Candyland

I am a candyaholic. I can't help myself. I love it. If I can see it, I'm eating it. If I know where I can find some, I go back for more and more. The only way for me not to eat candy is to simply not have any access to it. Last week at work the admin came around with a giant box of assorted candy and snacks. She plops it down next to my desk and says, "here you go", and she walks off. I quickly call her back and ask what I'm supposed to do with it. She tells me to put it in my desk, it's for the team. I try to get her to take it. I try to get one of my peers to take it and hold it with their stash. No one will. I reluctantly cleared out a drawer and filled it up. Since this time it's been terrible. I can't stay out of the drawer. I've tried locking it. But that doesn't work because I need the files in the top drawer and the lock locks or unlocks both drawers. I've tried forgetting about it. This works for a few hours. But not long enough. I've tried eating something else when I think about getting into the drawer. This only works until I've finished eating what I got from the cafeteria and then I reason it's ok to have a little something. I've practically begged others to help me out and take my stash. But they just laugh at me.
Well last night I think all the sugar has gone to my subconscious. I had a very odd dream. I don't remember it exactly. But what I do remember is that there was a cake. A big 7 layer Napoleon cake. There really is no such thing as a 7 layer Napoleon cake. This is something that only exists in my dream. And by 7 layers, it's not 7 layers of cake, but icing! One layer of yellow cake, then a chocolate/strawberry/chocolate layers of icing, another yellow cake, another chocolate/strawberry/chocolate, yellow and then the outside is all chocolate.
Besides making up this imaginary cake. I was also fighting over this cake with my mom. I don't know why, but it was her cake and I wanted it. Which is also odd, because I don't even like chocolate icing. I woke up feeling oddly upset at the loss of my cake. I think I need help.

Falling Leaves

Today was such a beautiful day for this time in November. Who could ask for better weather. 68 degrees! That's crazy talk. Thursday's are normally a rest day for me. As I drove home though I decided it was just too nice not to go out and do something. So I figured I'd run just a little. Not long, but enough to say I got out and did something. I made it home, got out of the car and turned my knee oddly and it kinked and hurt. So I decided I'd go for a little ride instead. It'd be easier on my knee as it wasn't quickly working itself out. I got dressed headed out just to ride a little trail by my house.
I turned off the road into the trail and it seemed nice enough. Hit the first hill and it was very heavily leaf covered. No problem, just be careful because I can't see what's underneath. I'm slipping and sliding around. Finally I realize there's a very wet under layer under the leaves and I'm just kinda gliding along the top. Some sections were just down right soupy. So I cut out as soon as I could and decided to head out on the road. No biggie.
I'm dirty now, no reason to head home just yet. So instead of making a right for home, I take a left and head down a small back road. I pass a sign that says "Road Closed". I see a giant tree down over the road and figure that must be why, so I just hop off climb over the tree and proceed on. Now the road is very heavily leaf covered. As I go around this hard 180 turn in the road I'm looking up ahead to make sure there isn't another reason the road is closed, (like a bridge being out), then wham! I'm on the ground. I didn't even know what happened until I was sliding along the pavement. And yes, since it was nice out, I had shorts on. So I get up, brush myself off and notice there was a big stick under the leaves I had hit and took my front wheel out. Nice. Now I'm all skinned up so I decide I'm not following with the closed road anymore and head back. On the way back home I get two bugs in the same eye. Yikes! I obviously was meant to take today off.
However in hind sight, it may not be the riding. I may just be having that sort of day. Earlier in the day I had gotten a papercut on my thumb, shortly there after I was in the cafeteria at work and got my bagel stuck in one of those toaster turning machines and started a small fire and burnt the same thumb trying to reach in and unjam the bagel. Mmmmm...
Luckily today is almost over and I can start fresh again tomorrow.

Country Road

I'm working a really early schedule at work now. It's a little rough getting up in the morning. But the afternoons are totally making it worth it. I was thinking about this this afternoon as I rode through the backroads somewhat near my house. I say somewhat cause I took a new loop today. I had plenty of day light so I figured I'd experiment a little. I don't know why I ever think that's a good idea, but today I did. I took off and I was a little cold, but I figured I'd warm up once I hit the first few hills. Yup, didn't happen. So I'm hoofing along, trying to get warm, but also enjoying the day. At the beginning of the ride the sun was out and I could smell the smell of fall as I passed the farms. I don't know what that is. Maybe a mix of rotting cow shit and hay that's been harvested; but for some reason it smells good. So I'm ridding along and it's a little chilly, but over all a beautiful fall afternoon so I decided to take a new turn.
Well, the new turn ended up taking me a whole lot of new turns until I had no clue where I was. The sun was gone and a thick grey sky lay overhead. The wind picked up and the temperature must have dropped about 10 degrees. I was lost, and freezing, my toes were going numb and by now had to pee. Great. I thought about calling Marc, as I did have my phone with me. But I felt that would be like admitting defeat. So I kept at it. I wasn't really totally lost. I was on a loop that was marked. The problem was it's marked for a 25, 50, and 100k. And somehow I got on the wrong one and it was taking me very far away from home. I figured if I just followed it long enough that it would lead me back to a road I knew and then I could cut back home. The only problem was I was absolutely freezing and my feet were almost completely numb, making it very hard to climb. But I didn't give up, I plugged on and eventually it finally linked to a road I knew and I made my way home. I was very cold, feet very numb, and bladder about to burst. But I did it. I hadn't given up and I found my way on my own and had a really good ride.

Mmmm Cookies...

This past weekend was great. We did not go to a race, hell we barely road. It was just a nice relaxing weekend. I need those every once in a while. I ran around a little bit. But for the most part it was quiet.
Went out with some friends Friday night and Marc drank too much. I can always tell when he drinks too much cause he starts talking to all the people down Main St as we drive home. This time was particularly interesting as he's talking to them, but hadn't realized that the window was back up. So they could see him, but not hear him. That made for far less retorts, which was good.
Saturday was freezing by my standards, but I managed to get a ride in. Some kids showed up part of the way into my ride to have flag football practice on one of the fields I ride on. No biggie. There weren't that many kids and they were only using part of the field, so I just rode down the side (further away from the sideline) as not to be in there way. However the parents were still asses. I wasn't anywhere near interrupting the practice or bothering the kids and they ran screaming from one line to the other. Why screaming is a necessary part of practice I do not know. But they did this several times. Anyway, there 7 or so parents that were there just hanging out. They stood on the one corner I was cutting through and actually looked irritated as I came by. I slowed a ton so as to not startle them and passed carefully. But they still glared. Mmm, I was there first, I moved my loop as to stay completely out of the way, and yet they felt the need to give me nasty stares as I came by. I guess I was interrupting their conversation.
Sunday I decided to bake cookies. I've never baked cookies before. I've helped my mom back in the day. But never actually made them myself. So I decided to make some Tollhouse cookies. Just the recipe off the bag, but hey that's still from scratch. They turned out good, mmmm.