Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog: #30 - Deja Raccoon, Pet Pigs, Rib Guilt, etc.

1. Stop me if you’ve heard this one. I was going to empty the trash in the dumpster behind my work. I opened the right flap and lo and behold there’s a sleeping raccoon in the back left corner. It was like deja vu from a few weeks ago. I don’t speak raccoon so me explaining to this animal why it couldn’t live in the dumpster didn’t work. So I emptied the trash in the corner furthest away from it and also left the flap open in case it decided to leave. I likely ended up creating an easier entrance for the other raccoons to dumpster dive.

2. 8 years ago this week I ran 2 races on the same day. I ran a less serious inflatable obstacle course race in the morning at the Cape Cod Fairgrounds and actually won it. I went home and colored my dark Mohawk hair blond thanks to hydrogen peroxide. Then I tried to stay loose before going to partake in the Brewster Brew Run in the afternoon. I didn’t win that one but did manage to chug a beer afterward as a reward. Remembering that day it’s amazing where I was in my physical conditioning. It’s also a stark reminder of how far from that I am today. Maybe I’ll get back there, but if not it’s all good because at least I was there once.

Race 2 on the left, Race 1 on the right

3. In what was just another ordinary day in my life a patient where I work brought their pet pig into the office. His name is Wookie and he’s still a baby but oh man how cute. He oinks with excitement if you feed him Cheerios. I wanted my own pet pig until the patient said Wookie would end up weighing at least 150 lbs, then I thought of food bills and said I’ll take a goldfish instead.

4. I went for a run one day this week. I parked at the far end of a strip mall parking lot since it was very close to the neighboring bike trail. This meant I could walk to the trail, do my run, and then after walk to the grocery store without starting my car. I ended up doing over 5 miles, plus my shopping, for a total of about an hour and a half. All the while sitting a few spots down from my car was some woman in her running SUV. For 90 minutes. At least that was how long she was there by the time I’d left. Who knows, maybe she is still there at this very moment?

5. My Gold Star of the Week goes to Whole Foods in Hyannis for solving my ordeal with returning the camcorder I ordered from Amazon. During this week I learned that for some reason the UPS Store isn’t associated with UPS. How is that a thing? That’s what they claimed to me when I tried to return the camcorder there after UPS had missed me 3 times at home. UPS Store was useless, but thankfully it was relatively quick and painless to return the camcorder through a kiosk in the Whole Foods in Hyannis. I didn’t buy any groceries though, that place is still way too expensive.

6. This week in the Northeast we had a trifecta of amazing photography opportunities. I wish I had paid attention more as I only found this out the day after with a barrage of once-in-a-lifetime photos on social media. These photos featured the Milky Way, the Perseid meteor shower, and the Aurora Borealis. I’d kill for photos of any of those three but all of them? I was disappointed for a few minutes until I remembered that to have gotten those photos I’d have needed to be out at 2am. It made it a little easier to handle, but not much.

Look outside? Now why would I want to do that?

7. There is a house along one of my favorite running routes that always makes me smile. They are on the river which is nice. They have a big flag outside their front door and it is a photo of their Corgi dog. They also have a large garden running along the fence in their front yard. Every time I go by during the summer they have a table next to that fence with a pile of veggies fresh from their garden. Anyone can take them for free as there is a sign that says ‘happy to share the bounty.’ Just such a cool vibe.

8. The best purchase I have made this year is my Canva Pro subscription. It’s a design site for everything from editing photos to creating documents, videos, etc. The pro version gets you access to thousands of photos, videos, fonts, and more. Every time I make a video on Canva I save lots of money snagging the videos and photos I need. Definitely worth every cent of the $14.99/mo. I pay.

9. Maybe someone can help me. Why is it called the Registry of Motor Vehicles(RMV) in Massachusetts, but the Department of Motor Vehicles(DMV) in almost all other states? Did this state feel like a department wasn’t official enough so it needed a registry? I am also researching and just finding out there is a BMV? Bureau of Motor Vehicles, in Ohio and Indiana? And an MVD? Motor Vehicle Division, in Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, and Arizona? Now I need to lie down this is all too much.

10. One of my favorite foods is a good rack of ribs. I could eat them pretty much every day. There are a few problems with that though. One, they are not cheap, and two, they are not too healthy. So as much as I’d love to make ribs as common in my life as water they’re best left to every once in a while. That way I save money and don’t pack on pounds.