I was prepared for an off day when I pulled an egg from the boiling water and it exploded upon my efforts to breach its shell, resulting in a royal mess... guess I should be thankful I didn't put on the badge and polo first. A drive through the sprawling urban mess of Richmond and several waving homeless later, I found myself in the grayest day I can imagine without a gray sky to set it off. Freezing cold winds fought against burning sunlight to give us little to no idea what to think. Mostly I was just thankful it wasn't cloudy to boot.

I've noticed that, no matter how many times I bring my art supplies with me to work, I never once utilize them on breaks as hoped. They sit there, forgotten on the corner of a desk while I either march around, or veg out in a chair on the other side of the room. The troubled life of my Supervisor's the topic during my foray through the mall, as I've proven to be someone he confides in. Usually it turns out that he's one of the very few people that I'm unable to offer an acute solution to. The best advice, the one that always matches his issues, is "Stick to your guns!"

My increasing obsession with www.artofmanliness.com has only improved things of late. I've been self-conscious of my constant lauding of its information and helpful hints, dieting advice, etc. in fear of becoming the male equivalent of the whinging health nut who will always bring up a single brand name as her god and savior, (AND EVERYONE SHE ASSOCIATES WITH SHALL KNOW ITS GOLDEN LIGHT.) We've all experienced this, through media if not through personal living.

I really must quit putting off my paperwork... I tend to wait until the last stretch of the day, and in the time I've written it all down, I've ended up late to head home... with a swinging shift and a long commute, all it really does is hurt my sleep and quality time. I think that goes for pretty much everything we put off in our lives, too. Get it done while it's right in front of you, banish it from your sight in a productive fashion so you don't feel it haunting you, dogging you every step of the way. What's done is over with, yes?

The better eating diet plan is vindicating itself day by day... the 'man diet' or 'Grandpa diet' is proving to be a real lifter of spirits for me... not because of some affinity for hearty meals (I can eat anything that isn't cottage cheese and can't apply for a Visa) but because of stamina, a general feeling of fullness. It's easier to breathe, easier to function... and the leftover plans are actually saving us a lot of money compared to all the 'cheap' fast food.

I feel a little lonely closing things up. It's the end of the day, and all my friends are far from here. They've always been far from me in some fashion or another. Either I couldn't find the time to talk, or they couldn't. There are people I feel that I've alienated, and the grief and anguish caused by this possibility is unmatched by any other misfortune in my life.

As I look over this journal, I think of how few people this information would inspire or interest... but only so long as it takes me to let out a huff and a shrug. These journals are for my own benefit, at their core... to give me proper recollection and reverence for my experiences, so that I may better learn from them. If someone else gleans something from my words here, then I've only further vindicated this writing process.