gotta milk that sucker!!!

got an early bedtime yesterday, actually a good night's sleep. Nice.

Which meant I was up pre predawn. Soooooo, hit the unit, got things squared away, then off to The Line. Yes, @ 4 am.

MY LINE!!! Reqally felt that way. Not a soul to be found anywhere.

What peace.

So, manana predicted precip and COLD, as in 20 degs. So, hadda milk today for all it was worthg. Yes, shorts. Hey, it was upper 30's.

THAT'S gonna leave a mark

ok, woke, up, outta bed, hit the job pre pre dawn. Felt good, so why sleep more? Figured head to the unit, clear debris, get dressed n' hit The Line.

So far so good, shorts, t shirt, light jacket, gloves. St.Francis, felt good.

Good thing I didn't wait for Pret, got called @ 8:20 ish, said I'd already been out, maybe/hopefully manana. THEN, all hell broke loose. Patient flipped. Was told this am re: death of his mother. Now, this patient was friggin' nuts to begin with-really-undiagnosed psychotic. So, he started running around, on the unit as well as outside. Glad I was there. If not, the bleeding hearts would've totally fucked it up. As it was, one of them hadda go home due to "injuries." Now understand, I restrained him after he threw himself atop me trying to get out (I was trying to contain him in an office). And THIS piece of shit employee, after I leave the unit, has the balls to claim injury. Asshole.

Good thing I ran when I did.

Check, doublecheck

got to the job, assured the weekend wouldn't be a colossal clusterfuck. Done.

got to the job, checked e mail, finally got off my butt and did the January President's Massage. Yes, Virginia, it's been QUITE a year. ANOTHER reason priestbrother is an asshole; I look back on the collective successes of the club, and not once am I in the center. Just lucky to be part of a great group. But oh, what things 2008 has brought! AND, NONE of it would've been possible without Pesa's brains/tenacity, Helen's cruise directing, Ken's Consiglieri contributions, Laughlin's ball breaking, Gillian's sharp tongue and smile, Lee's curmudgeonosity (?), Ray's curmudgeonosity, Tom's friendship, and Pret's love. And these are but a few people I hold in such high regard. Wow, great year. The club has gone further than I thought it would. Nice.

St.Francis yet again. Alone for a bit, yet again. Fookin' peeps talk too much, 9am runs NEVER @ 9 am. Ran with Lisa n' Chris for a spell, until I hadda be me and veer off. WONDERFUL weather. Again, ALMOST went shirtless, but no one around with singles.

...you get what you need

ok, hadda hit the job because I KNEW one of the bleeding hearts had fucked up.

We have 22 guys and 4 women patients. Head bleeding heart-a Social Worker-allows the women to do as they please, i.e. sleep rather than attend groups, manipulate staff etc...basically have the run of the place. Oh no they don't. This am I went in and stopped the buck. Explained to the women that if they could wake up for me, they could wake up for anyone (as I went to wake up the head female waste of life another female patient asked if I was going to wake up "princess," see what I mean???). And this shit about sleeping, nope. Attend all groups on time or face discharge. Enough. Best: they'd been allowed to use the staff bathroom. Now, understand: we have 22 guys using 2 stalls,11 to 1 ratio. 4 women using 1 bathroom, 4 to 1 ratio. YOU tell ME who's got it better. So, this crap about the staff bathroom was quashed. Last: they were allowed to use the admissions lounge as a "quiet room." As if the ladies lounge isn't enough??? So, it was explained to them that if they need a "quiet room," each of the 4 should take a corner in their lounge. Christ all fuckin' mighty!!! Who runs the joint anyway??? REALLY annoying to counterbalance staff bad judgement. Could they enable the patients any more than they do???

(can you tell priestbrother doing The Marathon hasn't quite worked itself outta my system yet???) Bastard.

So, with this, yes, St.Francis. Felt good, speed improving though that wasn't the point. BEAUTIFUL temps, almost went shirtless.

Nice to run with the club for a change, a great bunch of people.

So, got to get my St.Francis on. Was THAT the song reference, nope. It got better.

Went to see Seven Pounds. GREAT flick. But nope, that isn't it either.

I'm sitting having dinner-forgot to eat yesterday, Spike and Shebitch come barging in. Turns out, Spike is working!!! Shebitch's restaurant needed a busboy tonight, guess who? Is that cool or what? Lil sumbitch will earn a buck. Nice. Hope he loves it as much as I did. His first taste of independence.

Ken wants articles for The Strider. Kind'a draggin' my ass on this one. January Prez's message is big, for me. Chance to reflect on the past year. It's been onehellofafuckin' year, but gotta pick the highlights.

missed Pret today on The Line, but then again, I always do.

FUCK!!!

damnitdamnitdamnit!!!


Guess who claims to have done The Marathon. He did it in '92 in 4:18, then in '96 in 4:48. DAMNIT!!! My fucking priestbrother!

Went to Pete's (a.k.a. DMV brother, a.k.a. brother who gave Dana $ for a divorce) yesterday for Christmas. Priest brother is there as well. Why does he make me nuts? EVERYTHING is about him. I.E. "I have a program.....I did the .......MY department....." It's IMPOSSIBLE for him to say anything without him as the axis. It's frightening. A long time ago I accepted that the world would turn very well without my being on it. Am I the only one who gets that? AND, HE'S A PRIEST!!! What happened to...oh I dunno...lil things like "service," "humility." Wow. AND the fuck did NY. The Big One!!! DAMN. Made me wanna throw in the towel, but now I'm on a mission. THIS is why I associate with them once a year, one year not even that. GOD that sickens me.

Shebitch actually behaved, until we got home. Then It left for an AA meeting (yes Virginia, another warm fuzzy Christmas memory. A day spent with family, then Mommy ditches us to hang with alcoholics. Yummmmmmm). It and Keith were fighting over $8. Yes, $8. He had put it aside, savings from not having bought snacks. It jumped on it. Surreal. All over $8.

St.Francis with the Striders on Christmas. St.Francis solo today. Felt GREAT. On a roll here. Was gonna wait for a call from Pret, never came, good thing I didn't wait. Went out predawn per protocol. Hadda. Rain predicted. At least I got my couple of miles in before.

STILL can't believe that piece of shit does NY. Wrong. Just wrong.

'Tis the season

so, did the gift thing, did the unwrapping thing, hit the job, made sure all was well...then...St.Francis!!!

Thank God it was clear, well...almost. Right after the softball field there was ice, but then, clear. Figure by manana it'll be ok.

WAS funny being ahead of Lock and Christina, could hear their feet. Great motivation. They did 6, I did St.Francis.

Nice to see so many Wearers of the Green on such a lovely morning. Put me in the right mood to deal with the brother who, reportedly, gave Shebitch $ for a divorce. Funny how nothing came of that. Ho.

twas the night before.............

and Shebitch is out. Glory be!!!! God IS good.

Here @ Toxichouse with Keith-he was smart enough NOT to want to go with It. That makes 2 big days he decided to frig the bullshit-July 4 and tonight. Smart child.

"Cross country" run yesterday, with the snow/ice and etc.....today: 86th ave in the POURING rain. Hadda. This am, staff called to say their father died. Ho ho. Ouch. yesterday, personnel shit to deal with. So, despite HATING rain, hadda do it.

WONDERFUL surprises in e mail. And I owe it all to Pesa and her facebook. 2 people outta the blue from grade school. Wow. Can you imagine 36 years ago and we reconnect? Wow.

on the 13th. day of Christmas

I froze. Really. Giving "chillin" a literal interpretation.

THIS is the toughest part of the season. Freeeeezing cold, ice/snow, THEN it'll rain and everything turns to slosh and mud. But don't let's get ahead of ourselves.

After yeaterday's forced day off, hadda do St.Francis. Crack of dawn? Did it @ 11 w/Pret. More like a biathlon. Between patches of blessed asphalt, most was ice and running on snow. Tough going, took 1/3 as long as usual, but the company made it. Ho ho.

Got the Christmas shopping done, such as it is. Guitar Hero World Tour for Wi for Spike. Wanted the Fit, but sold out everywhere.

t.d.c.

too damned cold!

Yes Virginia, even I have my limitations.

No friggin' way was I going out today, bitttttter cold. Manana kiddies!

it's a sign!!!

ok, snow's ok, but THIS???

Awoke to a fine coating, 'bout 1/2 inch. Can deal with that, but then, RAIN. Fuhgeddaboutit. No mas. G's way of saying take a day off. No ellip, no dreadmill.

Hadda show @ the club for the Holiday Party/elections. Good news: the slate won unanimously. The bad news: we ran unopposed. Details, details. Hey, SOMEONE could've voted for "no one/anybody but______," and in typical Strider fashion, it was a real possibility, but no. Surprised we actually had enough for a quorum. What the hell is wrong with these people (bless them). Ugly as hell out and we still had quite a showing.

Nice.

ho ho

it wasn't pretty, but...

we did it!!! Did the run, got it done!

AP had a strong showing. Why THIS race gets so many wearers of the green, I have NO idea. The conditions were abysmal. Over 1,200 people regged, 640 actually "ran." Astrid placed in her age group, at least we got SOME hardware. But that isn't what this one's about. Being a part of it was what mattered.

Take your usual/decent pace, add a minute, that's today. I did ok. Started out midpack, then lost speed in last mile. This one was a "glad I didn't slip and break my ass" run. Slippery, sloshy, esp @ the turns-they were trecherous.

I'm impressed they held it in spite of conditions. Reminded me of King's Park a couple of years ago when the run was postponed. Hey, we sign waivers.

Tom couldn't make it, called to ask if I'd get his shirt-he preregged. Had his chip in my pocket to return @ the end, it registered!!! Too funny.

Only one of the bluepeoplewhoshouldcallaspadeaspadeandjoinaREALclub was there. Times HAVE changed. But today, you really couldn't tell. Not as many costumes either. Like I said, glad to be done.

Manana, the elections/holiday party.

can I pick 'em, or can I pick 'em?

thanks yet again G! The boss is off for 2 weeks starting Tuesday (yipeee!!!!!!!), so gotta take days when I can or lose them. Today being yet another friday off. Yet again, for a choice few days, being me doesn't suck. WONDERFUL awakening to the snow falling. When I wanna I can sleep-as in: went to bed last night @ 9, awoke today @ the crack of 11:30. YUMMMMMM. AND internet's working. YUMMMMMMM!!!

MATC's slated closure gnaws @ me, especially the agency calling in children to do a man's work re: the Crisis Response Team. But, oh well. Sucks for them.

Manana, Ho Ho Ho. The only run people do for the sweatshirt-i.e. of ALL the fuckin' shirts given out all year, this one is worn by nearly all. @ one Strider club run, 4 dif peeps had 4 years dif Ho Ho Ho shirts on. Cool.

...I thought love was only true in fairy tales.....

life IS good!!!

ok, sometimes you gotta get back to basics.

Did St.Francis, shorts, long sleeves, gloves. Perfect. Broke a sweat, knees felt ok. Really should'a taken is easier after having a 15 hour day yesterday, but wouldn't have had it any other way.

Filled with good feelings, saw bldg 40, smiled, reminded me of my history in Queens, the best make-out spot @ Alley Pond Park, College, ahhh...good times.

THEN, news @ work: we hadda fill out our bumping papers. OK, Been Ying'd.

But still, got my run on, after all, work is what you do in between runs n'est pas???

THEN, secretary calls, her mom died. Sucks for her.

THEN, go to p/t, more arm abuse.

THEN...what do I spy with my one good eye: A CHRISTMAS TREE!!! Just as my dejection had reached new depths, just as I sought solace in giving to others-the patient's party-I come home to this. COOL! Shebitch ISN'T utterly useless. I was really down re: my Manhattan peeps getting shut down, Shebitch being Itself, Christmas a week away and still no tree (don't forget this IS Toxichouse-where last year's tree stayed up 'til March, when one of It's friends took it down).

Wow, we have a tree. Cool.

Thanks G. You allowed a lapse in It's illness.

Life IS good.

***Party pix @ bottom.

ho

86th this am. Rain, ugggggggh. BUT, hadda do it. Precip predicted for the rest of the week to fri, so, do 86th as the Y isn't too far.

Ended up doing the whole route, light rain, a heavy mist really. Glad I did. Also, hadda do "other than St.Francis" route as tonight's the big party, so, hadda save some calories. In view of the precip, ALMOST went to ellip, but glad I ran.

ho ho.

Party went off without a hitch, thank G. Pret made it, didn't dare invite, but would've been heartbroken if not there. Thanks. My heart is full.

Boss did his usual critique-my attitude: if you weren't @ practice, shutup. His usual comment "where's the fire?" (I play fast). Lead, follow, or get the fuck outta the way.

Patients loved it. REALLY what it's all about.

lately I been runnin' on faith...

ok, 1996: transferred from the Manhattan facility to Creedmoor. @ that time, thought it was the end of the world. Since coming to Queens Village, everything's been cool. Backstory there: 2 coworkers and myself worked the politicians to keep the Manhattan site open, AND Manhattan gave me a gig when no one else would hire me. I grew up there.

Since coming to Creedmoor though, all has been better. 1/2 the size (MATC=52 beds, CATC= 26), closer to home, across the street from Alley Pond...too good, and best: back home to Queens.

So far so good n'est pas?

Today the Gov/my boss came out with the budget. Manhattan is slated for closure, saving the state the 14 mil it would cost to relocate it (it's located in a building like our bldg 40, the only dif being MATC is the only occupant of 14 floors).

Now, lots of political shit has to go down before it actually happens but...put it this way...when I contacted my peeps there, no one spoke of putting up a fight. Sad.
Thank G I'm Senior Assistant Director. I'd bump all the others, but my site is cool.

It was weird. Leadership (us) heard @ 9:30. Then, the comish told all staff in a webinar @ noon. Felt odd being a "leader."

Another part of my history, poof!

St.Francis this am-shorts again. Another "hadda," and not a moment too soon-misting as I ran, but then @ noon snow. Ouch.

Manana the patients Christmas party. Really puts the spirit of what it's all about back in.

deja vu?

Did St.Francis this am, yes, another of those "hadda" runs. MORE fucking rain predicted from tonight through Wed. DAYUM.

This am was surreal. Temps a la 50. WOW!!! ALMOST, not quite, no shirt weather.

Was almost tempted to go again after work, but alas...p/t.

but if you try sometimes...

ok, nice morning, tossup re: shorts or longs-went with the shorts, warm morning considering. So far so good. Up @ the usual crack of dawn, to The Parkhouse, nap then run. But nooooooooo, headed to the Y to sauna and ease the old muscles, THEN back to The Parkhouse. What do my ears perceive: the crackberry. Tom calling, asking que paso? He'd seen me napping @ The Park, didn't wanna disturb me......bless him. REALLY a good friend, the def of a peep. Between him and Pret I'm covered. So, back to The Parkhouse, hung with Tom, before we knew it, time to run. Actually waited for the club. A fucking miracle. Usually neither of us have the patience to wait for the chatters to get their rears in gear and actually, oh...I dunno.......RUN????? I.E. what we came for??? Too damn much talk. Then again, it IS a nice benefit.

So, actually ran with Tom and Lock. Yeah, I know, amazed myself. They must be slowing down or sought to include me. They pressed on-doing 8-10, I turned @ St.Francis.

Could'a gotten away with a t-shirt and gloves, but the shorts served me well. Unseasonably warm. Thanks G. Just what I need to enter hell week. 1)Gov gives his budget death knell Tuesday 2)Christmas party for the patients Wednesday-meanwhile the basement is a war zone due to construction. Yet ANOTHER challenge. Just what I need. The Christmas party the day after the Gov punches us in the balls. Nice. Ho ho.

you get what you need

so, following ANOTHER night of toolateloudShebitch-It was yelling after midnight (mental Bitch), there I am @ the Mulcahy's run. See Pret and co warming up, when...lo n' behold, Tom calls asking wassup. He forgot the run was @ 8 am, so he did it as a bandit. Of course I told him the way my luck was running he'd win a raffle despite lacking a bib.

Ran the first mile with him, bless him, then the next 1 1/2 getting in Pret's way. Yes, as a New Yorker, whatever road I'm on is MY road. Almost kept up with Pret, beat me by 13 secs per mile.

Then, hadda boogie n' hit the job-shit hitting the fan.

Can you BELIEVE construction is gonna f up the basement for another week. Now...take a moment...think. Where does the Christmas party occur. Exactly. We're fucked. Ho ho.

NICE!!!!!

pouring rain early am, then...could it be??? The SUN!!!

Got 10 in. Hadda, felt TOO good this am. Day off, Shebitch bitchin'...hadda.

What pure unadulterated joy. Jwtdo.

AND, it gets better, Shebitch ranting about how Keith's ban should be lifted etc...what comes in the mail: his standardized test scores: he's at least above average (duh), thus proving he CAN do it when he WANTS to. The apple doesn't in fact fall far from the tree.

rain sucks

snow, not so much (better for the knees), but rain, fuhgeddaboutit.

No run in the am, ellip instead.

Mana, off, so today's my friday. Nice.

CRAZY week @ the job, even by the usual standards, but somehow, it doesn't matter. Work is supposed to be that way, especially my place.

Re: Computer/X Box ban: Shebitch pushing to let Keith back on. Claiming I'm "pushing him out of the house," so he can play with friends systems. Supposedly I now want nothing to do with him, preferring him out of sight. Right idea, wrong person, we know that. Typical venom. So much for consistency in parenting.

p.s. Fear and Loathing on Cable, thank you G! Hunter Thompson lives!!!

on the second day of Christmas...

So, The Complainer: 1)helped his son with his homework
2)practiced with the patients for their Christmas party
3)cracked the whip @ useless staff

STILL haven't gotten over Shebitch's comments yesyerday evening. "You complain about everything," I actually hadda look around to see whom It was addressing. Amazing. Within Toxichouse, in It's presence, I will never speak again. Write that down.

St.Francis this am. WONDERFUL!!! Shorts, T-shirt. Brief moment of panic-thought G was doing a Lucy on me n' making it rain after the turn around, but no, stayed dry. Really prepped me for the day-not to mention getting me through last evening's aftershocks.

Think about it: It leaves to see a movie with It's gal pal, leaving a sick son @ home, after leaving him alone all day. Wow. Just wow.

"You complain about everything"

yes readers, Shebitch has hit a new low.

THAT was It's latest allegation.

Do you EVER/have you EVER hear me whine????

And better still, this comment came AFTER deriding running, i.e. "you always have energy for a race." (backstory: I had asked that It doesn't cook @ 11 pm as I was tired and that was an hour in which most of earth sleeps)

Mental bitch.

-St.Francis this am, 31 degs-not bad but felt cooooold.

tgie

thank G for the elliptical

TOO damned cold this am, 19 degs for chrissakes!!! w/windchill it felt like 5. No way Jose. Noooooo running este dia. Instead, head to the Y, hit the ellip.

Was critically de-moralized, haven't quite gotten over thanksgiving. BUT, G comes to the rescue. Had our first practice for the Christmas party with the patients, got me out of the funk. Of course in the midst of practice a patient had a seizure (no, it wasn't my playing), so we had an unplanned break, but I'm back.

Dunno how people do it-meaning-they that are totally self-centered, how do they get along? If it wasn't doing this Christmas party with the patients, the holiday spirit would've passed me right by.

pr???

nope (careful there)

Would've been a pr if...if...if...but noooooooo, the course was inaccurate.

First split came in @ 8:55, yeah right.

Second didn't listen.

@ the finish, a run/walker showed me his Garmin: 2.92. SHIT!!!
Just the same, glad I did it. Ran well, though not in usual running shoes-hadda use disposables due to shit weather. No support, really light. Knees feel ok though, they should w/the abbreviated run.


......one step up and two steps back........

2 hearts babe get the job done...

got my Hot Chocolate on. Well, sorta.

Did the Seaford Hot Chocolate 5k, didn't drink any-only take my sugar in chocolate form @ the flix. Did ok. Shorts, hooded sweatshirt, gloves. Flat, fast-well, fast for me. All the usual suspects there, the rest will be @ manana's Pancake 5k.

Back to The Parkhouse to see who's there. Walked right by Lock and KK, funny, not recognized (could YOU not recognize me, scary that), then cooled down w/Pret.

Manana, the other half of the 5k pair.

Predicted precip: snow showers. Yumm. Good for time though.

Saw, again, In The Land Of Women. Wow. If you haven't seen it, SEE IT. Pret would get it, the rest of you must imagine.

...two hearts are beating as one, two hearts.................

check, doublecheck

knocked out another week. St.Francis, then bored meeting did ok.

St.Francis was crisp, cool NOT cold, alright. Not too many more of these days. Predicted colder temps from the weekend on. Dayum. It IS December after all.

Bored meeting was actually substantive. Runner of the year, most improved etc.....Things are winding down for this current bored. A good group, even crusty Ray. The ONE thing I AM glad for is no more of those annoying diner meetings. Whatthefuck is it with diners?

*NYRR is capping races @ 5,000. Good. 1)If you don't prereg early, you SHOULD be shut out, 2)some of the races were ridiculous-though with the corral system, nothing was as bad as the Mineola Mustang. The only problem could be with the halves, but then again, if I end up NOT doing a half-no big loss there.

**MAJOR conflict: The Nike and Quebec runs are on the same day. SHIT. AND, the More and our Back Alley are on the same day. Downside of the More, our Back Alley goes on as scheduled no matter what. Unfortunately, the 6-8 women will miss out-sucks, but, one monkey don't stop....Tom would've been in a bind-he put in for vaca for the Quebec, but he'll get over it. Prob there is, no guarantee of getting into the Nike. SHIT.

Gillian got her apartment, good. Deserves it. A good person.

Our Christmas party is set for 12-17. Arm is STILL 4 months from ready, but, whatthefuck, play on. Invited the peeps. Need 'em for motivation. The day before the Gov announces his budget cuts. Lovely. Ho ho.

s.o.s.

Keith's home from school, Shebitch out. Typical. But here's the kicker: Shebitch has been out each night, and tonight has Tina Turner tix. OK, twisted enough yet? Her cell was shut off for non payment-the tix are $150 each. Twisted enough? It's son is too sick for school, yet It is out doing shopping for a sick friend. ????????!!!!!! And THEN goes to teach religion!!! I'm just glad It's nowhere to be found. Good.

What slays me is: take care of YOUR home, THEN look outward. Go shop for a sick friend, then teach religion, all the while your sick child is @ home. Don't even ask if It's EVER checked his homework, the answer is: never. Surreal. Had a BLAST helping him with his project. It's due Monday, but trying to break him of the habit he learned from It: last minutitis. It was a project on "heritage," he did it about Belgium. Really good father/son time. But that's not the point. Have you noticed it's always me? It's an absolute joy, don't misunderstand. But when It then comes home really late, starts making all sorts of noise (there ARE people sleeping??? You know it's bad when your 13 y/o lectures you on the volume of the tv????) and THEN has the tits to scream "THERAPY!!!" (as in, I need), then it really kills your motivation. Again kiddies, marriage=STUPID. Tell a friend, save them if it's not too late.

St.Francis this am. Miscalculated. Light jacket n' t shirt n' gloves. Ok so far, but shorts. Critical error. Should'a worn longs. FROZE. The shower finally brought back sensation to my fingers.

another one bites the dust

yet ANOTHER nice day. Guess G's making up for that chillin' last week. Thanks G.

Shorts, light jacket, gloves this am. St.Francis.

Worked up a little sweat, but the temp was really good-42 degs.

Takin' Spike to see Bolt. He's never seen a 3d flick. (thank G. Can you imagine how childmolerish I'd look if I didn't have him with me). Gotta strike when the iron's hot. He's right on the edge of "a little too old, still young enough."

jingle this!

getting that warm fuzzy holiday feeling eh??? HO!

MAN am I tired. Back to home, a.k.a. The Line a.k.a. St.Francis this am. Felt great. REALLY gets the juices flowing for what the day'll bring. Doing 5k's is just too much coitus interruptus.

AND, next weekend is more of the same: Hot Chocolate 5k Sat, Pancake Run Sunday (get it? Hot Chocolate then pancakes, hardee har har). So, gotta log them thar miles.

NICE morning today, finally what this month should be, upper 40's. Shorts. Thanks G.