Cake time, En route, China calls, Still screwed up, HBD x 2

Last night the primary objective was to bake the famous chocolate cake for Cindy’s birthday.  I got a late start, not dumping my first ingredient until after 7PM.    Cake prep went pretty smoothly.  I poured a couple cupcakes that allowed us to preview what the cake will taste like when we cut into it tonight, Cindy and I both approved.

I had an odd message on my phone last night, it was from a Chinese sounding guy that said he was from UPS.  He told me that my package from China was being withheld until I provided a federal tax EIN for the running club.  I had ordered some race timing bibs from Ipico which are produced in China.  I have ordered them many times in the past and I never was told I needed to provide an EIN number in order to receive them.

I called back the number I was given and all I got was the Chinese guys voice mail whose greeting was simply his name with nothing else.  I then called the main UPS number and tried to unravel what was going on.  Unfortunately the woman on the other end, whom also had a strong accent that was tough to understand, could tell me nothing beyond what I could already see on the UPS web site.  The best she could do was promise a UPS person would contact me within 24 hours,   how efficient.

You may recall my week plus long bout with illness back in April.  During that time I suffered severe fatigue, a fever and some of the most debilitating diarrhea of my life.  During that illness I made several trips to the doctor where a lot of tests were done including relieving myself in a “hat”.  None of these tests ever revealed any sort of definitive answer to what was wrong with me.  I just slowly, very slowly got better. However I never have fully done so.

Ever since the illness things in my GI system have never returned to the way they were pre-illness.  Things look and feel different.  Now the absolutely the last thing I want to deal with is extensive testing on my digestive plumbing so I have just been biding my time, figuring sooner or later things will just work themselves out.  Well here I am, six months later, and things are still not worked out.

I am going to be trying some dietary changes to see if anything changes for the positive.  If not I won’t have much choice but to see a medical professional about it as clearly, something is not as it should be.

My dad, step mom and two of their dogs roll into Naples later today.  They will be here until early next week.  Unfortunately tonight and half of tomorrow will be tied up with race related work for the XC meet I am timing.  However after that I look forward to a few days of fun. My dad had last visited last year but Teresa has not been down at the house since I separated.  The weather is supposed to be great this weekend, I just wish the standing water would not be littering my property still.

Today is the birthday of two important people in my life.   Not only do they share the same spot on the calendar, they actually were born on the same day as well, binding them to travel through life at the exact same age.

Troy has been a friend of mine for approaching 25 years.  His mix of intelligence, humor and sarcasm has made him a natural fit for my personality.  Even though we don’t talk or get to see each other all that often, when we do, we make up for lost time.  We have been on some epic adventures together, the most memorable probably being our trips to Vegas and Green Bay.  Happy birthday buddy.

Cindy has been an injection of raw sunshine into my life since we started dating last year.  She is the most selfless person I have ever met and her appreciation for even the simplest and smallest things in life is admirable.  Her energy and work ethic seems inexhaustible at times, it’s amazing.

My relationship with her is 180 degrees different than any other I have had in my life, we just fit together well like Tetris pieces.  We both equally appreciate each other and it is a great feeling.  I’ll continue do my part to make sure she knows how much I appreciate and love her not only on her birthday but the other 364 days a year.  Happy birthday chica!