeral I attended as a child -- I couldn't understand why people at the wake were not solemn and mourning -- and I hope to help J through the experience. He's a pretty emotional young man, so we will see how it goes.

There has been some interesting academic manouevering as well -- I think I am getting re-assigned for my TA hours next semester because of some ill-thought-out decisions made last year. Not a big deal, but I didn't do the best I could have done in working the situation at the management level. A good, low-stakes place to learn the lesson that its all political, and you have to keep your eye on the ball. Functionally it won't mean much different, but I wish I had displayed a bit more savvy in the gamesmanship. I tend to idealize the environments where I work as being free of that kind of happy horsehocky; no more of that!

Probably out of touch until the weekend. I will have some stuff to write about that isn't mere reportage, I think. Value added anticipated!

Two weeks? Where has the time gone?

Well, its gone several places, and its luggage went to a few others, but now time (Tie-muh) and its many-legged luggage are reunited and ready to get back to the illusion that existence is sequencial.

Me? I've been to Boston, for a professional conference. It went well, thank you, but I was sick the whole dang time I was there. That kind of miserable, hacking cough that doesn't produce any phlegm. Sucked to be me. The weather was from bad to miserable to nice, finally. The cold knocked me down for the better part of a week, actually, and I didn't get back to running until Monday.

This week has seen the following:
Monday: 1/2 mile easy, still sick.
Tuesday: 40 minute run in Sligo Creek Park. A wind-ey 4.5 miles.
Wednesday: Hard run: 2 minutes at 8 min/mile, 1 min at 10 min/mile. 8 repeats. Ends up being about 2.7 miles in 23 minutes. 8 minute miles is my goal for the race next week (on which more in a moment).
Thursday: 30 minutes easy, 3.2 miles.
Today: 40 minutes easy, 4.4 miles.

The plan for the weekend is a long run of 70 minutes, slightly slower than race pace, but at least 7 miles. But, it may well be raining hard tomorrow, so I may push that to Sunday, as I would like to do it outside.

I've been running with B on a regular basis, and its been a good thing for me -- he clearly wants to run faster than I do. I think it might be a good thing for him, as well, as he isn't in shape to run as fast as he wants to run. As he says, "the older I get, the faster I was." He wants to race like he is still 20. However, on our treadmill running sessions, his easy pace is faster than my race pace. So, THE PLAN today is to run him down by dragging him down to my level, and then clubbing him like a baby seal when we get close enough to the finish line.

I say THE PLAN because I was watching Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog with J last night. Much of that is appropriate for J -- in fact, a lot of the humor is right up his alley. BUT, some of it is too grown up for him. At the end of Act II I stopped the show, and told him that it had a sad ending, and that he probably wouldn't like it. He asked some questions about it, and agreed that he didn't want to watch. But he loved the Evil League of Evil, and Bad Horse, and the way that Dr. Horrible got beat up by Captain Hammer. "Captain Hammer threw a car at my head." Heh. The thing that I found really interesting was that he didn't mind the musical format at all -- it didn't even phase him. I guess that comes from the way that lots of kids shows work music into the narrative. If you haven't checked it out, and you have a sense of humor (most of you do) then you owe it to yourself to get it -- I got it off of Itunes, its really quite awesome.

The dissertation (hi mom!) is coming along, with Chapter two taking shape. Not a lot of words on the page yet, but the materials I want to include are becoming known to me. It may be the hardest chapter of them all, actually, because what I want to convince people of is stuff that I can only really speculate about. Oh, I can point to the things people wrote, and the dance manuals and what have you are pretty clear about the way people were expected to behave, but one of the things of which I am convinced is that the historical record doesn't begin to tell the full story. So, I have to infer -- rules and regulations that prohibit or proscribe behavior indicate that the behavior was a problem, therefore it was going on, kinda thing. Its evidence through absence, and while it is fairly well established and accepted methedologically (in my field) its not tremendously straightforward.

Next weekend is the 10k race in annapolis. A shortish drive away, B and I expect to be there and back before noon. I am, as I was with the triathlon this spring, somewhat nonplussed. I don't know what to expect, and I don't have any reason to be nervous, but I kind of feel it ought to be expected - nerves. Its a RACE, after all, but one with no stakes -- there's no way I am winning my age group, so mostly I am paying a (small) fee to have somoene time me run 10k (No, mom, I won't just send the money to you and use a stopwatch. Your point is taken, however). I guess formal races and whatnot are a step towards qualifying to run marathons, which I intend to do in the spring. Also, there is the question of just how fast am I? As I said in my last post, I don't know. We will find out!

M has been undergoing some acupuncture for her thyroid problems, and seems (for the moment) pleased with the results. Her energy is up, and she appriciates the attention to detail and willingness to discuss the theory of the treatment that she gets with this doctor. I get the impression that one of the things she most dislikes about western medical institutions is the way patients are treated like unwanted customers, necessary perhaps but frankly getting in the way of the real work. Much the same way some academic institutions treat undergraduates, come to think on it . . .

No word on the job front. I did get a nibble on an article, which would be nice. Thats all for now -- peace out.

Move over little dog . . .

So, as the end of the grad school experience approaches, I have begun to apply to jobs -- first packet went out on Tuesday. I am of decidedly mixed emotions about this moment. I love the place we are living, really enjoy being in a city with M's family nearby and friends-a-plenty, and the stable environment / awesome school system has been great for J.

On the other hand, I want a friggin job. First app went out to Batman State, which employment would theoretically begin Jan 1 2009.

Yes. Two months out. !!!

There are other jobs I am more interested in, in parts of the country that M would rather be than the Motor City. But you know what? I am taking the job if they offer it to me. We may have to work something out where M and J stay here for the spring or something, but . . . that's certainly the cart before the horse.

Other prospects include a Jesuit school in the Windy City, Nut State (IN), EnsignCrusher-an (CT), and the big brass ring, the job from UNCle.

On the home front, took J to see The Express (and failed to let M know, putting me in the doghouse, hence the title of this post). A Fine Film, though I can't disagree with the reviewer who said that it works despite its conformity to convention. The movie has a lot of heart, and it was a real treat to watch J watch the movie. He doesn't know the formula - or rather, he knows it so well that he would only notice it if wasn't there - and I take a fierce kind of pride in the way he doesn't understand why people would be so hateful because of skin color. I've thought alot about the way my parents raised us regarding race relations. For the most part, growing up in the center of the country, the subject never came up. I dont remember knowing anyone who wasn't white until middle school. So, on the one hand, there was no attempt to make us kids aware of that aspect of the world.

On the other hand, early on the three of us - without exception or ambiguity - rejected the idea of prejudice based on skin color. I will never forget a conversation my brother and I had with my dad on day. Pop had a job working in a big box store, and made the comment one day, I don't remember why, about how "those damn black kids are so lazy." What I remember most about that moment is how much it shocked me, that my dad could even say something like that. G and I tore into him for a good thirty minutes, and I remember what it boiled down to: in my dad's experience, the black people he had worked with had a different work ethic than he did. He apologized for putting it into a blanket generalization, if I recall correctly. I can't imagine anything less would have satisfied G and I, fired up as we were.

I have more to say about race and my family, but enough for one day. Point is, I guess, that I want J to know that America, with her great ideals, has failed to live up to her promises for so many of the people who live here. I want him to know that the problems they had - as J says, "back in slavery time" or "back in segregation time" aren't gone, or fixed, or over. Better? Yes. But the work isn't done. "Until the color of a person's skin matters no more than the color of their eyes," yes? I worry at what a completely unattainable standard that seems to be -- but then I think about the changes that have happened in my lifetime. Maybe its not too much to hope that J's kids might know a world like that.

Ran 20 minutes hard on Monday, 15 on Tuesday, and took Wednesday off.