"I gotta roll, can't stand still..."

weekend without fix
I fall to pieces again
black dog sits on lap




(Image scraped from :Living with a Black Dog by Matthew Johnstone )

Inoperative

pounding no pavement
end of a long five year run
exercise idle

Energy Drain

the day is very bright

filling air with wasted sun

faux light lamenter

Green Day

three day rain blessing
our view grows lush and scenic
landscape green on gray

Grain of Sand

beauty of the world
delusion of human mind
good mental defect

Dreary Goodness

wet wonderful day
showers from a higher source
true love from above

Intimacy

I run in the rain
nature showers me with love
gets me hot and wet

Lemon Aid

when life gives lemons
put the fruit in the freezer
hard yellow ammo

Sanguinity

"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."

- Excerpt of Inauguration Speech Of President Barack Obama

Happy New Haiku

the year has begun
smell of change twitches my nose
I need a shower

the sun is rising
prospects of hope and progress
to fill a big hole

now is the right time
to start off on the right foot
and make a left turn

do you know the way?
turns won't be clearly defined
San Jose is there

chocolate and beer
healthy foods with a bad rap
my way to start year

(Inspired by: Mad)

Yellow Squash Mystery

Every Sunday I go grocery shopping. I get the same things almost every time. I go through the produce department and get the same fruits and vegetables every week. The last two visits I distinctly remember selecting five or six yellow squash, putting them in a bag and placing them in my cart.

I finish shopping, get home and put away my groceries, and no yellow squash. This has happened two weeks in a row. Last week I thought it might of fell out of the bag, so I look in the car, nothing, so I figured they were left behind at the store. Then the same thing happened yesterday. WTF?

I pay for my groceries with a debit card and I keep the receipts. I check both receipts from yesterday and last week, no yellow squash listed. What is happening to my squash between the time I pick it out and the check-out?

Another odd thing I note; the items listed on the two receipt are almost identical, even the order of the items on the receipt.

I think I need to resolve to add a little variety and spontaneity to my life. HHMM, lets see let me put that on my calendar for a week from Wednesday. I'll try something new every Wednesday at 6:00 PM.

There, how's that for being impulsive.

Wait, maybe I better reschedule that for some other time, it's already starting to stress me out.

.

You Pulled your WHAT!?!

I'm injured!

This is depressing. I'm on-call, stuck in town with nothing to do. I can't even run. I have to stop for at least a week.

I don't know if I'll make through the week.

Freaky Dude, what is keeping you down?

This

Second Opinion

It only hurts when I run.

.

The Dog in the Hole

I know, I know. It's been a while since my last post.

I missed a post celebrating three years of blogging (December 12).

I haven't made a list of my seasonal wishes for non-gifts.

I haven't been barking about what's wrong with the world.

Where are my raves about my favorite pastime and addiction (Can you guess what I mean?)

I didn't even comment about the Iraqi Reporter, who insulted Dogs, while trying show his love for our current lame duck President's liberation of the reporter's country. The President claimed he wasn't insulted and thanked the man for his gift of shoes. I do give Bush kudos for his fast reflexes, the reporter would have hit the Busheye if he hadn't ducked.

There are good reasons for my lack of blogging; apathy, workload, other interests, more reading, and mostly because of positive changes coming our direction.

The country is undergoing a change, political and economical, and my rants about those issues will be useless at this point. The economy is collapsing, as I've been warning about for two years here, and the political landscape is being molded into something more to my liking. I hope the new administration can bring back the optimism and fiscal responsibility we had in the 1990's, but I think it's going to take a long time to rebuild, restore, and progress towards a more peaceful, more forgiving, less materialistic world.

Another issue that has been missing is my usual rants about this time of the year. Well, now if the country can change, then so can I. So I will make the most of celebrating the Winter Solstice this Sunday with a long run, a few beers (with chasers) and a feast.

Wait a minute, Freaky niCk, isn't that what you do every Sunday?

Yes, it sure is! The reasons we celebrate this season should be embraced all year long. Then we wouldn't need a special time for charity, good will, love, peace, and merriment, and leave this time of year for brightening up the long dark winter nights.

whispers in the night
fresh air whirls around my head
chase me to the source

.

Turkey, Chicken, Duck, Goose

I spent Thanksgiving with my daughter and her family. Besides running a local race in Baton Rouge on Thanksgiving Day and eating a traditional Turkey dinner, look what else we did:

Allison's Lily Tattoo

niCk's Chicken Tattoo

When we got back home and I showed my tattoo to my granddaughters, the four year old said it looked like a chicken.

Unfortunately, the time went by too fast and didn't get to play with the granddaughters as much as I hoped.

I think I owe them a game of Duck, Duck, Goose.

.

Not Today

There will come a day when I can no longer do this.

Today is not that day.

cold clear breezy day
a crowd swarms through the suburbs
chasing away chill

Runners brave cold weather to race for food bank - Pictures

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E-Overload

Too much e-stuff, the stuff that is supposed to make our lives easier, is actually making life more complicated. Am I wrong?

I've worked in the Information Systems development and management for most of my career, and I see things getting so complicated and convoluted, they have the opposite effect of their intent.

If the implementation of an automated systems becomes a management and security nightmare, is it worth the effort?

I'm ready for a career change.

Unsynched

Do you ever have those times when everything seems to be going your way, traffic lights turn green as you approach, and only your favorite songs come out of the radio. My psyche seemed to be synchronized with the universe.

That happened to me. Over the last month, the weather has been perfect, work slowed down, and I've had plenty of opportunity to train for upcoming races as well as running a race almost every weekend.

Then November came, after a brief rush of optimism, everything seems to be crashing down around me, work became quite busy and unpleasant, many unseen forces blocking my way, no time for running, traffic lights turn red as I approach, and all the music coming from the radio annoys me.

Is this only a state of mind?

.

Friday First Dog Blogging

What will be the first thing that our President-Elect will be taking care of? There is the matter of something he promised his two daughters.

Also, The VP-Elect was promised a "big dog" from his wife.

I'm liking these guys more everyday.




Meanwhile, back at the White House, the current first dog is a little grumpy.

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H.A.I.K.U. in the U.S.A. **

The change has now come
time to restore and progress
the sun is rising



** BUI (blogging under the influence): MadHaiku

More Rhyming 17's for Election Day

my ballot was cast
the election is soon past
the change will be vast

It felt like a test
to decide who will be best
to clean up the mess

lies slander and smears
the rhetoric brings us tears
exposes our fears

campaign ads and signs
litter roads airwaves and pines
lets hit them with fines

it is almost done
then blaming is soon begun
fallout will be fun