I missed Tom White appreciation day. 

We had a celebration of our own. Friday, we had a zippy two miles before sunset. Then took Tag out for pizza and ice cream.

 

 

Mike - what happened at your review?

 

 

Yeah Mike. What's up? If they didn't give you a sterling review, they've got all of the folks here at RA to deal with

Yay TomW!! Now let's work on getting that 90% up to 100, okay?

Happy birthday Tag!

Hi Holly! How was the first week of college for your DS? Did your DD start school yet?

Wow - Jay "slept in" until 5 this morning. Sounds like a busy day ahead for you.

Hope the storm misses you, Aamos.

The pictures of the "dig" on FB are truly fascinating Marj. I'd love to come and camp out at that site for a few days, just to watch the process.

Hugs to Leslie. I hope she's doing all right...

Rainy and humid here this morning, so I went to the Y for 45 minutes on the elliptical and 30 minutes of weights and core stuff. When I looked into the pool and saw only one person swimming, I wished I had brought my suit and goggles for some laps. Then, like Jay I headed to farmer's market with umbrella in hand and filled two bags full of acorn squash, green and yellow beans, blueberries, broccoli, cauliflower, corn on the cob and fresh mozzarella cheese. Oh - and a bouquet of sunflowers. All that for $25.50

Have a great Saturday everyone.

A couple of more comments about TW and my joy at his recovery.  The first is that this is just the beginning. You are going to find yourself doing things you haven't done in years and any of the pain and discomfort you used to experience or are going through now will disappear and you will pinch yourself about how good it feels. I am so happy for you.  My second comment, and I know you won't fail to do this, is that whatever the PT gives you to do, do that and more, and never make the mistake of saying, "I feel good now so I don't have to do these workouts any more." They will tell you when you are done.  I am very encouraged for you.

Well, yesterday was a big day for me as I made a sales call on a bank in San Antonio, at their invitation. I don't do much of this oddly enough, as I usually have plenty of work and most of the contact I have with clients and prospects is by phone.  And since I teach people how to make effective phone calls, mine are usually pretty effective.

So I had about a two-hour "working lunch" type of visit and was home by 5:30, just a typical day.

Ran 3+ with the Saint this morning in the park and that gave me 30+ miles for the week.

Tomorrow she and I leave for Pittsburgh.  My biggest client is there and in the 15 years I have been working for them, she has never seen the city so we're making a work/play trip out of it. We'll get in early tomorrow, see some sites, have dinner, then on Monday I work all day while she explores, then on Tuesday we have the day to ourselves for more site-seeing. It is a gorgeous city, and I'm looking forward to showing it off to her.  Spareribs

good advice marj and ribbs//........I will definitely stick to the PT

Hello everybody!

I think it's going to be really fun watching tomwhite's progress over the next several weeks.

I just got back from running with the cc team.  I went a little earlier, so I could get a little more of a run in.  I had a total of 9.8, which was just fine.  I'm running with the girls, this year, and I have to tell you...it feels weird.  They had a meet, yesterday, so this wasn't a day to go hard but...they sure seemed slow.  I was in the back of a group of 8 and I wondered if they thought it was creepy to have an old man following them on their run.  But, by the end, when the faster ones started breaking away, it got a lot more fun.  At the end, they thanked me for running with them and seemed to really appreciate it.  It always amazes me when they thank me...they give me 2 hours of being able to forget all the crap I deal with every single day...and they're thanking me?  They have no idea what they do for me.

Oh--I have to tell you about the coolest thing that happened, this morning.  Like I said, they had a meet, yesterday...their first of the year.  Before practice begins after every meet, the coach always reads the names of those kids who had meet pr's and overall pr's.  When he announced one kid's name for an overall pr, he asked him by how much.  He smiled and said it was by a minute and 40 seconds...and you should have seen the smile and the pride on this kid's face.  I feel myself getting emotional just thinking about it.  Have I ever told you guys how much I love those kids?

If you don't want to read a bunch of wining and complaining, please feel free to skip right down to the "See ya!"  I wouldn't blame you if you do.

Mike - what happened at your review?

Well...first of all...our meeting was scheduled for 8:00.  At about 9:40, my boss sends me an email, saying he would be there "in a little bit".  He finally came in at around 2:45.  He goes on and on about all the good things I'm doing and how important I am to the company and all the added responsibility he wants to give me.  He had a printout of my hours for the year, showing that I have averaged 48.5 hours a week, and he thanked me for it.  He made a comment about how he likes to show the carpenters (who work by the hour) their time so, when they complain about not making enough money, he can tell them that they just don't put in enough hours.  I, of course, used this opportunity to remind him that (because I'm salaried) the more hours I work, the less I make.  He found no humor in it...but I wasn't trying to be funny.   He went on about how he worries that somebody is going to come along, offer me more money, and I'll be gone.  I told him--yep--that's right.  I also told him that I actually had an opportunity to go someplace else, making slightly more--but I turned it down because I was in the middle of a big project and I couldn't leave him in that position.  I went on and told him what I used to make and what I had grown accustomed to--which is about twice as much as he is paying me--an that is without the large bonuses we would get.  Oh--and that was for a 40 hour week.  So--finally, around 5:00--1/2 hour after I was supposed to be off (well, actually an hour after I was supposed to be off, but that's a different story)  he brings up my raise.  3%.  Now, I know that many people don't get very large raises, these days...and 3% is, probably, the going rate.  But, to me--it was like a kick in the gut.  He asked me how I felt about it.  All I could say was, "I'll deal with it."  He looked puzzled.

I think the biggest thing that bothers me is...me.  I have no ba__s.  I just take crap over and over and over...and I just keep my mouth shut and go on.  I work in a panel shop with low-skilled, low-educated, guys who, have to leave early to see their probation officers, who have to take the bus because their licenses have been revoked--one guy, who used to work there, was a convicted murderer (he was the best worker we had, actually...but he had to leave the city because his wife was being stalked be an ex-boyfriend).  I have guys who don't show up because of car trouble, they're sick, or they're in jail.  And with this group of guys, I am expected to have a high rate of production so that we meet our deadlines and put out a quality product.  But--I just keep my mouth shut, keep the guys happy, and do the best we can.

I clean up after everybody.  I change the toilet paper roll, the paper towel roll--I unclog the toilet when somebody leaves it clogged--and I clean the crap off the toilet seat that was left behind before I can sit down.  I take the trash home with me to throw in my garbage can because all we have is a dumpster for construction debris only.  I've had to climb in that dumpster to remove bags that were thrown in there by the owner's brother.   Oh--I actually supply all the dang coffee for everybody!  And do I say anything?  Nope.  I just do it.  And that's what bothers me the most...no stinckin' ba__s.

Okay--I think you've all heard enough from me for a while...believe me, I could go on...but I do have other stuff to get done, today...before Debbie gets home.  Have I ever told you guys I have no ba__s"

See ya!

Am thoroughly jazzed by TW's news! Oh boy, oh boy indeed!

Doug, all my LRs begin with a Timmies double double!

18 miles on the waterfront bike path in overcast IRC.. Except for some GI issues which forced more  pit stops than planned it was a good  run. The new 2Toms lube was a good investment.

Mike- like everyone says, find a new job.

TW-PT has saved my back plus yoga.

Holly- we spent last Friday with my DGS who is now a soph at Ohio State and took him grocery shopping so he could stock his fridge in the off campus apt he is sharing with a friend. He loves college.

This morning I went out shortly after Marj left and ran 8.5 miles- my longest in a couple of years. I also hit 25.5 miles for the week-also longer than I've done for quite a while.