I told myself over the weekend that this would, in terms of sheer
productivity, be a mop-up week: anything still hanging around the to-do list all
these weeks would, before the end of the day on June 6, have a big ole X through
it.

And then the allergies came along, stinging blasts from pollen and other
airborns that have my eyes and nose leaking like sieves. Mop-up week, I asked for; mop-up week, I got. At the same time as this, I am easing off of the caffeine² habit I got all junked up on while in Seattle. But deep down I believe caffeine stimulants help block
histamines. Probably old fool’s tale, but I might have to get after some
coffee tomorrow to continue experimenting in the self-clinic. Also I picked up
some Loratadine (i.e., generic Claritin) at the pharmacy while on a bike ride
earlier this evening just in case. I can’t pinpoint an exact cause for the
allergies; never was allergic to much other than bee stings and poison ivy as a
kid. Probably I’m allergic to summer.

I’m back on a fitness kick, too. For me that means I step out the front
door and run as hard as I can until I am cramping up, half falling over, gulping
desperately for air, and suffering those burning, explosive heart palpitations.
And then I get the mail and walk back up the length of the driveway with my
hands above my head (for maximal lung capacity) until I regain my composure.
Sixty feet, 0 minutes, 6.31 seconds.

That was a joke. Seriously, I have been grinding out 2.5 miles, which
include two decent sized hills. That and an evening bike ride–nothing too
rigorous except that Is. is on board, so those few miles are only slightly more
challenging than when I ride by myself, especially on the inclines. But I
have a sports camp coming up next week and so I have a short little window to
get back to a fitness peak where, at the very least, I can bounce a basketball,
blow a whistle, and stand on my feet all day long.

That’s about it. Monday’s work-pace was good enough that if I can
repeat it on Tue.-Fri., I will inflict permanent strikethroughs out the list of
stuff that has been parked too long on the to-do list. Ahead: More mid-day
jogs. And I’ll try to scale back on some of my bad dietary habits, laying
off the caffeine, the
Desert Pepper Peach and Mango Salsa, and the Twizzlers black licorice, and
instead popping Loratadine indulgently like candy (the allergies, you could say,
are kicking my anise).

A slight chance for more blogging, too, although I have much much much too
much to complain about, and I generally try not to do that here unless left with
no other choice. So that I am not being cryptic: car repairs and Quality Matters
course redevelopments (for PU) are giving me a hell of a time in addition to the
allergies. At least it’s June.