Saturday, October 24, 2009

Smashing Pumpkins

I never thought I was going to see 0630 this Saturday morning, yet here I am. I have paused several times to ask myself "Why am I up?" This is often followed by the answer of a bark or two in the distance.

I love that little rascal, so do not get me wrong here, but there are some mornings where I just want to strangle the tiny thing. I am not sure what sent her into a whining fit this morning, but she would not stop. Ignoring her did not work. Going out to yell at her did nothing; she pranced around after each scolding. I decided to put her outside. Silly dog.

Yesterday I had set some goals for myself in physical fitness. I let myself down after intentionally only doing 33 and not finishing out two more. It was a calculated decision on my point to stop there as I was not going to gain anything from the extra two push-ups. I was wrong, I would have met my goal that I set and that would have been satisfying. I had more than enough time to accomplish them; about 10-15 seconds were still left on the timer. I had felt as if I let myself down.

I almost did the same thing with crunches. I made it to 42 with plenty of time to spare. I went as far to even just sit up and tell the person holding my ankles that I was going to stop there. I do not know what really went on in my mind, but I can tell you that I knew that I should have gone for those extra push-ups and I should not let myself down on sit-ups. I finished out the 45 with time to spare; having met my goal, I was content to call it there.

Yesterday I set the goal of 10:30 for a mile and a half. Now generally that is not all that difficult for me to obtain. I set the obtainable goal because I was worried that I had lost a step much in the same way I had lost some physical strength over the last year. At one time a 10:30 mile and a half was jogging pace; I was worried the benchmark was more of a race pace. After disappointing myself in push-ups (And abdominal circumference but that is another story.) I decided to push myself to the very end on the run and not relax. It worked. I smashed the goal I set by a full minute. Boy was I tired afterward, but man did it make me feel good.

Unfortunately that high was short lived as I returned home to pick up a mess that I had only just seen on my way to the fitness center. That mess was the two wonderfully carved and decorative jack-o'-lanterns. It seems if some delinquent took it upon themselves to lay waste to our pumpkins that we had set out. This infuriated me and upset The One. We not only spent the money to purchase the pumpkins and carving kit, but we spent quality time together carving them out into something we were both proud of.

It would have been very unlikely that this was the work of anything other than a person. The pumpkins were found in the middle of the street, a good 50 feet or so from where the were resting. The were definitely smashed and not torn a part like an animal would have done. No pieces were missing as if an animal had run away with its stolen prize. The only "likely" story, other than a malicious pillaging, was that the Oklahoman winds were strong enough to force the pumpkins from the ground against the house and set them rolling on down the lawn and driveway. There they would lay fully intact underneath the pale street light until a unsuspecting car would trample over their softened husks. Unlikely I say.

The rest of the day went fairly smooth. A quick morning and a busy afternoon led to me forgetting that it was Friday. I was really happy with the busy afternoon, a rare sight for when I am in purgatory. I actually learned a little something about what was suppose to happen in that office. I felt really good after helping so many of the people out. To top this all off, I even managed to get out on time! The second time in as many days that I arrived home at a decent hour.

I am looking forward to the events of the day. More on those, tomorrow.

And then it ends,
Skate

No comments:

Post a Comment