What I Learned from the Irish

Hey folks, I learned a thing or two last night that I wanted to share with my audience. While I learned them in a running related environment, they do not require me to discuss running for you to get the full enjoyment. Here we go...

---

The Grudge

One of the guys in our group had a minor altercation at a local watering hole some 30 odd years ago. He was removed from the building (he recalls it as being entirely unwarranted) for underage drinking (?) and somehow causing a disturbance. The whole scene was a little unclear after all of these years/beers. Whenever he runs with us on Thursdays, we can't go to that restaurant despite the fact that it has changed hands and the wait staff/bartenders are completely different, all because he has boycotted it for life.

Last night (while dining at a different watering hole) we pointed out those facts to him and he still refused, claiming to suffer from Irish Alzheimer's. "Irish Alzheimer's? What's that?" I naively asked. "It's when you get shitty, and in the morning all you can remember is the grudge." He's stuck to that grudge for over 30 years. Them Irish are some stubborn folk.

---

Fill in the Blank

The same gentleman, whose last name shall remain Murphy, was speaking with some of his family who also happened to be at the restaurant in a separate party. As they filed out of their booths (or boothas to Tollbooth Willy), someone claimed "Boy, it's lousy with Murphys in here."

Ha ha, 'lousy with ___' is an hilarious way of saying there's a shitload of them and they're no good. Classic, absolutely classic.

---

My New Toy Arrived

Last night around 5:30 I got my new GPS watch. Unable to use it for my run I was a bit let down, but like the good boy I am I charged it fully before use. After the run/dinner I strapped the heart rate monitor (HRM) chest strap to my strapping chest and headed out onto the front porch to link up with some satellites.

Being the genius I am, I put it way too close to the house and blocked 180 degrees of the night sky. I had to get it close to the porch light so I could see when it was ready, but apparently I should have just gone down by the road and let the street light do the work. Oops.

When I tried to test it out by going around the block I also forgot to start recording. Oops.

Once I realized it wasn't running I fired it up, jogged, walked, skipped and even hustled once to check out its ability to keep up with my varying speeds and heart rates.

Over the course of my 0.2 mile sampling, it was a little off at the beginning and then at the very end where buildings interfered. Having learned not to aquire the satellite lock with 50% of the sky blocked by a house, I have to assume that my subsequent tests will be more accurate. So far I have to say this is one cool toy.

---

Patchwork Pete

In my office, we have four guys whose cube share a common corner. Yesterday afternoon, the four of us decided that the year of the goatee might be over, and the year of the full beard is upon us. Of course, we want to hit the road running so to speak, so we're getting started as of some time yesterday afteroon.

Not only are we all trying to grow beards (some of us are follicly challenged), with the option for only the porn-stache if you don't like beards, but our team will have a name and we each have to come up with nicknames. LB chose "Black Beard", a very creative name. I went with "Patchwork Pete" to reflect certain qualities of my soon-to-be-beard. Danny Badmeat went with "The Old Brawny Man", to reflect his rugged good looks without being confused with the wussbaggery shown by The Brawny Man of late. JO is out of the office today, but I'm sure he'll come up with some stupid Yankees shit. That's just how he rolls.

---

That's it, I'll holler at y'all later.

Over and Out,
Old Coot