It's 2007: Dig In!

Found out, yesterday, that I may not be getting an office with a window any time in the near future. On the bright side, though, the rationale is based on the hope that a new building is in the offing. Looks like the move will happen within the next week - gotta get "shopping" for a new desk (that gray military-issue thing ain't stayin'!), and an area rug. Lino floors are yuck. We're all supposedly getting carpeting, this summer, so I may just make do with a rug that someone abandoned in one of the Moore Building studios. OTOH, if I can get something a little nicer, on short notice.....

Saw the good doctor (Kwok), this morning, and got an EKG (which took less than 2 minutes!). The readout says I'm quite healthy - doc noted that the electrical impulses in my heart are consistent with someone who is very physically active. P (upper heart) and T (lower heart) waves were normal as was the straight line between the ST segment and T wave. (You can decipher all of this at WebMD.) The reason I went to see Kwok is because my new Polar RS100 heart rate monitor (received as a birthday/Christmas gift from my in-laws - Thanks, Mel & Eleanor!) was reporting strange figures. Having gotten the green light on training for a marathon and a couple of centuries (biking 100+ miles per day), I can hit the Start Button on the training program.

So, here are some of the events I may do in 2007:

Heat the Streets 10K* (Downtown Detroit, February 10)
Goal: Complete the course in 52:45 (8:30 pace) or less.
*A fundraiser for the City of Detroit Department of Human Services and The Heat And Warmth (THAW) Fund, Heat the Streets is part of Detroit's Winter Blast festival.




Martian Marathon (Dearborn Heights, MI; April 1st)
Goal: Complete the course in 4 hours (9:10 pace) or less.

Dexter-Ann Arbor Run (Dexter, MI; June 3rd)
Goal: Complete the half-marathon course in 1:55 or less. (PR = 1:57:24)

One Helluva Ride (Chelsea, MI; July 7 or 14 - website not up to date)
Goal: Complete the century course in 5 hours or less. (Avg Spd = 20 mph)

Run Through Hell (Hell, MI; August 11th? - no info available)
Goal:

Apple Cider Century (Three Oaks, MI; September 30)
Goal: Complete the century course in 5 hours or faster than One Helluva Ride.

I'm Diggin' In!!

Pounding Ivory

Happy to report that, as of Dec. 13, I am back into the piano tuning & repair business! My occupational therapy began, this week, so I figure the hand must be strong enough to push and pull on a tuning hammer. I have tunings scheduled well into January, so if you're hoping to get your piano tuned, better email me ASAP.

My TorrellaSystems email account became the dumping ground for incredible heaps of spam - to the point where I couldn't even access my email! I messed around with things until I finally managed to regain access, but I'm seriously considering changing to a different provider -- one whose mailer-daemon has better spam control. The problem at my current provider is so bad that I've had to change the address I use for business. It's now "ron dot torrella at torrellasystems dot com." I'm not inserting a link or putting the actual address here because I'm hoping that, by not doing so, the address will be spam-free. We'll see. I know it's not a perfect solution, but you know what the address should look like, so you put the correct symbols in and send me an email right away if you want to schedule a tuning.

I started a flooring project, just before my injury, and that has now resumed as well. I hope to have it done before Christmas. Next on the list is replacing the carpet in the family room and cleaning out the basement so I can get it semi-finished. I'd like to have a well lighted workbench to build RC airplanes and a place where I can go to get away from the hubbub upstairs.

I didn't get to the Jingle Bell Run, last weekend, because there were just too many "honey dos" to complete. I'd like to do another run, during the winter, so I have some mileposts. I've started working on getting my miles back up to where I can seriously consider running in -- and completing -- the Martian Marathon. Gotta get a heart rate monitor, though. Anyone got a clue on a good model that won't make me tear the lining out of my wallet?

Cheers!