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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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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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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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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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