outskirts: life and times in charlottesville

Sunny and 65. Will this brutal winter ever end? I went out and did the eight mile run again. My body was much more up to it today and it was a pretty good run. The first 5k of the year is about two weeks away. Provided the weather is decent, I have no doubt I’ll be able to take a shot at the 21:30 mark here at the start of the 5k season. We’ll see.

Tomorrow will probably be the gym, although I’ve got so much work to do I don’t know if I’ll have the energy. And going to the miserable and overpriced gym here in the village is always so depressing. They recently raised the cost of membership, and bought new equipment that is truly miserable compared to the old equipment. From what I can see, the new elliptical machines have about a 15% daily failure rate. This is out of order, that is out of order. The seats on bikes feel like lead pipes. The adjustable parameters on weight machines are severely limited. Some useful machines are just gone with no suitable replacement.

Did anyone even use this equipment before the ACAC wasted all the money on it? Perhaps when the 2 year overdue project of the new gym finishes things will improve. Supposedly they will have 2 racquetball courts. Wow. That will be modern.

This one seems to be gaining in popularity, while the Planet of the Apes image is on the decline. Graffiti is an amazing art form.

The shot was taken just outside the recently closed A & N on the downtown mall as I strolled around taking a few shots.

In California tobacco smoke is now classified as a toxin. In Virginia smoke is considered yummy.

SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - A California agency voted on Thursday to classify second-hand tobacco smoke as a “toxic air contaminant,” a first-in-the-nation move that could ultimately toughen state regulations against smoking.

Here in this supposedly forward-looking village one might think that smoking would be banned in all bars, restaurants, and public places (such as parks and the downtown mall) where the breeder results play. Instead I see people smoking their cigs. As they blow some smoke from their lips the cig is in their hand in front of their kid in the baby carriage. Mmm….train the kids while they are young…

I wonder what percentage of the profit of drug stores come from cigarettes. In the local CVS the entire area behind the counter is nothing but big glitzy signs for dozens of different types of smokes. Doesn’t it seem odd that stores designed to aid your health are actually helping to kill a million people a year. The funniest thing is that the candy bars are just in front of the counter, so for kids the cigs appear to be the next great thing once they make it past the candy. Look up to the cigarette Luke. Be one with the Smoke.

Ban smoking here in the village. Why can’t the village tribal elders do that?

Although Flightplan was a rather predictable movie, I still loved it. On Thursday night I was so sick of the village that I popped that one in to the DVD player so I could fly away on a plane, at least until 8am the next morning.

Maybe that movie just perfectly matched my mood at the time, or maybe it really is good. Movies sure can seem drastically better or worse than they really are based on your mood. Seeing them when you are in a different mindset can really change opinions, as can time.

Jodie Foster might have been the key to making the movie great, but always hard to say. In any event, she rocks.

Why has the entire winter been sunny and 65? My first year here we actually got snow. I was fooled. This place is southern. It gets no snow.

I went out for my eight mile run today but my body was REALLY not in the mood for it. I’m rather wiped out. Tomorrow should be around 60. Not as much sun. No running.

OK, it is clear no one has a clue how many dates I’ll get this year, so I’ve migrated to a new question. Which primetime show is the best currently on TV? Your choice is limited to things I think are relevant to the question

I’m currently feeling rather stuck in a rut. My wrist is still driving me nuts. I’m sick of our miserable gym here in the village (maybe I’ll rant about their new miserable equipment one of these days). The two degrees of separation of this entire village is killing me. The thought of trying to do taxes this year has me sweating already. The month of January has almost vanished in the blink of an eye. What should I do with my money? When should I take a vacation this year? Where should I go? Should I set any goals for the year? Does a goal have significance?

Oy. I wish my brain had an on/off switch.

I did nothing productive. I played with five software packages I’d never touched before. One (Yojimbo) I might try for the full 30 day trial and then buy. Might become productive for all those “snippets” I’m always dragging around into folders on my HD and then never looking at again. Who knows. The name cracks me up. Yo Jimbo.

The voting on my first poll are a bit divided. Seems equally split between zero (or less) dates this year, and many dates this year. I’ll be sure to keep you posted during the year as results roll in. Speaking of results, I wonder how the Canadian election is going. Since Paul Martin and his wife voted in a place called Richmond, British Columbia I don’t see anything good coming out of that. Richmond…C-Ville…Virginia…no Santa Claus…none of that is good.

I wonder what my next poll question should be…hmm…that will require extensive thought.

Time to sleep. I’m tired.

As the sun went down some rain started coming down. It is supposed to stop in the morning. I really wish it would just rain/drizzle all week. Instead it says sunny and 58 for Tuesday here in the cold days of January. Brrr…I guess I’ll get out for a run that afternoon. I ran Friday afternoon since it was 70.

The weekend bills are paid. Money comes in, money goes out. The week of earning money is getting ready to start. Will anything of consequence happen this week? What causes things of consequence? I’m sleepy. I don’t have much to say. Not even a rant.

Today is so village. It is yet another 70 degree day here in the middle of January. Tomorrow should at least get back down to around 50. Yet another year in which winter clothes never make it out of a box. Kids are EVERYWHERE on the pointlessly historic downtown mall. The other malls are overflowing with rich shoppers. Kids are everywhere. There is nothing of interest to do at all. Kids are everywhere, all talking to others on their cell phones. The ones behind me are planning on going to a local bar for dinner (did I mention there are generally more kids at happy hour than adults). Breeders run rampant around here. There are more every day.

There is nothing to do. I managed to sleep in until 9:30. Then I watched a movie. Then I thought about going to the gym, but with the miserable equipment they have I just didn’t feel up to it. Instead I watched another movie. I then headed out to the coffee shop, but there were so many results running around loose that I decided to just go home and take a nap. Finally I couldn’t take it anymore so here I am at the coffee shop. Breeders and results everywhere. Shoppers. The line to get some java is a typical 20 minute line. I can type while standing in line.

The accent is killing me. If you see the vastly overrated movie Junebug you get a good feeling for the village. Slow, painful, and methodical. Church and children. That is life.

This is the village. Welcome to hell.