071

Deep Thoughts: February has been a pretty busy month. It has drained me of much energy and enthusiasm. This, along with the videos I've been watching while running, has caused me to think more on what I need to do right now. These thoughts and feelings were already there in the background, but the way the month has gone has had an amplification effect. I'm being vague, and I will stay that way for now. What I will say is that, as part of my recovery, I'm going to slow down my contributions to Notes.gs (and Graham Sedam Writes, as it has already slowed due to the busyness) among other changes. I'll still be knocking out my goals the best I can, and I'll likely try to still write these notes, but I want to pivot my writing a bit to journaling and contemplation—to focus on life's big picture and my place in it. I feel like that would be more beneficial for me right now, and I don't want to start disliking my blogs because I HAVE to do it. I feel like it's better for everyone in the long run.

Present Situation: ANOTHER day of overtime tomorrow. Today had me a bit bummed for many reasons not all related. I should get to bed soon. It sounds like my wife is done on the treadmill, which is good because that's where I sleep on work nights. Karate went pretty well tonight. I pride myself on the small improvements I (think I) make each week and helping my son to improve incrementally as well. Ran 5 miles yesterday and again today = Zzzzzzz

No exaggerations—summer feels like a lifetime ago.

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070

Run Streak: Day 252!

Mileage Mayhem: I have logged 131.3 running miles for 2019 so far!

Run The Year: I have run 19.1 miles this past week (Monday through Sunday). For those paying close attention to my notes on running, you'll know that I need to run a minimum of 19.3 miles a week to not add to my mileage debt. This means that I added 0.2 miles to my debt, putting me at an even 20 miles behind. I'll take it. New highs. New lows. New averages. I have been consistently trending upward and that's what really matters at this point.

Present Situation: I have to wake up early to go to The Place That Pays Me tomorrow for more overtime. First, I'll need to call my mom back and keep an eye on The Toddler while my wife runs on the treadmill. The TV is doing a pretty good job of keeping him occupied. Thanks, Morphle. A relaxing shower before bed will be one of the last things I do before I lay down for The Sleep.

I'm on track to run more miles in February than January.

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069

Run Streak Sneak Peak: Monday through Thursday, I have grown accustomed to running in the middle to late part of the afternoon. I have to schedule it sometime and I actually like running before dinner. Friday and Saturday mornings before work are when I squeeze in a mile to keep my streak going on those days. It's what works for me and my family, but it isn't easy. I'm generally pretty tired on those mornings and the last thing I want to do is get up and walk over to the treadmill a few feet from the bed to run. There have been countless mornings by now where the thought of not running has crossed my mind. No one would know the difference. No one at all. But, I would know, and I know that running that slow mile will make me a better runner and a more disciplined person. I put aside short-term laziness for long-term strength.

Present Situation: The Toddler seems to be sick. A fever and yucky pants is probably a good indicator. Let us hope that we can keep the sickness contained. It used to be that the kids got sick right at the onset of a holiday or vacation. Now, they/we tend to get sick a couple of weeks out. Regardless, he is getting some much needed sleep. The older two will be going to bed soon. The Daughter attended a Girl Scout event where it sounds like a bunch of girls just flossed. That's all I heard. The Wife still needs to run since she was required to chaperone The Daughter. The night seems to be going quickly. Will I have time to finish The Halsey episode of SNL?

Hey, Pixar, drop me a line. I'm a whiz at this facial expression thing.

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068

Meh: Today felt mostly uneventful but necessary. It was a day off from The Place That Pays Me. That was needed. There were 2 appointments in the morning—one for my wife, one for my daughter. Those were needed. I re-shared a post, THE NOT SO DAILY DUMP #1, from Graham Sedam Writes on social. It was nice to do anything involving my long-form blog. I was able to squeeze in my weekly administration of financial matters—always an important matter to keep one's thumb upon. I got my 15 minutes of stretching in, and I only had time to run 2 miles. Regardless, I kept my streak going and accomplished goals. I was able to talk to a few of my daughter's teachers at her school's open house conference. It was a great to hear how well she's doing and to get a better picture of what is going on at school. I kept busy and did my best with today. I conquered what was laid before me. I will sleep well.

Present Situation: My wife and I were able to finish the James McAvoy episode of SNL last night. I was all like, what? He's Scottish? I fell asleep for the last skit. I was given a very vague description of it (of which I have no recollection) by my wife last night just before going to sleep in bed. Part of me wants to move on, but the other part feels like I need to see that skit to "finish" the episode properly. It looks as though we will be able to watch something before I have to go to bed as The Toddler should be out soonish. He had quite the attitude this afternoon/evening. I'll be going to The Place That Pays Me tomorrow morning for another 12. It's hard to argue against sleep at this point, but I could currently do without such an early wake up.

You could lose a small dog out yonder.

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067

Hot Tip: "Nothing good happens after midnight." A few years or more ago, a coworker of mine said this to me. I don't remember if it came before or after a story as to why, likely multiple stories he was involved in, but I know it had to do with alcohol and tomfoolery. I understood at the time that being under the influence after midnight probably wasn't the best use of time and probably wouldn't end well if done enough times. Hence, the story-worthy tales of debauchery we've all heard. I agreed with his finding, knowing from experience that any time that I was up late beyond midnight, I wasn't really doing anything necessary, productive, or in my best interest. Since that day, every now and then that line pops into my head. Even though I don't go out late and cause trouble, it reminds me that I'm better off going to bed than staying up too late to watch TV, to look at my phone, or to do anything, really. And, actually, how this applies to your own life's clock is flexible. Interpret it however you wish and it's probably both relatable and relevant.

Present Situation: All of the kids are in bed and that means adult TV night! That still sounds dirty. My wife will eventually get around to running, and I am working on this note. She's doing yoga now. That's not running. *eye roll* Maybe I'll watch TV without her. It's been a long day and the Epic Winter Snowstorm of the Century: The Weekly Edition (how some people view life EVERY time it snows) has made it a bit longer. Another good long run in this afternoon after some stretching. Tonight, I shoveled what had accumulated in the driveway this afternoon and also what the snowplow left at the end of the driveway. I probably wouldn't have if it wasn't for the need to put my garbage and recycle bins at the end of the driveway. I haven't had a lot of sleep over the last week as far as time spent sleeping. The quality has been good, though. So, taking all of that into consideration, tonight should help out a lot. Cuddle with me, glorious sleep.

I've got some Angry Winter™ available for sale.

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066

Karate: That I am aware of, there are three classes for kids to participate in: beginner, returning, and advanced. Kids spend one session in the beginner class as a 1st degree white belt. I'm not exactly sure when they go to the advanced class, but it seems to be after purple belt. My son (and I, technically) is a 2nd degree orange belt. Every session, we have 2nd degree white belts joining. I was wondering when/if this day would come, but in this session, we are working on a set of moves called Coordination Set that we have already learned and earned a ribbon for. I had already forgotten how to do it but quickly remembered once we started going through it in class. I think it's good to go through it again as if I were a beginner and work on doing the moves with even better form etc this time around. This is what I am trying to impress upon my son.

Present Situation: Another day at The Place That Pays Me lead into coming home and hurriedly getting things done to be able to go to karate and be ready for another day of being at The Place That Pays Me tomorrow. I was able to stretch, get a 3 mile run in, and cut all of the hairs on my head off before dinner, before karate. The day has been a success as far as accomplishing what was on the proverbial plate. One more day of overtime and then I get a day off. I'm not so sure I can call it a day off as much as know that I won't be at The Place That Pays Me. Another slow and mostly nonexistent week as far as the writing and music is concerned, and if I can't work on those, any pie-in-the-sky plans are left to swirl in my brain and fester. Now to finish up and spend time with The Toddler before bed. Maybe a couple of Girl Scout cookies, too.

Every year since we've been together, between February 1-14, my wife makes and gives me these little pieces of paper. They are often accompanied by some type of related "gift." Our family keeps getting busier, and so she was able to make me 6 this year.

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065

Daily Water Average: I have drank an average of 73.78 ounces of water per day so far in 2019. Goal for the year is a minimum of 64 ounces! Crushing it.

Recent Link I've Enjoyed: Those who know me best will know the joy I get in reading articles such as this. I like to keep my finger on the pulse of new information coming out in "space science." The article doesn't necessarily present all new information; it adds a little bit more to the dark matter/dark energy puzzle while also being accessible to someone new to it. Bringing balance to the universe: New theory could explain missing 95 percent of the cosmos

Present Situation: Today has been long, and I am tired. I did push myself to run 5 miles today. I hadn't really planned on that many miles until I started running. It's cookie season so my wife and daughter went out a little tonight to sell. The Toddler really should be sleeping, but my wife and I don't really have the energy to make that happen. She still needs to run. I want to do this note. I will sit with him shortly and watch a little TV with him. Maybe I'll put him to bed. We'll see. I'd really love to watch some adult TV. That sounds dirty...

The Toddler's present situation.

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064

Run Streak: Day 245!

Mileage Mayhem: I have logged 112.2 running miles for 2019 so far!

Run The Year: I have run 22 miles this past week (Monday through Sunday), and I now have a new weekly mileage record. For those of you following at home, you'll notice that this is also the first week since I've surpassed 19.3 miles, which is the minimum I need to run in a week to not add to my mileage debt. Where am I at with that debt now? I am only 19.8 miles behind. Looking back at my note from last Sunday, I noticed that my math was way off somehow. It should have clicked that there was no way I was over 100 miles behind. I have now corrected it.

Present Situation: Finish note. Share with the internet. Take shower. Eat something somewhere in there, because, um, running makes people hungry? Crash hard. Wake up early tomorrow to spend more time at The Place That Pays Me.

I swear that I'm still awake. I think that I am.

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063

The Year In Steps: 1,693,694 steps and counting. That translates into 847.69 miles for the year.

Book Report: Doing Time in Hollywood by Brian Gallagher_ I'm on page 93 with 138 to go. I'm starting to realize that reading before work in the summer seems to be much easier. I don't have to leave early for traffic, clean off my car, or start it just to warm up. Also, I run on Friday and Saturday mornings due to my wife and my schedules, so that really cuts into reading time, and when you throw in sleepy mornings that make it harder to get up, yeah. I'm happy to get one page in some mornings. I'm going to have to approach things differently if I'm going to reach my reading goal this year—or at least get on track to finish the book by the end of March. Theoretically, I should be halfway through it right now. More sleep seems to be a recurring theme. It would certainly make a difference here.

Present Situation: About 10 minutes ago, The Toddler finished up on his second round of watching Wreck-It Ralph today. He tells me it's one of his favorites right now. Everybody is still up, and I have no energy for it. My wife and daughter just got back from a Girl Scout cookie sale run. My older son just turned on one of those computer generated marble runs on YouTube that I've talked about recently. Everything feels noisy and chaotic, and I just want to sit in quiet. I'll have to start herding the children towards their beds. Another 12 hour workday awaits me tomorrow.

Hours and hours of "fun."

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062

Recent Link I've Enjoyed: So, I'm going to leave this here, and you can see what you think about it. I'm pretty sure it's a joke site/movement, like "ironic" or something. Even if it is a joke, you know there are people out there taking it super-seriously. Birds Aren't Real

The Works: Not much has been going on in these regards. This week there has been no music in general or drums specifically. There has been no work done at all this week for Graham Sedam Writes, but I HAVE BEEN getting these daily notes out. I HAVE BEEN chipping away at my other goals and habits, and I HAVE HAD a really great week as far as increasing my running mileage. There are always pluses despite the minuses. I'm trying to recognize that more and more.

Present Situation: I'm going to keep this short. I really want to SIT on the couch with The Toddler and watch Wreck-It Ralph with him. Bedtime will come soon enough. The morning and the pilgrimage to The Place That Pays Me will too.

Life has gotten rough for Qbert. At least he didn't go Turbo.

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061

Out About Town: We didn't do much away from the house today. All of the kids were home due to their 5-day weekend, so that made the chiro appointment for my wife and me this morning a little more stressful. It went fine; we definitely look forward to it. We needed to stop at Target for a return and were able to see my sister-in-law on her break. We went out for a pizza buffet lunch, and then came home to play a video game. Breakfast and dinner were not the normal fare, so hopefully we made the day a little more special than normal. Although my wife always gets the kids a Valentine's Day shirt and some candy or some other small gift, I wanted to try and make the day about spending time together. As I'm sure it has been easy to tell, I always seem to have a lot I want to do and actually do on top of working a lot of hours at The Place That Pays Me. I felt the best gift that I could give them was my time and attention. I didn't want to plan out a big day but to keep it as stress-free and fluid as possible. No friction. Just fun. I'm sure the day COULD have been better, but I tried.

Present Situation: My wife is working on getting The Toddler to sleep, and the older two kids have apparently been allowed to stay up later than normal. They are currently watching computer simulated marble runs on YouTube. I have learned that this is a thing. I don't get it, but I'm old(er), so yeah. My wife still needs to get a run in, and I know she wants to do more than a mile. Hopefully, The Toddler will drift off soon. I'd love to get caught up on another one of our shows tonight. I feel as though that may be pushing into sleep too much, though. Last night, we were able to get caught up on How to Get Away With Murder. That show keeps those twists coming.

You don't have to put on the red light.

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060

Thumbs UP—Good Job! I'd like to commend our school district for resisting the urge to call off school this week. I'm sure it was difficult, knowing that there was a 5-day weekend coming up. The brave people in the Twin Cities metro of Minnesota drove slowly through snow. We did it! Despite the snow and the temps but due to its infrequency, Angry Winter has not been declared.

Ready Player... FINALLY: It feels like a great accomplishment to finish a movie in my house—especially a 2 hour and 20 minute one. We thoroughly enjoyed this movie, but I can't help but think that I would have enjoyed it more in one sitting. The Toddler fell asleep next to me not too long into our viewing, which was probably the reason why it went so well this time around. We capped off the movie by watching some movie trailers with the the older two kids on our AppleTV before sending them to bed. We tested the waters a bit by playing a couple horror movie trailers, The new Pet Sematary and on YouTube the trailer for the 1970's The Shining. My son covered his ears and eyes as far as we know. Our daughter has been getting a little cocky on what she feels "isn't actually scary." Being the nice guy I am, we watched some more tame trailers as palette cleansers before actually calling it quits. I wasn't too worried considering they are both mildly obsessed with Five Night's at Freddys, even though it freaks them out.

Present Situation: All of the kids are in bed. I don't have to work tomorrow. My plan? Cake and ice cream. Stepping some of those calories off. Watching TV. I don't know what show(s), but I assume it will be whatever we need to watch to avoid being locked out of episodes. It feels like so long that I've watched something that wasn't a cartoon for The Toddler.

My wife and I have also now hit 200 team miles for our Run The Year challenge.

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059

About The Other Day: Skipping days are bound to happen. Yesterday felt long and exponentially aggravating as the day wore on. Not exactly the mind frame I want to be in when I'm writing a note at the end of the day. It was one of those "Adversity Days," if you recall me mentioning what those are in the past. That is pretty much what a regular day has become at The Place That Pays Me when I'm in during the week. I won't go on from there as I have made it clear in the past that I don't want to really talk about that place online, let alone at all when I'm not there. I feel it necessary to "ride that line" once in a while because it IS obviously a part of my life.

Ready Player... I give up: While not the most ideal day nor the worst by far, we attempted to sit down to finish Ready Player One yesterday. The Toddler was against it from the start and made it difficult to watch despite moments of playing nicely and actually watching some of it. However, we didn't have nearly enough time to watch it. Despite this choppiness in viewing, I've been really enjoying the movie. I think I'd enjoy it more if I could see the whole thing in one sitting. Someday, again. It had me bummed out last night, wondering why we even try to get through movies. Maybe we can finish it tomorrow night.

Present Situation: I suppose this note seems super bummed out. That wasn't my intention, but that's the main takeaway from yesterday. On the bright side, I ran 4.1 miles and learned more about some changes coming up at The Place That Pays Me. There were other bright spots, but I can't remember them so well now. I had today off, some of which I'll talk about tomorrow, but I have to go back to the The Place That Pays Me tomorrow—but only for a partial day. Much like last night, I'll be spending some time with The Toddler before I go to bed, watch some Super Why, likely glance at my phone, and hear my wife talking at me.

Some days are a rocky climb.

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058

Run Streak: Day 238!

Mileage Mayhem: I have logged 90.2 running miles for 2019 so far!

Run The Year: I would have liked to have put in more miles than I did this week, but time was not on my side, as the saying goes. Perhaps, it was a blessing in disguise and backing off my climb in mileage helped stave off some injury that occurred in one of my multiverse copies but not in the one that I reside. Last week, I shared that I needed to run 19.3 miles per week minimum to meet my goal for the year. This past week, I ran 16.2 miles. While nothing to scoff at, I obviously fell short, which only adds to my mileage debt that is currently at 22.55 miles. I know. I will not concede defeat, yet. I still have all year to do that. My wife suggested yesterday that I plan out my runs and shoot for specific mileage on certain days. (She's not where she should be, either.) That's a great idea as I surely already know that any goal needs to have a clear plan. I haven't figured out what that plan will be, but you'll find out soonish.

Present Situation: I clearly didn't write a note last night—clear to those who have taken a liking to reading my notes regularly. I'm a busy guy who didn't feel as though he had much to say and felt that some time with those members of his family that were still awake was time better spent. Bedtime is on the horizon shortly. It would be in my best interest to be at work a little earlier than normal and that may mean I won't get reading in, too. I can't do everything all of the time. That's an important sentence to remember.

Knick knack, patty whack. We don't have a dog.

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057

Recent Link I've Enjoyed: Recent as in today, actually. I started following this site, DailyStoic.com, on Feedly sometime in the last day or two. This is actually the first article I've read from the site as a result—it's incredibly short but potent. For those of you who have been reading my blog for at least the last year-and-a-half, you'll know that I've mentioned stoicism before. I haven't taken to it like moth to flame, but I'm incredibly curious about it and would love to learn more and think more on it. If It’s Not Simple, It’s Bullshit

Book Report: Doing Time in Hollywood by Brian Gallagher_ More overtime means more book reading time because of the way I plan out my schedule. However, that doesn't necessarily mean A LOT more time. Between very sleepy wake ups and bad weather commute times, my carved out reading space has been encroached upon a bit. Still, I've made it to page 81 and I have 150 pages to go. I'll need to quicken the pace a bit to make sure my reading goal for the year stays on track.

Present Situation: ALL of the kids are in bed. My wife is running on the treadmill. As much as I'd love TV tonight, bedtime is the prudent choice. It will make a bigger difference in how tomorrow turns out than TV will.

I was once a heartless gangster. Now, I have many as trophies in my freezer.

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056

The Year In Steps: 1,385,200 steps thus far in 2019

Ready Player... Wait... I'm not quite ready: We started the movie Ready Player One tonight. I was thinking it was a standard 1 hour and 30 minutes, but it turns out to be a 2 hour and 20 minute movie. We're liking it so far. The Toddler was excited at first, because it turns out that I did a pretty good job of selling the concept to him. The kids like video games. Check. They like watching other people play video games. Check. He started to lose interest after about 45 minutes. I'll give him credit, though. He kept asking legit questions, but I had to try to explain to him that watching the movie would answer them. I hope that it won't take until next week to finish it, but knowing how things go around here, it will be.

Present Situation: This week turned out to be about as productive as I expected it to be. I guess that's good. My expectations were in decent alignment with reality. That's not always as easy as it may sound. Today in particular was a hella productive day—LOVED it. Long days at The Place That Pays Me start back up tomorrow, and I'll even be working OT on Monday. It's going to be a long, droning month but with a tangible payoff. It snowed a lot today. It feels like we have a real winter now. Yeah, weather. Hey—do you know why kids leave so much toothpaste in the sink when they're done brushing? Do they even get any in their mouths?

I picked this gem out a few weeks ago when my wife and I were shopping. We don't have much decor in our upstairs bathroom and this spoke to me and the direction I'd like to take it. My wife and my neighbor, both graphic designers, don't like the part where it says, "BE NEAT & TIDY," because it looks like "BE & NEAT TIDY." That is now my favorite part to the sign. I also thought the kids would get amusement out of the "NO DIVING" warning, but I was wrong.

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055

The Works: This week has been incredibly busy with all of the things that don't fit into the things I would talk about under this heading thing. In fact, I'm starting to wonder how much I'll be able to do for the remainder of the month. Basically, it's because of how much overtime I'm working. We'll see. I won't have a new or refurbished post coming out tomorrow, but that doesn't mean there won't be any activity on any of my social feeds. I hope to move forward on something for Graham Sedam Writes next week, even if it's writing that goes towards a future post.

Recent Link I've Enjoyed: Until I read this article, I had never thought about the act of a reading plan to the extremes that the author of this article has. This year is actually the first year (technically started planning it towards the end of last year) that I've put more than a passing thought into what book I would read after the one I was currently reading. If you've read my GSW post outlining my 2019 goals, you know that I have the next 2 books chosen beyond the one I'm currently reading. I'm still mulling on what I'll pick for my 4th. Perhaps, I should go further than that and make a list, albeit malleable? I do like the ideas the author presents and the concept of reading swaths of a certain type of book, such as presidential bios, for example. Why You Need a Reading Plan

Present Situation: The Toddler keeps getting better and he took a good nap today. So, I guess I'll finish up here and spend some time with him. Today wasn't too bad, but I definitely need a day off tomorrow. I've heard there's a snowstorm coming and the school is already threatening another shutdown. I'm not so sure that any weather that has happened this week can be considered Angry Winter material. Tomorrow may change that. I will be looking out of my windows, massaging my chin, making the judgements, and those judgements shall be final and true.

Angry Winter has me thinking of warmer times.

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054

Kids Action Go! My oldest son and I attended the last karate class of the session tonight. Next week will start a new session. The whole class did the test we were supposed to do last week but was cancelled due to Angry Winter. Each session also ends with the kids sitting in a circle and sparring. I always sit out on those as I feel it would be silly for me to spar with small children. Maybe not. My daughter had her first band concert tonight. Thankfully, karate and the concert happened in the same building, because karate ended exactly when the concert began. She DOES seem to be a bit of a natural, as she has seemed to have picked up the trombone well. It was a 30 minute concert—a first for probably all of the kids involved.

Goals For The Week: I mentioned in Sunday's note two days ago that my expectations for the week were low, realistic, and focused. As far as MY extracurriculars are concerned, those activities that are above and beyond my responsibilities and weekly chores, I have 4 or 5 things I'd like to focus on. Working more at The Place That Pays Me this week means that I have more reading opportunities in the morning before I leave my house. Stretching and running are a daily must to keep from getting sore and to keep up my run streak. Though I've missed 4 days of notes in the last 58 days, I still do my best to keep it a daily practice. Lastly, I'm hoping to have time to drum on Thursday, even if only for 30 minutes. Thursday is my one day off this week.

Present Situation: I was all set and ready to write my note last night, but The Toddler needed me more. He was having a hard time sleeping due to an infection. We didn't know it was an infection until my wife took him to the doctor today. Medicine has been acquired and he's already doing better. Right now, my wife is getting a run in and The Toddler is overtired and "watching" TV. He's been making the production of this note a bit difficult. So, I'll wrap up and give him some attention.

A car... made out of wood? Okay, sure.

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053

Run Streak: Day 231!

Run The Year: As I stated in Note 052, I ran 69.5 miles in January. In February to date, I've run 4.5 miles. For the past week ending today, I've run 19.3 miles—my highest mileage week this year and of all time that I know of. I've run a total of 74 miles for the year. Where should I be given my need for an average of 2.75 miles per day to hit my ultimate goal of 1,009.5 for the year? I should be at 93.5 miles. Ironically, 19.3 miles divided by 7 days is 2.757 miles per day. I guess I'll have to keep increasing my mileage gradually. *Numbers. Numbers. Grumble. Numbers.*

Present Situation: I'll need to shower soon and get to bed. No TV tonight. I have to work tomorrow and pretty much all week. My expectations for the week are somewhat low and very very focused. Maybe I shouldn't say that my expectations are low as much as they are realistic and focused. I'll have more to say about that tomorrow, I'm sure. Today was a busy day and I expect the week will keep a semi-frantic pace. Real-World Adversity Training 101.

I always feel like somebody's watching meeeeeeeee!

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052

NSFW: I was joking with my wife that I should try and end the month of January with 69 running miles. She chuckled and rolled her eyes as I told her that I was going to 69 January. Real mature, right? I actually forgot about it a couple days later when I put in 3 miles on 01/31 and ended up with 69.5 running miles for January. I think it still counts.

Shadow Driver: The Toddler recently got into an altercation of sorts with his shadow. A few nights ago, my wife and I heard him in the living room while we were in the kitchen. He kept saying in a strange voice, "Are you talking to me?" There were variations of that phrase and others as he continued on with the confrontation. He would also slap the wall periodically and then quickly switch roles and act out the part of the shadow, howling from his hand slapping the wall.

Present Situation: I may have stayed up a hair too late last night, and I'm feeling the tired now. My wife is only going to run a mile on the treadmill tonight, so it looks like there's a good chance we'll finish the episode of How to Get Away with Murder that we started last night. It was a good day all in all; no snafus that I can recall. It appears that Angry Winter left and now it is clearly springtime.

Yep, today was totally bearable.

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051

Thumbs UP—Good Time! I don't plan when I'm going to skip a daily note, but yesterday was a day where it came down to choosing sleep over writing one. It was what I call a "nickel and dime" day, where I stay consistently busy doing this and that, and even though those things need to get done, it also doesn't necessarily feel like much has been accomplished. The kids still had Angry Winter homework assignments from their teachers which still required some parental prodding. I was able to get some blog promo work done in the morning and drummed for 40 minutes in the afternoon, so that was good.

Game Night! Last night we all played a couple of games: Jumanji and Prime Climb. Jumanji is based on the movie, and it was the first time since I received it at Christmas that we played it. Everyone works together to get through the game, but there's still a winner. Prime Climb is a math game and math at night is hazardous to me. I know myself well enough to know not to do heavy mental lifting at night. There's a reason why I like to watch TV and surf the net at this time of day. I guess I do write these notes, but maybe I'm best served writing these in a loopy state?

Present Situation: Today at The Place That Pays Me was an "adversity day" as I like to call it. I knew going in that it was going to be busier than normal for me with plenty of reasons to get bent out of shape along the way. I went into it with the right attitude and the day turned out to be not so bad. I let it roll off of me like I was teflon. (I sooo want to link to a non-existent video from The League.) It was an opportunity to rise above the difficult to be better in the long run. Something like that. Is Angry Winter over now?

I'm kind of disappointed the game didn't come to life.

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