For the First Time

I always get a little giddy doing any number of mundane tasks for the first time.  Tasks such as going to the dump, taking hundreds of pounds of aluminum in for recycling, or buying lumber.

These are tasks that are new to me, since my lulled apartment life I lived in Missoula did not require them of me.

Today, I am going to go get propane tanks filled.

Exciting.

Fitness

If I were to compare my personal fitness goals with sauce making, it would lie somewhere on the back burner on a low simmer.  Being essentially the exact same weight for that past decade, my body seems pretty content to never change.  No amount of eating or exercising has ever done my metabolism any great deal of good.

Today, knocking out the sets of pushups and pull-ups I do every morning, I repeated the routine after I was done, doubling my efforts.

To me, I turned the stove up to a 3 from a 2.

Mouth Massage

Yesterday, at the Dentist, I experienced for the first time a phenomenon in my mouth.

They young hygienist who was giving me a cleaning, began to floss my teeth and it felt amazing.  Now I'm not big into everyday flossing, more of an 'as needed' kind of guy.  But the way she massaged each and every tooth with the little fiber felt amazing.  She was truly great at what she does.

Still probably not going to floss everyday, but whenever I do, I shall think back on that day.

Handfuls of Rain

Yesterday evening, after a sunny drive home, the weather decided to try and get nasty.

The wind picked up a little, and a rain storm attempted to get going.

It kind of sounded like someone was throwing handfuls of rain against the windows in lazy intervals.

Ingrown Corn Husk

Early this morning I awoke from a bizarre dream.

I was naked and waiting in line to buy a printer from what appeared to be the locker room for the YMCA.

An itch developed on my palm, and I noticed an ingrown hair smack dab in the middle of my hand.

Pulling at it, it kept growing from my palm until I had about 3 feet of long coarse hair dangling.

The hair kept getting wider, and started to become a corn cob husk the more I pulled it out.  It eventually came to the 'root,' and was about an inch wide at this point.  I dug at my hand until I could see the connection point, then proceeded to rip out the growth.  Pain shot through my hand and woke me up.

What in the hell was I doing printer shopping in the nude in a locker room?

My hand felt odd as I sipped my morning coffee.

Impending Independence

Even though it is not yet April, I found myself thinking of fireworks, and the impending holiday that is our nation's anniversary of independence.  Scrolling through my archive of photos, I found one that captures a bottle rocket (one of hundreds fired that year) mid flight.

Holes

I have two different holes in each thigh of a pair of insulated pants.

One was caused by a rogue nail that caught me as I slimmed my way through an old wall and a pallet of wine.

The other, was eaten into the pants by battery acid introduced by leaning over the cluster of terminals for a forklift.

These two holes have been there for a while, and I'm just now realizing that with them being insulated (and as such sealed at the ankles) they have been slowly filling up with debris.

I fear, in time, these pants may grow too heavy to wear.

Untouched

Yesterday, I went into work with my boss to work on a training manual for our warehouse.

After a few hours, his neighbor showed up and we gave him a tour of our very interesting building.

We went into some difficult to access and essentially untouched rooms that are a creepy snapshot of a time forgotten.

Here are two photos I captured, one of an ancient electical device and another of a pigeon skeleton.

Midnight Train

Driving home over the East Helena viaduct in the late hours last night, I was accompanied by no traffic and a long dark train.  We were travelling roughly the same speed.

The absence of street lights held the train in the darkness of midnight for what seemed forever both in front of and behind me, on the tracks off to my right.

I thought of industry and tranquility, two things I don't normally associate.

When we reached the lights of my humble city, the train blasted its shrill horn through the night, and the peace was over.

Flowers

I've never been much of a flower guy, but I must admit I do enjoy the pretty flowers my wife displays throughout the house.

These ones are still awaiting their instinctive call to open up.

VinLiner

Yesterday's blog was rudely interrupted by work emergencies and St. Patrick's Day shenanigans.

A sealed shipping container full of exotic wines finally made its way to our warehouse after weeks of sitting in the Pacific due to the longshoreman strikes.  Hacksawing all the locking mechanisms to get the container unsealed was somewhat of a delight, something reminiscent of unsealing an ancient tomb perhaps.  Once inside, we were greeted by an aluminum covered tarp completely encapsulating the contents within.  I had a thought of Russian dolls, bypassing seal after seal.

It seemed such a shame to cut open the tarp, which resembled a gigantic space blanket of sorts.  Once the wine was unloaded, I went to put the now destroyed silvery mess back into the container.

"That's yours too..." the grizzled truck driver informed me.

Now, sitting in an unused corner of the warehouse, we have a few hundred square feet of tattered transoceanic insulation.

I found a logo informing me that it was made by a company called 'VinLiner.'

I shall attempt to contact this company to see if there are any potential recycling options for said tarp.  Seems a shame to simply send to the dump.

I Do Not

Some people weigh 300 pounds and wear shorts and flip flops all year long.

I do not.

Of Mitch and Scotch

Tapping my pen against my newly acquired notepad late last night, I pondered what to write about.

I got to thinking about my blog, which turned my brain towards you, Mitch Hegman.  I very much associate blogs and Mitch.

Then, thinking of Mitch I naturally thought of scotch, and how I currently don't have any scotch.  Nothing smoky, nothing peaty, nothing smooth and delicious.

I need to buy some scotch.

This is me, thinking out loud.

The Photo Says It All

Can't Remember

Yesterday, while doing something (what, I cannot remember), a thought came to me and I decided it would make a wonderful entry into my blog.

This morning, when I pressed my mind to it, whatever wonderful little thought I had was nowhere to be found.  This is not the first time that this has happened, and every time it does, I decide that I should carry around a little notepad so that I can jot down ideas.

Have I ever remembered to buy and carry a little notepad?  No.

Two vs Too

It's been nearly two months since I've written in my blog.

That's too long.

It's creeping on two years since we've moved to Helena.

Is that too long to still be living with my dad?

In less than two years I will be 30.

Am I getting too old to behave like I do?

Self Destruct

A younger guy I work with was complaining of back pains, and after getting it looked at got some terrible news.  His spine has apperently been fusing to his hip for no good reason for most of his life.  This could be extremely debilitating to anything he does in life, as both a seasonal firefighter and a warehouse worker.  If he undergoes surgery he may never be the same.

It truly strikes me in the heart when people's bodies so unfairly self destruct like this.

Plumbing for Amateurs

Yesterday I installed a new kitchen faucet into our home.  Though not a very challenging project, it was not without moments of frustration.  The layout under the sink was very confining and difficult to access.

Between that, and assisiting our plumber Raymond fix our gurgling heater the weak prior, I am appointing myself the local apprentice plumber.

Next I shall attempt to redo the calk around the exterior of our jaccuzzi tub, and perhaps one day move onto doors and windows to become the 'apprentice of all trades.'

So Much for the Rebound

Turns out I have had Pneumonia the past several days.

One sick day turned into three.

A young Randy would have enjoyed time off to play video games and drink 7-Up.  Current Randy is ready to get back to work.

Rebound

After having been mostly incapacitated with a terrible cold since Saturday, I feel as if I'm on the rebound.  I had to take a sick day on Monday, which doesn't happen but once every couple of years.  I watched Braveheart from a 'sick nest' of blankets and medicine on my futon 3 times in three days.

You may take my health, but you can never take my freedom!

Sushi

I had sushi for the second time in my life at Suki Cafe in Helena last night.  I couldn't tell you exactly what I ordered, but as I fumbled it into my mouth with awkward chopstick skills I certainly enjoyed it.

Some unfiltered sake washed it down, as well as a Canadian brewed Japanese beer.

The whole experience felt very cultural, if not culturally my own,

Snow Soup

Yesterday's warmish weather and persistent rain had an odd effect on the snow piled up everywhere.

The top layer froze into a crunchy sheet over the soft powder below.  It reminded me of a bowl of tomato soup left on the table for an afternoon.

Ache

Today I awake with a terrible stomach ache.  Currently, the thought of scraping all the weekend snow off my car and going into a 15 hour work day isn't sitting very well...