Spun Sugar at Sunset

Spun Sugar at Sunset - Orten Effect, Jan 17
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

I wish I took this picture but I didn't, sigh... this is one of my favorites on flickr. It's not an HDR photo, and it's not quite the same thing going on as what I saw by that creek, but I like the colors and it seemed close enough. I'll keep looking for the photo I was thinking of.

Pearl Pink And Mercury Vapor

Morning weigh-in: 165.5#, 10.5% BF

 

Snowing on the way home, sort of near dusk, I caught a glimpse of that creek that runs along Ravine Rd. The creek was sort of silvery, framed by black trees, covered with gray sky and shrouded in snowy fog, but sky and creek had that slight pinkish tinge that snowfall-gray sometimes gets. Very neat, reminded me of some HDR photos I'd seen. I noticed that the sky was pretty cool in Phillipsburg/Easton too, more pink with a pearly vibe, but also a bit of yellow from the city streetlights.

 

Anyway, hit the gym on the way home from work, then had leftovers. I went out to Which Brew around 9:00, just to get out of the house and see some faces. I was worried that it would be empty because of the storm -- the parking lot was deserted -- and it was quiet but not empty; I had some pretty nice conversations with Perry and his colleague plus a few others. I noticed at one point that everyone around me were schoolteachers -- hmmmm, wishful thinking? Sorry fellas, storm's over, back to work...

 

The WB girls were listening to some alright stuff, but I had a hankering for Patti Smith so when I left I cranked "Gloria" for the ride home. Almost done with A Book of Dreams, by the way. Kind of creepy and sad at the end.

Chili Today, Hot Tamale Baby

Morning weigh-in: 167.5#, 10% BF

 

Good meeting last night, first one of the new regime, held at Brian's house with 6 crock pots of chili. We had an impromptu judging after the meeting, and once again Linda's chili beat mine. I do like Linda, but not on Chili Night... (I took third, so I would still have lost even if she hadn't brought one.) Of course, she keeps winning with her same recipe, and I keep losing with my same one -- so who's got the lesson to learn here, hmmmm?

 

Gym tonight, working off some of that excess chili, then I'm finishing off the last of the pasta & tuna. Things are getting cold again; there will be some offroad riding this weekend, as well as some skiing.

All's Right With My Boring World

Morning weigh-in: 167#, 9.5% BF

 

Gym last night, then dinner (leftovers: pasta w/ tuna & wilted greens, and some tomato & bean stew), reading & 'puter, food shopping, then I prepared my "midnight chili" -- so named because that's when I finished prepping it -- and crashed. Today I set the crock pot to cooking before I left for work; it should be ready for tonight's Chain Gang meeting (where I'm no longer Preznit, but I am the new secretary), and of course the house should smell chililicious when I get home... Not much else is going on with me. Been downloading some more music, and doing a lot of reading (duh). I may do singlespeed sprints after the meeting tonight, or maybe just some yoga before bed.

 

This is news? My old neighbor might not agree, but I could have told you this.

 

Reading: Wilhelm Reich made his name in Europe, back in the 1920's-1930's or so, with his psychoanalytic approach to political/cultural studies, so I guess it's not surprising to see his name pop up in Male Fantasies -- granted, it's mostly because the author disagrees with him. Still, it's kind of a weird synchronicity as I read A Book of Dreams, where author Peter Reich (Wilhelm's son) is currently watching old home movies with some European documentary makers, about 10 years after his father's death. The matrix population modeling continues apace, but so far there's no connections to the other things I'm reading.

Kinda-Sorta Dodged A Bullet

Morning weigh-in: 166.5#, 9.5% BF

 

After my Sunday brain fart, I've been waiting for that "bad news of my own making" trifecta to kick in, and last night the second screwup struck: I went out shopping and when I got to the store I reached for my wallet (thought it was on the passenger seat) but couldn't find it. I tore the car apart -- nothing. Went home, checked my work pants -- nothing. Nothing on the floor, maybe it fell under the bed -- nothing, nothing on the bureau where I empty my pockets, back out to the car for more nothing...Nope, it's gone, with my driver license, plus all my debit and credit cards and I've got like two bucks in my pocket.

 

Luckily the car had a full tank, but that was the last place I saw my wallet, getting gas on the way in to work yesterday. (Fat chance for recovery if the gas station is where I lost it.) Checked the car again, got to work & checked the parking lot to see if I dropped it there, nope. I pretty much resigned myself to replacing the contents, cards etc, and trying to cash a check at the bank (with no ID) to get through the week; I was going to go home at lunchtime to get the process started. One last look in the car before pulling out and -- found it! It was jammed way into the passenger seat's hinge, black fabric wallet against a black fabric interior, but this time I saw it. Sheesh.

 

So I've lost a little time: the meat I should have bought last night, should have been marinading today, for me to make chili tonight/tomorrow. OK, no marinade, but we're back on track. Now I'm just waiting for that third shoe to drop...

 

Anyway, yoga last night, with pasta & tuna for dinner. Tonight is the gym, followed by leftovers and chili prep. I'm back into the matrix population models.

 

Duck Duck Goose

Morning weigh-in: 167#, 10.5% BF

 

So two out of  three days seized ain't bad I guess, but I really did drop the ball yesterday...

 

Friday night was a great ride, followed by a fun night at Which Brew, as noted previously.

 

Saturday was the gym, then errands which included a haircut, so I hit Eskandalo! once again. (Kind of an impulse thing: they recommend calling for an appointment, but I just walked in and sat down to my haircut. I was pretty lucky, the owner said there was a three-hour wait earlier in the day.) Thus cleaned up, I went home & put on a collared shirt, then went back to Bethlehem for some margaritas at Spanky's house -- cocktail party! Greg & Laurie, Doug & Lori, me, Trevor & Christine (who I'd been calling Amy for some reason but we got that straightened out), and Rich & Linda. We hung there for a bit, then trooped over to Cactus Blue for authentic Mexican cuisine. BYO, but Spanky & Rich are professionals, and we washed our dinners down with more margaritas, or Dos Equis if that was your preference.

 

Meanwhile, back at Eskandalo, which has connections to the Which Brew bartender scene, I was told that bartender Andrea's boyfriend was having a birthday celebration while his band played at the Funhouse that night -- be there or be square, or something like that. So, after dinner a bunch of us went there to check out that scene too, even if we proved ourselves lame and old (Steve complained about turning 32, and got no sympathy from us), by leaving before the end of the night. I crashed at Doug & Lori's.

 

That was a pretty good blowout, and I guess I could be excused for slacking on Sunday but I felt good and wanted to ride. I had to run some unexpected errands (old-car-related stuff that didn't work out anyway), and that put me later than I'd want, but I finally got out to Lehigh at 2:00, only to discover that I'd forgotten my Camelbak. I guess I could have done some ride without food/water/emergency tools, but I also had no place where I felt safe putting my car keys. Oh well, put the bike back in the car, go home... Surprisingly nice day too, I was expecting rain or snow. Say it with me now -- D'OH!

 

Went home, read a little from A Book of Dreams, and played with the computer while doing laundry. (Been fiddling with video lately. Last week I managed to break my movie player, and last night I managed to fix it. Life goes on.) Sunday Dinner was at Porters, as is now traditional. Luckily, the Giants had salvaged the weekend -- that happened before I got there, but it was still nice to see the game highlights.

 

Yoga tonight, then it's time for chili prep -- the Chain Gang meeting is Wednesday, and it's a chili contest.

Deus Ex Machina

There was a video I saw once or twice on MTV, way way back in the day. Don't remember the band or the music, but there were a lot of late winter / early spring night scenes, people standing around in the leafless and dripping woods, breath visible but you could tell it was more from damp than cold -- lots of cuts to animals (possums, mice, that kind of thing) scuttling around. The impression I got was the secret life of the woods, moles and roots, trees storing up water and preparing for the energy-burst of spring. A "sap is rising" kind of thing.

Apollo: sun god, and god of prophecy, once god of a mouse-cult... I was riding Friday night on the road, and the air was damp but not too cold; ride was actually a bit hairy on the winter-damaged roads especially downhills, and cars seemed to be a little more confrontational than usual (both of those facts may have been related to poor lighting decisions on my part), but all that made me feel totally pumped for some reason. Hill ride, slow hard climbs, and on two different hills I saw a field mouse scuttling along the side of the road. The January thaw will probably be over soon, winter has barely even started but I can feel spring building.

Listening: Right now it's "Bullrushes" by the Bongos, but just a second ago it was Galaxie 500, "Don't Let Our Youth Go To Waste." One of my favorite songs, total shoegazer anthem, now I'm pumped again and will be riding offroad this afternoon.

It was a good weekend by the way, more on that later.