087

Run Streak: Day 287!

Mileage Mayhem: I have logged 237.2 running miles for 2019 so far!

Run The Year: What a week! I now have a personal best mileage week at 26.2 miles! It may have taken me 7 days to run a marathon, but I did it. This slices my current debt to 10.3 miles. As you may have guessed, March has been my highest mileage month ever at 91.9 miles. I've continued wearing my running shoes on the treadmill on days that I run more than a mile. Any weird aches or feelings in the top of my foot/ankle are a memory.

Present Situation: What was going to be a full week of overtime seems to have been cut down to a couple of days. It's nice to feel like I've been "gifted" time I didn't think I'd have. Regardless, I'll be going to bed soon because I need to wake up early and make that money.

But what if it's almost 10 PM and I'm sleepy?

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086

Not Good: Yesterday morning around 11 am, I found water dripping from the ceiling to the floor in the bathroom on the main floor of the house. There is a bathtub in the bathroom directly overhead. Long story short, the combination of cracked caulk along the bathtub and 3 children who use it caused the ceiling to collect water, and eventually, soak through enough to drip onto the floor. A small fan has been blowing into the access panel for the bathtub and shower since. There wasn't much to do with the ceiling but remove the part that bubbled, and I poked a hole to let the small pond drain. It could have been worse—my mind went there first. Fortunately, re-caulking the tub and a little cosmetic repair on the ceiling should set things straight. Maybe, just MAYBE, the kids will take us seriously when we say to keep the water in the tub.

Adversity Day: Today wasn't the best, but I didn't let it get to me. I went with the flow and remembered to smile. This isn't by accident, but rather, something I am aware of and am working at to become more resilient. Building blocks for now and into the future. There are a lot of ways to work on building this resilience to adversity, but what it comes down to is practicing it in the moment that it's needed. That is not always easy.

Present Situation: I had to leave The Place That Pays Me 2 hours early today due to a sick daughter, so I'm actually further along with my Friday night routine than I normally am. That's also after reading books with The Toddler at least 30 minutes among other things that came up that wasn't related to getting ready to go back to The Place That Pays Me tomorrow. If I play my cards right, I'll get this Note finished, watch a little TV, AND go to bed at a decent time.

The carnage. The destruction. The wreck...oning.

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085

Today Is History: We tried eggplant parmigiana tonight for dinner. It went over fine for 4 of the 5 diners. My wife and I had some eggplant years ago and thought it was pretty good. It doesn't have an overpowering taste in the least. We also finally bought a pressure washer today. This has been on my wife's wishlist since we moved into our house almost 6 years ago. It comes with a handy floor attachment that will make it easy to clean our garage floor. I re-shared my 2019 goals post on Facebook. Give that a look if you're new to me or missed it the first time. I continued work on getting myself organized and strategized.  And, you know, more things.

Recent Link I've Enjoyed: Here's a quick article for you, if you fancy. My whole life, I've always been pretty good about being content with what I have. It hasn't been something that I've needed to work at, either. There will always be more "things" to have and other people who have them. I say that so often now that I have kids, but it's true. I do like to have "things," but what I'm driven by has more to do with how I want to spend the time in my life—the accomplishments, the experiences, the people. I want more life in my time. The Perils of 'Comfort Inflation'

Present Situation: The Toddler is at the helm watching some YouTube. He got a good nap in kinda late. That's okay. I've been working on this Note and my wife is taking an epsom salt bath after her run. If we don't kick him off of the TV, it might be nice to get a chat in with the wife and get caught up on some big picture talks. Yes, related to the work I've been doing.

This picture is a new technological internet innovation! Scratch the screen and sniff!

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084

Book Report: Doing Time in Hollywood by Brian Gallagher _ I did it. I finished this book today. I actually could have finished it yesterday, but I felt like not trying to squeeze it in, even though I only had a page left. I always feel weird about ending a book. I know that it's not likely I'll ever read it again, and for the most part, I have spent a fair amount of time with it. Not day in and day out but rather visiting with it over a fairly lengthy period of time. There's a certain attachment or comfort in it. I hope to read more books more quickly going forward, so I'll be curious to see how that evolves. I may write a little something about the book in a section of THE NOT SO DAILY DUMP. I'm likely to not write longform, standalone posts on books anymore, but who knows. In the next "Book Report," I will introduce you to the next book.

Goal For The Week: I'm pretty happy with the progress of the week so far despite some lows. Things really feel like they may be turning a bit in the right direction. I'm completely convinced that's purely my perspective, but it's a wonderful one to have. I attribute it to a variety of factors. Sometimes what it takes is having the right influences around and having the right mindset to achieve results. Confidence helps a lot, too. I never professed a specific goal for this week to the internet yet, but it's partly a continuation of last week's: planning, strategizing, and knocking out tasks—moving forward. Very vague, yes, I know. Depending on how the future shapes up, I'll say more. I will say that music and writing are small parts to my life's big picture and that there are other things I want to pursue and try out.

Present Situation: I'm looking forward to finishing Deadpool 2 tonight. It's quite entertaining, as I figured it would be. 2 nights in a row with all of the kids in bed. What?

Keeping the streets safe is a job for not just any toddler.

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083

Last Week Tonight: A couple of reasons that contributed to why I didn't get to a Note last week were music related. On Thursday, my daughter had her second and final 5th grade choir concert. The kids did well. She was also able to do a solo, her first, and did a great job. I mean it. When the kids in 5th do a solo it's generally about 2 lines or a verse so nothing terribly long in duration. On Friday, The Toddler and I had an impromptu jam session in his bedroom. He played his drums and sang and picked an instrument or two for me to play along. He mostly stuck to covers of already established songs, but he did play an original. Lately, I've heard him singing a line around the house—one that he's written himself. It goes, "I don't even know you name." He sang this line repeatedly while playing the drums. I learned shortly after that this song has a deeper meaning than I had previously thought. The line is sung from the perspective of a puppy.

Thoughts On Notes: The problem with writing these Notes at night is that I'm starting to get to the point of no return in regards to fatigue, and then on top of it, there are plenty of unknowns and other random things happening that make it hard to get a Note done with any bit of expediency. Once in a while, everything aligns and all is well. Tonight isn't exactly that kind of night. One of the problems with this, and with all work on the computer in general, is that the home "office" is situated in the living room. This means that anything going on in the main floor of the house is going on right there. That itself makes it difficult for focus and expediency. It's important to notice those things and try to correct them.

Present Situation: I think that my wife and I are going to watch the movie Kingsman: The Golden Circle. We watched the first one in theaters years ago and loved it. When The Toddler sleeps, make hay. I think. EDIT: Kingsman is neither on HBO or Netflix. The wife swears she saw it up somewhere. Deadpool 2 is a go.

Taco Monday doesn't sound as good as Taco Tuesday, but I'm not a fan of flatulent karate.

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082

Run Streak: Day 280!

Mileage Mayhem: I have logged 211 running miles for 2019 so far!

Run The Year: My mileage is back up again for the week ending today. I ran a total of 23.9 miles. This certainly helps knock my debt down to 17.25 miles. So far, I don't see why I wouldn't have another week running 20+ miles. Running as many miles as I have been was starting to wear on the region around the top of my feet and ankle, mostly the left foot. For the last couple of weeks or so, I've been wearing my running shoes on the treadmill. I've still been going barefoot on the days I only run a mile or a little more. If I were only doing 1 mile per day to keep my streak going, continuing to go barefoot would be no problem. I guess that's what happens when you run 5 miles a day for 3 or 4 days out of the week.

Present Situation: I'm looking forward to no overtime again this week. I have big plans and high hopes. Plenty of items to knock out and I hope to do a little dreaming in between. One thing I'd like to shoot for this week is to get back to being a little more consistent with these Notes again. More on the week's progress as it goes and a little catching up for last week as well. I'm tired but stupid, so I imagine I'll be watching a little TV after my shower. (Just go to bed, idiot.)

Good point, lady. Now MAGA and fetch my slippers.

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081

Goal For The Week: While I'm not necessarily happy with my progress for this week's goal, I have been able to work on setting up a good foundation to work from. I explain a wee bit about this goal in Note 080. I'm not quite done with this "foundation" as I have been working on this from home and have thus served at the pleasure of the family's whims. I also went into The Place That Pays Me this morning, so at best, I would have had time this afternoon. Not so much. It's a good thing I was able to get started yesterday. My brain works best when I feel organized and that's what I've been working on right now. Sorting through and organizing files and notes (not Notes) and creating spreadsheets to track, organize, and plan. Sure, one could see this as stalling or delaying the inevitable or just being pointless, but I know what I need to do right now—build a foundation. There comes a time now and then when a cleansing must be done, a reorganization, a perspective refreshened. I'm being somewhat vague on purpose. If there's anything I want to say beyond my general daily or weekly activities in these regards, I will.

Karate went well. My oldest son was able to help another kid work on Coordination Set, which will earn that kid a ribbon if performed correctly. My son had expressed interest to me in helping the other kids in class as some do. I told him that he should. The teacher (sensei) asked him to help yesterday, and so I literally gave him a nudge. It was a proud moment for me. Hopefully, he'll learn how to be a better karate student from this and perhaps have more teaching experiences.

Present Situation: I'm looking forward to another binge-y type of TV night. I was able to get The Toddler to sleep. I don't know if my method was sound but it consisted of wrestling and horseplay followed by pajamas, teeth brushing, and book stories about underwear and going potty. He was already tired before the tomfoolery, and I figured a little more exertion wouldn't hurt. My wife wasn't home, and she's always against this type of activity at bedtime as she's worried about the dreaded "overtired" or "the great and grave winding up of the rage monster." Perhaps I'm on to something. Studies show that children do better in life when they roughhouse with Dad. I think I can handle that.

I have now reached and surpassed 200 INDIVIDUAL miles for 2019.

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080

Goal For The Week: Other than the normal domestics and my goal habits, I am going to try and wrap my head around what the unique big picture of my specific life is. A few days to figure out life? Yeah, not happening. Getting a good jump on the direction I want to aim my trajectory and hashing out some details on how to get there. Totally doable. I don't know how easy it'll be to get some needed feedback from my wife during this process, because, well, it has to work for US. I think about this stuff all of the time but always in between doing other things and interruptions but also never really doing the deep work any of it needs to become a reality. What it comes down to is that while The Place That Pays Me has treated me well monetarily for the last 20 years, it makes me miserable to think about being there for another 30 and not pursuing anything that drives me. (I plan on working until I'm at least 70 years old.) I want more. I want different.

Present Situation: The wife and I are ecstatic that all of the kids are sleeping and it's so early. Both of our runs are done, and I'm knocking out this note. I've mentioned it plenty that we are super behind on TV shows. Well, if all goes right, we'll be binging a bit.

Meet Poopy Butt Chicken. The Toddler fell in love with this chick at the grocery store. It hops around when you wind it up. Well, it did until he loved it too much. Then, he was ready—actually insistent the rest of today—to throw it away. I won't let him, though.

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079

Run Streak: Day 273!

Mileage Mayhem: I have logged 187.1 running miles for 2019 so far!

Run The Year: Due to being out of town and thus out of my routine for the majority of the week, my mileage dropped down to 13 miles. I was able to keep my streak going and had to run outside for two days last week. I haven't ran outside since being away around Christmas, so I'm sure it was good for me. I'll have to get used to running outside more regularly soon, if only for the few races I have that are spread throughout the year. This past weeks mileage has brought my debt upwards to 21.9 miles. Running-wise, I'm looking at this low-mileage week as an opportunity to rest up my legs a little for the long haul. My personal best 2 weeks ago showed me how quickly I can work that debt back down. No worries.

Present Situation: The Toddler WAS sleeping but woke up during my run. I was able to get a shower in before my wife ran herself so that The Toddler wasn't left alone. I am thankful for my wife's flexibility. I'm looking forward to this week and its possibilities. I'll have more to say on that as it develops. Now, I'm going to step until bed and hang with my Lil' Dude.

Row, row, row the boat.
My Life With The Ryder Cup Cult: Part One (2016)

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078

Book Report: Doing Time in Hollywood by Brian Gallagher_ I'm happy to report that I've made it to page 193 of 231. I wouldn't have made such a big page-count jump if it weren't for my wife reading to me while driving on a recent road trip. I'll take it. I've long considered listening to books as another avenue but have never taken the jump or have figured out all of the steps required to get to the point where I can just hit play and listen. I do like my quiet drives to and from The Place That Pays Me, so I'm not in a hurry to make it happen quite yet. I'm still enjoying this peek into Brian's life and am wondering when he might get to doing a podcast around the book. He has mentioned doing this a few times that I know of, as I'm not just pulling it from the air.

The Works: Another week of being a bit out of sorts has led me right back into another weekend at The Place That Pays Me. It's been nice to be back to working my normal schedule for the last two weeks, but I've also been itching to do more than the domestics. I don't have any blog posts that are done, just fragments and ideas strewn about. I haven't been terribly motivated to do anything musically, but I've had to push that to the back of my mind since sometime in January. Music, for me, is not an easy thing to jump in and out of. I need to warm up and reacquaint myself to have any chance of really moving forward. Even when I know what I want to accomplish, I'm often plagued with indecision and the want to squeeze as much experience/knowledge out of the session as I can. Then there's the whole deal with wanting things to be "just right." I'm mostly speaking of writing and recording music as far as music goes. Writing for my blogs is similar but not nearly to the same extreme. I think the amount of time and money that I've spent on music throughout my life and what I've ultimately gained from it has worked against me at this point. There is plenty of bad taste in my mouth. Plus, I've got so much else I want to do and these compete with music for my time.

Rock 'N Roll! Safely.

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077

Run Streak: Day 266!

Mileage Mayhem: I have logged 174.1 running miles for 2019 so far!

Run The Year: I have a new personal best since I ran 24.3 miles in the past week. This brings my mileage debt down to 15.65 miles. I mentioned in last Sunday's note that I was looking to hit a new personal best, and I did it. This coming week will be challenging in regards to getting miles, but I'm going to do my best to hit 19.3 at a minimum. Having a target/vision of what I'm aiming for really helps.

Present Situation: Eat, shower, and bed.

I went for a sleep-run tonight.

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076

Recent Link I've Enjoyed: The post I've linked to is a pretty short one but still has some potency—for me, at least. I've been working on, albeit at a slow and measured pace in all, exactly what it speaks to. It's one of the reasons for my creating and executing upon my goals. It's one of the reasons why I bother to blog or interact with the internet at all. I want to get out of my ruts, to see the world differently, to push myself, to figure out what I want out of life and why. Sure, that's expanding on the post a bit, but I see the connections. Be a little bit better each day and step outside of those comfort zones.
Sunday Firesides: The Slipstream of Comfort

Hot Tip: If someone is doing something, there's likely a greater than 50% chance that it is intentional, and maybe, you are not privy to the 'why.'

Present Situation: I wasn't so sure I was going to do this note tonight. I missed the last two days in part due to lack of motivation and also to spend time with members of my family. Tonight, we "spring ahead," so I lose an hour of sleep due to my need to wake for The Place That Pays Me. My wife was using the treadmill and all of the littles are sleeping, so I figured I'd go for it. I'll be in bed soon. (On my way home tonight, there were some cars in quite interesting places and positions that I would gladly pay to see footage of "the how.")

I've been known to take pictures of urinals that I find to be unique, out-of-the-ordinary pieces of useful art. This one is from Ikea by The Mall of America. I've made it black and white to bring out its artiness. Prints will be made available for all serious $$$ requests. Contact me for information on exhibit availability.

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075

Mileage Mayhem: I ran in my shoes today. Because of the strange "fatigue" feeling I've had in my left ankle (which is probably just as much the top of my foot as my ankle) I was kind of wondering if that would be a good idea to try and my wife also suggested it as well. It was strange running in shoes. At first, it was great to run with a cushion under my feet. After a while, I could feel it working my legs in a different way that they're not used to, and I could feel soreness (not pain) in other areas of my legs. I had to really push through those first 4 miles as the entirety of both legs felt heavy and overworked. My wife suggested shooting for 2.75 to hit the daily minimum I need. Knowing that I need the weekdays to make up for the weekends, I was determined to run more. When I hit 4.5 miles, everything changed. I felt amazing. I pushed through to the other side. Mind over body. Endorphins, adrenaline, I don't know. I'm super proud of myself. I ended running 6.1 miles. I would have never thought it was a reality when I had started out today, but I could have ran even more if I had desired to. As I made it through those 6.1 miles, I was thinking about a couple of my UK friends, Running Beardo and The Wigan Runner. They've helped inspire my running as they have powered and pushed through greater ups and downs than I have. Their streaks are much longer and their average daily mileage is too. As I power and push through, I can feel myself become a stronger and better person in every way.

Recovery Week: One of the items on my "must do" list this week was to make some chili. For me, it was more than just making a food that my family likes. It was about having enough time in the week to feel as though I could take the time to do it. It was about doing something simple but rewarding. This week has been good so far with its simple aims. I'm trying my best to learn something from that. I'm good at cramming in as much as I can, and while I don't plan on ending that practice, I can also see incorporating more "recovery time" as well. Call it whatever you want, but it's always good to slow down and regroup.

Present Situation: I'll have some time to myself between publishing/promoting this post and whenever my wife and I are able to watch a little TV. As per my note last night, it got me thinking about doing a little reading out of my current book. Normally, I would scroll through social or read articles from my Feedly feed or a newsletter from my email. While those are not bad choices, I have a goal to hit.

What's up, dog?

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074

About Today: I normally like having taxes done in February. With all of the overtime I worked last month, it wasn't something to even consider doing. I was very happy to get those started today, and really, they should be filed tomorrow. Always a good feeling for me. I even got a nap in for a little while on top of getting at least 8 hours of sleep last night. It's been a while—too long. I got 5 miles in on the treadmill despite having that fatigued feeling in my left ankle that I mentioned in the last note. Karate went really well tonight, and it was nice to notice the improvements my son and I are making. It's been great to hear him talking about how he's noticing it, too, and being able to explain to me how he's doing better.

Book Report: Doing Time in Hollywood by Brian Gallagher_ I've made it passed the halfway point in the book and am currently on page 127. One nice thing about working as much as I did last month was the extra morning reading time. It being winter didn't help, though. Of the many reasons why I like setting myself these goals, one reason is that it forces me to "find a way." I might not do that otherwise. I see that I'm barely over halfway through the book, and I should finish it before the end of the month to stay on track. I'm going to need to find time outside of my normal book reading time. It doesn't help that my normal book reading time repeatedly gets encroached upon.

Present Situation: It's been a little while again since all of the kids have been in bed at a decent time. My wife still has to get her run in and cookie season hasn't helped out, giving her plenty to do in the evenings. I really want to get back on track with sleeping more. It's been really easy, easier actually, to get less sleep when I'm working more just to try and fit more "time" into my waking day. Not really the best route, and I've noticed its toll. Still, I'd like to watch something tonight. We're so far behind.

I'm not so sure that taking the stairs would be easier than just walking up the hill.

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073

Recent Link I've Enjoyed: This article is one that resonated with me on many levels: personally, financially, professionally, and in regards to my life with my wife and children. I've been filling my head with so much good stuff lately, in my opinion, that I'll explode if I can't start incorporating more of this stuff into my life. I'm fully aware that nothing meaningful comes fast and easy, but I've never been afraid of the work. I was finally able to get my wife to read this article, and I'm trying to slowly pick her brain to see if it actually means anything to her, too. I hope so.
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2019/02/27/how-to-create-reality/

Present Situation: Today wasn't terribly exciting—errands and to do's were on order. I ran 4 miles even though I was shooting for 5. My ankles were feeling weak and I was having bodily wooziness. Still, I pushed to 4. I have plenty of sleep yet to catch up on and my brain knows it. A night in a state of vegetation would be good.

Thumbs UP—Good Time! I'm ready for Girl Scout cookie season to be over. It causes too much strife some days. If you would like to help my daughter reach her goal, please go here. Do it for me to end my suffering, if not for her. Maybe you would like to watch this video we made to promote sales?


This could be my big break.



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072

Run Streak: Day 259!

Mileage Mayhem: I have logged 149.8 running miles for 2019 so far!

Run The Year: For the week ending today, I ran 18.5 miles. It is certainly short of my need to run a minimum of 19.3 miles a week to not add to my mileage debt. If this is in the area of my new low, I shouldn't have a problem reaching my goal this year. Still, I am currently 20.7 miles behind. I am looking to make this week really count and hopefully achieve a new personal best in regards to how many miles I can log.

Present Situation: No overtime this week. In defense of The Place That Pays Me, the overtime I work has been voluntary. I don't like to let opportunities to make more money pass me by too much. Scarcity complex or something. I definitely pushed my personal limits in how much I could take. I'm moving on now, and this week will be great. I have high hopes for getting my life back on track. Unfortunately, this doesn't involve anything like writing for my blog, or working on music, or any other project or ambition I have. This week is all about the basics—recovery. I hope to share a bit about them through my notes.

Pulling carriages might be a worthwhile idea for my training.

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