pork chops and a soaking

I did something last night that, in retrospect, I’m not all that proud of. You might say it was a bit wrong. In my defence, it all seemed so logical at the time.

It involved pork chops. Now, I know there are those amongst this blog’s readership who will think anything involving pork chops is a bit wrong (mostly vegetarian, queasy types). I don’t want to get drawn into that debate, so let me just say this: you’re wrong. Pork chops are God’s greatest gift to the taste buds and the stomach and every day spent not eating them is a day in your life wasted.

Anyway, the pork chops, they were sizzling and getting pretty close to being ready. Also, to complicate things, the bath had just been run and the water was nicely hot. Now, I had something of a dilemma. Do I eat the chops and let the bath go cold? Do I jump in the bath and let the chops go cold? It’s a tough one.

I leapt to a logical conclusion – why not combine the two? And I did. I plonked the chops on a plate with a knife and fork, stripped off and jumped in the bath.

Looking back on it, it’s probably not good form – eating dinner in the bath. There are probably OH&S rules against it. But hey – you gotta do what you gotta do.

Running
I went for a run this morning, starting and finishing at my office in the city. As I started out I noticed an unfamiliar sensation. The air seemed moist, and the ground slightly wet. Also, there appeared to be some sort of liquid falling from the sky. It didn’t take me more than a few blocks to realise this was rain! Rain! You remember that, back from the good old days before climate change.

It was more of a drizzle to be honest, and a pleasant drizzle at that. By the end I was a touch wet and dripping. It’s not a good sign when you have to stop and wring out your shirt. Ah well, I’ll probably get a cold now.

woke up happy

I woke at 4am this morning, feeling inexplicably, totally happy. Go figure.

Of course, I promptly spoiled it all by going for a particularly nasty run up and down hills and working up a head of steam on a set of strides.

Then there was public transport and work, by which time the happiness had long gone.

Sigh….

Running
13 point something ks this morning. See above.

Antony and the Johnsons
I’ve only today started listening to these people. The guy’s voice is possibly not for everyone, but I like the it a lot. Here’s a great performance on David Letterman…

I go to Rio

Out globe is warming at an alarming rate, Victoria is covered in smoke, ash and death and there’s a Global Economic Crisis so serious it warrants capital letters. All true.

The thing is – a person can only take so much misery, even if you’re someone like me: brought up on a diet of Leonard Cohen and teen angst. So, in that spirit, I bring you a glimpse into a world where none of this matters: Rio.

They look like they’re having fun, don’t they? I’m not so sure about this woman:

She looks pretty uncomfortable to me. I can’t help wondering if all that spangly stuff inhibits her ability to samba. I’ve always found wearing elaborate head-dress restricts my ability to shake what my Mama gave me, as the kids say these days.

Running
A couple of runs on the weekend: a fast 12.5km on saturday morning, then a pretty boring 23km yesterday.

two sleepless nights

Two sleepless nights and I’m an inarticulate, blubbering mess. There’s not too much change there, you might say, and you’d be right, but at least I can tell.

I wasn’t much use at work today. I’d start to explain something or make a point and then completely forget what it was I was saying…. v. embarassing.

On the plus side, god – or rather, babies – willing, sleep is only an hour away. Blessed sleep.

no Ritchie, no

Heaven knows there’s been plenty to get upset about this month, but this has really got me where it hurts:

Richie Benaud has announced he will retire after 2010

Life won’t be the same without Richie. He’s one of the few people on television who’s opinion and wit I actually respect. Summer won’t feel the same, and it certainly won’t sound the same without his voice pattering on in the background.

Why did he have to retire now? He’s only a boy of 78, full of hopes and dreams and the best years of his life ahead of him.

Here’s a thought: perhaps he’s going to run for parliament. I’d vote for him. Perhaps he can run in Higgins against Peter Costello and chuck out the smirk forever.

Running
I don’t like running in the smoke, which has rather put a dampener on things. I ran 12.5km on Monday morning, and 10km on the treadmill last night, but that’s it.

let this be a lesson to you, facebookers

There are a few lessons to be learnt from the unfortunate case of young Mr. Brendan Sokaluk…

1. If you have a feeling you’re about to be arrested for lighting bushfires that killed dozens of people, make sure you get rid of any child pornography you have lying about the house. People already feel like lynching you – child porn accusations aren’t going to make you more popular.
2. If you know there’s a chance you’ll be arrested for arson (and child porn) don’t post pictures of yourself on Facebook. You’re just making it easy for people

That being said, in all seriousness, the rubbish that’s being put on FB at the moment on this issue isn’t really helpful. The guy’s entitled to a fair trial, no matter how upset everyone is at the moment.

Smoke
I’m feeling very asthmatic and wheezy at the moment, with the city’s air resembling the inside of the Marlboro Man’s lungs. I ran early this morning, and felt okay during the run. Afterwards I was headachy and nauseous. Admittedly, that could have been because I was on the way to work, which never has a good affect on me.

If there were a god, (I’m not saying there is!) and he or she was a benevolent sort of chap, surely it’d be time right about now for a good downpour or two: to put out the remaining fires and clear up the air. That being said, if some divine entity did appear, I’d be pretty interested to know what he/she was thinking the weekend before last up in the hills. Not cool, God, not cool at all.

under control

It’s been a fairly heavy few days, for reasons you’re probably aware of. Every time you look, the death toll from the weekend’s fires seems to go up.

It’s hard to stop thinking about it. I even watched A Current Affair last night, and didn’t mind it. I assume even they couldn’t think of a way to sensationalise that story. It can’t get much more emotionally affecting.

There’s been a fair bit of hugging of babies and toddlers and spouses and a few quiet tears.

So, after all of that, it was a relief to have a nice cool run on a nice cool day.

14.5km at lunchtime, from the east side of the city, across to the Capital City Trail at Docklands, up to Brunswick road, across to Rathdowne street and back down to the city.

There really is nothing an hour’s good running can’t help. Life just seems more balanced, more in control after a good little while spent sweating.

Don’t laugh, but a while ago there was an ad on TV for some brand of pimple cream – I don’t remember which – the tag-line was “clean and clear and under control”. Well, anyway, that’s how running makes me feel. Clean and clear and under control.

Maroondah Dam
I’ve been trying to get in shape for hills in aid of this run. I gather now it’ll be delayed or cancelled this year. It’s a shame, as I was looking forward to redeeming myself after last year’s effort. Still, a part of me is relieved.

not the best

Melbourne’s a pretty comfortable place to be, most of the time. Yesterday was not our best day.

It was 37 degrees at 11:30am where I was, and 46.4 at around 3pm. That’s unbelievably hot. There was also a hell of wind. Coming after a heatwave a few weeks ago, it was about as perfect bush-fire weather as could be possible.

We’re lucky enough to have air-conditioning in one room, so we and the neighbours, whose house was a furnace, sheltered in our living room for most of the day.

It looks like around 50 people died yesterday and overnight. Marysville and Kinglake – two towns I know quite well – are both pretty much flattened.

Hard to believe.

Running
A bit of a disaster of a long run at around lunch-time today. It was 27km in 2 hours 15, starting from home, going down to Warrandyte then back via Croydon. Here it is on mapmyrun.com. It never felt good, even at the start, and just got worse and worse. It was one of those runs when you seriously consider phoning home to ask someone to come pick you up. It was only pure stubbornness that got me home. When I did get there I was nausous and weak for an hour or two.

I’m not looking forward to the Maroondah Dam run next weekend, assuming it’ll still be run.

Still, watching the news at the moment puts things in perspective.