A first

I did something yesterday - twice - which I have never done before in my life.  I bit the bullet, gathered some account numbers, and paid a couple of bills online.  The house note and the Comcast bill.  Might even consider adding a few more as they come in - it was easier than anticipated.  Security concerns?  Not really.   I read somewhere that people who do at least some of their banking online are more likely to find out if there's something fishy going on, than those who don't.  Who hasn't had several unread bank statements pile up in the 'in' tray...

Personal checks are a thing of the past in Europe and even in South Africa and while they are still widely used here in the USA, it won't be too long before they follow telex machines and typewriters into oblivion.  I plead guilty to the charge of having helped to keep the practice alive, but at least I don't write checks in grocery stores.  Come on - don't those people have a train to catch?  Oops - I forgot.  There are no more passenger trains either. Well maybe one comes through Houston every second day or so.  All kidding aside, the check writing thing while in line stopped being funny with 'The Dude' writing a check for $0.67 at a Vonn's Supermarket in LA, for some half and half.  All the Big Lebowski fans will know what the half and half is for, too.

Running is going passably well.  I am on track for a 40+ mile week and hopefully 165+ for the month of May.  Probably the highest total for a month in more than two years.  I just wish my body would wake up and realize that I am burning hundreds of extra calories.  Why are the extra miles seemingly having no effect on the pesky abdominal fat that I have to drag around with me on every run?  Maybe, just maybe, I know the answer.  It has to do with food intake.  Duh.  Roasted peanuts taste great but eat just a small handful of them and there goes all the hard work of three entire miles of running.  At my easy pace (heart rate around 128 or so) it takes 30 minutes to cover 3 miles.  How long does it take to eat 2 oz of peanuts?  Maybe 5 or 10 minutes and that's pushing it. Life is not fair. 

Talking about food, the good people at DeLonghi sent me a replacement glass cover for the electric grill.  I accidentally dropped and broke (it shattered into a thousand pieces) the original one a while ago.  So a cookout seemed in order.  I steamed some potatoes, carrots and zucchini, and then marinated them for a few hours.  Must remember to include onion next time.  Some extra firm tofu got the mirin, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and garlic/ginger treatment and then went on the grill as well. Quite nice with a touch of chutney.  On the side we had a tasty, crunchy black bean and quinoa salad with mango, green onions and cilantro.  This one is a keeper - the recipe is from Veganomicon.