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January 15, 2000 |
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Kickboxing was this past Thursday. It was my first time back since
vacation. I've been away for about three weeks. The kickboxing class
seemed okay even yesterday. No biggie, just a little sore. Then
there was my run this morning. I went to the health club because… well,
this is Seattle, and I didn't really feel like running in overcast, 30
something weather. Yes, I know… I'm a wuss.
I got on the treadmill and started the run. [Ouch] My lats and
hamstrings were speaking to me. Really! I swear I could hear them… My
lats were curiously asking, "Uhmm, excuse me?!"; my hamstrings
were simply stating, "I don't think so…" I think at
this point I have gotten a pretty good feel for the edge between simple
soreness and the threshold of injury. This was the former… I
think. I pushed through it; my muscles were whining. [Oh, shut
up!]
My sister, Terry once asked me what it
was like to run and/or exercise. I answered as honestly as I could.
"It sucks." Well, it depends how you look at it. Right at the
time you're doing it… when you're running… when you're doing the
reps to muscle failure… it does suck. However, a mere five
minutes later, it's just fine. Really! I suppose the trick for
me is remembering the time five minutes after as opposed to the time
during. Well, that and remembering how much the alternative sucks
even more. It's all a matter of perspective. Do you think about how much
it sucks to brush your teeth? … to shower? Not typically. Why should
working out be any different?
Enough about working out…
Okay, then was lunch. I had a late lunch at McDonald's. I can hear the lot of you, "After working out?!" Uhmm, shut up! Lunch was uneventful with the possible exception of the boy in the bathroom who briefly thought I was a woman. I suppose he wasn't used to seeing men with long hair. There was a part of me that really wanted to toy with his mind, but alas, I didn't. Yes, I can hear the disappointment in your voices at the chance for me to scar this boy's psyche.
I ended up going to Alderwood Mall. Okay, it was supposed to be shopping mostly for a friend of mine, who I'd be picking up later at the airport. I walked into The Bon which is one of the upscale (snotty?) department stores. I got sucked into the men's fragrance counter. Tried this one called Lagerfeld classic. Sprayed some on my arm, or more accurately a free spot on my arm, since I was already wearing cologne. Maybe I'll get it if it wears well.
Next, I slipped into an accessory store. I was looking for scrunchies. I wanted some other ones to well… accessorize. I managed to find a couple of satin ones, which don't snag my hair like some of the others do, so I bought them. Did not get any new earrings, or anything like that.
Also stopped by a store with a lot of Gothic wear and accessories. Clothes, body jewelry, bumber stickers, incense, etc. I briefly looked at the body jewelry. I have toyed with the idea of getting a piercing for a little while, although I haven't decided on where to get it. I figured that a piercing is much easier to undo than a tattoo, which incidentally I also have. Although, I wasn't sure whether or not this place actually did the piercings. It didn't matter though, since I wasn't going to get one today.
Hmm... What else? I also got a couple of accessories for my cell phone. I'm such a gadget freak it is not even funny. It's a crazy addiction. Some people have nicotine; others caffeine… Me? I have electronics. My will is weak near these gadgets. Today was not exception.
I did end up going back to get the Lagerfeld cologne. It smelled nice, I broke down. I have no will power. The only problem is that I know had two fragrances on me. [Sigh]
Oh, I did end up getting the presents for my friend. Although there was one last thing left to get…
There are only a few material possessions that I
still have to remember my father. There was
a train set still intact, that he got me when I was a kid. I have his old
watch, which I only ever wore on my first day of work once I graduated.
There are all the Lego sets that I had as a kid, now belonging to my nephew
Michael.
Recently, I had some money handed down to me. It was from the sale of our old house in Puerto Rico. I suppose that I could've used it to play some bills, or maybe invest it, or whatever. There was a part of me that wanted something more memorable than mere numbers. Maybe something that I can hand down to my children, if I decide to have some. I decided to get a sculpture. It's a piece by Frederick Hart; one of his acrylic sculptures. It's called Dreamers. The upper half it carved from the acrylic. The lower portion is carved into the acrylic. The effect is truly breathtaking. The picture doesn't do it justice.
Maybe I'm being silly… maybe a bit idealistic. I wanted something that I could look at that is beautiful, that aspires to be simple and elegant… something that spoke about the person I've become instead of the young boy of nine who lost his father. Most of all, I wanted something that would serve to remind me of my father, not so much for the man which he was, but more for the way he led his life. This is it, so I got it.
Except that it, or rather the box, wouldn't fit my car. So I'd have to come back to pick it up some other day.
Next, I picked up my friend at the airport. Naturally, his flight was delayed. When asked how his flight was, he replied, "It was six and a half hours long." I suppose he is not terribly fond of long flights. His luggage barely fit in my car.
I still had not had dinner, and neither did he. We decided to get food. Then there was the parking incident. We were in a busy parking lot; there were three cars behind us. I was following an SUV. It drove past an empty parking spot… without pulling in. So I figured, they weren't interested in this spot. Cool! I pulled into the spot to park the car. He then started backing into the spot. [I cannot make this up…] He got out of the car and starts to scream at me, and accuses me of intentionally swooping in and stealing his spot. [I cannot make this up!] He holds up the line of half a dozen cars while he debates that this was his spot. You know, you simply can't reason with some people. I let him have the spot; I don't need the aggravation today.
January 15, 2000