Was it the TPS Reports ... ?

To quote the indomitable Lloyd Dobler, "I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that."

But I'm open to suggestions. That's because on November 19th I got laid off. I'm actually working until January 15th and I'll get a severance, but it still totally sucks.

Because even when you know it was completely out of your control (damn you, reorganization!), it starts to make you wonder about your worth in the working world.

But my response is, "Fuck that." Because I'm not defined by my job -- any of them. And becuase Liz, being the phenomenal planner that she is,  has already figured out our budget for the next 12 months and things don't look as doom-and-gloom as you might think.

We're going to pull Dash out of daycare, which sucks for him because he has lots of friends introducing him to things we planned to shield him from for at least 2 more years. But this way Liz won't have to stress out about Bakugan, whether he's eating his lunch, if he's behind on learning his ABCs or if one of us will make it in time to pick him up before the daily 6:30 pm deadline.

And the most important thing is that he and I will get some serious dude time -- and that is something that's long overdue for the Engel men. I'm sure we'll be ready to kill each other by the end of each week (day?), but I'm looking forward to it!

Now if I could just figure out what I want to be when I grow up....

And So It Begins -- Again

As I mentioned at the end of my Malibu Triathlon post, my next goal is to complete an entire triathlon. After extensive research -- I'm talking spreadsheets with location, distance, cost, etc. -- I decided on the Toyota Desert Sprint Triathlon in La Quinta, CA on March 7, 2010. It's a 500-meter swim, 14-mile bike ride and 3.1-mile run.

Having recently ridden 18 miles at Malibu, I'm not too concerned about the bike ride, and the house I grew up in had a swimming pool, so the water shouldn't be much of an issue. The running, however, has me a little concerned. About a dozen years ago, I was on my way to becoming an elite marathoner (OK, I never went farther than 4.5 miles, but I coulda been a contender!) but the constant pounding on my joints (namely, my hips) made me stop. But I recently bought a pretty good pair of running shoes, so I'm hoping I'll be OK.

I came up with a 16-week training program, thanks to the good people at BeginnerTriathlete.com, and if you're good at math, you'll know this means my training started today.

I've got a lot of nerve

With fall finally setting in, it has gotten downright cold lately in the evenings. And when you factor in the wind chill ... factor, it's pretty much gotten to the point where I need to start wearing cold-weather gear when I ride. Which I don't have. Nor do I really have extra cash lying around waiting to be spent on "convenience items" like full-fingered gloves or arm warmers. Needless to say, I haven't ridden in nearly two weeks.

But I'm usually not bothered by cold weather, and that's not really the reason I've been off the bike. Ever since I started riding back in June, every so often my left foot would start to go numb mid-ride. I know this is fairly common so I wasn't worried, and "shaking it out" would usually get the blood flowing again. About three weeks ago, I noticed my left big toe had that "pins and needles" feeling while I wasn't riding. And then my right thumb and forefinger starting being tingly, too.

Being a Jewish man, naturally my first thought was "tumor on my spine." But after talking to my neighbor (who is an avid mountain biker) and explaining my symptoms, he deduced I was most likely putting pressure on the nerve at the base of my right hand while riding (he didn't have a theory on the non-riding tingling in the left foot, though) and it was just irritated.

Since I've taken my unexpected break, I have noticed that my fingers and toes seem to be better. So I'll be referring to my neighbor as Dr. Jason from now on. At least until I go to my regular physician and he tells me it's something completely different.

In the meantime, recently I drove one of my (many) riding routes with my video camera, mostly just for shiggles. If you ever get even the slightest amount of motion sickness or you're already feeling a little queasy, then I recommend you do not watch this video. You'll definitely be really sad if you do. In fact, even if you've got an iron constitution, you might want to take some Dramaine or wear one of these.

8 miles @ 120 mph from Josh Engel on Vimeo.