The Best Laid Plans...

Our holiday weekend was interesting in a very non-traditional way. I spent most of the day Saturday either steam cleaning the carpets or napping trying to fight off what felt like sinus or flu problems. Sunday was more of the same until Matt returned from Florida in the evening. I heard from a few of his fellow travelers that he was a "treat" to be around. Evidentially, he made a declaration that he was not going to shower for the entire trip and that shocked a few of them. Now, I know that he was just joking and trying to get a reaction since he pulls this kind of stuff all the time with me, but these folks seemed to take him seriously at first. Oh well, he took regular showers each day and even got a rain bath one night. By the time he got home and Goliath jumped all over him, I could tell he was wiped out. Good thing he had Monday off. I, on the other hand did not.

Monday started just like any other work day with me going in early to get my run and weight training taken care of before I head up to my office. On this day, getting into the building was a challenge since a fire broke out around 6:30 in the morning. A group of us stood outside for an hour before we decided to have a late breakfast. My work day which normally begins at 7:00 did not start until close to 10:00. Even then, things were crazy since the smell of smoke was still lingering in the atrium and hallways. We lasted until 1:00 and then took off for the rest of the day with some headaches and sinus problems. Today, the smell is all but gone, unless you go down the stairs close to the source of the fire. Unfortunately, people that have their desks located in that area have to work in one of our other buildings for a few weeks until the damage is repaired.

Matt and I went swimming Monday afternoon, and I never realized how hard it can be when you actually do it the right way. I always swim laps by using the backstroke so I don't have to constantly move my head in and out of the water, but today I thought I would try a front crawl. After two laps I was huffing and puffing and had to ask for a technique lesson from my resident expert. Matt walked me through the 5 stages to get to a full crawl and I got through the first 3 without too many problems. I will need to get some goggles and wear a swim cap if I want to try the 4th stage again. What a mess and my eyes were burning.

Tuesday morning we had planned to go on a long bike ride at one of the local trails, but the rain was constant so we stay in and cleaned furniture and the bathrooms. We then decided to go to a movie and have some lunch. Lunch ran longer than we thought and we decided to not rush the food and skip the movie. During lunch, I was witness to one of the most disturbing sporting events I had ever seen: Nathan's Famous July Fourth International Hot Dog Eating Contest on ESPN. I do not eat hot dogs EVER and to see people cramming them into their mouths for 12 minutes was unreal. I think the winner ate almost 54 hot dogs. That's right, 54 hot dogs in 12 minutes. Next time to have a cookout and grab a dog, see how long it takes you to consume it at a normal pace. And believe it or not, these people are pros. There is an entire organization called the International Federation of Competitive Eating. There are international rankings and various disciplines for competition including ice cream, pies, pizza, ribs, and even corned beef and cabbage. The fact that no one threw up during the contest amazed me. Of course they would be disqualified. Watching it was like looking at an accident. You know you should just move on, but you are compelled to witness the spectacle.

Anyway, we returned home for some more lazy time since the rain was not going away and continued to witness disturbing and bizarre America by watching the Dirty Jobs marathon on the Discovery Channel. This is one of our favorites. If you have never seen it, check it out. The host participates in 1-3 real jobs per episode, and it just amazes me what people do for a living. We got to see him catch, tag, and release sharks for marine studies; artificially inseminate a horse and a pig; but by far the worst to watch was putting on a tar roof. The work looked miserable and something that I am glad that I do not have to do, but I am glad someone knows how. I would not last an hour at some of these. Wow, what a lot of work. I will never complain about shelving serials again.