Phew...I'm glad it's Friday.

Been a weird week, albeit productive in ancillary sorts. Crazy work drama, not much - just stupid office politics. Flotsam weather making me nuts. Endless domestic "chores" teemed with trying to finish my xmess shopping/wrapping routine. Snow, ice, sleet, headache after headache - fun stuff with post-concussion crap.

I think it's all over.

Ready to finally relax into the weekend now - after my odd mix of things I did after work today. Went on a very cold (not frigid) 6 time loop around my 'burban 5 mile loop thru the wafting of steak and dryer sheets, but this time to the visual splendor of the mix of xmess lights in various levels of diaspora. It was quite pleasant. I felt like it was by far the most fucked up NASCAR loop after loop-de-loop ride. I had to give up after loop 6, my frozen hotdog legs and frozen fish stick fingers couldn't take it anymore.

(sidenote about my office cronies ask/think I'm nuts..and what my winter riding outfit costs)***

I finished up and loaded my frozen ass into my car and headed over to do a few errands...bank, grocery store on the way to the mall to finish up a xmess project I've engineered for my parents...then on to Home Goods to finish up some good capitalistic spending - to complete my final xmess experience for the year, shoppingwise.

Came home and made some Grilled Bourbon Butter Salmon and Grilled Asparagus wrapped in Prosciutto - oh so yum. Settled into an evening of catch up with email and wrapping the last of my xmess presents, boorish, yes - but DONE!. I began to prepare some Pumpkin Vanilla Chocolate Creme Brulee for my date tomorrow, then found mid-preparation that my Creme Brulee torch was out of butane - grrr..what a fuckin buzzkill. I abandoned the project until the morning and then felt eager on that idiot high to pay all my bills and sort my CDs. Oh joy.

***(yea..I invest a lot of cheddah' in the silly lifestyle called cycling...I cannot even begin to say how much I spend on travelling to and from events, hotel costs, gas, tolls, meals, time off work, race fees..and what I spend for simple things like the nutrition and vitamins, supplements, gel packs, gatorade, recovery drinks, all of that. It's to be expected. And the equipment..all of my cycling crap from trainers to repair stands, toolkits, et al. And then my bike, and all the costs of cycling mile after mile - keeping it spit-shined and safe for me to hurl myself down mountains and hump back up again to make my face happy. I've upgraded almost every single component on my bike 2 times in the past year and a half. It's part of the sport. The frame is the last part of the bike that has not been replaced (soon to be). It's an investment - I have it insured, not unlike a car. Damn thing is about $5k. So when one of my colleagues asked me at work "how much did that outfit cost ya?" referring to my winter cycling gear..I couldn't give a definitive answer.

well, the breakdown is this (head to toe): Helmet: $190, neoprene balacava: $34, cycling glasses: $120, outer vest: $64, cycling jacket: $120, long sleeve self wicking inner shirt: $59, outer shirt, self wicking jersey: $70, LiveSTRONG bracelet: $1, winter cycling gloves: $56, Neoprene cycling tites: $120, wool cycling socks: $12, inner socks: $6, neoprene shoe covers: $60, cycling shoes: $240 (this not mention the bike pump and tube that I pack in my back pockets, or the hand warmers). Does the math. Crap, too much money spent on keeping me warm. But I love what I do.

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