theswordsman's Diaryland Diary

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

anniversary

I blew up my lunch. Or maybe it blew up without me. Years ago when he still had a Christmas gift exchange, my sister gave me a wide green glass microwave dish. I used to make perfectly cooked oatmeal with it, but then the microwave was shot, and I did without, and then bought a weak, cheap one that was too small for the dish. It got a fresh life when the food pantry was giving me boxes of various mixes and I decided to try it in the oven. Since then, I've made corn bread, brownies, cakes, heated frozen chicken cordon bleu - all kinds of nice stuff.

Today the plan was to do a box of potatoes au gratin for lunch. It was to be baked or cooked on the stove in a sauce pan. My sauce pan was dirty. I had a (faulty) light bulb flash on above my head. I decided that if the green dish could handle time in a 400 degree oven, it could do 15 minutes on top of the stove with both hands tied behind its back. I mixed the ingredients, brought it to a boil, then turned down the heat and let it simmer with the lid on. Time passed, I moved it off the burner, and stirred the stuck bits off the bottom. I turned my back on it and moved two foot away to the sink to wash a dish to put it in. Two minutes later, something shattered behind me. There were chunks of glass and cheesy potatoes everywhere. I saw one big chunk that looked like the glass had gone liquid and melted. Pieces fell apart as I picked them up. I'm going to miss that dish, as I do without emergency cakes and brownies and things.

You know the actress who starred in Will & Kate the movie? She posted a video Esquire shot of her being sexy at home. I figured she wanted feedback, and knew that she'd get guys saying she's fit, or praising body parts, or using pick-up lines. I told her that, to paraphrase Ben Franklin, her video was proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. He had said something close to that about beer. She seemed to like it. Today I helped a sexy Australian surfer girl who was frustrated by watching the Tour de France with French commentary. I hooked her up, and she thanked me.

Contador's challenges continue. Yesterday they were on narrow, windy roads, and he crashed in a group. He got a different bike, rode a couple of kilometers trying to catch the pack, then his chain or something broke and he crashed and got road rash all over (where skin used to be). Last night he was covered in ice trying to bring down the swelling so he'd get a bit of sleep and be ready for a really long day in the rain today. He had bike trouble again, but stayed up. Saturday they finally head into the mountains, and away from the people who booed and whistled and threw steak and other things at the team vehicles in Vendee.

It feels good to be on some of the supplements again, but I'm bored to death most of the day. Justin broadcasters have really let me down lately, even with their choice of TV show reruns.

Oh! Five years ago today, I finished the monthly balancing of everything, the only challenging part of my job, at noon. It was a hot, sunny Friday, so I decided to give my brain a rest and have lunch at the nice park before coming back to file everything. I got some sun, walked on the grass,saw the giant lily pads and tiny fish, and watched the baby ducks. I headed back toward work, and went up the hilly entrance ramp to the Interstate highway. When I got to the top, I glanced over my shoulder just to see how heavy traffic was going to be later when I needed to merge. There was a big black Nissan Maxima skidding backward and sideways on a direct course to take me out. I was doing maybe 30, it was way faster. My one chance was to outrun it, so I looked ahead with both hands on the wheel, stomping on the gas. For a split second, I thought I made it, but then I heard the impact, and felt the car just started to swerve before I blacked out.

I'll skip the rest, but life was never the same, and that's how I got here. Before the crash, I had a job, and good health insurance. I went to Gold's Gym before dawn four or five mornings a week, did long walks at the Zoo on Saturday mornings, and had finished my first two MBA courses in night school.

I did have a cool idea of how I should rearrange the living room furniture, but after my earlier idea blew up, I decided to put a pin in this one for a day or so.

4:28 p.m. - Thursday, Jul. 07, 2011

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------