watchtower, site, repair

I stopped for fuel a few days ago on my way into work. I was just finishing up pumping the gas when a woman pulled around around my car to park at a somewhat strange angle near another pump. She got and approached me with a booklet in her hand.

"Would you be interested in reading...?" she started to ask and I saw it was a copy of watchtower and I began my polite but firm:

"No thank you..." and she had already turned and was headed back to her van.

I guess we both already had our lines memorized. She was gone moments later. I don't think she even talked to anyone else there - and I'm not even sure she got fuel. Maybe she had a quota?

In other news, I added a minor update to my website about my swimming - with a few photos of me at the ocean. No links on the main page yet, but you can get there here:

http://gozips.uakron.edu/~aws/swim.html

Finally, I'm taking my car into the shop this afternoon. The muffler sounds bad and although I don't think anything is going to fall off yet - there was a pile of rust under my car so I'm guessing it's only a matter of time.

This week has been busy, but productive. I've got a few projects to work on today before the weekend kicks in.

later...

(I just did a spell check on the page - and for what may be the first time, no spelling or typing errors. Hoorey!)

ambien

My room-mate has trouble sleeping after the long drive back. So, he decided to take an Ambien.

Now, I don't know if you've heard about the side effects of this stuff - but it is seriously dangerous.

from wikipedia

He took a dose last night and fell asleep in the tub. I managed to wake him up about 1:20 AM since I had to use the bathroom and it took me a while to convince him that he was actually in the tub and needed to get out of the tub, get dressed, and go to bed.

Then things got weird. He didn't recognize me, had no sense of balance, and was increasingly irrational. At one point he tried to choke me, but his lack of balance worked in my favor and I fought him off with a body slam into the closet door. I tried to keep him from going downstairs - afraid that he would fall - but his paranioa kicked in and he fought me on that as well. I gave up and helped him downstairs and then back up - with him fighting me most of the way. I finally got him settled and went to bed myself - with a sword at my side and a locked door. At this point, I didn't realize he'd taken anything and figured he's just gone insane.

This morning, I woke him up at 11:45 and asked him to explain what had happened. He had no memory of anything that had happened after he got in the tub after taking the now admitted ambien. I detailed everything that had happened and he apologized. I also made him throw out the ambien.

So, welcome back from your vacation - right into a drug fueled nightmare.

To the "Committee for the Most Understanding Roommate award" - don't bother with a plaque, just send cash.

I forgot to ask him if he slept well - I sure didn't.

beach trip - summary

I did a lot of swimming on this trip - more than I've done in the past. I think the total was around 14 miles - not too shabby. Someone asked me what I thought about out in the ocean and the answer is - not much. I mostly just paid attention to the stokes I was using and my breathing and trying to time the waves.

I did a lot of reading - I think I got through 7 books while I was there. Spent a lot of time in the sun and got a kick-ass tan. No burn this year, I was careful.

I wore my square-cut speedos while I was swimming and while I was working on my tan. I was a little self-conscious, but only a little. The swimming over the years has paid off and I felt okay about how I looked. I've swum in the ocean in board shorts and it does make a difference.

In the evenings, I played a bit of PSP and enjoyed the games I brought.

Overall - I did very little on my vacation. As it should be.

beach trip - part 3

7/19/2009

Went to Trip's for dinner - the Crab Cake this time around had peppers in it. I spent the rest of the evening burping the taste and it was not pleasant. We headed to the Ripley's Aquarium - which was one part lame and one part totally awesome. The had a viewing area with a saltwater tank full of sting-rays - really amazing. There were also aquariums with jelly fish and moray eels. The best, though, was the tunnel under the aquarium that was full of fish - and sharks. Amazing to see them swim overhead. And a little scary too.

One strange note - there was a sign outside about homeland security level at "elevated". Dunno why Ripley's Aquarium would be a target. They also had a uniformed security guard taking the tickets at the door.

45 minute ocean swim

7/20/2009

I swam twice again - the regular mile and then another 22 minutes for catch up. We went back to Drunken Jack's again - this time with a bit shorter wait. The sever recognised us from our earlier visit. :)

45 minute ocean swim

22 minute ocean swim

7/21/2009

We had been told that the buoys just off the beach were part of the EPA study. So, after my regular swim and after the lifeguard was done for the day, I swam out to take a look. They were labeled "hazard area" - so, I still don't know what they were all about. It also rained again while I was swimming.

45 minute ocean swim

7/22/2009

We were planning on coming back, but instead decided to stay an extra day. I swam for about 22 minutes before my left knee and hip started to bother me. I took a break for a bit and then swam again. Also, I had two people within 10 minutes of each other shout "shark" and point near me. I don't know if they thought I was a shark or if they were trying to scare me - but it pissed me off something fierce.

22 minute ocean swim

22 minute ocean swim

7/23/2009

Return home. The drive was even longer coming back. Lots of traffic and accidents - including a pre-fab home that fell off a truck and crash on the highway. There was also a huge thunderstorm while I was driving. My room-mate was nervous, but I just kept focused on the road and we did okay. Coming back when we did will give us both a few days to recover before heading back to work.

beach trip - part 2

7/14/2009

Went to Drunken Jack's for dinner - there was an over 2 hour wait. We've been to this place before and the food - while okay - isn't really worth the wait time. But, it's tradition, so we waited.

45 minute ocean swim

7/15/2009

Took a trip to the Piggly Wiggly for food and supplies. We didn't have a "pig card" and so were denied the benefits of the "greenbacks". Whatever that means. The crew played a round of "scene it" - I was the MC and tried to keep things on track.

45 minute ocean swim

7/16/2009

I tried my first Crab Cake today - it was quite good to my surprise. I also finished up the 4th of my vampire books I brought. Hey, if all you do all day is swim and sit in the sun, the books go by pretty fast. I swam twice again today - and got called in from the water by the lifeguard. Apparently, the water I was in was too deep and I had to go to "waist deep". Let me tell you, it's tough to swim in waist deep water in the ocean.

45 minute ocean swim

45 minute ocean swim

7/17/2009

I hung out with my room-mate's niece and nephew and we threw "toy-pedoes" at each other in the pool for a couple hours. I think they wore me out. It also might have been the short swim in the ocean - the waves and the wind were so rough that I ended up about a 1/2 mile behind where I started. I cut the swim short since I was tired and didn't want to get hurt. Later that evening, my room-mate wanted to send a note to a message board he's on for people that meet up while on vacation. So, reluctantly, I set up my PSP to connect to the free Internet. He wrote up a note, I showed him how to input text - and then he realized the "novel" he'd written would take forever to enter. He re-wrote it and I put the text in. Technically speaking, this wasn't "my" Internet usage, but I still felt a little dirty.

22 minute ocean swim

7/18/2009

The rest of the crew left early in the morning, but my room-mate and I packed up to wait for the new condo to be available. (we couldn't get the same place for 2 weeks). While we were waiting, we head to Books-A-Million to restock (I was almost out of books) and when we got back we unpacked again and I hit the ocean again - this time, I had to dodge surfers.

45 minute ocean swim

beach trip - part 1

Just got back from the annual beach trip with my room-mate and his family to Surfside Beach in South Carolina. I took some notes, so... here it goes.

7/10/2009 - the drive down. Took 10 hours straight through and we stayed at the Day's Inn the first night since we couldn't get into the condo yet. I drove about 2/3 of the way and was tired and cranky when we finally arrived - and even more so with the stupid slow elevators.

7/11/2009 - I woke up in time to witness a very slow and boring car accident from the balcony. Two cars, pulling out at the same time, slowly backed into each other. There was minimal damage and no one was hurt, so it was pretty funny.

We got moved into the condo and I noted that the owners had free wireless set up. I vowed to resist the urge to set it up and connect to the 'net.

I also hit the ocean for my first swim of the trip. It's hard to gauge the distance, but I know in the pool I can do a lap in just over a minute at my normal speed. 36 laps equals a mile, so I decided that if I can do 45 minutes in the ocean, I'm pretty confident that I'm doing at least a mile. So:

45 minute ocean swim

That night, I woke up at 3:30 in the morning and snuck out to the beach to do some streaking. Hey, it was very late and no one else was around. When else am I going to do it?

7/12/2009

The EPA was conducting a survey on the beach about water quality - and with the lure of a free tote bag and a check for $25 - how could I say no? Actually, I would have done it for free, but they had a grant and a process. I hit the water twice - and was very tired out when I was done. So:

45 minute ocean swim

45 minute ocean swim

7/13/2009

The whole group when to Angelo's for dinner. Later, we played a card game called "screw your neighbor". There's some strategy and luck involved - and I managed to win $9. Yea!

Earlier in the day I hit the ocean for a swim and got rained on. I didn't stop of course - I was already wet.

45 minute ocean swim

pelham, fireworks, pillow, vibrate

I went and saw The Taking of Pelham 123 last night. It was a pretty good flick with plenty of suspense and action, but plot was a little thin and I figured it out pretty early on. Denzel and Travolta were both good - I'd give the movie a solid thumbs up. I generally like my movies with a little less realism, but it was enjoyable.

When I got home, the neighbor kids on the other side of the trees in the backyard were setting off fireworks. At 10:15 PM. Now, I know it's almost the 4th of July, but it wasn't yet there and was really annoying - especially since I was getting ready to go to sleep.

So, I got a flashlight and a substantial pocket knife (just in case there was a fireworks luvin mob of zombies over there 'cause you never know) and walked across the backyard and through the trees to the cul-de-sac. I saw the teen-ager that was setting off the fireworks and I approached him. I asked if he was about done and he asked why. I responded that I had an early day at work the tomorrow and that I lived right over there. I told him to wrap it up and save them for the 4th. I turned to walk away and he responded with "whatever" - but either he was really out of fireworks or he actually listened to me because the fireworks stopped.

So, yea me. I did feel really old with the "hey, you kids. Hold it down," - but not everyone is on summer vacation, dang-it.

I needed the help with the sleeping environment since I've switched to a new pillow. Apparently, my snoring can be heard from the street and causes a seismic event that knocks cars off the road. The new pillow apparently stops this entirely, but it very difficult to adapt too. It's been a couple of nights now and I'm having trouble falling asleep and then waking up in the night. I'm also having seriously screwed up dreams. They are too disjointed to remember, but the general impression is that I need some professional counseling.

Finally, our building is shaking ("Regan, why aren't you in your room? My bed was shaking")

They are doing construction work to put in a ramp right next to the building and the machinery is making the whole building vibrate. I think they're finally done now, but it was pretty intense for a while.

Well, got a bunch of stuff to catch up on from my two days of usability testing - better get back to it. After a trip to chipotle, of course.

later...