Just imagine the "Chariots of Fire" theme while reading this

I think these new shoes are going to work out. I've just been walking around in them to make sure I like the feel, but from now on they will be exclusively used for running. And in the past, that meant that I would wear them twice a year and forget about them, but since I actually spent the money on them this time, I feel obligated to used them more often. On days like today, it's hard not staying outside. It's absolutely perfect. Which works out well for me, I don't have to work until 5, so I've had most of the day to do whatever I'd like. This has involved getting some sushi for lunch, doing some laundry, walking downtown to the Java House, and very soon, going for a jog. I was planning on jogging this morning, but while I was sleeping, I got a massive cramp in my left calf, to which I woke up, screaming in pain. I think I was saying something like "damn this hurts," or maybe something with more swears. Then this morning it was still hurting when I tried to walk, so I decided to take it easy for a little while. It figures that I'd hurt myself while sleeping.

Anyways, the weather is too nice to not go for a run right now. I've got my headband on and everything, I mean business. I've got 2 weeks to break these shoes in and get in shape myself to run 7 miles.

Shit.

UPDATE!!!

Just got back from the run. The shoes and socks combine well to keep my feet very dry and well-ventilated. The sushi and cookie combine to keep my lungs not-well-ventilated. All in all I think I did about 2.5 miles in about 30-minutes. I need to step it up a little, but feel alright. I only slightly feel like puking!

An open invitation for any and all to come to Iowa City!

First off, sorry to Mr. Haley's Dad, I didn't mean to ignore your question about good sushi in Iowa City. There's a lot of good sushi around town, I think my favorite is Oyama, just because I know a couple of the sushi chefs there, and they usually give me free kani salad. (If you've never had kani salad, I would strongly suggest you do. It's got little slivers of crab and cucumber, in some sort of mayonnaise or a similar sauce, with a little bit of roe added. It's delicious.) Three Samurai is good, especially on Thursday or Sunday, when they have an all-day happy hour. Certain rolls are priced around $2-3, and most domestic beers are on special, as well, so it can be a very cheap, delicious meal. All of the other places, Sushi PoPo, Aoeshe, Takanami, Formosa, etc., all have good sushi, so it's basically a matter of trying them. Each has a little variation on some rolls; Oyama, for example, doesn't put cucumber in their California rolls. Miso soup is the same anywhere, and is always good. And each place has their own "specialty" rolls, so you might as well try them all! Next time anyone is in Iowa City and wants to get some sushi, let me know, I'll be there!

Also, I wanted to point out some links that I've added to the side over there. There's stop the world, I want to get off, Krazee Eyez Killa, Bulletproof Blank, and Brief Interviews with Hideous Minty. All definitely worth checking out. Of course they are, why would I link to them if they weren't? (Disclaimer: if you are reading this and you have a blog that I haven't linked to, I apologize. I'm sure your blog is worth checking out, too, just give me time and I'll get to it, I promise!) I consider everyone linked over there blog friends, and read them all as often as I can. I hope everyone else does the same. There's some good stuff happening out there!

A new beer, some food, and the Flenker Bros.

I'm trying another new beer tonight, this one is Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy. It's a Weiss beer with lemonade, and has a 4.2% ABV. It tastes like there is no alcohol at all, which could be dangerous. "Shandy" suggests a beer with lemonade or some sort of soft drink at about a 50/50 mix. The Leinie's shandy uses lemonade, and tastes delicious, like lemonade with a slight beer aftertaste. It goes down very smooth, and is very refreshing. I was a little leery about it, but one taste turned that around. I had gotten this last night from a friend who had just been given five bottles after one of his friends didn't like it, so it was free for me, which makes it even better! All in all, this is a wonderful summer beer, I would suggest everyone try it out on a hot summer day. (This is not the first shandy I've had. Last year, for their St. Patrick's Day mini-tour, Old Chicago had a "Shandy Gaff," which had Guinness and 7-Up. It was terrible. It just tasted like flat Guinness with a little hint of lemon. Not good times.)

For lunch today, I had some left-over jambalaya I had made late last week, wrapped up in a tortilla. The jambalaya was from a pouch-mix, adding part of a kielbasa and some spice, mostly crushed red pepper and Louisiana Hot Sauce, and turned out surprisingly well! I had added a little kick to it, and the sausage went well with the dish. I'm sure I could've probably come up with something similar without using a packaged mix, but the price was right and it was so simple, it was worth the trade-off. Plus, it was enough to last for a few meals, which is always nice. I'm hoping to grill the rest of the kielbasa in the next few days, because face it, everything tastes better when cooked outside. I should pick up some peppers and onions, and make it with all the fixin's. Damn, I'm salivating just thinking about it. It won't be tomorrow, though, Bill's coming into town to see Jimmy Carter speak, and we're planning on getting some sushi. I'm overjoyed, sushi is delicious. I don't get it, I love sushi, but I don't really like seafood. Strange. But Bill should be bringing some pictures from the weekend, which should prove to be hilarious. I'll think about posting them at some point.

Anyways, time for some reading before bed. An Evening of Long Goodbyes is going pretty well, I'm enjoying it so far, but only about 70 pages deep. We'll see how it goes. Until then, I'll leave you with another picture, this time of the Flenker Brothers. That's Travis on the right. A pair of sexy dudes, no?