And a Weekend was Completed...
(
Note: 
This post is too log to edit. So I'm just going to submit it and edit it later when I reread it).
Friday
I kicked off the weekend by trekking up to the Podcast Den of 
@seanrunnette where I delivered the v1 of the Rocker Plate. We also had some espresso and recorded a podcast. You can get that here: 
Episode 21. I think this is a solid podcast in terms of absolutely, positively, not staying on topic but I feel like we talked about a metric fuck ton of interesting things. When it comes down to it, a lot of what people do stands as an excuse to get together. Really this is a reason for us to get together. Either Sean is an actor, or we really hit it off well and have a...wait. Wait a second. Just wait a second right there.
Am I living a lie?
Haha, 6-4 my ass.
The snow was coming down while I was there, but really did not think anything about it. The forecast really hadn't been dire and I wasn't paying too much attention. I didn't think it was going to amount to much. When I left just before noon, it was mostly sky slush. I took a quick detour to Denville Dairy to grab some ice cream while I was in the neighborhood. This will serve as my next excuse to head up and talk to Sean on tape again, assuming I'm invited back. I also got the last issue of The Atlantic from Sean since 
@MissJR hasn't delivered on this mountain of issues she said she has.
As you can see, no accumulation. I was told at this point there was already 6" in Sparta.
So I went home and did some nominal amount of work. I was pretty much waiting for the 2:00 GO/NOGO call to be official. We got on the call and the assholes from the North Star state just made up a bunch of nonsense as to why they're not going live. So in the end, the PM on their team asks each person if they vote Go or No Go. Around the room they go, one by one, recording the votes. Everyone says No Go. Then they get to me.
"Well if you're asking me my opinion, then I think we should go." I was outvoted, 11-1. Not even our own PM voted for us.
Then I rode Zwift for 2 hours while the 2 older kids played on their iPads before we dropped them off for the weekend.
Finally we went to see 
@Dominos & 
@Delish to celebrate Duke's 74-64 victory over UNC that would happen the following night. Since I have been reading the Harry Potter series, I have taken up Telemancy and can see the future. I will say that having both Duke & UNC in the top 10 makes it feel like things are right in the world. Having Xavier be 3rd is kinda wrong. Anyway, I bought cake and cake balls too. I bought a lot of dessert on this day. I did not bring the ice cream. That's for me.
Saturday
Saturday morning I was forced to pull the plug on the Sunday race. I was ambivalent about it, because I really wanted to see the race go off but really didn't want to run a total shit show. With the addition of 60 kids, this means we need to be damn sure this is the right decision. And with every shred of evidence pointing against holding the race, we were forced to cancel. And so it was. I do not want to think about the coming snow this week.
We went to the gym where I held 140 watts steady and listened to Kim the Screaming Banshee yell at everyone to go harder. This was D's first biking in 2 weeks and while it was a decent ride for her, she definitely blew out some serious phlegm at the end. This will be her getting back on the horse and the first of 4 rides in a row. This cold/flu has been an absolute shock to our household the past 3+ weeks. I think we are finally over it, more or less.
After a quick trip to Costco then a detour at Chinese school to restock some food from the scallion pancake vendor, we went home and did nothing for 5 hours. By nothing I mean I read the paper and D did crosswords and we talked. I also booked my Chicago trip for next week. Then 
@Glenn Rides After 4 PM CST came over to disrobe in our hallway. Here he is with all his clothes on:
We watched part of Pulp Fiction after that. We had a little bit of time and it was on. It's a great movie and I think that no matter how many times it comes on it's so easy to watch that you get sucked into it with ease. I think Uma may be one of my favorite actresses of all time. Loved her in this as well as both Kill Bills. It really sucks that she was in the situation she was with Tarantino, and it does take something away from everything, at least for me. Having said that, Annie Hall is a great movie and I am somewhat conflicted about what I think about that. Maybe Sean & I can talk about it on our next podcast, 
Episode 22: The Greatest Derailment Yet.
That night we went to the 
Chester Theater Group to see 
Seminar. From the website:
	
	
		
		
			In Seminar, a provocative comedy from Pulitzer Prize nominee Theresa Rebeck, four aspiring young novelists sign up for private writing classes with Leonard, an international literary figure. The story begins with Kate, a well-to-do Upper West-Sider with a fancy apartment who arranges the seminar for herself and three friends. Leonard’s unorthodox teaching style soon pits the classmates against each other: some of them flourish under his version of tough love, while others flounder with self-doubt. The wordplay is not the only thing that turns vicious as innocence collides with experience in this biting Broadway comedy.
		
		
	 
We really both enjoyed this. I especially like how passionate these actors are, given that this is undoubtedly just a hobby for them. They did a great job. We both love this theater and the productions. The stage is in the middle of the seats, which Sean says is tough to do as there is really nowhere to hide. Yeah, we talked about everything on Friday.
I will say that this play made me want to write something for publication. Though I guess that means I didn't really take the play's message to heart.
Sunday
On Sunday morning I rode Zwift for 3:15, an all-time high. Don't ask me how, I just can. I also am rocker-free right now and for better or worse, I do not actually miss it.
On the ride today I listened to 4 things...
- Malcolm Gladwell, on racism. I hated this one. First one was great, on this one I agree with @1speed.
- The Breeders radio, on the suggestion by @pooriggy. After Cannonball, this didn't do it for me. I see that The Breeders have a new album which is interesting.
- 102.7 WEQX. Just not "on" today.
- WFUV. Finally after 4, this filled the tank for me. It's good to have options.
D had gone to the gym for spin then yoga. I got on the bike when she left, and got off 5 minutes before she got home. This worked out well. We went shopping in the early afternoon then spent more time doing nothing-ish. I cleaned up the kitchen and D built a fire. Stereotype reversal day. I then painted my nails and D chopped wood.
We then watched Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. I don't know what I think about this. It touches on a ton of subjects, and for the most part I liked it. It does bring to mind something that was said in the play last night, that "Life is complicated." I don't know if I always believe that, but in this case it's true. The screenplay was great at times and lacking at others. I think sometimes the timing was off but I am saying this after having finished a short while ago. I'll read some of the commentary tomorrow. Then Sean and I can talk about it when I run out of Denville Dairy ice cream.
Now we are watching Murder on the Orient Express. I guess it's movie weekend. This isn't circularly & morally complex like 3 Billboards is. This one is just a "sit back and enjoy" kinda movie. I'm not gonna wait until the end of this movie to submit this blog. I think Sunday night I get poetic license to submit before bed, because you all have plenty to occupy you Monday morning.
Training
I guess I am 
this close to saying that I am working towards something but right now, I do not know what. What I do know is that I will probably be training in some form this year. So I am not going to carry the bulk of this blog with training crap. I will add it to the end where it is warranted. I said it in another thread but I'll repeat it here. The plan for March is "ride the F out of bike(s)". At this point I have Chicago/Seattle/Florida on the map for March. So there's going to be a lot of "all in" then "all paused" this month. I don't think the trips will be too detrimental to getting a lot of hours in the saddle.
But the focus right now will be many hours, which will hopefully turn into dropped pounds. That's what I have on tap for March. Then Spring Break in Florida will be a break and I'll see where things stand in April.