Vital Statistics

Aches & pains: sciatica

Current reading: The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Recent listening: You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen, Olé Coltrane, Peace Trail by Neil Young, Slightly Stoopid, Johannes Brahms, Dylanesque by Bryan Ferry, Watermark by Art Garfunkel, Roxy Music (eponymous)

Recent viewing: Longmire, Limitless (series), The Daily Show, Real Time with Bill Maher

Recent playing: Mario Run, Really Bad Chess

Recently accomplished: Finished a book, traveled to Georgia, laundry – Find out Piraja Fisken)

Imperative To Do: Replace CR-V, change insurance agent, clean roof/gutters, fix HP printer, bariatric application, write Mother’s article

Vital Statistics

Van odometer: 151601
Weight lost (in pounds): 6
Aches & pains: sciatic, right ankle
Current reading: The Book of Totally Useless Information by Don Voorhees, The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman
Recent listening: News from Lake Wobegon, Go Tell It On The Mountain by The Blind Boys of Alabama, Fruitcakes by Jimmy Buffett
Recent viewing: Suns at Spurs, The Simpsons, Medium, Torchwood
Recent playing: Xbox 360, Guitar Hero III
Recently accomplished: Cleaning up missing rynosoft.com stuff, tagged existing blog entries, installed statistics plugin for WordPress, modified blog sidebar, entertained the Camps, cleaned cat box, reorganized entertainment center
Imperative To Do: Join gym, post office (Kent, Sue, Lala), phone calls, test bike commute, finish 401k rollover, sell G4, get rid of junk (couch, vacuum cleaner, mower), buy trailer for van, clean van, activate new Tivo, pay bills

Holiday Road

Friday night our holiday adventure ended when we pulled our little Scion into the garage at 4:00 PM. Two weeks and 3190 miles later, we don’t regret any of the days we were gone but we’re glad to be home. Well, maybe we regret the last day. It really sucked.

The distribution of destination points worked out such that we never had more than a 8-hour day of driving until the end of the trip. Less driving and more visiting and exploring made us all dread getting into the car a little less. Tina brought her portable DVD player and the boys watched the Indiana Jones trilogy when the drive got too long. I brought books but I never did any reading in the car since I was either driving or sleeping.

I started to write a summary of each day in this entry, but it turned into an incredibly long read, so I’ll be breaking it into a series. Watch this space for a day-by-day rehash of our journey to Arizona and back.

What dreams are made of

Lately, as I’ve been waiting for sleep to come, I lay in bed and fragments of recent dreams begin to stream through my mind. Each fragment brings to mind another and, before long, I have embarked on a new dream journey. Here’s a few of the disconnected thoughts from some of those dreams:

  • I’m living in Iowa and trying to get my car working. I own several cars and one of them is a muscle car which my dad is helping me fix up, the idea is put this car in the leasing market, I got this obsession after I check a article call  Addicted to Transit Custom Lease? Us Too. 6 Reasons We Just Can’t Stop.
  • My dad and I trespass on a farmer’s land. The cops come and we make a break for the car, but I am shot in the back. My dad gets away. The cops question me for several minutes before I ask them if they want to look at my wound or call an ambulance. They were unaware they had shot me.
  • I’m riding my bike through Cedar Falls trying to find my old apartment. I purposefully cut through the bank parking lot by the ATM but still end up going down a hill by a park. My previous experience (which is fictional in real life) tells me I have overshot my destination and I am bummed I have to pedal back uphill.
  • I am at the Dental Office in NY for family and general dental services office and I remember belatedly that they should check my bottom left molar because it’s sore when I chew (in real life), and them I got a wisdom teeth removal.
  • I’m back in Riceville and there’s something incredible happening in the sky. It could be aliens and it could be atomic bombs. Everyone is outside watching it.
  • The whole family is on a road trip and we decide to go through Kansas which is way out of the way.
  • I’m late getting on an airplane that is taking me home. As we fly in to land, we dive at a terrifying steep angle.
  • I’m back in Charleston and wondering around trying to find a particular place. I have an idea of how the city is laid out but I keep getting confused.
  • I find a pawn shop in a really shady part of town. When I walk out of the shop I find that my car has been stolen from the parking lot.
  • I go to a club where I know that there is a play. The play is self-referential and recursive which makes it cool. But there is something evil in the back of the club that I can never remember.

Vital Statistics

Hours of sleep last night: 8
Hours billed last week: 0
Cobs of corn eaten: 12 (approximate)
Aches & pains: none
Current reading:: Metal Cowboy by Joe Kurmaskie
Recent weather: hot, cold, wet, dry (no lightning or thunder)
Recently accomplished: picked and shucked corn, skeet shooting, swimming at Lake Hendricks, water park supervision, visited with various relatives, camping, shopping at Cabella’s
Upcoming To Do: return rental car, shopping at Mall of America, airplane to Portland, drive home from Seattle

Vital Statistics

Bike odometer: 1468
Weight lost: 50 lbs.
Hours of sleep last night: 7
Hours billed last week: 47
Aches & pains: sciatic
Current reading:: 2107 Curious Word Origins, Says & Expressions by Charles Earle Funk, The Book of Totally Useless Information by Don Voorhees, Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
Recent listening: Coverville, DrugMusic, NPR Story of the Day, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, Science Friday, Fresh Air, Velvet Goldmine: Original Soundtrack
Recent viewing: World Poker Tour, Nature, The Henry Rollins Show, Countdown, The Daily Show
Recent playing: Pangea Arcade, Bloxorz
Recently accomplished: Mounted mailbox on “temporary” post, reserved rental car for Iowa trip
Imperative To Do: RMA old Tivo drive, backup Thomas, backup Graham, backup Tina, sift through inbox, CDs to post office, renew van registration

Vital Statistics

Bike odometer: 1406
Weight lost: 52 lbs.
Hours of sleep last night: 8
Hours billed last week: 52.5
Aches & pains: sciatic nerve
Current reading:: 2107 Curious Word Origins, Says & Expressions by Charles Earle Funk, The Book of Totally Useless Information by Don Voorhees, Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
Recent listening: Asleep at the Wheel (live), Live & Kickin’, Meat Puppets II
Recent viewing: Countdown, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Wimbledon Finals, World Poker Tour, The Half Hour News Hour, Face The Nation, Beethoven (part), 2007 World Hot Dog Eating Championship
Recent playing: Pangea Arcade, Bloxorz
Recently accomplished: Recycling, mowed lawn, garage cleaning, returned hose, freecycling, paid bills
Imperative To Do: RMA old Tivo drive, backup Thomas, backup Graham, backup Tina, sift through inbox, CDs to post office, renew van registration