#200 - Blondies and a Bad Back

We were up and headed to the train station by seven thirty.

A train delay meant we could catch the next incoming train that was just a few minutes away. The downside was that the delayed train was the one before that, and it had been cancelled. This meant the train we were about to board was already full to the brim, and the line-up to board at our station was double the usual amount.

Not surprisingly, we stood for the entire ride into Toronto along with many others.

We sorely needed and welcomed the walk to work. I don’t get to eat at the dinner, but we had a lunch waiting in the studio fridge and a pizza meal slated for this evening. Breakfast would have been too much food for me in one day.

I got stuck into work first thing, stopping only briefly to make a cup of vanilla earl grey. Later, I remembered to take my AG1 supplement after a colleague asked me about it. Day one for the AG1streak restarted.

We ate lunch with some work friends and then sauntered back to our desk. I felt exhausted and made myself a cappuccino to try and get that caffeine boost. I’ve read lately that you should delay your first caffeine take until an hour and a half after waking to avoid getting tired midafternoon. So far, that strategy isn’t working for me.

We had a multi-department meeting in the afternoon, and it went over as well as a lead balloon. I think some of the team members got upset and rightly so. But we did need to get some direction from above and I was glad I wasn’t the one to have to do it.

To move forward, we need to knock down a few walls as needed.

This is the way.

For now.

I’m looking forward to having an easier evening with friends tonight. Hot tubbing and pizza are just what the doctor ordered. I may even drink a little wine this evening and go wild a crazy.

I took a few minutes to take a break after the meeting, sitting in the couch area of the kitchen and tapping out these words. I’m feeling stoked about the feedback my mentor has been giving me and the fact that I am starting to see some real growth in my writing abilities. Having a mentor really speeds up the learning process by years if not decades.

It’s raining cats and dogs out there right now, and I hope we can miss the worst of it by the time we leave the studio at the end of the day.

But, break time is over and I’ll hopefully pick this back up on the train ride home, assuming we can gets seats.

And we got seats but not together. A quick run on the streetcar got us to the station in mere minutes.

With Robyn’s knee acting up and our plans for this evening, it seemed like a good idea to travel by transit and gain some time back.

And we managed to avoid the tumultuous down pours yet again.

I was lucky tonight too, a nice gentleman who sitting in an aisle seat moved over to the window to let me sit down. This has allowed me to write while on the train, something that is much harder to do when up against the windows.

The kindness of strangers makes the world go round.

My back has been killing me since last week and standing all day at the TAAFI conference did little to help. I have also been carrying a heavier than normal bag to work with all the laptop gear, food and a couple cans of drinks. The weight adds up quickly.

You can probably imagine how excited I am to have a long soak in the hot tub tonight. If ever there was a week I could use it, its this week.

I may go to the grocery store next week at lunch or on the way to work and buy a case of soda and mineral water to keep at my desk. It will make my bag a little lighter.

My new writing assignment for my mentor is designed to test my first-person narration abilities. I am to write about the times and location of when I went to high school. As usual, I am not sure what I am going to write about. It doesn’t have to be an event from my life, and to be honest I would rather make some more interesting story up. I am restricted from writing any sci-fi or fantasy, however.

Turns out the kiddo wants to do his birthday celebration dinner on Friday now instead of Saturday. I was planning to bake his Tres Leche cake on Friday night after work, but now I’ll have to do it on Saturday, which might work out better for me in the long run.

I’ve got myself about four days behind in the word challenge. I need to hold it there for the next week as the worst and gain back most of it if I can. Seriously hoping to get writing done this weekend, whether that be on the novel or the next assignment.

That puts me at around 2600 words per day from now until the end of the month and I don’t want to run into the same scenario where I am scrambling the last week of the month. Too much unnecessary stress involved in that way of working.

I’m hoping my friend John will have another song or partial song for us to listen to this evening. I love seeing the work in progress of any kind of artist as it inspires me to make my own things.

Taking that time this afternoon to sit and write really made me feel better. Not only did I feel less tired afterwards, but it releases some of the stress that inherently comes with deadlines. Even the self-imposed kind.

We stopped at our house to grab some beverages, my swim trunks and to get freshened up at little.

The pizza arrived shortly after we sat down at our friends and it wasn’t long before we were extolling the virtues of Blondies Pizza. The star pizza for me was the pepperoni, honey and jalapeño pizza. It was very similar to the one my brother-in-law made for Easter. The second pizza was good too, but I couldn’t tell you what was one it except it had pineapple. And I am a pineapple on pizza kinda guy.

Their cat Wizard came over for a scratch and spent a few minutes with me before deferring to Robyn’s lap. As long as I get my kitty time, I am happy.

As a table snack our friends put out these chocolate powdered coated cashews that were crunchy as you bit into them. I really liked them and maybe have found a new obsession. I need to see if they were sourced locally.

Survivor was full of twists tonight and it had us all guessing at the outcome. They do know how to create an entertaining show, I mean they’ve had plenty of practice at this point.

The kiddo had a college friend over to celebrate the end of their first year. The consumed a few adult beverages and I find it hilarious how they think they are being bad asses when I compare it to the shit I used to do. But I won’t ruin it for them. Let them think what they want.

Back home we watched and episode of the Daily Show and one of Testaments before calling it a night. Even after the hot tub my back is still a bit tender and hurts during most movements. I had Robyn drill me with the massager gun and that seems to have helped a bunch. Getting old is a series of new pains.

Losing some weight would probably help with the back issues and making sure I am sitting properly at my desk. And getting up more often from my chair couldn’t hurt either.

And stretching more regularly.

I managed to write, blog, play chess, take my AG1 and read today. It’s been a good week or so since I have managed to get all five streaks going in a day.

I’ve heard rumours that Paramount is going to make a new Star Trek movie instead of any new series. It isn’t likely to have any connection to the newer films starring Chris Pine but is probably going to be peopled by new characters. A formula that has not done well so far for most franchises.

Still, I am rooting for them to make a good rendition of a Star Trek film, just very pessimistic about the outcome.

It’s coming up on eleven thirty and I am going to call it a night. If I can get a good night’s rest, I feel I can finally feel like I have recovered from all the craziness of last week.

Until tomorrow.