Long Day

Monday was a very long day. I woke up feeling worse for wear, even though I hadn't exercised so much the previous day. Then I made the connection: it's Monday and I have to go to work; that's the reason I feel like ****.

On my way to work I had to wait for THE slowest train I have seen in quite some time. (Thank heavens for the Blackberry! Checked a few things while I waited.) Subsequently I got stuck in a line of about 12 cars headed for Tyler. Naturally there were some real idiots who put themselves and God knows who else in danger by passing uphill, etc. (I took a great deal of satisfaction in seeing, when we go to Loop 323, they had arrived at the same time I did!) But luck smiled when I got to campus 'cause I got a parking space very close to Jenkins.

Once at work I had to get down to it and finish the PPT slides for Chapter 18. I had to rush, but I did it. Once in lecture, though, I didn't think I was going to get through them all, but I was determined to finish the chapter so they would have a week to study for their first test. I did, but who knows if they will?

As soon as class was over I just dropped everything off at the office, grabbed my gym bag and headed for the pool. I was in the water by 11:05. I was scheduled to do 2,000 yards and had no idea what I would do: drills? If so, what kind? But it was all taken out of my hands on the warm-up laps when I felt that rare, sublime feeling I call "Zen Swim"--of being one with the water--and I knew I would just swim straight through without stopping. I got to 40 (2000 yards) but kept going (45, or 2250 yards). I would have gone further but felt something weird happening with my nose and throat. Either it was dehydration or the effects of too much chlorinated water, but it affected my breathing so that ended the session: 2,250 yard in 42 minutes and change, or about a 2.11 pace, which is my normal.

After cleaning up I hot-footed it to the cafeteria. I figured if I was going to eat, I needed to do so within 30 minutes so I would burn more as fuel and store less as fat. Betsy and Elaine were in the Faculty dining room and I would've liked to stay and eat with them, but my office hours started in 15 minutes so I got a meal to go: 2 hamburger steaks (one to take home to Jim), new potatoes, and steamed zucchini. Oh, yes, and cake. :-/ I hauled it to Jenkins to the Faculty Lounge, which was strangely empty. Then Steve reminded me of the discussion meeting of the history faculty occurring at that hour. I preferred eating and so remained there.

After eating I returned to my office I answered student e-mails and graded a few essays. (Oh, the horror!!) Then it was time to leave.

I got home around after 3, but I felt I needed to do something more by way of exercise. If I'm to get all my miles and hours in I'm going to have to start doing two workouts a day. It was in the mid-fifties outside and I though it was a beautiful day I just couldn't convince myself to ride on the road. So I set up my TT bike on the trainer in front of the TV, popped "Apocalypto" into the DVD players, and began my warmup. (I like watching that movie while riding--I guess because it doesn't have much dialogue, and when there is it's all in Quechua with subtitles! Easier to read subtitles than listen to dialogue over a noisy trainer.) I did ten minutes warmup, then 6 x 5 min. hard sessions with 2 minute recovery, then ten minute warmdown. 1 hour, 19.69 miles, 167 AHR, 177 MHR.

After my second shower of the day, I pre-heated the oven for my cheapie pizza and settled down to work on the Internet--and that's when the trouble began. I could not get on! I plugged an unplugged the router. No dice. I rebooted my computer. Nothing. I checked the satellite signal. No problem there. Now what?? I texted Jim, hoping he would read it before his evening class and have some idea but heard nothing. Nothing for it but to just eat and have a glass of wine.

When Jim came home, it was rather ugly for a while. No "Hi, how are you?" but "What's wrong with the Internet? Did you.... And did you....?" He got on just fine, so that told us it was down to my laptop, but when I asked him to check it out he put up a fuss, claiming he knew nothing about it (because it's Windows rather than Mac). Given the questions he'd already asked, I said, it was obvious he already knew more than me. Back and forth it went, with him proverbially kicking and screaming the whole way. (If you ask for "help" from him you better be willing to pay the price.) In the end, *I* figured it out, though quite by accident: a switch on the side of my computer I never knew existed had been flipped off. It turns off/on the wireless card. It was off and I flipped it on. Voila! Problem solved. But sheesh! What a hullbaloo just to get that far.

By this time it was 9 p.m. and I had a ****load of work to do on student essays, etc. It was 10:40 before I finished. (I normally go to bed at 10.) Nothing like a 14+ hour day to start the week!