The Daily Microsleep Recap

• My right foot went numb after 2 miles. Ummm.........
• I figured out what happened with my numb foot. Check blog later for details. In other news: this morning's resting pulse? 66!
• Smoked salmon pita + hummus = SO AMAZINGLY GOOD
• Editor: "Matt, it's Martina's birthday, so we're going to have cake in two minutes." JUST GREAT. Bah. YES, I have to eat the cake! :-)
• At a red light, passing the time. On my way to drinks with Jim at Stetsons on U Street!
• Discovered a new lacing system from RunnersWorld web site -- hopefully that will reduce the pressure on my foot, help prevent numbness...

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The Daily Microsleep Recap

• 3 miles planned for today after work... I think I'll run 4 minutes, walk 1, and repeat until I hit 3 miles (8 times?)
• Kinda feel like a jerk. Oh well, life goes on. And those 3 miles won't run themselves!

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The Daily Microsleep Recap

• Yesterday's "run" was pathetically slow; I couldn't keep my HR up consistently past 1 mile. Lots of work to do. (Will a mile ever get easy?) #
• Current resting pulse: 68 bpm! In the middle of the day after a Mountain Dew! I'd say the cardio is working. #
• I have the endurance of a kumquat. tinyurl.com/2l8422 #
• I continue to feel a good tightness in my abs since the run -- as though I'm flexing or something! #

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David Archuleta is the Best Young Singer Alive Today

I was not planning on sitting at the computer and writing a blog post tonight, let alone about a contestant on American Idol. But after finally getting through the episode I DVR'd yesterday, I have no choice.

I fast forwarded through most of the episode, only stopping when the contestants started singing, and rarely listening to an entire song. "These are the best singers in America?" I kept asking myself.

The show was almost over -- then David Archuleta took the stage. David is a tiny 17-year-old pipsqueak from Utah. He is adorable, clearly humbled to be singing in front of millions, and is without a doubt the best singer I've ever heard on that show, and probably one of the best male singers I have ever heard ever. When the lights darkened and strains of John Lennon's "Imagine" sounded from a guitar, I was wary: how can he touch Imagine? Everyone really likes that song, the pureness of John Lennon's sound and words. How could this kid ever even come close to that magic?

Friends, David Archuleta did more than come close; he sang the best, most soulful version of Imagine that I have ever heard. I liked the song before; I LOVE it now. Hearing David's tones, everything else around me just faded into the background. All I could think was how beautiful it was, and by the end I had a tear in my eye.

The judges were equally moved. Randy said it was one of the best performances he had ever heard on the show, and that David was born to do this. Paula, also in tears, said it was one of the best performances of Imagine she has ever heard, and that the kid was "destined for superstardom." Even Simon liked it, calling David "the one to beat," and adding that the 19 other contestants on the stage were likely "miserable" at the moment. Critics agree, and most wonder if Little David is a "lock" for the American Idol crown.

OK, maybe I'm overstating how good it was. I'm going to embed the video below, and on repeat viewing in a little window over my tinny computer speakers, it's not without its very minor flaws -- David is slightly flat on a couple of the notes (most notably on the final "join us"), and his transition to falsetto could use a little work. But folks, this kid just turned 17, and all of his performances have so far been stellar. I think you will agree that he has an amazing future ahead.

The Daily Microsleep Recap

Daily Microsleep Compilation

• 08:52 I've mapped out a nice 2-mile run near my workplace and I plan to do it after work. Wish me luck.
• 14:03 I went to Chipotle, ordered the soft tacos, and only had one! That's only 250 calories, compared to my standard 1K-calorie burrito! Yeah!
• 16:45 Had the other two soft tacos. Still good that I spaced it out. Never felt full, just felt good. Running in an hour... ugh.
• 17:41 OK. 51 degrees. Light wind. About to go run, in shorts and a long-sleeve shirt. Blah....... wish me luck!!!!!

Where I've Been (or: Fitness is Fun!)

As my three regular readers may have noticed, BeforeISleep.net has been fairly barren these days. What has happened? the faithful readers may be asking each other. (Yes, they all know each other and have regular tea parties.) Has our hero fallen into a deep fissure in the earth? Has he been abducted by aliens? or terrorists? Have his typing fingers been crushed in a horrific Segway accident??!

My friends, you needn't worry: it is none of those. I am alive and well, living for these past 8 months in the year 1885.

Wait, no, that wasn't me.

I have, in actuality, been spending a fair amount of free time at the gym, on the road, and over at my sister blog, Still Waiting for the Runner's High, accessible also by clicking the bright yellow blue FITNESS link up at the top of the page. There you will find all sorts of wondrous posts, maps and videos, all detailing my upcoming transformation from Fat Ass Who Watches TV All Day to... Fat Ass Who Runs Slowly!

I heartily encourage you to bookmark the other blog and read it daily. For there will be posts daily. Sadly, I expect BiS to languish a bit, at least until the damn Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run is over. Until then, you can find me over on the other side of the Internet, searching in vain for the mythical runner's high...

Godspeed!

The Daily Microsleep Recap

Daily Microsleep Compilation

• 13:37 Kinda tired from all the running (2 miles Thurs, 2.5 Sat, 2 Sun). Methinks it's time for a 2-day respite.
• 08:52 I've mapped out a nice 2-mile run near my workplace and I plan to do it after work. Wish me luck.

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boop... BOOP! boop... BOOP!

With the writers strike over, I can officially start to look forward to another season of 24! That's the good news. The bad news is that it won't be on until NEXT JANUARY. Gah! But the other maybe good news is that one of the news articles I read said that the cancellation of my New Favorite Show Journeyman is not COMPLETELY CERTAIN, and there is a SLIGHT possibility that there could be additional episodes ordered. Time to start praying.

Until the prayers kick in, I leave you with this, the character I would be if I were on 24.

Which 24 Character Are You?

Created by BuddyTV

Truths of Apartment Hunting

• When they show you the common living areas first, and spend a seemingly disproportionate amount of time talking about how great those common areas are, the bedroom will be incredibly small. Conversely, if they head straight for the bedroom, it's probably pretty big.
• People who work at the Pentagon, or in the military, keep their place spotless and perfectly organized. Sometimes they want you to take your shoes off upon entering. Needless to say, this will not be a good fit for me.
• Apartments with ceiling fans are not safe for Rudy. I can just picture him exploding in a big puff of orange and yellow feathers, a la the infamous baseball pitch of the late 20th century. Oh, the humanity!
• I have no qualms with sharing a place with one gay man, one gay woman, or two gay women who are partners. Apparently, however, I get a little squeamish at the prospect of sharing a place with two gay men who are partners... what if I hear something!
  

The Medallion

Cleaning my apartment, I came across two paragraphs I wrote 6 months ago on a piece of notebook paper. Apparently it's the start of an intriguing story. I'm not sure where I was going with this, but I like it and I want to share it with the world and get your suggestions as to What Next!

The star-shaped medallion had been laying in the field for so long, it no longer remembered what its purpose was. Several times over the years it thought someone had spotted it, thought a boy had seen the sunlight reflecting from one of its corners, was positive a girl had spied it glinting from just beneath the now dense growth of grass and weeds. But no -- if they saw anything at all, they must have dismissed it as a mere figment of their imagination, for the boy moved off, laughing and racing with his friends... and the girl merely giggled as she had at everything else in her field of view, and she skipped along, now laughing at the trees and the wind and the sunshine all around her.

And there the medallion sat like that, not-quite-seen. Years passed, as did generations, and son became father became grandfather, and more children came and went, playing and scurrying and working and growing old, oblivious, never truly seeing, and so never realizing that their lives need not end.

I am enjoying my new work

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Matt Actually Enjoyed an Evening Jog

Executive Summary

1. I don't hate Ian.
2. I have found one of my joys of running.

Incroyable!