304/365 Priceless

304/365 Priceless
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

This actually seemed to require a lot more effort than expected.

303/365 Watch Out for Ninjas

303/365 Watch Out for Ninjas
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

First night of EBC, the Eastern Balboa Championships. Not here to compete, just to dance and take workshops.

302/365 Frayed

302/365 Frayed
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Gotta clean up the Halloween costume for Saturday.

301/365 High Quality Cheap Shelves

301/365 High Quality Cheap Shelves
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

I spent a lot more money on the wood for these shelves than planned (accidentally bought "select" pine boards and couldn't return them because I had had them cut. *sigh* $80 stupidity tax -- which doesn't even buy peace of mind), but we are successfully bringing order to the chaos of the attic closet. We haven't finished repopulating the closet but it feels good to see actual progress being made.

And I have to admit that I get strangely giddy just looking at our new crappy, unfinished shelves.

300/365 Saturated Hues: Orange and Blue

300/365 Saturated Hues: Orange and Blue
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

We saw Andrew Bird at the new Lupo's in Providence, RI.

Awesome show as usual, but I've really been struck with how the production value of the show has increased over the years. I can remember seeing him play as Bowl of Fire at Johnny D's (which he was doing more of a gypsy/hot jazz kind of thing) and perform solo at the Middle East with his violin, a beat up electric guitar he was just learning to play and his sampler. Tonight's show was a full on production with band, multiple hornspeakers and a full-on light show which added additional texture and accentuated the immersive experience his music creates.

A great night out and also a good break for the SOOTTAD who's been having a lot of stress at work recently.

299/365 Bristly

299/365 Bristly
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Actually had to bust out the brush -- time for a haircut.

298/365 Helping Out

298/365 Helping Out
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

297/365 Wet and Yellow Fall

297/365 Wet and Yellow Fall
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

296/365 Finding Common Ground

296/365 Finding Common Ground
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

295/365 Inadequate Protection

295/365 Inadequate Protection
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Stupid mice.

294/365 Meow Mix

294/365 Meow Mix
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Our new kittehs are both young (~2 yrs old) and old (~9 yrs old), and they're all kinda overweight, so we've been mixing fatty food (science diet light) with old man food (max cat senior).

293/365 Touching Down in New England Town

293/365 Touching Down in New England Town
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Yes, another ubiquitous picture out the window of the plane, but y'know slim pickin's. This one is from the final approach to Logan Airport which means it's probably Revere... no wait -- it's Winthrop.

Counting this one for the new day because I actually fell asleep for a few minutes on the flight. Surprising, given that the legroom on Virgin America is pretty terrible and the leather seats actually make me sweat. What we'll do for a $200 ticket to the west coast, damn whores we are. (Geez, those tickets were actually cheaper than the ones for our flight to North Carolina next week.)

292/365 Leaving at Light Speed

292/365 Leaving at Light Speed
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

291/365 Below Scale

291/365 Below Scale
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

290/365 Baby Bump

290/365 Baby Bump
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Our official excuse for visiting the bay area.

289/365 Dock

289/365 Dock
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Wasted pretty much the whole day away in front of the computer. Oops.

My only excuse is that we didn't have wheels... although I still probably should have read a book or something.

288/365 Boarding

288/365 Boarding
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

287/365 Fall Twilight

287/365 Fall Twilight
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Last game of the fall club season, and unpleasantly cold, which wasn't helped by the wet field -- toes were really complaining by the time we were done. But at least the light was pretty, I guess...

Sad to miss the tournament this weekend, but not that sad since I won't be playing in cold rainy weather and it looks to be in the high 60s where we're going for the weekend.

286/365 Escaping Kitteh Escapes

286/365 Escaping Kitteh Escapes
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

He snuck out the window as I was removing the A/C unit and trying to get the storm windows in place. And then he cried the entire time as he wandered from end to end of the porch roof. We eventually lured him back with toys.

285/365 Ruffles

285/365 Ruffles
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

284/365 Half Completed

284/365 Half Completed
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Finished my 3rd half-marathon -- a respectable 1:42:40, especially given that my training paces (and sadly, my age) would suggest I would have finished a few minutes slower and I was worrying that I was coming down with a cold. (apparently not)

A few thoughts and observations:

• Almost missed the start of the race waiting in line at the port-o-johns. (thankfully, it wouldn't have been a complete disaster because of the chip-timing)
• It was a bit cold at the start, but it was a beautiful day to be out -- sunny, blue skies and a few white clouds for contrast.
• I would have probably enjoyed the scenery more if one of my contacts hadn't been acting up all morning.
• Because it's an out and back looped course, it's sometimes possible to see the elite runners, which is cool. I think this happened somewhere around mile 5.
• What I also thought was cool was seeing runners cheer on the elite/front-runners.
• I've lived in the Boston area for about 18 years now, and this was my first visit to the Franklin Park zoo. (all of maybe 10 minutes)
• I saw CAMELS!
• Passing the aid station from the other direction, I was entertained to hear a group of younger women runners (from the sound of it) getting vanilla bean power gel.
• I saw someone lose a shoe in the middle of the race -- I still don't understand how that happens.
• as much as I love my GPS watch for helping me keep track of my pace, it's really only good for ballpark estimates. According to it, I ran a 13.3 mile half-marathon (and a 26.45 mile marathon last year).

283/365 Race Prep

283/365 Race Prep
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Chip timing has gotten all technological 'n stuff. Pretty cool.

282/365 Dancing Shoes

282/365 Dancing Shoes
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

281/365 Flagged

281/365 Flagged
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

I have no idea who stuck this in our lawn, but I'm a little worried that we might be looked down upon if I got rid of it...

280/365 Fall at Our Doorstep

280/365 Fall at Our Doorstep
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

279/365 Fallback Pair

279/365 Fallback Pair
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Sometimes the best picture of the day seems to be of the kittehs. Often, actually.

Subject matter counts, I guess.

278/365 Fall Surfing at Nauset Light

278/365 Fall Surfing at Nauset Light
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Thoughts on photo of the day? I can't decide.

Ended up going with the photo of the beach and water with the surfers on the line up -- such as it was. Despite having several similar beach photos, I prefer the lighting and composition to the alternative, even though it does tell more of the story about getting my board and my first time taking it out for a spin.

But hey: (used) NEW BOARD!

Also:

Holy crap, the water's cold in October! I managed to stay in for a little over an hour with a 3mm/2mm full wetsuit and 5mm booties before the shivering started. I'd probably get gloves if I try it again this year, but I don't think that's going to help me last any longer, just make it slightly less unpleasant.

277/365 Not so Itsy Spider

277/365 Not so Itsy Spider
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

The SOOTTAD thinks we should let it be, but it seems to be getting a bit ambitious, as I've now walked into a number of webs strung across the main path down the steps.

276/365 Wee Little F'er

276/365 Wee Little F'er
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Finally caught one of the little buggers after months of having them getting into our food and pooping in our drawers and cabinets.

We let the kittehs at it but I ended up grabbing it and chucking it out into the street after they failed to dispatch it in a timely manner.

275/365 Loyal Bedtime Companion

275/365 Loyal Bedtime Companion
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

274/365 More Reflection Than He's Used To

274/365 More Reflection Than He's Used To
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Reinstalled the mirrored closet doors in the bedroom.

We don't really care for the style, but at the moment, it does have the benefit of giving the room a tidier appearance.