The sweet smell of chlorine

After TWO MONTHS out of they gym (most of it spent sitting on couches or lying in beds on both sides of the country), I returned yesterday. The last time I was in the pool, I swam 13 laps. Yesterday, I swam 5. But at least I didn't drown.

I've started a very slow return to working out, as a way to keep healthy, but also in an attempt to begin training for two things: cross country ski lessons in early December (as part of a trip through the University's outdoors programs) and to do a marathon hike next year through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Hike For Discovery program. I'll train through Team-in-Training (beginning in about six months) and hike in some tremendously beautiful place - probably either the Grand Canyon or on Maui - next year at this time.

Unless of course I get sidetracked by some horrible disease. But hopefully, with this much time to prepare, I can learn every method of germ abatement, and use them all. At once. Or maybe I'll just move into a bubble until then.

Again with the bananas

I've chronicled here my occasional run-ins with walking fruit. Again, I've seen bananas distributing their wares near Market St. But this time, they were distributing apples. What's wrong with this world?

I wish I were still in the woods

Yosemite was fabulous, and I'll have good stories and photos later this week. Right now everything aches, I feel like I hiked 40 miles through the mud, and I'm a little tired. Why did I have to come home? And when can I go back?

A super shout out to the newly fulltime employed

My brother has been working for years at an almost-fulltime job with fulltime hours but not fulltime pay or benefits. His situation was looking pretty bleak, as he works for a town that kept passing him over for promotion to fulltime.

Until last night, when the town board FINALLY voted him onto the fulltime job. Now he's got benefits, sick and vacation days, and a real salary. He's probably making more money than I am. But really, I'm just happy that he'll have health insurance in the event that he takes off a limb while operating the chain saw and talking on the phone.

CONGRATULATIONS, Bill!

What do you want those gloves for?

The scene: The North Face outdoors store in Union Square

The lead was shopping for gloves in preparation for her winter-weather camping expedition.

"Excuse me, do you stock any waterproof gloves other than the mountain climbing ones?"

"Yes. The should be over here."

We walk to the display of fleece gloves. Not waterproof.

"Yeah, I looked at these, but I really need waterproof ones."

"Oh, maybe they're over here."

"I looked, and those are only climbing gloves. I'd like ones that aren't so bulky."

"Oh, well try these."

"They're climbing gloves."

"Well, what do you want these gloves for?"

"To keep my hands warm in the rain and snow."

I've picked the perfect weekend to camp in Yosemite

This, from the National Weather Service:

MUCH COOLER WITH RAIN...MOUNTAIN SNOW...AND WIND WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR.

THE FIRST PACIFIC WEATHER SYSTEM OF THE SEASON IS TAKING SHAPE OVER BRITISH COLUMBIA AND IT IS FORECAST TO MOVE INTO THE CENTRALC ALIFORNIA INTERIOR BEGINNING LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND LINGER INTO THE WEEKEND.

THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING THE THREAT OF PRECIPITATION TO MUCH OF THE REGION AND MANY LOCATIONS SHOULD RECEIVE THE FIRST RAIN OR SNOW SINCE LAST SPRING. FORECAST MODELS HAVE COME INTO MUCH BETTER AGREEMENT IN PROJECTING THAT THE CANADIAN LOW WILL DROP SOUTHWARD INTO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA BY LATE WEDNESDAY...REACHING CENTRAL CALIFORNIA BY MID-DAY ON THURSDAY. THE THREAT OF RAIN AND HIGH MOUNTAIN SNOW WILL BEGIN LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT OVER THE SIERRA NEVADA AND OVER MERCED COUNTY... THEN AS THE LOW MOVES SOUTHWARD TOWARDS POINT CONCEPTION ON THURSDAY...

A MORE WIDESPREAD THREAT OF RAIN SHOWERS AND EVEN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR. THE LOW IS THEN FORECAST TO LINGER NEAR POINT CONCEPTION FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT AND THIS WILL SHIFT THE THREAT OF PRECIPITATION SOUTHWARD INTO THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS...AS WELL AS THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA. ON THE SOUTH FACING SLOPES OF THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS...LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN WILL BE POSSIBLE FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT. THIS STORM SYSTEM HAS PLENTY OF COLD AIR TO WORK WITH AND TEMPERATURES WILL BE MUCH COLDER OVER THE ENTIRE AREA. HIGH TEMPERATURES ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WILL BE AS MUCH AS 20 DEGREES LOWER THAN TODAY AND SNOW IS POSSIBLE IN THE MOUNTAINS ABOVE 6500 FEET. AS THE COLDER AIR ARRIVES...WINDS WILL BE ON THE INCREASE AND VERY WINDY CONDITIONS ARE LIKELY OVER THE SIERRA CREST...THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY.

ALTHOUGH THE CALENDAR SAYS LATE SEPTEMBER...HIKERS...CAMPERS AND OTHER OUTDOOR ENTHUSIASTS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR WINTER-LIKE CONDITIONS AND PREPARE ACCORDINGLY.

The crack brownies

This is for Meg, and courtesy of Sarah. If she shared these brownies with you, you'd have to be her friend too.

Ingredients
3 sticks of margarine
4 eggs
16 ozs (one can) Hershey's chocolate syrup
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. peppermint extract
green food coloring (or the color of your choice, depending on the occasion)
6 ozs. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. BROWNIES: Mix one stick of margarine (melted is easiest) with eggs, Hershey's syrup, flour, baking powder. Pour batter into a greased and floured brownie pan, and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for about 10 minutes, and then refrigerate until completely cooled.

3. FROSTING: Mix one melted stick of margarine with powdered sugar, milk, peppermint extract, and green food coloring (to your liking). When brownies are cooled, cover with frosting and return to refrigerator.

4. FINAL LAYER: Melt chocolate chips with final stick of margarine (either in the microwave or on the stove) and pour over chilled and frosted brownies. (Note from Clair: my experience has been that slightly cooled chocolate is easier to work with, and prevents it from running all over your counter.) Even out the layer with a spatula and then refrigerate until layer is solid.

Enjoy!

The triumphant return of productivity

After six weeks of slogging painfully through the easiest tasks; after not being able to fully function in my job; and after leaving work each day frustrated and stressed out and really, really tired, I've finally been able to get back on track.

Things are getting done, my desk is no longer stacked with papers, and I'm feeling like I've accomplished things at the end of the day. I'm making progress on long-term projects as well as the daily stuff. Horray for the triumphant return of productivity!

I have no desire to make this an adventures in (not) dating blog

MM raised an interesting point in her most recent comment about my lack of posting on the potential fix ups. She's right, it's something I haven't been writing about. I'm not to interested in either of the potential dates, but more than that, I'd rather keep this from becoming a forum for the date obssessed. Because I'm not.

While it would be nice to get out more and meet people (as I'm currently hemmoraging friends, and I am truly thankful to the families and properties that are holding the remaining ones here), I'm also only just in the past few days starting to feel better, after six of the most miserable weeks I've ever endured. It still takes lots of energy to walk up the hills, and the thought of having to smile, go out, and be "on" with people I don't know makes me want to crawl into bed and hide under the covers.

That said, if anybody knows anyone in the 30-35 range who's employed, doesn't do drugs, and lives in my area code, I could be pursuaded to go out for a cup of coffee.

More dating pearls of wisdom

You've read about the importance of the pen in all dating-related ventures (and if you haven't yet, it's from a few weeks ago and somewhere below), but here's another wise thought to keep in mind:

If you're trying to set up a friend, make sure the person you're trying to set up him/her with actually intends upon remaining in the country. It's bad news to try to set up a couple when one half hopes to get a job transfer to Dubai.

Nobody looked twice

I took the bus to Sports Basement yesterday. It's about a half-mile walk from the bus stop in the Presidio to the biggest sporting goods store I've ever seen. It fills the former PX in the Presidio. I went for a new camping pack, and, after about an hour of trying on different models, I found one.

I paid for it, left the store, put my bag into the pack, strapped it to my back, and walked back to the bus stop. WEARING A BIG CAMPING PACK. Through a large national park. And nobody looked twice.

I love San Francisco!

It's a party

A friend celebrated her 28th birthday with a house party last night. I was one of only a few outsiders at a party of people who've known each other since college. The beauty of my outsider status was the ability to ask, "how do you know the host?" and learn lots of interesting things about my friend.

And the birthday girl's roommate made a kick ass chocolate kaluah bunt cake. It was aweseome, and I'm working on tracking down the recipe. You've got to love a party where the hostess sends guests home with extra birthday cake.

Home sweet home, alternately titled Struck down with Shingles

Ah, home. Where there's always someone to make chicken soup. Or chips and onion dip, but the principle's the same. We've had an enjoyable but lazy family weekend, where we watched lots of baseball games and tennis matches while snacking on chips, veggies, and dip.

The weekend was made all the lazier by my recent attack of shingles. You remember that rash on my leg? The really uncomfortable one that by Friday made walking difficult? Yup, shingles, which necessitated at Saturday morning trip to the doctor. You'll note that I've now set a record 5 trips to the doctor this month. This one, at a clinic opposite the Yonkers Raceway, was pretty cool, because my dad and I could watch the horses preparing for the Saturday afternoon races while we waited to see the doctor.

Now I've got good drugs, my neck no longer hurts (totally a symptom of the shingles), the rash is slowly going away, and I fly home on Tuesday, only a day later than originally planned. And I wasn't at any time contagious, thankfully. But hopefully, this is the last time my immune system will revolt for awhile.