LAZY, HAZY, CRAZY DAYS OF PRE-SUMMER

7 June 2002

First things first. I've started a recipe journal on Diaryland. I decided I wanted a good place to keep track of the recipes that I have tried and liked, with WeightWatchers points indicated, where possible, and thought I might as well put them on line for anybody else who wants. I don't know how often I'll update it, but there are 4 of recipes there for starters.

It's a lazy day today. The kind of day when the air saps your energy and you can't really think of anything to write about. (Obviously this bothers me a lot, since I just woke up from a nap during which I dreamed that I had nothing to write for a journal entry!)

We got into triple digits yesterday (104°). Today is a little cooler, but not much. The air conditioner doesn't seem to be working properly, so I haven't moved much from the fan sitting here on my desk, except for the nap. I did go into the office for a bit, but not for long. No patients today, so I can spend the day trying to get caught up on the ubiquitous transcription.

The weather persons say that the temps will start to drop tomorrow and we might even have breezes by Saturday. Just in time for our Ride for Hunger Saturday morning. Olivia and Haggie are both going to join me and I'm very much looking forward to the first Boob event. Jealous of the snazzy new duds that Haggie and Olivia have both purchased (Olivia has out-spent both of us, however), I got some biking sox for myself. Unfortunately, I've realized that these fat legs are not built for elastic-enhanced, ankle-hugging footwear as they begin to cut off the circulation. Owell--it will save me money!

Yesterday, I was on a deadline with a tape I hadn't finished transcribing because I fell asleep the night before, so I didn't make it up to the club in the morning. But I was back "in the saddle" (literally!) this morning. The weather was pleasant enough that I was able to bike up the 0.63 mile in shorts. It will be a long time before I need my jacket again. By the time I left the club at 7 a.m., it was already starting to feel warm. I took the usual ~5 mile ride home and the breeze made by pedaling into the air felt very good.

At the club, I was talking with a woman who was mentioning how much she hated The Dreaded Overpass when she goes biking on the greenbelt. So it's not only me. This gal is pretty physically fit, and it made me feel good to hear she huffs and puffs over the overpass as well. Just to underscore that, I managed to take the overpass in 5th gear this morning, and was going 7 miles per hour when I hit the top. That felt good.

The journal world has seen the start of a few new burbs lately, three of which I've joined. First was John's Fellow Traveler's Burb, whose philosophy is that "life is a journey toward an ideal," and the members of the burb are those whose journals reflect their journey through life. Well, I think this one qualifies, so I've added his link to my front page.

Now that I have recipes to share, I also joined Home on the Range, a collection of people who have journals which include links to recipes.

Third is "A word to the wise," which is kind of fun. People who join this burb are asked to find one key word to describe their journals. An interesting study, coming up with one word to describe this journal. "Funny" doesn't quite do it, despite the title. I suspect this is only funny occasionally. I liked Quixotic, but Elle of "The Windmills are Winning" already chose that. Stephanie of Yer Blues has a great word: "Whangdepootenawah." I thought she'd made it up herself until I checked the Internet and discovered it's an Ojibwa word which means "disaster; an unexpected affliction that strikes hard." (See the kinds of things you can learn here?"). Doug of Nilknarf News chose "Eclectic," which certainly describes this journal. I also liked Charlene (from "Are We There Yet?"), who used one of my favorite words: serendipity.

I finally came up with a great word for this journal. People keep telling me I never stay home. It's bike rides. It's following Steve around the world. It's trips to England or wherever. The "Word to the Wise" site also will either provide a generic graphic for you, or you can make one yourself. I borrowed part of a picture that Secra created for us Boobs, futzed with it for a bit and came up with this graphic to describe my journal: