A new personal best in the pool

Last Saturday, I decided to do a "dry run" for my Swim for Diabetes swim. My goal was 2.5 miles - further than I've gone before. I was feeling pretty good and was able to push myself - and got through three miles. That's 108 laps in 2 hours and 5 minutes.

I was very tired afterwards and almost took a nap that afternoon - but I'm no good at naps and it wouldn't have worked anyway.

So, I should have no trouble doing 2.5 miles this Saturday for the official swim - but I'd still like to bump it up to 3 if I can. One thing's for sure though, I need to eat a bigger bowl of cheerios - the ones I had last Saturday gave out at 1.75 miles.

In other news... I got a text message this morning from a co-worker as I was driving into work. It simply said "hurry up!"

I got into work, parked in my regular spot and went on into the building. My co-worker wasn't there yet - so, I texted him back with "I'm here at work, where are you?"

He showed up a couple minutes later - astonished to see me. Apparently, he had texted me from his car - he had seen me pull onto the highway and blown right past me. And then driven much faster coming into work. Somehow, I had managed to get onto campus, parked, and into the building before he did the same. We don't park in the same area and I suspect the longer walk he has to the building is the factor - though I told him I'm the master of space and time and he that he shouldn't be surprised.

Taxes, testing, temperature, and time

I did my taxes recently - yeah, I waited till nearly the last minute. My room-mate finished his up the day they were due, so at least I wasn't that late. I did my taxes online - completely this time instead of having to do my city ones manually. The forms were pretty easy, I'm getting some money back, and they didn't take too long. The city insisted that I send in my W-2's as well as doing the online form, but at least that was all they wanted off line.

I went to a Ear, Nose, and Throat surgeon recently to figure out what to do with my snoring. He had a med student with him as well and they commented on how normal my ears were. Whatever that means. The doctor also opened up my nose with some kind of instrument and they both commented on how messed up my nose was. On a scale of 1-10, my septum deviation is a 9. Like, it's almost one nostril. The doctor recommended surgery - big surprise - and was really pushing to get me to sign up for an time for the operation. When pushed too hard in any direction, I did what I always do - step back to consider. I held off making an appointment to think things over. Despite the somewhat casual attitude the doctor had, it's still a pretty big deal for me.

And with thought, well, I guess I'll go ahead and do it. I need to coordinate that with my work schedule, my co-workers schedules, my room-mate's schedule, and my swim for diabetes. And make dang sure that my insurance will cover it.

In other news... I've been conducting some usability testing on one of our websites. In the past, I've been the tech guy, but this time around I'm pretty much running the show. We did testing 2 days last week and it was interesting - but very tiring. I've been fighting a cold for a while now and that didn't really help. I've been trying to keep up with my swimming as well and I guess I'm putting more strain on my body than usual.

My room-mate has been fighting a bad cold as well. Like, bordering on bronchitis. He's missed a few days of work as a result.

I took myself for a walk yesterday, got a little stir-crazy in the apartment. My feet were tired afterwards and I was cold - but it was still good to get out for a bit.

So, mostly video games and music this weekend. And laundry.

Running hot and cold

I got some bad news yesterday - my great aunt passed away. She'd been fighting an illness for a while now and while I wasn't all that close to her, it was still sad to hear. Seems like its been a rough time for our family recently - my aunt and now my great aunt passing away, another aunt fighting a brain tumor, my grandmother still in a nursing home and not getting better.

In brighter news... I got to see my niece (and her mom and dad) this past weekend. We all had a nice visit and she was a sweetie - at least during the day. At night, well, I had earplugs in. :)

I've been fighting a cold the past few days and it, along with a late night and too much exciting TV, meant I didn't get to sleep until around 1 AM last night.

On the flip side, it's been hot here in the computer center. Right now, my little temperature gauge on my desk is reading 79.5 F. We were in the mid-80's yesterday afternoon and some buildings on campus reported temps in the 90's. Our heating and cooling is determined not by outdoor temperature - but by time of year. And it's not yet time to switch over to cooling. I'm actually okay with temps in the 80's, but only when I'm on a beach with a cool drink in my hand and a gentle ocean breeze. In an office staring at a computer screen, it's really not pleasant. I'm still better off than the students though - imagine trying to sit through a lecture with those temperatures.

At least it's a swimming day - I'll get cooled off in the pool. Should make the afternoon a little more enjoyable.