My Next Race.

For starters, my hard drive is not so fast. I did the movie above with Windows Movie Maker, and the video and music sync up perfectly. Unfortunately, that is not the case once I publish it. So my deepest apologies if this "work" of mine, is not entirely harmonious. Anyway, have fun watching it above, and note that at around the halway point, you will be seeing a lot of me on the video.

It's been over a month now since my last race. With injury after injury this year, it's a wonder that I feel as good as I do. I may be trying too hard, and with the still unusual landscape of running around the Farmingdale, Lindenhurst & Babylon areas, it has taken me longer than normal. Additionally, with the "unbenefit" of my furlough at work this year, I've been forced to take several measures to contend with the lowered salary. Races cost money, so I've been forced to table many races this year.

Thomas Labrecque, TGL, or Run For One, is the next race that I will be running in. Labrecque was a high-paid executive banker at Chase Manhattan Bank, who unfortunately succumbed to lung cancer. This race is run by a lot of bank executives, and despite the sillyness of my banner above, it is an awareness race for this illness. New York Road Runners has many charity races like these, all for good causes.

I've done this race several times, and it's usually a packed house. The weather forecast that day is calling for dry, partly sunny skies in the upper-40s. Barring any calamaties, it should be a good day for racing.

On to other newsbites....I received an email from a publishing agent at Harper & Collins yesterday asking if I would be kind enough to read a new book that is coming out in May, in advance, and review it on this site. I read what the book was about, and it looks very interesting. Who knows, perhaps someday when I finish my own "opus", I may have already established a good repoire with Harper & Collins. Enought so that I may get published myself. Wouldn't that be something? My story has had so many chapters, so many twists to it, that I could undoubtebly make a "Potter" out of it, and release 6 movies. One of those movies ALONE could be about the ultimate love story that I lived between 1982-1985 & 2003-2005.

It's so sad that my vacation is over. They come and go too fast. My next slate of days off will be unpaid ones, and will be during my birthday week in July. At this point, I've had separate interests from my sister, my ex-stepmother and her boyfriend Jim, and my own father and Cristina about coming to stay over during that time. It's going to be tough, without that paycheck, so I have to be extra careful on what I spend between now and then. I've been buying food at .99 cent shops, and thankfully in Long Island, supermarkets seem to be bunched pretty close to one another. That means, that if there is a sale on Chock Full O' Nuts in Pathmark, and 50% off on Perdue Thin-Slice Chicken Cutlets at King Kullen, that I can visit all the places during a "market run" (not to be confused with bull run), without spending much extra on gas.

I had wanted to take my 92-year old grandmother out for mother's day, but again with money being so tight, I will just come over and make her a nice home cooked meal at her house. I think she will enjoy that. I might even bring over my iPhone speakers, and play some Tom Jones for her too. Mother's Day is May 10 and I have no races that day.

The following Saturday is Matthew's Holy Communion. It's amazing that he's already 8 and that Stephanie will be 11 this Sunday.

Overall, life is really good right now. A far cry from 5 years ago. Living in Long Island, I am really looking forward to spending time outdoors, at the beach, etc. etc.