Running:
Got up late this morning. Pondered NOT running until after work…but it would’ve been hot. I decided to bit the bullet and do it this morning. I am so glad I did. I got to use my new Times GPS Watch w/ Heart Rate Monitor! The damn watch is AWESOME!!! I put in a PR of 51:46 for 6 miles! So glad!

One of those days:
Not sure why… just one of those days. Ate too many carbs at lunch and was tired ALL afternoon. Just like I was last week when I ate at my new favorite scarab restaurant, the Yasmeen Bakery on Warren Avenue!

Fixed:
For some reason, Blogger had changed the URL to my blog. Good thing I looked into it. :D

Blogger grief:
It appears that Blogger is having some publishing grief? This is going to be my third attempt at publishing a blog today, but for some reason, it looks like it is stuck in a loop. I wonder what it is?

Google Toolbar – I have to be an evangelist about this toolbar from Google. This latest incantation of it, in its beta stage, is awesome! It has a built in popup blocker, Auto Fill (for forms), Blog This (which is how I did this one), and a few other neat gizmos. Get it, use it, love it. How can’t you LOVE GOOGLE?

Saab:
Sorry to keep talking about it. I LOVE the car. Michelle loves the car! It’s very nice to have a nice car…finally! It was a very nice commute to work this morning. Dan was blown away when I showed him at lunch. I am so glad I kept it a secret!

Finally!
It’s here. The day is here to mark the rebirth of the fancy car for the Filias Family! Michelle and I are the proud parents of a 2003 Silver Metallic Saab 93 Vector with gray leather interior. The car is absolutely GORGEOUS! We are both extremely happy with our purchase. Pictures of the beauty!

93 Vector:
Oh yeah, we drove two 93s yesterday. One was a Vector with an automatic transmission. Michelle loved it. She liked how you didn’t have to worry about shifting. I liked it, but I LOVED how the Arc (same motor) with the 6-speed felt. It was WAY more responsive! I can’t wait to get it!

Saab Salesman:
He’s a stand-up kind of guy. He gave us a 95 2.3t loaner last night. Our 93 Vector is supposed to arrive today. I sure hope it gets there early enough for Michelle to pick it up later. Today is one of those magical days. I just have a good feeling about it. :D

Mariner’s Wedding:
Man, it was AWESOME! Michelle and I, as well as the rest of our friends, had a fantastic time. I don’t know a single person who didn’t enjoy themselves. Pretty much, any time us Sig Taus (and women-folk) get together, we have a damn good time! (I know, how gay!). The Pine Knob Mansion was beautiful! The weather couldn’t have been better, and the distant sound of Lollapalooze in the background was a charming touch! (Seriously, it was pretty cool!). Kinski looked most beautiful. She’s a cute girl and all, but she was exceptionally gorgeous this eve. The SenatorTM was rather dapper his damn-self! Parents on both sides were very proper and well put-together. The Deacon, David’s uncle from “West Texas” was the star of the show (besides the Bride and Bridegroom). He had jokes about West Texas, livestock, and drinking. He made everyone chuckle a handfull of times. The reception that followed was awesome. I think we stayed there until about 12:30AM. We had no intentions of leaving until the crowd REALLY started to thin. We had to get ready for the next day, a day of “fun and sun” at the Abdella’s place, on the lake! It was great to see Sinan and Tijen, his wife. We’d never met her, and had been so anxious for over a year now. It was good to see everyone!

Fun and sun at the Abdella’s:
Recipe: 1 part sun, 1 part 80 degrees, 3 handfulls of friends, 2 parts lake, 1 part lakefront crib, 1 part phat ass Mastercraft X-Star boat, 2 parts wakeboards, many, many parts beer, many, many parts “beer and brats”, and zillions of parts of good times…what do you get? An awesome time at the Abdella pad. We had intended to stay there from about noon until 6pm or so, and head back to the Filias “Family Ranch” and relax. 32 seconds after getting at Mike and Amy’s, it was clearly evident that we’d be staying there until the fat lady sang! And she sang at about midnight! The only reason we left was to protect Jesse from his long trek (nearly 90 minutes) back to South Lyon. We always want our friends to be safe, so we made the trip home. Besides, nobody was left anyway. We stayed well past our due. :) Michelle got to try wakeboarding for the first time, and I guess she kicked some serious ass! She got up on her fourth try! I think it took me about six tries! She also was able to go back and forth over the wake. Me, no such luck. I’m so proud of her and also so happy for her that she was able to make such a quick leap into wakeboarding. I think she’s hooked. She can’t wait to go back and hang out at Mike and Amy’s to give that a shot.

Pictures of the wedding: Wedding Bliss
Pictures of fun and sun: Fun and Sun

Running 12 miles with Kapis:
What a pleasure it was to run with our Southwest friend, Justin. He’s been an inspiration, coach, and all around good friend the past few years, and as of late, he’s become a “partner” in the quest to become physically fit beyond our wildest dreams. Michelle, Justin, and myself had planned to make the 12 mile run investment on Friday morning so that we could enjoy ourselves at the wedding and the following day at Mike and Amy’s. What an investment it was! It most certainly paid off! Our first six miles was a non-event. We ran hard and fast (for us–9 min. miles) and enjoyed wonderful conversations about half ironmans, swimming, biking, and running with Justin. At the seven mile mark, devastatia hit. Man, did it ever hit! I quickly sucked down a “goo” and was praying for the energy to come back into my soul. It didn’t, really…but I managed, as did Michelle. At the ten mile mark, Justin wanted to sprint ahead for the last two miles. At this point, Michelle and I took a .375 mile walk break. MUCH needed. We coasted in and still managed 1:55 for the run, giving us a 9:37 per mile pace. Justin, on the other hand, finished his last two miles in 14 minutes! 7:00 minutes per mile! Can you believe that? That is amazing! A pure machine…and what an inspiration! The guy just had a tumor removed from his lung a few months back and he’s already kicking ass and taking names! God bless him! OH yeah, he also brought us a little gift. He brought us one of Dr. Barry Sears’ books on “The Zone” diet/lifestyle! I can’t wait to read it and start trying to convert my diet/lifestyle to one that is a bit more health-conscious. We’re already on our way, actually. Thanks, Justin!

Car:
No more Golf GTI VR6. Greg came and picked the car up at 9PM last night. It was the cleanest it’s ever been, too! Good luck with it, Greg!

ascii-movie – Dan Dobbs sent me this link today. Man, I thought the stick figure fighting Flash movie was awesome a few years back, but this is like some of the really early ASCII animations I used to do on my Commodore 64 BBS, The Snake Pit, back in the day. Thanks for the link, Dan!

Sold the GTI:
Man, what a hassle at the bank this morning. Greg came to get the title with his cashier’s check. However, my bank, Metro Credit Union, didn’t want to release the title for 10 days so that the check would clear. Man, it was a cashier’s check… He basically had to drive from North Warren to Auburn Hills to get a new check, stamped and certified. This added at least one hour to my morning off from work. What a damn hassle. Anyway, the car is sold. The car will be picked up on Monday night. I’m excited for the guy, and I’m excited to get my new car. Looks like it won’t be here on Monday, like I had hoped, but that’s okay. It gives me time to make sure I truly want this specific car.

Pepe and Sarah:
Picking up Pepe and Sarah from Metro Airport tonight. I’m excited to play with them, play with the friends, and just have a damn good time this weekend. It’s the weekend!!!

Mensa:
A friend of mine at work keeps urging me to give the MENSA exam a try. Not even for the silly meetings these geeks have, but for the magazine and the interesting topics that are discussed in the magazine.

Today:
Is the work day almost done yet? The guy buying my car has been approved for his loan! I can’t wait to seal the deal! Saab 93 Vector, here I come!

PayGrip:
I LOVE PayGrip (aka PayPal)!!

Medicine:
It’s amazing how medicine actually works. If we were in the dark ages, and you took a pill that took the pain away, you’d think it was witchcraft, voodoo, or magic of some sorts. I tweaked my back yesterday, and it hurt ALL DAY LONG! This morning, I took 3 over-the-counter 200mg Motrin caplets…and what a relief they are. It took away about 85% of my pain, and it led me to having an awesome shoulder workout! Tonight, I run six miles. I’ll probably take some prior to departing for the run.

Guest preparation:
Pepe and Sarah and coming into town tomorrow night at 7:45pm. I have to pick them up from Metro Airport. I’m so excited. In lieu of that, we’re making sure our house is “Spic and Span”. They’ll be our first overnight guests since we moved in on May 29. We both look forward to it!

Yahoo Plans to Buy Overture for $1.6B (TechNews.com) – You go Yahoo! I’ve loved Yahoo! ever since their inception. I really love Google, but it’s nice to see what Yahoo! has up their sleeve!

Runnin part 2:
So, I guess I just have to run harder, and more controlled!