Vocabulary Explosion

Darcy's vocabulary switch has been moved from "On" to "Overdrive". Apparently, she's right in the middle of the vocabualry explosion. Not everything is clear, but this week she's been non-stop putting two and three words together, she's also been trying out some big long words, like "Chocolate milk, please?" It's hard to resist such a polite little girl.

The other day Sue was getting her out of the car and said, "Darcy tell Daddy want you want." The kid looked me dead in the eyes and said, "Baby sister." The next thing I remember was the EMT's giving me mouth to mouth.

FOR THE RECORD, there is NO baby is process. While we're not ruling out the possibility of other little Titcombes, there is nothing to report. Period.

Apparently, Dora The Explorer had a baby sister and Darcy never stopped saying "Baby sister" all day long. Instantly aging both her parents 10 years in the process.

--- UPDATE ---

While there is still nothing to report, I've been informed (by my sister-in-law, Hi!) that Dora's mom actually had twins. A boy and a girl. So, apparently Darcy doesn't want anything to do with a baby brother, just a baby sister.

Ankle Problem

Since Tuesday my left ankle has been bothering me. I sprained it in 1993, really badly, and again in January. I took my time recovering and my ankle never really bothered me again. There's some pain about an inch below the ankle bone, on the outside of the foot. Nothing is swollen, but it is tender if I push on it. I ran tonight and could feel the tenderness the whole time. I've reintroduced myself to biking to work, but I can't think of anything that would have aggravated the sprain.

I was hoping to increase my mileage this weekend, but I guess I'll play it safe and wait.

Lotus Elise

Remember the James bond car/submarine? It was a Lotus Esprit. Back in the 60's and 70's Lotus was an up and coming name in the sports car world. They gained a lot of notoriety in F1 while Colin Chapman was leading that team, until his death in 1982. He was a pioneer to the sport of auto racing and many of his innovations are still in use today. After he died, Lotus fell off the map, but has had a bit of a resurgence lately, with the help of Toyota.

Their latest incarnation is the 2006 Lotus Elise. I saw one last week and took a close look. It's a small car and, not surprisingly, it looks like the Toyota Spider, but hotter. Way hotter. If the Spider looks like a fast car, then the Elise looks like an Olympic sprinter. Enormous air intake on the hood and grill, monster brake discs and calipers. Right down to the tires, super slim, almost racing slicks, that are sure to keep the wheels glued to the road.

It's available in hard top, but I couldn't find a price for the submarine option.

Life Altering Questions

My parents and sister were here for the long weekend. Here are some of the questions that Darcy asked:
Where's Papa (Grandpa)?
Where's Papa's car?
Papa?
A book, Papa?
Another book, Papa?
A walk, Papa?
Again, Papa?

And since they've gone home:
Where did Papa go?

I think she has a new favorite person.

Heart Rate Monitor

Today was my first run with my new HRM. I've playing with it for the past few days and am very impressed. When I just sitting around, not doing anything, my resting heart rate is usually below 50 beats per minute. The lowest I've seen is 44 bpm.

I need to establish what my peak heart rate is, so that I can zero in on my ideal zones. There are many easy ways to figure that out (210 - age gives me 179, 214 - 0.8age gives me 189.2). But I'm a sucker for punishment, so I'm going to do it the old fashion way; work it up until I can't get it any higher. I'm in good shape now, so I'm fairly confident that my max is higher than the equations show. Once I know what it is, I'll be able to focus on heart rate training more seriously.

Here are a few numbers that my watch recorded today (my run was 6.5km in 31:34):
Calories burnt (based on the weight that I input): 552
Avg HR: 163
Max HR: 176
Min HR: 133

Some hilarity, from a galaxy far, far away...

Here are a few funny little Star Wars spoofs:

Napoleon Skywalker - having seen both movies will help.

Store Wars - an Organic attack on the Empire.

More Spoofs - these are not as strong as the other ones.

It's Finally Here!

In January, I lost my watch, so I ordered a beautiful Timex Heart Rate Monitor off eBay. Unfortunately, it was lost during shipping and never arrived. I contacted the seller and he was going to send a replacement, but was out of stock. So he gave me a refund and asked me to check back with him in March. So I did. Once he had more in stock, he sent me the replacement and finally, three months after I originally ordered it, it came today!

S W E E T N E S S !

Long Weekend

I was telling Sue yesterday that Jake was doing a 22 mile training run yesterday. Her response was simple; why? Of course, he won't be able to go the full 26.2 on race day if he doesn't work for it now.

I've been part of a Youth Band of the Salvation Army for the last 3 1/2 years. We represent the region from Windsor to Woodstock. Right now we're in the process of planning a trip to Bermuda next May, as a return for hosting their band, which is coming here in November. Clearly we got the better end of that deal! I'm officially too old to be in the band, but I got roped into being on the planning committee and now I'm stuck. Anyone who knows me is probably thinking, "Yeah, it must be a real burden for Nick to have to play in a brass band and go on trips." Okay, I admit, there are some perks.

This weekend was one of those times. We had recording sessions on Friday night and Saturday morning. This meant for a short night Friday (home after midnight, gone by 7:15am), and a looong day Saturday. While I'm was practically falling asleep over my diner last night, it was worth it. For the same reasons Jake puts in huge miles for the marathon; you can't have the glory without the suffering.

I think that makes an interesting theme this week.

Change of Scenery?

In late November I sent my resume to a very large company. Since early January, I've been doing testing to see whether or not I qualify. So far, I've done very well on all the tests and very nearly got exempt from ever needing to be tested again in one area.

Today I had my formal interview in front of the board of directors. A little nerve wracking, but not as intimidating as I feared. All those years of 'opening night jitters' helped me deal with the nerves. The tough part is the waiting. I won't find out anything about today's interview until June or July. If I move on to the next step, I'll be sent away for an extensive training period. And the kicker is, even if I pass the interview, I could be in the waiting pool for as little as four weeks or as long as two years before I get sent for training. IF, capital I and F, I pass the training period, then I've got the job. If not, I need something to fall back on (like maybe my current job?). To me (and to Sue), this opportunity is worth the wait and the risk.

That's pretty much all I'm going to say about it.

The Magic is Over

Officially, the 2006 NCAA champ has yet to be crowned, but our office pool is over. Jake wins whether or not Florida beats UCLA. I'm in second place right now, but if Florida wins, I'll drop to third. Shameful.

Incidentally, Jake ran the Martian Half-Marathon (see his shirt?) on Saturday. He did very well, running 1:41:38 (a PR), beating his goal of 1:45. Well done Jake! Our next head to head battle will probably be at the Moon in June (5 or 10km), I know you're all giddy with anticipation.