Is it just me or are there some dumb mo-fo's out there?

listen people.....I offer a blurb from the web about a potential grocery strike this Saturday.....I assume this grocery union is nation wide..but we hear about it a lot here because there are 3 basic grocery stores in Colorado Springs: King Sooper (Kroger) Albertsons and Safeway.

Now I am no economist ( although I am taking MircoEconomics this semester) ....or really great thinker...but based on the current economic conditions, bank failures, unemployment, housing market, and general piss-poor job market....don't you have to be a pretty stupid mo-fo to actually consider going on strike this Saturday? The stores announced they were taking applications as a stand-by measure...just incase the walk out occurred. Thousands of people lined up to apply for any job. Is it just me or are there some really dumb mo-fo's running loose in this world?

Respectfully submitted
RIbhard

GROCERY WORKERS OK STRIKE UNION SENDS SIGNAL TO CHAINS: EMPLOYEES WILL WALK IF CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS GO BADLY.(Business)


Major Grocery Negotiations Continue
Major grocery negotiations are continuing with Safeway, Albertson’s, and King Soopers/City Market! We are negotiating with these major corporations to ensure workers receive quality and affordable health care, protected pensions, livable wages and safe working conditions. We need your participation to ensure workers have access to services and benefits that will strengthen the middle class and ensure the American dream can be a reality! If you work at one of these companies, please try and attend the negotiations for your company.

"The clock is ticking on grocery contract deadline"- 9News.com

Man this is awesome!

So I ran 20 miles on Sunday and another 5 yesterday. When I sit down for any period of time longer than say 2-3 minutes - my joints seem to freeze up. It takes about 20 steps for my gate to somewhat return to normal. Getting up in the morning is a chore - it reminds me of when Michael J. Fox once said every now and again when he gets up in the morning he forgets he has that illness, until he takes a couple of steps. Same thing (sort of) for me. I forget that everything hurts until I almost fall flat on my face each morning after rolling out of bed. Going up stairs is not a problem really but going down requires both hand rails. Right now I have some weird crook in my right ankle, a quarter size water balloon blister on my left arch, and my quads seem to be miss-firing when I walk. My hips are like a tin-man's that are in desperate need of some oil. My back is a little sore and I've learned the hard way that excessive running can do a number on your intestines and bowels so I also have to squeeze the sphincter muscle while I hobble along. My right shin hurts, as does my left heel. I've learned that during long runs you can drink too much water, or too little - each of which can have dire consequences - swelling of the brain being one of them. How do I know when that happens? my sinuses are a bit stuffed up right now but maybe that's allergies?

The good thing is I only have to run 8 miles tomorrow morning so that will be a nice change of pace.

Man I love this hobby....

Did you know.............

It is interesting that sometimes we miss out on some piece of knowledge along the way. Like I heard this person say they just always thought those street crossing signs that read: "Ped X-ing" were read as Ped ZING. Now that is perfectly understandable to me, because no one ever reads that sign out loud nor have I seen it explained properly in a text book. I am not sure about now, but when I was growing up no one told me the deal on those signs. I wouldn't know one way or the other. I do remember PED from my two years of Latin, meaning foot or something like that.

And I never learned exactly what seasons are what months. Like is summer technically May, June, and July. Or is it June, July, and August? When does "fall" really start? Is it always the same day regardless of where you live? Does it change with time zones or longitude? I hear the weatherperson sometimes say this day or that day is the first day of winter, but I never know if that is correct or just a throw away line. Was this some knowledge we were supposed to learn along the way and retain for future use? Does everyone else know this except me?

I had a kid ask me the other day at school "what number is October?" I looked at him with close encounters of the third kind face and didn't have a clue what he was talking about. I was thinking, Jesus have we started saying a number now instead of the name of the month? Is this some new Google term? Was this on Letterman? Did I misplace this tidbit at my 'things to remember' brain drawer? Then I saw he was filling out a form and wanted "10" for October. So I was on it like a duck on a June bug and told him "TEN"! My brain kicked into gear and I remembered all the months have numbers associated with them in the order they appear in the year. Quickly I reeled off, inside my head, the numbers and months. I knew the number and name perfectly except April, May, July, and August. January , February, and March were as easy as 1, 2, 3. June made sense too because it is middle month and I should have been able to remember July because it is middle month plus one. But August had no special attachment. September was easy because of Rudy Giuliani saying 911 over one million times in the past 4 years., October fell into place because thats when some of my favorite people were born, and November / December were easy because that's at the end of the cycle.

It is interesting to think about the things we don't know and why we don't know them.

Anaphylaxis / Anaphylactic Shock

This weekend I was lucky enough to learnt what Anaphylaxis / or Anaphylactic shock is - the hard way. We had found a nice campsite that was right on the lake. We were planning to spend the weekend camping, boating, swimming, etc., Unfortunately however it seemed that our campsite was overrun with fire ants. Now, I've been bitten by fire ants in the past; a couple times while playing golf, once on a lake, once in my backyard, etc., and while it would swell up, burn, itch, etc., it wasn't 'that' big of a deal. The little bastards can sure pack a punch but it would go away after a couple days.

On Friday however I got about 7 bites at the same time on my foot. I brushed them off, killed a couple and said some colorful words but then went about my business. About 2-3 hours later however I was sleeping in the tent (which had some more ants in there as well) and my entire body started to burn. I woke up my wife and asked if she could see anything on me, ants, spiders, ANYTHING? - I was on FIRE. I then frantically went into our car to use the dome light and still couldn't see anything - but the burning was getting worse my entire body was on fire. I was starting to really freak out because it seemed that whatever had hit me or bit me - was still hitting or biting me so I took off my shirt frantically, then I fully disrobed in the van. I didn't know what to do - I was thinking about jumping in the lake. I wasn't sure if I had poison ivy and needed to wash my hands and my frantic actions were actually spreading the toxin? I just didn't know. Then the welts / hives started to spread and grow very FAST. Within seconds my ENTIRE BODY was covered in hives... under my arms, inside my thighs, legs, my hands were swelling, my ears were burning, and my mouth was starting to tighten up. I needed some immediate medical attention but we were in another town and we had no idea where to go. I was certain however that time was of the essence and I honestly felt like I was losing the battle.

We were driving down the road, and when we'd hit a red light (at 3:00am mind you) we'd ask people in the car next to us for directions. We finally found the hospital / emergency room and the employees there were having a hard time even looking - apparently I looked VERY bad. I was covered in hives and my face looked like I should have been in that "Thriller" video, very blotchy and looked as if death was setting in. When I looked in the bathroom mirror I'd never seen anything like it - my eyes were blood red and my face was indescribable really.

They rushed me to the back and quickly gave me an adrenalin shot (see also Pulp Fiction) as well as an IV with steroids, souped up benadryl and some other meds. The Nurse told me that my body was shutting down in response to the venom. Amazingly, within about 10-15 minutes everything had cleared up at the hives had essentially vanished.

The next day I went to the store and got a bunch of ant killer, spray, powder, etc., and treated our camp site. I had created a 'perimeter' if you will around the fire pit, our tents, tables, etc., and it worked well. I just paid close attention to not stopping or standing still in 'untreated' areas.

I had gone all day without getting bit, and at the end of the day I had decided to sleep in the car since I still wasn't that comfortable with the idea of sleeping outside after what happened the night before. Unfortunately however the car was hot and so I was going to see if my friend would mind if I slept on their boat instead so I walked outside (barefoot) and talked to them for a couple minutes (as they were still out by the camp fire) unfortunately I was standing still on yet another ant hill that I had not treated with ant poison yet and WHAM. They started nailing me again all over my feet. I frantically swatted them off and ran back into my car - where I found that a couple were still on my feet, one was between my toes and they just continuously kept biting. (as I read later they will bite, rotate around, and bite again.) This time however the severe reaction was almost immediate (where it took a few hours the night before). I instantly started to burn up, and hives started breaking out all over my body - but this time it felt much worse. I was wheezing and had hives sprouting up on the back of my neck around my hair line. I immediately rushed to the E.R. again where the same people were working from the night before. One nurse even gave me some grief "What are you doing here again!?" using the tone of a disappointed but caring grandmother. "Order up the usual" I mustered, and so it went again, a strong dose of adrenalin, rapid muscle twitches, a racing heart, followed by an amazing turn-about of events where the allergic reaction quickly subsided - but not without the help of some very strong medications.

I asked the nurse this time what would have happened if say I lived 50 to a 100 years ago or in another country without such advanced medicine and she said "you'd be a gonner - done, no question."

So now I have to carry around with me (at all times) what's called an "Epipen" which is an individual dose needle thing carrying a strong dose of adrenalin - that I'm supposed to stab / jam into my thigh in the event I get bit by another fire-ant (or have someone else stab me in the event I've passed out - comforting).

Unfortunately now, after coming close to death two times, before I put on my shoes I shake them out. Before I put on socks, I shake them out. I also pay attention to the ground a lot more, and I regularly feel like something is crawling on me. The "good thing" however is that I have a nice needle ready to go that I can "Swing and jab" (per instructions) into my leg at a moments notice. The best part was that this epipen thing came with two doses, and a third non-medicinal "practice" needle so that I could "practice" jabbing myself in the thigh.

Other than that we had a great weekend. The weather was just awesome and we told some good campfire stories. The kids had a great time. We all got a bit too much sun, and maybe drank 1 or 2 too many beers - but hey.... life is about the stories right?

Running Man

So I have this GPS watch thing that tracks and reports my pace, distance, etc, I just found a button on there where it will tell me what I've done year to date.

So far this year I've logged the following:

195.3 Miles

26 Hours :20 Minutes : 41 Seconds

31,857 Calories

The best part is.... I don't really like to run

What the!!!!!!

Several weeks ago I had set out on a run.. it was dusk and I was running along this dark winding wooded trail when all of a sudden some massive flying bug of some sort smacked me in my ear (even the bugs are bigger in Texas) … I could hear it BUZZING around and subsequently I was frantically trying to swat it away… and then I noticed it maybe it was STILL IN MY EAR because I could feel this massive structure of some sort in my ear which really freaked me out so I stopped running, leaned over, and frantically tried to dig it out of my ear but it turns out it was just my ear-bud from my ipod headphones.

(See, apparently a bug had in fact hit me in the ear, made a buzzing sound, but then quickly went on its way… however I still thought it was in there … but it was just my ear piece for my ipod)

In closing, I will say, even though it may "sound" like a good idea at the time… don’t take acid before you set off on a run. While you won't read that in any "Runner's World" magazines (A curious omission for sure!) .. I think it's worth mentioning.

Things that make you go hmm.....

Isn’t it ironic?

As we all know, just about everything in life can be looked at a couple different ways. I’ve noticed some things recently that sort of make me scratch my head and wonder.

As everyone may know, Mccain recently mocked Obama as being too much of a “celebrity” and compared him to Brittney Spears and Paris Hilton. However, wasn’t Ronald Reagan actually a celebrity? He was a TV host and President of the Screen Actors Guild right? – And it seems most republicans look at him as if he is the second coming. So I suppose McCain could have compared Obama to Reagan no? unlikely right.

Anyway, I also find it interesting (or ironic) that the most outspoken President against gay marriage in history, has seen more advances under his watch for homosexual protections than any other president. Many people voted for him because of this divisive issue and now gay marriage is more acceptable than ever before – it’s now even legal in a couple states. I’m not judging I’m just saying it sure is ironic.

In addition, the one president who claims to have kept us safe, while claiming that for example John Kerry, Democrats, etc., could not keep us (as) safe was the one president who was actually supposed to be at the wheel during one of the most horrific attacks on our soil in history.... hmmm…

Funny too how we're posturing against Iran, calling them evil, which I won’t discount here .. but it's the USA who signed a "doctrine" whereby we would not hesitate to invade another country 'preemptively' i.e. without provocation if we felt justified. It’s also the USA that leads the world in Nuclear stockpiles. McCain says we need to stop Iran from processing nuclear fuel – while also campaigning himself to create another 40+ nuclear power plants inside the U.S. We fear Iran using a Nuke, but the U.S. remains the only country to have ever used one – and ironically we dropped them on densely populated civilian cities to boot. We’re also the country that spends more on military than the next top 15 countries combined – and we recently manufactured evidence to justify invading another country.... but we need to keep a very close eye on Iran... hmm....

I also find it Ironic that the leader of the biggest evangelical Christian church (Haggard), who had regular access to the White House, turned out to be a homosexual crack head himself.

I’ve also always wondered how one can reconcile being pro-war, but also pro-life - you'll find this a lot on the "religious right" if you will. Can you on one hand say that death in war is just collateral damage so that the survivors can have a better life – when isn’t that also the justification a person might use when considering an abortion?

Things that make you go hmm…one's perception can become their deception.

Genetically Bootylicious

So Wednesday I go to pick up my wedding dress from Ursula's Alterations. Ursula had hemmed the dress - mostly in the front. It is a full length MOG (mother of the groom) number with lots of glitter and a long zipper down the back that won't lay flat when I try the dress on. On my first visit, Ursula had kindly opined in her German accent that this is the result of it being one of those nylon zippers. On my return visit, Ursula's assistant seemed pleased when she saw the dress and hem length until she saw the back zipper and commented "dress too tight here" while tugging at the fabric. This whole episode put me in the mind of an earlier family booty story about Aug being fitted for a tux for Glenn's wedding. The jacket had one of the center flaps at the back hem, and the sales clerk commented: "It will lay flat when you take the wallet out of your back pocket" - to which Aug sadly responded that there was no wallet in his pocket. I called him last night to verify the facts before writing this blog, and he reminded me that at the time Glenn offered, "Tell her 'If you have a spike up front, you might as well drive it with a hammer.' " (Fortunately, my dress comes with a jacket.)

No Sudden Moves

When I was growing up back at Broad Rock, occasionally Gram Records would make an afternoon visit. She would drive her Plymouth Duster from North Kingstown with her annoying chihuahua Taffy (adjective unnecessary?) in tow. After bidding her goodbye at the back door (in response to "Gram is leaving now. Come say good bye."), I would rush into the living room to turn on the tube - as TV was not allowed when company was present. (good rule) Broad Rock had a long narrow driveway, bordered by the house on one side and a chain link fence on the other. This fence was installed by the neighbors to the west after their son Martin began to walk. (That's another story. Suffice it to say the phrase "child ain't right" applied to Martin.) Anyway, Gram was VERY cautious when backing out of the driveway, and it was not a quick exit. I figured my time was better spent warming up the TV than continuing to wave my arm off while she was concentrating on her reverse.

I just wanted to share this picture I found with you. There's no big story here except to relate that I remember one afternoon waving goodbye at the back door and rushing to the living room in the front of the house to turn on Dark Shadows. I was intently enjoying the show for at least 5-10 minutes, it seemed, before a commercial break. Something caught my eye, and, when I looked out the window, Gram was STILL backing the car out of the driveway. (Taffy was in the back window with his paws covering his eyes.)