My Cups Runneth Over

Back in the late '80s, Walgreen's (and probably a lot of other stores) used to carry these little travel mugs that are perfect for people who travel a lot -- like me. They're made of malleable plastic, single-wall construction, and come with an adhesive-bottomed base and a lid that has a slight depression with a small hole in it (for sipping). What makes these mugs particularly good for me is that they hold exactly one mug of my hot chocolate (per my personal recipe) and can be put in the microwave. They're also unbreakable. And they only cost 50 cents apiece. Nice.

Not having a whole lot of foresight, I only bought two. (Who would have thought they'd ever stop making them?) When I started doing a lot of travel in the late '90s, I tried to find one to put in my travel kit. No dice. They were buried somewhere in my storage. So I started checking the stores. Still no luck. I think I've check every thrift shop in 17 states. No luck.

Last October, when I was in Albuquerque, my friend Terry helped my tear thru my storage, looking for -- among other things -- one of my mugs. After pulling out about a third of the stuff in there, I finally found one. (Found the rest of the stuff on my list, too.) I've kept that mug very closely guarded ever since.

But I still keep my eyes open for more. I swore that if I ever found any again, I'd buy at least a dozen. Although I'll take what I can get.

This afternoon, I was in the America's Thrift Store up on Lee Highway, looking for another pair of old pants to work out in. (Had to throw the other pair out; they were shot.) On a lark, I made a swing thru the whole place, just to see what they had. Over with all the dishes, guess what I found? They only had one, but I had a death grip on that thing until I paid for it walked out the store with it.

Now, if I could just find a few more.....

Honeysuckle Rows

The place where I'm staying has some pretty good landscaping, even if the parking spaces are somewhat inadequate. A couple of weeks ago, I stepped outside in the cool of the evening and got a noseful of a fragrance I didn't recognize. It seemed to be coming from a rather large shrub with borad, dark green leaves and small white flowers. Didn't look like anything I'd ever seen before.

Last Saturday, I finally thought to ask the manager what those bushes are. He didn't know, but said he'd ask around. This afternoon, I stopped by the office to see if he had found out. Nope. But he said his assistant might. Sure enough, she knew. Turns out, they're myrtle trees(?). (Funny-looking "tree", if you ask me.) Cool. Now I know what to use for landscaping when I finally find my house.

During the conversation, though, I related the story of a guy I know here in Chattanooga who's originally from Utah. When he first arrived here and had a house built, he noticed this rather odd by pleasant fragrance, but couldn't track it down. No one seemed to know what it was. Finally, one day he was at a nursery and asked about it, particularly where he could buy some to plant around the house.

Buy some? You can't buy that stuff, the guy told him. No one sells that. It's a weed -- honeysuckle.

OK, so he's not a botanist. But he knows a good plant when he smells one.

Fitness Update -- August 2005

Starting weight: 220 Target weight: 180

02 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 4.4 miles (with leg weights and 20# vest)
Push-ups: 150
Sit-ups: 150
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 210

04 August
Had to change my routine, due to starting a new job. For the foreseeable future, instead of doing a full work-out three times a week, I'll be doing half of it six times a week.
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 2.2 miles (with leg weights and 20# vest)
Push-ups: 75
Sit-ups: 75
Didn't do the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 210

05 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 2.2 miles (with leg weights and 20# vest)
Push-ups: 75
Sit-ups: 75
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 210

06 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 2.2 miles (with leg weights and 20# vest)
Push-ups: 75
Sit-ups: 75
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 210

07 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 2.2 miles (with leg weights and 20# vest)
Push-ups: 75
Sit-ups: 75
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 210

09 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 2.2 miles (with leg weights and 20# vest)
Push-ups: 75
Sit-ups: 75
Didn't do the isometrics (too tired from re-arranging my storage)
This morning's weight: 210


10 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 2.2 miles (with leg weights and 20# vest)
Push-ups: 75
Sit-ups: 75
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 210

11 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 2.2 miles (with leg weights and 20# vest)
Special Note: My weight vest tore in a couple of spots, so I can't wear it anymore until I get it repaired/replaced. I'm thinking of skipping it altogether, as it doesn't seem to add much. But I might wear it during the rest of the day, while I'm not walking.)
Push-ups: 75
Sit-ups: 75
Didn't do the isometrics (too tired from work)
This morning's weight: 209!

12 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 4.4 miles (with leg weights but no vest)
Push-ups: 150
Sit-ups: 150
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 209

13 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 4.4 miles (with leg weights but no vest)
Push-ups: 150
Sit-ups: 150
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 209

14 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 4.4 miles (with leg weights but no vest)
Push-ups: 150
Sit-ups: 150
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 209

16 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 4.4 miles (with leg weights but no vest)
Push-ups: 150
Sit-ups: 150
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 209 (might be down to 208 tomorrow)

17 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 4.4 miles (with leg weights but no vest)
Push-ups: 150
Sit-ups: 150
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 208!

18 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 4.4 miles (with leg weights but no vest)
Push-ups: 150
Sit-ups: 150
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 207?!?! (How'd I do that?)

19 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 4.4 miles (with leg weights but no vest)
Push-ups: 150
Sit-ups: 150
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 208 (Yeah, I knew yesterday was a fluke).

20 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 4.4 miles (with leg weights but no vest)
Push-ups: 150
Sit-ups: 150
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 208

21 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 4.4 miles (with leg weights but no vest)
Push-ups: 150
Sit-ups: 150
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 207 (OK, maybe it wasn't a fluke.)

23 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 4.4 miles (with leg weights but no vest)
Push-ups: 150
Sit-ups: 150
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 207
(It dawned on me last evening that I'm 1/3 of the way to my goal of 180.)

24 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 4.4 miles (with leg weights but no vest)
Push-ups: 150
Sit-ups: 150
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 206 (Holy maloly! I'm actually making progress!)

25 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 4.4 miles (with leg weights but no vest)
Push-ups: 150
Sit-ups: 150
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 206

26 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 4.4 miles (with leg weights but no vest)
Push-ups: 150
Sit-ups: 150
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 205(!) (How'd I do that?)

27 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 4.4 miles (with leg weights but no vest)
Push-ups: 150
Sit-ups: 150
Didn't do the usual isometrics (got tired and lazy)
This morning's weight: 205

28 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 4.4 miles (with leg weights but no vest)
Push-ups: 150
Sit-ups: 150
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 205

30 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 4.4 miles (with leg weights but no vest)
Push-ups: 150
Sit-ups: 150
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 205

31 August
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 4.4 miles (with leg weights but no vest)
Push-ups: 150
Sit-ups: 150
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 204

01 September
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 4.4 miles (with leg weights but no vest)
Push-ups: 150
Sit-ups: 150
Did the usual isometrics
This morning's weight: 204

Terror On The Subway

When I was living in München, we rode the subway (U-Bahn) everywhere. Not sure how the system compares with cities in the US, but we bought monthly or weekly passes which were good for certain zones that we traveled thru frequently. In order to catch those traveling without a pass or ticket, there were "Controllers" who rode at random and -- after the doors closed and everyone was captive -- would go thru the car and check everyone.

One afternoon, my companion and I got on the U-Bahn to travel a couple of stations. Since we weren't traveling far, we didn't even bother sitting down. As the doors closed, we both unconsciously reached into our inner jacket pockets for our appointment books, to synchronize. About a half-dozen Turks looked like they wanted to jump out the window. They thought we were Controllers! It was hysterical.

After that, every time we'd ride the bus or U-Bahn, we'd pull the same trick.

Meh... everyone needs a hobby. :-)