Juggle, Juggle, Juggle...

Work, run, work, run, squeeze in a little life, run, work, work, work, a tiny bit more life, juggle, juggle, juggle! Where do I start... The preceding should be read in one long breath, with not much pause for puncuation and then you will have a reasonable facsimile of my life in the past ten days! And of course now this f*****g Blog thing isn't working properly and AOL, which wants to CHARGE people for e-mail on top of already being one of the most expensive, and unreliable f*****G internet providers on the face of the planet has been crashing all morning, take a deep breath, another loud expletive... and more profanity... And of course now I can't make f*****g paragraphs. F**k it. Reminds me of John Le Carre and the Moscow Rules, a pivotal one of which is: technology will always fail, usually at the most crucial and inopportune moment... Anyways, after my little episode of asthma, I climbed back on the horse the next day and ran a very easy 50 minute 10K. But immediately after my asthma attack, I went to a charity event, Red Ruby, being held for Dr. Peter's House http://www.drpeter.org/index.htm and got to take in some Burlesque - what a sacrifice on my aprt - and to see an Art Show. A friend of mine, Niina (no, I don't know what the two ii-s are all about) Chebry was exhibiting and I felt a certain social obligation to go. I love Niina's work and I have commissioned a set inspired in part by Picasso's Minotaur series... So after catching my breath, post-asthma attack, that is... Off I went! So, I paid my twenty bucks to get in... Grinding of teeth, it's a freakin' Charity Event, Vince, pay up you cheap bastard. Got in, but of course didn't have my free drink, my not drinking and all, and took in some pretty fabulous paintings. Niina was showing with another talented young painter, Carmen Larsen. Liked her stuff a lot. Did I mention I was not drinking, watching other people drinking, and finding the watching and not doing very boring. Buy some raffle tickets to fight aforementioned boredom and flirt with pretty raffle-ticket selling girl. Pretty girl says tickets are five bucks, but I get a deal for a volume purchase. Tough to flirt as a cheapstake. Get lured by pretty raffle-selling girl into falling for volume ticket deal. Did I mention I wasn't drinking? Buy five tickets for twenty bucks. I am, after all, saving a small fortune by not drinking. Niina draws a ticket, I win a fabulous painting valued at $1,500. http://niinachebry.com/ Thank you, God. The huge number of gay men in attendance at the event are very appreciative of my exuberant response to my win. My substitute for not drinking. And even more appreciative of my cowboy boots, jeans and embroidered cowboy shirt. The MC lets everyone in attendance know I am very, "Brokeback Mountain, and he wouldn't mind riding me home. I choose to be flattered, as a couple of the Burlesque girls, all winsomely willowy and dewy, all lithe and lean and all young enough to be my daughters, have also comented favorably on my attire. I HATE not being able to have paragraphs. The rest of the week my running goes well. SUNDAY - Steveston Ice-breaker 8K - cold and crisp, no rain for a change, I run a 34:23. Hugh runs a 33:48, and the fast old bastard finishes 300 yards in front of me. Hugh is fifth in his age group, I am fifteenth. I hate THAT as well. http://www.kajaks.org/results/icebreaker2006.htm We tack on 10K at the end. Great crowd of people at the race. Great food and prizes afterwards, a nice community of runners. Tuesday, pouring rain, I mean pouring rain, and Hugh and I do an easy 6k, still recovering from the race on Sunday. Wednesday, I go out and do 10.3K in 46:18, my heart rate rock-steady at 151. Finally feel on top of my form and my feet. Get a very nice e-mail about my Blog. Hi Vince, I found your running blog the other day, and have spent the last two days reading it from the start .. not bad going considering I'm supposed to be working! I just wanted to write and let you know how much I have enjoyed sharing your (ongoing) journey. Your rants have been particularly amusing to behold. It is rare that I burst out laughing at work .. so thanks for that! Your writing style is really excellent and keeps the reader interestedand involved (even in the forensic nitty-gritty HRM analyses which would normally turn me right off). I honestly believe a career in writing awaits you ...ever considered trying to get your blog published ?? or syndicated?? Of course that would mean losing the free web version so maybe I shouldn't suggest it! For what it' s worth I am a 50 year-old with a long term aim of getting a BQ (3.35). I started running a bit less than two years ago, and finished my first marathon in about 3.54 (Loch Ness). I have the next one lined up for April, but don' t really expect to crack Boston this year, we-e-ee-el-lll-ll ...). My training is quite different toyours, but I guess it's "horses for courses". Whatever, I just love running and the lifestyle changes it has brought with it for me, and I hope you get everything you want out of the raceon April 17 and beyond. I will continue to follow your blog with great interest.Best of luck! David. Fan mail! Enough to cheer anyone up. Of course, the writer bit I find a bit amusing, but David makes it even better with a follow-up... Vince, Ad addendum to previous message ...Now I have just read your bio and see you are indeed a writer! Well, there you go! David... Yes, indeed! Now if only there were some Editors and Publishers with the obvious good sense and literary taste that David has!!!!! I haven't met David and already I like him. A good Scotsman obviously. The next day I find out my Boston or Bust Blog has come in second-place in voting for Vancouver's Best Local Blog in the local Westender community newspaper... So I now feel like the Blog has been worthwhile, at least on some level. Artists never really feel worthy unless aknowledge by others. http://westender.com/ ... I get a nice stream of e-mails congratulating me on the Blog. All this while I am busy painting and writing and working and running and fretting and making arrangements for my Father to stay with me during his upcoming cataract surgery. Thursday hills, Friday, a lovely 14K with the UBC Hill thrown in, Sunday, do 28K. There you have it, Folks. Ten days in the life of Vince.