Happy Monday!

Well the Ferret set me straight - “Actually, I'm the webmaster, but close enough. As for the blogging, it takes about half an hour a day, averaged out. I do work at home, but I also generally work twelve-hour days, and often sixteen - I've got blogging, writing, and programming to do, as well as keeping up all my relationships.”

Which is stunning. Inspired by such work ethic, I’m going to try and do more frequent updates. No, I really mean it this time. Why are you rolling your eyes like that?

We had an interesting weekend. Saturday morning we started the day by heading to the gym where Wendy had an awesome run but for some reason I went down in reps, which was not even mildly disturbing. I’m actually lifting some respectable weight now and hope to get back to my peak max bench of 220 lbs which I haven’t done since I was 25. It’s starting to show as well, which I am very psyched about. I actually laid one arm down last night, put my hand on it to go to sleep and thought for a minute “Is that my arm? My arm is huge!" After having no muscle tone for fifteen years it’s a good feeling. God I missed working out.

Did I tell you we had to switch gyms? We got back from Vermont, went to get a workout and our brand new ultra-modern gym with pool, sauna, steam rooms and slender Spaniards was boarded up! Luckily Wendy had gone to another gym before that was less expensive and closer. It’s not as nice but it has everything we need. The people there are quite different from the other gym. While I was the big dog at the last gym, lifting more than 90% of the people around me (by far), at this gym I am an old Chihuahua. There are some seriously built guys here.

In the afternoon we did a tapas crawl, stopping in to Casa Lucas for a pintxo of chicken, carmelized onions and some sort of foam on top that we have always loved. From there it was up to La Latina (a neighborhood)to another pintxo bar for a perfectly cooked solomillo (steak) on thick toast and red peppers with a green pepper sauce, then to another place we like for the largest grilled cigala we have ever had. The steets were relatively packed but the restaurants were full and spilling out into the street. Spaniards love their Saturday sun.

We returned home to play a two hour game of Carcassone on our terrace and then I started to feel ill. I had a headache that threatened to turn into a migraine and my entire mid-section felt like it was going to explode. I also couldn’t get warm and Wendy brought me three blankets and I was still cold. We lay on the couch and watched Chris Rock’s documentary Good Hair which was quite an education. Highly recommended. In the middle of it I asked Wendy to get me a bucket just in case and as she brought it to me, I struggled free of the blankets, rushed to bathroom and threw up everything we had eaten that day for about three minutes. Oh look, red peppers. I felt a lot better after that but that good feeling only lasted fifteen minutes then started to slowly build again, finally settling on mild nausea for the rest of the night.

We then watched Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story which, as usual, was shocking and Moore was a bit over the top. It’s worth the rental but not amazing.

I slept like crap but woke up Sunday feeling better finally. Still a bit weak, still a small headache, but better. I watched some UFC, read some comics, browsed the web, and then we played another two hour game of Carcasonne on the terrace and it was actually hot. Wendy went back to reading “Time” magazine and I played “Dragon Age” for a couple hours. Fantastic game.

Around seven we watched a bullfight we had recorded that was fantastic! El Juli received three ears, Manzanarres two, and Perrera one. The passes were so close and so dangerous Wendy kept grabbing me and making worried noises like we were watching a horror movie.

And now it’s Monday. I’m actually glad it’s Monday. I’m anxious to get back to work. And so I am.

Happy Monday to all and to all a good day.

And now, to the editing.