tires and tired

A while ago, I had an incident with the snowy roads and the sharp turn into my driveway. I ended up missing the drive and sliding into the ditch. With a bit of luck, I managed to straddle the edges of the ditch and contrived to get myself down the hill to a smoother spot and got my car out and back onto the road. Ironically, that was the day where I had earlier complained about bad drivers in the wintertime in Ohio on Facebook.

I was pleased with myself that I had gotten out without a tow-truck - but there were consequences. I had somehow messed up the alignment and now had to pull the wheel to the right in order to go straight ahead.

I drove like that for a while, but realized that the terrible Ohio potholes weren't going to knock things back in place. Also, I needed two new front tires as they were going bald.

So, the day before the latest huge snowstorm, I headed up to National Tire and Brake. I told the guy that I needed two new tires and to have my alignment... re-aligned. He asked what kind of tires and I told him that I didn't need anything fancy - just round, made of rubber, less bald than my current ones. Taking it in stride, he asked if I wanted those in black or yellow. I smiled and said black would match my car. He gave me an estimate that seemed reasonable and said it would be about an hour. I walked over to Best Buy and got the new Adele CD - then over to Burger King for a snack.

Back at NTB, I sat in the waiting room while they finished up the alignment. The guy at the desk called me over in a bit and explained what they did and other services they could offer. I politely declined and paid the very reasonable bill.

I actually had a little trouble driving home on the highway - it seemed that I'd gotten used to the mis-alignment and it took me a bit to get used to the new steering - and the new tires.

My car is riding fine now and I'm pleased with the results. It's got 113,000 miles on it, but I'm glad I can hang onto it a bit longer.

snow day and singularity

I got up at my regular time this morning and first thing I did was check my phone. Sure enough, there was a text message from the University - we were closed for the weather. In a word - awesome.

Also - Three. Day. Weekend.

So, I went back to bed for a bit - then got up again had some breakfast. I spent a chunk of the day doing little chores around the apartment. I also spent some time ripping some CD's and getting them onto my external drive.

This afternoon, I cleared the snow off driveway that had been missed by the plow.

There was also some epic video game time - I played a new game called Singularity. Time manipulation and lots of good "jump out at you". A really good story and a lot of fun. There was a moment when I'd been following a woman through the facility and we'd just survived a huge fight. I walked into a hidden room and rewound a message that had been erased. All it said was, "Don't trust her". I got cold chills - and can't wait to get back in there.

I'm planning on working on my new desk this weekend and enjoying the days off.

health, weather, mental dislocated

I did an online health survey yesterday and according to that, I'm apparently near death. High risk for like half a dozen serious ailments and conditions. I guess I'd be more worried if the health screening I did recently was even slightly accurate and if the health survey wasn't so dang vague. I'm going to take this with a grain of salt - which I should be cutting back on - and just keep doing what I've been doing.

I got my oil changed yesterday and managed to get out of there without any "add-ons" this time - though they really really wanted to rotate my tires.

The weather has been a little rough here recently - and though I managed to make it into work yesterday, several of my co-workers got hit harder and worked from home. It made for a quiet day around the office - but surprisingly a little lonely.

I haven't been sleeping well - mostly stress and caffeine. The later of which I had cut out of my diet but somehow managed to creep back in. I guess I need to go cold turkey on soda again. Not sure what to do about the stress.

I've been feeling kinda weird recently - even weirder than I'm used to. Just mentally dislocated and not myself. I'm really missing the sunshine - that blip last weekend wasn't enough.

So, back to work. Webpages to make and the day to be saved.

a sunday afternoon swim

I forgot my swim gear on Friday -and the pool ended up being closed anyway. Based on my rules...

Monday, Wednesday Friday + pool open + at work = swim

...I was in clear - but if I'd had my gear I could have used the other, not as good, pool.

It was closed on Saturday as well - but today was open. So, I got my gear and headed to campus and did 60 laps. I wasn't very tired, but I was a little bored, so I called it a day.

When I got home, my room-mate was alternating between the Daytona 500 and golf on TV. So, I did the only sensible thing and retreated to the office/media room/armory to play some Batman. I beat the game and only have about 3 more secrets to find.

Been listening to Adele a lot - her new album (which I can't seem to find in stores) is amazing.

And that's about it.

giving up on a book and on zinc

Given any kind of downtime and I'm likely to be found with my nose in a book. I love to read and the shelves in my own library at home are full to overflowing. So, it's pretty rare for me to "give up" on a book - that is, start and then not finish.

I've been reading Engineman by Eric Brown. It started off pretty good and I enjoyed the first half - then I realized that the plot...

"Down on his luck spaceman falls for the token sci-fi chick and together they fight alongside the quasi-mystical aliens against an evil corporation that is destroying the environment"

...is the same as every single "grade B sci-fi movie" of the past 20 years. Even freaking Avatar had the same plot. Once the big reveal of the environmental damage showed up, I pulled my bookmark out and closed the book. Enough of that mess. Apparently, Paris gets destroyed later on, but I really can't be bothered.

I'm starting to feel that way about the TV show "V". The plot is so freaking transparent - I know how each episode is going to end in the first 5 minutes. And the big reveal of a character from the original series was marred - she just sits in the basement of the starship and has made a lifestyle out of being cranky. Really, Diana? That's all you're going to do?

I find myself almost rooting for the bad guys - at least they have a semblance of a plan.

In other news, I'm still sick. Bubonic Halitosis, I think. This stupid cough just won't quite go away. I read yesterday on the internet (so you know it's true) that Zinc is awesome for halting cold symptoms. I bought and tried some last night and discovered:

1. It tastes like cherry flavored crap.

2. The taste lingers.

3. It doesn't do anything.

Now, I guess you're supposed to take this when you first get sick - but I was still expecting more than just a bad taste.

So, I'm at work - and wearing a tie - already counting down the hours until I get to go home for the day. Not a good sign.

games and work

Last weekend, I went to visit my folks, my sister, and her family for my sister's birthday. We went out to eat to a local Mexican restaurant and spent much of the weekend hanging out and playing games. I got some high scores in Quirkle and gave the rest of the crew a run for their money in Scotland Yard as the infamous Mr. X.

We also hung out with my niece - who gets more fun and awesome whenever I see her. She's just over 1 year old and is in full explorer mode.

After a fun weekend - it was back to work. This week has been crazy-insane-busy. It's really wearing me down. Plus, still sick. Today I tried some zinc - we'll see if that does any good.

I'm still swimming though - not going to let this cold get me down. I've been using my flippers a lot more - so, I go faster and get more tired.

Well, about time for dinner...

hearts, games, sick, test, work, hair

I ended up making 300 hearts for the Hearts for Humanity dinner/dance. I timed myself and was able to make one heart in 50 seconds. You can do the math on that one - then add in time to actually cut the paper to 1/2 squares. I didn't get any feedback, but I'm still pleased with the accomplishment.

I've been spending a lot of time on the PS3 recently. I beat Assassin's Creed 2 last weekend and I've been playing a fun game called Nier - with an impossibly foul-mouthed character. She swears every time she talks and called someone a "shit-hog" before getting turned to stone. I'm hoping she comes back - her word choice is pretty funny. I've also played a little Batman. When he's fighting, he moves like a freaking ninja. When he's just walking around, he moves like Frankenstein's monster. I almost expect to hear a "clunk" when he takes a step.

I've still sick. The pink-eye is essentially gone, but I've still got a bad cough. It's just enough to be really annoying. If it doesn't get better, I guess I'll head back to the doctor. Hasn't stopped me from swimming, but it does slow me down.

The University is offering an incentive to us to go through a simple health screening and fill out a survey - then reward us with $120 in our paycheck. I was a little... ummm... disconcerted about this - there's a general feeling of unease with providing medical data that could be then used against you.

But, I reasoned that I'm generally healthy and in reasonably good shape -and the people asking for the data already have it since it's tied into my insurance anyway. The only potential worry would be my cholesterol - which, last time it was checked, was a little high.

So, I went to the health screening today before my swim and lunch. The BMI and blood pressure were normal - but they couldn't get the cholesterol test to work. They did the finger stick twice and the machine kept failing. So, they finally just wrote down that it didn't work and said I'd still get credit for the screening. Which works out nicely.

I had kinda earned a "something going right" - the past few days at work have been insanely busy. Non stop email, phone, webpages, etc - I've been in a kind of media overload. I got a lot done, but it wore me out mentally.

This afternoon, I got another "something going right". I went to get my haircut after work and only had to wait a few minutes. I got my stand "#1 buzzcut over my whole head" - since it's proof against stocking cap hat-hair. The stylist finished this in no time at all - then only charged me half the regular amount. She said she didn't think it was right to charge me full price when it only took 6 minutes to cut. So, I gave her a couple bucks tip and was on my way.

Well, back to the video games for me - I'm thinking about going out to dinner tonight.