Hi All,

Sunday, March 9th to Saturday, March 15th: 30 miles

I ran four times week ... getting back to my every other day schedule for a bit.

Sunday: 6 miles, Treadmill, 1/2 - 7.5mph @ 5%, 1/2 - 7.5 mph @ 4%, 8:00 pace
Tuesday: 7 miles, 32F, calm, no stops, 7:58 pace
Thursday: 7 miles, 40F, a little windy, no stops, 8:06 pace
Saturday: 10 miles, 44F, calm, no stops, 8:01 pace

My times are quicker this week. I think it's because I consistently concentrated on extending my stride. I was under 8:00 pace on my Saturday run until the very end.

FYI, I read in April issue of Runner's World that a 160 pound runner burns 873 calorie per hours running at a 8 minute mile pace. Gee, that sounds like me!

I hung all my kitchen cabinet doors ... except for the two above the refrigerator. These two are a PITA! The left one matches up height-wise with the others but will not close. The right one is about 1/4" high and will not close. I tried switching them to no avail. I believe I will have to plane them to fit. Why they didn't fit like the others is beyond me. Maybe they didn't fit in the first place and I just didn't know?

I went to Garden Scape at the Dome Center in Rochester on Saturday night with a friend. There was certainly a lot to see ... a sensory overload of people, plants and ponds! We ate supper afterwards at the TGI Fridays opposite MCC. I took Michael back to Ithaca College on Sunday. I couldn't see my father at the Wayne County Nursing Home on Sunday because his unit was on quarantine. I didn't want to give or receive the flu.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, March 1st to Saturday, March 7th: 14.7 miles

I only ran twice this week. Work and snow conspired against me.

Monday: 8.7 miles, night run, 54F, windy, no stops, 8:13 pace
Friday, 6 miles, night run, 32F, wet snow, sloppy, no stops, 8:28 pace

March has come in like a lion ... just look at the temperature extremes this week. Right now, it's windy 19F outside on Sunday morning at 9:21AM. Monday, the high was 65F in Rochester NY. I awoke to a quarter inch of ice on my car on Wednesday morning. I took the Thruway and 490 to work rather than 31. I ran around the high school track on Friday night to get in a run. It was more hazardous driving to the track because the roads had not been plowed than it was running around it 24 times. The weather on Saturday was even worse ... around 28F with a combination during the day of freezing rain, sleet, snow and a couple rumbles of thunder! I did get out during a break in the weather to get some stuff around Newark done (bank, post office, a hair cut, groceries at Savealot).

I am still, yes still, finishing up the kitchen. I absolutely will get done today hanging the cabinet doors and getting stuff out of boxes back into the kitchen.

I did go to a Rochester Fun Raisers happy hour at the Holiday Inn Airport on Thursday night with a friend, MK. It was OK. I mingled a little.

Michael is home from Ithaca College this week on break. He and I caught up on our sleep on Friday night. Him after several weeks of study and me after a week of work.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, February 24th to Saturday, March 1st: 22.4 miles

I ran three times this week. It was very cold on Wednesday and Thursday, with highs below 20F and lows close to 0F with wind to boot. I ran on the ... cough ... treadmill on Friday morning. The snow on Wednesday night or the windchill on Thursday night or Friday morning was just too much.

Monday, 8 miles, night run, , 32F, calm, no stops, 8:09 pace
Friday, 3.1 miles, treadmill, 7 mph, 4% incline, 8:34 pace
Saturday, 11.3 miles, 36F, windy, slushy, no stops, 8:33 pace

I got my first paycheck from Adecco. No brakes! I had a big surprise when I tried to stop at the end of Grace Ave on my way to my first divorce hearing. So part of my first paycheck was spent on getting rear brake lines done on my car. Thanks to RTR Enterprise in Palmyra for squeezing me in on Friday. More money will get spent when my child support is readjusted ... oh, joy. I could rant but again will pass. I will just be happy when I am divorced. I have a bottle of champagne already chilled.

I ended up taking all of Friday off due to the divorce hearing and getting my car fixed. I went out with a friend to the Cracker Barrel in Henrietta. We had a good meal (Chicken BLT for me and Chicken and Dumplings for her) and shared a Coca-Cola Double Fudge Chocolate Cake for dessert. We also talked tech. It's refreshing to be able to talk tech with a woman and not have her eyes glaze over. We browsed their extensive gift shop after dinner. I also responsibly recycled an old TV and computer at eWaste.com (aka Regional Recycling and Computer Recovery) in Victor earlier in the day.

My daughter had some friends over on Saturday night. Karen bakes very well. We had cookies, some pizza dip and watched a couple DVDs of Jeff Dunham. He is pretty funny.

Both the Newark girls (link here) and boys (link here) got bounced in the semifinals so no trips to the finals for me I guess.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, February 17th to February 23rd: 25.4 miles

I modified my running schedule due to work (which is a good thing):

Tuesday night: 7 miles, 20F, windy, no stops, about 8:30 pace
Thursday night: 7 miles, 20F, calm, no stops, 8:23 pace
Saturday afternoon: 11.4 miles, 36F, calm, no stops, 8:25 pace

I amped up my long run. I could have run more ... I just keep on going like the Energizer Bunny, I guess.

My new job at Kodak office on the IT Help Desk is interesting. Their help desk is designed for high and critical priority calls and handles a lot more people with more apps and accounts. Kodak has a lot of online FAQs so that users can handle a lot of their support. I have listened to calls, received training and slowly got my accounts up and running. I handled two tickets on Friday; one via email and one by calling the customer with an answer to her question. Next week I am told that I will answer some live calls with someone listening to help me. The drive on Route 31 is 33 miles one way.

I am still finishing up the kitchen. I am laying down contact paper in the cabinets and drawers right now. I will be rehanging the cabinet doors this week. Then the bathroom will be last, but not least.

I watched War from the RedBox at Wegmans in Newark. I have been watching action movies lately.

Both the Newark girls and boys basketball teams have made it to the quarterfinals in their respective Section V tournaments. The girls bracket link is here. The boys bracket link is here. I hope to catch both finals (if they make it that far).

I am still converting my VHS tapes (ST-DS9 and ST-Voyager right now) to DVD. I ran into quite a string of bad DVDs (10 or so) this week. Either that would not even load or would not close after the write. I have changed to another brand of DVD-Rs. The first two were good.

Today I am headed down to Ithaca for Michael's Wind Ensemble concert. The concert will be held away from Ithaca College at Cornell University's Bailey Hall. According to Michael, it will be loud ... he will be wearing earplugs.

Keep running, Doug

Update: I am back from Ithaca. The concert was awesome. Bailey Hall is a horsehorse auditorium with a balcony built especially for musical concerts. The last piece was Circus Maximus by John Corigliano. Here is a quote from the program:

"The Circus Maximus of ancient Rome was a real place - the largest arena in the world. 300,000 spectators were entertained by chariot races, hunts, and battles. The Roman need for grander and wilder amusement grew as its empire declined.

The parallels between the high decadence of Rome and our present time are obvious. Entertainment dominates our reality, and ever-more-extreme "reality" shows dominate our entertainment. Many of us have become as bemused by the violence and humiliation that flood the 500-plus channels of our television screens as the mobs of imperial Rome, who considered the devouring of human beings by starving lions just another Sunday show."

Back to the concert - there were trumpets, snares, trombones, etc stationed all around: behind, to the left, to the right and on the balcony. The trumpets heralded like the Roman trumpets. The climax in the sixth movement was quite loud, the climax at the end was punctuated by a shotgun blast.

Hi All,

Sunday, February 10th to Saturday, February 16th: 31.2 miles

I ran four times this week keeping to my every other day running schedule:

Sun: 7.2 miles, 28F, a little windy, snowy, no stops, 8:32 pace
Tue: 7 miles, 20F, a little windy, no stops, 8:13 pace
Thu: 7 miles, 36F, calm, no stops, 8:10 pace
Sat: 10 miles, 36F, a little windy, no stops, 8:31 pace

I have good news ... I have a job. I will be working at Kodak office on State Street through Adecco starting Monday. The pay is $3.75/hr less that I was making at ITT through TCN so if something else comes along I will seriously consider it.

I am getting along in the kitchen. The drawers are done. I finished painting the back of the cabinet doors. I painted the walls with the casual blue that I used in Michael's room. It looks pretty good. I will look into putting down contact paper in the drawers and cabinets.

I got out a bit tonight. I went to see the Newark girls basketball (number 3 seed) team play its opening sectional game against Brighton (number 14 seed). Newark won 75-33. Section V, Class A sectional schedule link is here. It was a joy to watch the Newark girls pick apart their opponent. They play the same style of tenacious defense that Newark has played for years. The Newark boys are 20-0 and start their sectional games on Tuesday. Section V schedule calendar link is here. I must say that I like the girl's link much better. It was updated with Newark's win within hours, the boys link doesn't even have the team names or where and when the games are!

I am getting more adventurous in the kitchen. I made scrambled eggs with turkey and cheese this morning. Those of you who are cooks may laugh, but for me ... well ... a cook I am not.

Well, it's time to head upstairs to put another coat on the front of the cabinet doors.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, February 3 to Saturday, February 9: 25.5 miles

I ran three days this week keeping to my usual every other day schedule.

Mon: 8.5 miles, 34F, calm, no stops, 8:10 pace
Wed: 7 miles, 32F, calm, a little freezing rain, no stops, 8:17 pace
Fri: 10 miles, 36F, calm, no stops, 8:21 pace

Relatively good news on the job front. Thursday, I had an interview at EK office on State Street for a Desktop Support position. The interview went really well. They had a hands-on test, a laptop with network issues. I solved 3 out of the 4 problems: network card disabled, DHCP not set, network cable not connected. I couldn't set the EK proxy. But I think I passed the test. I also got a call from Ajilon about a Desktop Support position at Wegmans on Friday.

I went to a Rochester Fun Raisers Happy Hour at the Airport Holiday Inn on Thursday night with a friend, MK. We talked for a while, then mingled. It was OK and I had fun.

The kitchen is going well. The upper cabinets are 95% done and the bottom cabinets have been started. I scraped and sanded the doors at a friend's house on Tuesday. They need to be painted along with the walls (a Casual Blue, I think).

Karen is home from Houghton this weekend for a short visit. She was over to visit Blackie and Inkie.

The NY Giants pulled off the upset, 17-14, against the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. The game was quite good. Links from SI.com and sportsline.com. The ads were pretty good also.

I have been on a DVD watching tear lately, watching The Brave One, Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End and Ratatouille at the Redbox at Wegmans.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, January 27th to Saturday, February 2nd: 30.3 miles
Month of January: 126.4 miles, I ran 16 out of 31 days, 7.9 mile average

I ran four times this week keeping to my every other day schedule. I was lucky and avoided the high winds on Wednesday and the ice on Friday.

Sunday: 9.3 miles, 32F, calm, 2 stops, 8:19 pace
Tuesday: 7 miles, 42F, calm, tried energy gel, no stops, 8:03 pace
Thursday: 7 miles, 28F, calm, no stops, 8:04 pace
Saturday: 7 miles, 32F, calm, tired, slushy, no stops, 8:22 pace

This week I painted the ceiling in the kitchen, removed the cabinet doors for sanding, and started painting the cabinets on Saturday. I quickly found out the painting the cabinets will take longer than I thought. There is a whole lot of area to paint inside the cabinets! The first coat of the upper cabinets took about 8 hours. Then I went for a slow run and shoveled the driveway. I am quite beat from all the exertion today.

No news on the job front. No word from either Cornell or Ginna. I applied online to Zotos in Geneva. I worked there for 6 months back in 1999. I also applied online to Ultralife in Newark again when the job was reposted.

I saw a post on Runner's World about Idiotic Things NON-runners say about running. It's pretty true. I don't really think it's much of anything to go out for a 7 mile run (at a minimum). It's just something that I do every other day. Non-runners think it's amazing, something they could never do, weird, etc ... depending on the person.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, January 20th to Saturday, January 26th: 24 miles

Monday: 9.0 miles, 15F, a little windy, no stops, around 8:30 pace
Wednesday: 7.7 miles, 22F, a little windy, no stops, 8:25 pace
Friday: 7.3 miles, 22F, windy, 1 stop, 8:20 pace

I started the kitchen on Saturday. I removed the wallpaper yesterday and today. I discovered tile under the cupboards and behind the stove and microwave. It's off white with blue streaks. Tomorrow I will start painting the ceiling and priming the walls. I will take off the cabinet doors also.

I had an interview with Constellation Energy at the Ginna Nuclear Power Plant on Wednesday. I was one of three candidates so I have a good chance. I am crossing my fingers.

Right now I am converting my La Femme Nitika collection of 14 tapes to DVDs. Ahh, the joy of watching Nikita and Michael flirt! I just found another box of ST-TOS tapes.

My court date to reduce my child support was delayed because her lawyer couldn't make it ... effectively lengthening the time I give the full amount by another month. My creditors will be so pleased.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, January 13th to Saturday, January 19th: 30.7 miles

Sunday: 8 miles, 40F, calm, no stops, 8:14 pace
Tuesday: 7.7 miles, 32F, calm, snowy, no stops, 8:25 pace
Thursday: 7 miles, 36F, a little windy, no stops, 8:11 pace
Saturday: 8 miles, 25F, pretty calm, no stops, 8:14 pace

I am still unemployed. I got flushed by Ultralife. It is really amazing that you can do Desktop Support for six years, meet all the qualifications for the job and not get either of the two positions open. Ultralife is 1.6 miles away from my house. I had an interview down at Cornell University in Ithaca on Monday and at Xerox in Webster on Thursday.

I am almost done with David's room. This week I finished scrapping the wallpaper, painted the ceiling twice, the walls twice, and pulled the rug. I just have to clean and then paint the baseboard and the inside of his door. Then I can get all the stuff that was in that room out of my bedroom. On to the bathroom and kitchen next.

I took Michael back to Ithaca College on Saturday. I did have a little fun meeting up with a MK at a house in Henrietta for a little party. I learned how to play euchre. An interesting game that I haven't played in a very long time. Then we went up to Six Pockets up in Irondequoit for a little dancing to the Time Bandits. A link to the lead guitarist's page is here. They sounded pretty good! I haven't danced in a while ... it was fun!

I got my first unemployment check last week ... minus the FULL amount that I pay for child support. So basically, I got 44.4% or $180 and child support got the rest. I have a court date next week to hopefully change my child support payment to more closely match my current income ... which isn't much. I could rant on this for a while but ... I will pass for today.

I really need to get this house done. I figure two more weeks. But, I really need to get a job. Where this job is will determine whether I move or not. If I don't get a job out of the area, then what do I do with the house? My ideas are: sell it, rent it out or get a roommate to help with expenses. If I sell or rent it out I will have to move but where? If I move, I either have to get a roommate or be a roommate. Decisions, decisions.

I gave blood today for the 62nd time at the Newark American Legion. My BP was 122/76, pulse was 48. I was in and out in 73 minutes. If you want to donate and you are in the New York / Pennsylvania region, please go to www.donatebloodnow.org. You can get swag ... I got a certificate for a free pound of coffee from Dunkin Donuts and a free ticket to the January 26th Knighthawks game versus the Minnesota Swarm.

Yes, I am still continuing to convert my VHS tapes to DVD with my Samsung DVD-VR330 DVD Recorder. I am deep in a box of ST-TNG, ST-DS9 and ST-Voyager tapes. I can convert a VHS tape of six one hour episodes to one DVD. I do about three a day.

I watched The Kingdom from the Redbox at Wegmans.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, January 6th to Saturday, January 12th: 23.75 miles

I ran third times this week keeping to an every other day schedule. I am keeping my pace somewhat constant while I slightly up my mileage.

Monday: about 7.5 miles, 56F, calm winds, no stops.
Wednesday: 7.25 miles, 50F, 20 to 40 mph west wind (which knocked me around), 8:58 pace.
Friday, 9 miles, 40F, light wind, no stops, 8:30 pace.

I have been scrapping off the wallpaper in David's room. It was a slow process which took five days of steady effort. I know how to peel wallpaper. Now it's just another room. It's just a matter of spackling, priming, painting and pulling the rug ... then this room will be done.

On the job front, I have an interview with Cornell University down in Ithaca on Monday.

I used my $5 Dunking Donuts gift certificate that I won at the Newark Turkey Day 5 Mile Race to buy a dozen donuts for Michael and myself. Yum!

Keep running, Doug