Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Day 91 - 05/22/2007

D had computers (for the last time this year) this morning, so I rode my bike to work. The weather was much better than last Friday in that it was dry, but still a little cool (~55°) so I wore a long sleeve shirt). Traffic was light and I was able to make the light at 50 without having to wait the entire cycle. By the time I got to the gym and gave D her wake up call, she had already been roused out of bed by Mrs. Jardine asking whether she could sub today. However, with her already on the hook for computers and still not feeling that hot, she declined.

I hit the gym and got in a good workout. I had to wait a little for the Smith machine, but did leg extensions while I waited, so it wasn't like I wasn't doing anything. That's the problem with my gym: It's too small and has too little equipment. Of course, the positives outweigh the negatives, so I guess I'll keep going to it. It's located right across the parking lot from my office building, is somewhat cheap and hardly ever crowded. The times when I can't change and get the equipment I want are few and far between. I guess those few times when I do have to wait I'll just have to make do with something else. If it ever started so that waiting was becoming the norm, I'd reconsider, but having the ability to shower after riding in is something that will probably keep me a member.

Work was work and not much to report there. I stayed in for lunch and left around 445p so I could beat the 5 o'clock rush out the door. The ride home was as uneventful as the ride in, and again I didn't have to wait for the light at 50. When I got to the intersection, I was barely able to put my foot down when the light turned green. If only it could be like that every time I ride to work! (The intersection at 50 is the primary bottleneck to my commute when I ride in that can add up to four minutes to my commute.)

When I got home, we foraged for dinner (sandwich and fruit salad for me) before I hit the deck to continue staining/sealing it. I've pretty much finished the horizontal surfaces; all that remains are the vertical surfaces. Unfortunately, we have a lot of spindles on our deck, so this takes almost as much time (if not more) as the horizontal surfaces took. I was able to finish 1/3 of the spindles before I had to call it quits for the night. It was getting late and I promised the kids I'd read them Narnia since it's been a while since I've been able to do so.

We're currently reading "The Last Battle" which is the last book of the series. I'm interested in seeing how the end of the series will come about as I'm wondering if Aslan will end the world or have a "second-coming" type of event. There have been articles and dissertations written outlining how that the series contains allegories to Christianity, but, aside from a few similarities here and there that are evident to anyone who has the slightest idea about the basis of Christianity, it doesn't jump right out at you. I guess if I knew more about the stories of the Bible and had the time to compare the two in detail, there might be something to it, but for now, I'll take the books at face value for what they are: works of fantasy fiction that outline the never-ending story of good vs. evil. Of course, now that I've searched for links to this topic, I must say, there's quite a few of them, so maybe I'll have to rethink my thought and study this in a little more detail before I make up my mind so decisively.

That being said (and as I've said before and as I'll more than likely say again), I'm glad that M decided not to read them as reading them to the kids has been very enjoyable, as well as rewarding, not only for me, but for them as well. (It also provides some quiet time for D while I read, so I'm sure she enjoys it as well.) I'm not sure N enjoys it as much as M does, but every now and then, he surprises me with comments that make me believe he's actually paying attention (vs. "reading" one of his train catalogs).

After the kids were in bed, D and I watched the two episodes of Heroes we had on Tivo. More and more I've come to see this show as nothing but fluff. The storyline is interesting, but there's no mystery, no edge-of-your-seat drama like Lost. Some of the scenes from tonight were questionable, such as the van transporting Ted or the final battle" in Kirby Plaza. I'm not sure if I'll continue watching next season. I guess I'll have to wait to see where they'll take this (and who will be next year's villain). If I did stop watching, there'd be one less show to tie up my schedule, maybe I could use that time to practice my guitar more!

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