Weird Wednesdays.

Q's escapades Blog entries for 7/8 Oct, 2008.

Well Tuesday the 7th was Slug Boy Day, no real exercise at all. In fact the closest thing resembling exercise was when I was practicing my bagpipes. But a general run down of the day seems to be the way I prefer to writ things out so thats what I'll do.

O8:30 AM, off to peeksill & Joe Brady's for instruction and begin prep for the Nov 11 bagpipe date at the Montross Veteran's Home. I got stuck in crawling traffic and gave Joe a call warning I may be delayed, but still made it on time. I shall avoid us route 9 for the foreseeable future while going to Joe's place.

10:15 AM, after bagpipe practice I'm headed down toward central Westchester County as I'm heading to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's HQ later in the evening for a send off for the Marine Corps Marathon.

11:00 Stop at the Pizza parlor across from the Cabin Restaurant at the junctions of 100, 100A and Sprain Brook Parkways before doubling back to Gate of Heaven Cemetary. I usually go to tend my Grandparents, Uncle and Aunts' resting place twice a year at least. So at the cemetary I have my slice of pizza and then weed around the broad leaf bases of what remains of the flowers I've planted there. Thats my attempt at a flower garden and I don't bother attempting to dig the bulbs out each year to protect them they seem to be doing fine on their own. While there I also talk to my parents but in a more conventional fashion by use of the cell phone.

12:00, Noon finds me at the Greenburg Fire Department and I'm in luck two of my cousins are in and I spend some time visiting with them. I also come to findout that some members of the GFD will be in my area for a sporting event on the 1st of Novemebr so Ilet them know I'll try to secure a group parking area for them for their tailgate session before the game.

13:00/1:00 PM, I'm clear of the Fire Department and headed towards and through the Central business district of White Plains. In regards to that part of Westchester County, just think of New Jersery with NY state tags and drivers licenses, just really poor drivers for the better part. Still I don't need to be at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's HQ till 18:00/6:00PM and I've got time to spare. I don't like shopping and have only $100 on me and use the credit card only for needed purchases so i bypass the merchant district and go to Saxon Woods Park across from the Business Park where the L&LS HQ is located.

At Saxon Woods, I've some time to be alone with my thoughts and just try to get some things of a minor nature done. So I break out my copy book of bagpiping tune and copy a score into it. I can't explain why but copying the notation out in long hand does help me to learn the music, even if I don't feel I play it all too well. I also take the pipes out of the case and set the drones to where they were earlier in the day and don't bother trying to tune them, to my untrained ear they sound close enough to pitch. At which point I go over several of the tunes I know.

After a while of diddling around with the bagpipes i secure them and break out a folding chair and just sit and diddle about with a tin whistle, I'm no musical phenom or prodigy but I'm trying to pull out a tune. Tin whistles are decievingly simple and hard at the same time as you need to control the pressure of your breath to keep a consistant sound level

15:00/3:00 PM finally I've had enough and take a drive into and back out of Mamaroneck and stop at a roadside stand for a dog and a ginger ale. then back into Saxon Woods Park inorder to burn off some more time. This time diddling about on my small pipes.

16:30/4:30 PM I drive across the street to the L&LS HQ building and park the van waiting for the 18:00/6:00 PM info/send off session.

17:30/5:30 PM I enter the building and sign in and go to the cafeteria where i meet with two of the staffers involved with both the NIKE event and the Marine Corps Marathon. I also have a slice of pizza while waiting for the event to start some water and pass some time with the ladies coordinating things.

18:00/6:00 PM several folks whom I recognize amble in and I greet them in my own less than endearing fashion, I also see Dan Elliot and let him know that we've been assigned a room together for the course of the three days. We also get the running singlets and other goodies for the race as well as information to bring with us for check in and safety proceedures on race day it self.

20:30/8:30 PM the meeting is over and I'm out of there headed home by way of Brewster & Carmel, NY. I've no desire to double back through Whiteplague I mean Whitepains, Oy wait a moment Whiteplains. So I jump on the Hutch with my Commercially Registered vehicle, technically an illegal act. and go up to I-684, Drive to the Croton Falls exit and take NY22 into Brewster and US6 over to Carmel. Stop in Fiddler's Green Pub aka Bar, have one Guiness and head on home for the night.

So about 20:30/10:30PM I arrive home take care of some triffling matters and go to bed.

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8 October, hey this morning as I write this, I awoke from a vivid dream, fast woman driver, white sports car, spinouts in frontof and almost under the front tires of another vehicle, donuts and smoking the tires, a angry police officer who drove a large heavy box truck stopping the sports car performing a magic trick of pepper spraying the woman driver and a male passenger but leaving me unscathed to take care of the peppersprayed driver and other male passenger whom i never saw in the sports car as i was in the passenger seat. Then I woke up. I've now clue what it all means but it was interesting enough that I kept it in my mind. Oh yeah the skyes were clear blue and the grass was all green and I don't recall any trees just lots of rolling hills.

Well a little later this morning I'm going out for a 6 to 10 mile run depending upon how I feel about the weather. I do want to get at least 6 miles in though. and thats all for now at 06:00/6:00 AM

Alrighty then just a little past Noon here in the lower Hudson valley and I'm getting dressed to go out for the second time, got a little banking to do. Did a 11&15/100 mile run this morning starting about 08:30 and finishing about 10:40 just a simple route, up the west side of the village and up moutain Ave to Stoney Lonesome road up to Continental and around back onto stoney, down to Merrit, down to Washington Down to Ruger, down Tower to the Hudson River up to the base of Ike Hall, down to North Dock, up Howard and along Cullum to Jefferson to Thayer to wilson to Swift to Thayer Gate along Main St. Highland Falls back to home. Just a modest set of hills.

Well got to run for now more later.
Q
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16:00/4:00 PM. Ok got a bit done today, had a little money I could budget for other items and purchased a new watch as I broke the crystal on the old one. Oh I'll try to get the crystal replaced but some times due to our disposable society that becomes an exercise in futility.

So this afternoon, I wandered off to Round Pond recreation Area. I can use the laundrymat and practice my bagpiping there without disturbing too many other people. Also today I gave the new running singlet from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society its first washing to help soften it up for the marine Corps Marathon on the 26th of October. Also need to determine what I'll wear and pack for the three days. Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Since I'm only running on that Sunday for the weekend the process is simplified. Two pairs of sneakers, one for comfort and one for the run. I bring my electronic bagpipes to diddle around with and my MP3 player for the trip. I'll load a few more albums onto that as well. I only want them for the trip as during the run itself we aren't supposed to use anything which may enhance our performance and a MP3 player can be considered a perfromance enhancer.

After finishing laundry I went by Fire Station 2 and said hello to the guys there and had a laugh with them concerning a small segment of my run this morning. Well the burning question about which is faster a person running or a nearly 40 ton ladder truck; going up Stoney Lonesome Road has been answered. Over the short distance a strong runner is faster. Over a long distance the 40 ton diesel powered ladder truck has more endurance. And how did I learn this? I ran uphill against Truck one today. During my run this morning I was jogging down Stoney when I saw the ladder truck making it way up. The kicker is the Ladder truck had a rolling start compared to me. I had to come to a stop turn about and start running up hill. Yes. I was running fast enough to get ahead of the lumbering vehicle. Well so much for the speed of a heavy vehicle going up a 12% grade.

Following that minor bit of levity it was off to the service station for fuel, the PX for my old glasses, the screw in the frame is broken and firmly rusted in place, also purchased the watch as mentioned previously, and then over to the Comissary for my weekly grocery shopping. Which brings me up to the hour and preparing this portion of the blog.

So without anything better to do, I'll close for now and will add some more later for cutting and pasting to the blog.
Q.
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Yes another cut and paste posting but it seems to work fairly easily. and allows me more time to formulate and clarify my thoughts.

Cheers & Proasit Alles,
Q