VO2...what?

OK i'm cruising on the internet (read: avoiding all things important) and find a site that has a running 'pace' predictor from one's VO2Max. Hmmmm...being the ever so curious person that I am, I went and dug out the VO2 max test I had when I was a guinea pig in some poor grad student's experiment. And hey, those things are expensive and it was free for me. So sure, being a poor gradstudent myself I knew I wouldn't pay for one of those things anyway. (and being a skeptic into the whole importance of the VO2max...more on that...)

When I got to this website you can 'calculate' how fast or slow based upon your weight and a current time you have gone....bla, bla, bla. I know...not reliable...but this is the weird part about is that when I type in my 2 hour time for my half marathon, it comes up with a

VO2max of 36.5ml/kg/min...

Me...i'm thinking...um...no.

I know, I know...website calculations are phooey, but if I type in my VO2max test from two years ago (and again, i know...VO2max's shouldn't change much...whatever) which was 44.5ml/kg/min I get some OTHER very different numbers.

Apparently I'm 'supposed' to be able to run a mile in 6:28 (that hasn't happened), and my 'marathon' pace should be 8 min/miles (i wish...I wish I could run that for a 10K) and my 'slow' run time is supposed to be 9min/miles. (um...that's when I've trained like heck and have a base and let me tell you sister...i was not 'slow' running that half marathon back in Oct). Right now i'm lucky if I see a sub 10 min/mile. OK I know, i know...i have no base at the moment. But really...what the HECK is the VO2 max all about? I think it's a load of garbage at this moment because what exactly does it tell you except the amount of air you sucked down before you decided you should stop otherwise you might puke and you didn't want to puke in that little mask on your face. And to date I have not found any satisfactory answer to the mystery of the VO2 max. I'm puzzled. It's a perplexing thing...that's for sure.

So...my conclusion...VO2max predictors online...tell you...well...not much of anything. Does the VO2max tell you anything at all really? Any other takers on the subject?

So much for 'fancy' food...

I bought some prosciutto and goat cheese the other day to have a 'fancy' snack on a tortilla or crackers or something. It was my way of 'comforting' my insanity these days. I opened them a few days ago and had a yummy snack. Last night I thought "Oh i want a yummy 'fancy' snack" and pulled out he prosciutto and goat cheese. Yes it was yummy at first and then 30 minutes later I realized "Uh oh...I now had food poisoning" and the rest of the night...not fun.

From an outside observation point I was rather floored at how quickly the body can recognize something as BAD and so rapidly do something about it. It's pretty amazing if you consider it from that perspective. I've never had food poisoning occur so quickly...so I was bizarrely fascinated with the immediacy of the response. OK, a little morbid in that observation.

So...my planned 6 miles of running today was a no-go. Instead I slept, had bizarre dreams and blog-stocked various blogs. What else is there to do?

Feeling better already. Hopefully tomorrow is more productive in many ways.

updates and randomness

YEA...i ran again this morning, 3.5 miles. A runner friend of mine is now running in the mornings which helps me be more accountable about running and such. I'm contemplating a 10K next weekend solely because it would be hysterical to see my lack of training at the moment. And since I know it would be pathetic, it might be funny...at least to me. We shall see if I can be bothered to do it let's wait and see what the weather is that day.

I'm losing the capacity to speak coherent sentences lately...it's become funnier than usual. What is the saying...? "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger". I think there should be a qualifier on that one "unless...you end up in the loony bin..."Fortunately it's just the words I am speaking that are incoherent...i can still sorta write (only on specific topics...blog posts seem to be difficult for me to write also) and hey, that's what i'm doing all sorts of these days....although i still have a few (just a few tiny ones) experiments left. Weird.

Um...and the purge of the winter gear has started since I won't need much of it in Cali. During the purge I had to part with a pair of flannel pants that I loved while I was out here. Now i have no regrets about giving them to a friend of mine because of what they represent (bitterly cold winter), but they were great...and functional...and cute. Don't get me wrong, I do like winter to a degree...it was the 6 months of winter with a lack of spring in this region that killed me. But anyway, i'm digressing. Here is an ode to those pants...

Ode to a pair of pants

You were so soft and nice and warm.

Many thought the red and white flowers were quite the charm.

Your warm embrace on cold winter days,

Made me happy despite the freezing cold haze

But alas our time has come to part.

We each shall have a new start.

I would take you along for my new move.

But you would have nothing left to prove.

Your warming abilities would be a waste

As you would never leave my closet unless it was in a dressing haste

So I say good-bye and adieu

…I will miss you.

(OK, maybe i won't miss them *that* much...but hey...this fits the random category)

Amnesia Trees

New England has these interesting trees that I call “Amnesia Trees”. They are invisible but they reside outside of everyone’s home in New England. They start to bloom right around May and come into full bloom in August. I went for a nice 3.5 mile run (lookie I did run) this morning and realized that the Amnesia Trees have started blooming… Ahhhh.

Now I should explain these trees. They have this amazing ability to somehow make you forget that winter ever existed in these parts. When I walk outside, the thought that this place could be under many feet of snow and bitterly cold in winter seems absolutely inconceivable. Right now it’s only the beginning of the blooming season for the Amnesia Trees. They TRULY are in full bloom when it’s, oh, mid-August and it’s 90 degrees and 95% humidity and my house doesn’t have much in the way of Air-Conditioning and me and my housemates just sit in the coolest part of the house trying not to move. The cats get all weird-o and you find them sprawled out on the linoleum or hiding in the basement. It’s at that point of the year that I think “How in the world can winter even exist in this region?” It just doesn’t seem feasible that it could get as cold as it does.

What’s super funny about these trees is how much they make one forget. My friend JM mentioned to me yesterday that the Amnesia Trees were blooming and I said to her “Ha, ha, ha…Where did get that term?” She looked at me and laughed and said “You made it up”.

Winter is not the only thing I’m forgetting these days….sigh(giggle).

Does it work now?

Puzzled by my last post's inablity to publish comments on. Apparently it was a mystery as to why one couldn't...but i'm curious if it is enabled now. They said it was 'fixed'...guess they were right.

posting? What's that?

Hmmmm...i thought I was going to start posting a little more 'frequently' back there when I made my last post sometime back there. What i've found these days is that the way I respond to the hours of my life being sucked out of me and stress in my life squishing me is that I somehow can't respond well to anything 'other' than my focus in front of me. And really what that means is that if the question/inquiry is not about stupid work stuff...I'm lucky I can string a sentence together about it. (i'm truly serious about this one, I cannot count the number of times this week I've had to say "um, sorry, hang in there with me, i'm having trouble talking today" What is wrong with me??!!)

Anyway... here are a few conclusions I've come to over the past few weeks:

1) Don't store chocolate in your office when attempting to sort out a stressful situation...you'll just eat all of it...pretty much at once.

2) Swearing at instruments (or 'machines' as I tend to call them...) really doesn't get them to be more cooperative. They *really* have a mind of their own. I've mentioned it before...resistentialism. And yes...I really have the worst scientific luck. I've been told by many that is the case. Thank goodness that I think I coaxed all the necessary data out of the instrument before it decided to pitch a fit.

3) How is it that a person can be so excited to move and so sad to leave at the same time?

4)Life is insane...or at least mine is. Or maybe it's that I'm insane and the rest of life is not...thinking...thinking...thinking...on that one.

5) Six degrees of separation...too true.

6) When I get stressed out about moving...I look for luggage. So. weird.

7) I'm having STRANGE dreams. Stop. Fortunately they aren't centered around work...but they are just weird. Get out.

8) Not sure about this tri season. So far...no Oly in June. Sad. But...the tri season goes on longer where i'm moving...so maybe.

9)Don't think I'm going to run a marathon this fall. Instead increase my mileage to 30 miles/week over the next 10 weeks...then work on strength with hills/speed...run a half...maintain 30ish miles for the winter while working on core strength and then train for a marathon after some solid months of running and train for a spring marathon...or early summer one.

10) I'm either going to start blogging about insanely random things from now on...or there will be no word from me til I'm on the flip side, some time in Sept. Random...maybe...

11) Cats are weird. Or maybe it is the cats that occupy the space I call my home that are weird. Or refer back to number 4.

12) Life is not a TV show...reality TV needs to get over itself as well as TV shows.

13) and let's be honest...blogs are weird too. :-)

what day is it?

I can't believe it has been so long since my last post. I'm still keeping tabs on the tri-bloggy world, but I can barely breathe at the moment, so I'm hanging on for dear life in the rest of my life and waiting for this wild ride to come to a halt at the end of Aug. I wish I could post some inspiring workout or spectacular insight into training and tri life, but that is not really where my focus has been lately. Granted my number one tri-goal for this season is to graduate...that does seem to be coming a long. It's going to be a messy show of the next few months, but get-r-done is the focus. Any thing else is just icing.

As far as triathlon, i've come to a weird cross roads in it all. It's a bit weird to explain the process and the fact that even though things have come and gone and even though my training isn't really what I'd have hoped for I'm learning about myself as an athlete. I think that one day soon I will be truly able to see that athlete as an extension of myself instead of it being something I 'do'...and I know I would have lost that if I had really ground down on myself in a manner that was becoming non-productive. It's too hard to explain on a public space like a blog, but I do believe that in the end all will turn right for me and my training.

So in the meantime, I'm discovering the beauty of the bike ride and the country roads, and the slow swim strokes, and the rhythmic side to side breathing, the foot falls on the pavement and the sunshine on my face.

Enjoy every stroke, peddle and step. Each one is more of a gift than we sometimes credit it for.

Breathe in...breathe out...

it is beautiful

Schedule

Well...i thought about it. And even though my life is making me nutty at the moment and at times I fear that a focused training schedule could make me crabbier and crazier, I've thrown a bit of caution to the wind and I'm going to focus on a June Oly in 14 weeks from now. I am thinking it might be possible for me to do Ashland(even with my friend's wedding the day before)...so i've created a schedule to do Ashland Oly...and a 1/2 mary two weeks before.

Oi...

it all could push me off the deep end...or it will keep me going off the deep end. Who knows.

I find creating tri schedule for myself entirely entertaining because in truth...i have NO idea what i'm doing. I've read some books/websites and it is my 4th true season of training so I have the gist of what's going on...but still...i think i feel a little silly at times assuming I *know* what the heck I'm doing. Prior to my first true tri season 4 years ago i had never done a sport where scheduled training was part of the deal...i mean I played Ultimate competitively (somewhat) in college and soccer in high school...but nothing ever in a fashion where I had this schedule of work outs aside from showing up to practice so this whole tri thing has been a source of bumbling and entertainment.

So I took the first part of the 'intermediate' Oly schedule from www.trinewbies.com chopped chunks out of it added more running since i'll be doing a 1/2 mary two weeks before, dropped some swimming...added a brick...made it required that I do do one day of yoga a week, and IF i so choose, i can do a second day although then that means yoga on my rest day...not the end of the world. So my whole 'schedule' looks somewhat different than the beginning of the schedule. But I figure that since my longest bike will be 45miles and i'll be doing PLENTY of running...the swimming will be adequate (nothing stellar that's for sure), it'll get me through the finish line strong.

Happy daylight savings!!

Learning to fly...

Birds fall from the window ledge above mine.
Then they flap their wings at the last second.
I said birds fall from the window ledge above mine.
Then they flap their wings at the last second.
But unless I get up,
Walk across the room
And peer down below,
I won't see their last second curves
Toward a, a horizontal flight.
All these birds just falling from the ledge like stones.

Now due to a construct in my mind
That makes their falling and their flight
Symbolic of my entire existence,
It becomes important for me
To get up and see
Their last second curves toward flight.
..lyrics taken from .Mr. Mastodon Farm by Cake

Flying...someone once told me that this whole graduate school 'process' is similar to flying. People can only help you so far. You grow to a point where you start to think or believe or realize that maybe you can actually fly off that ledge. They can encourage you up to that ledge where you have to trust that you have the wings to fly.

For me right now, I feel like I have lept off the ledge and i'm in a free fall stage prior to actually flying. I've jumped and I see where i'm headed....AKKKKKKKKDOWN...and i'm flapping those wings. Somewhere along the way I believed enough that I could fly off that ledge, but right now I am not *actually* flying yet...i am in the free fall stage of the jump where my heart has sunk to the pit of my stomach, and I feel like I am going to throw up, I am flapping my little wings as hard as I can and I am starting to wonder when these 'wings' are going to actually work. When I get outside my brain for a second I can rationalize that will work at some point, but being in that free fall stage of the flight i'm having that seed of doubt and I'm starting to wonder if that was such a good idea to throw myself off that ledge back there. But the reality is it is too late to do anything else but fly.

Therefore I will learn to fly.

consistency

My goal this past week was to be consistent in my training, and I was consistent in not doing any of my training...argh. OK over exaggeration...in the last 7 days I got 4 in...but I totally missed from tuesday to thrusday. My major problem was that by Friday I was SUPER keyed up due to not having exercised the previous 3 days. Note to self: exercise DOES help with the stress levels don't forget that.

I'm at a point where I'm a borderline stress case (understatement)with all the work going on so I can graduate this summer and so I have this INTENSE desire to be at work all the time...and well that is good because I need to be there...and I"m getting lots done, but it can be not good all at the same time. Getting some training in helps immensely with my basket-caseness yet sometimes I forget that. Why is that so easy to forget? Why oh why?

Anyway I did get on the trainer on friday night. And I went for a GREAT 6 mile run today. Last week I was running 10:30 miles or so and this week many of my miles were sub 10. At the moment the focus is supposed to be base building so i'm not supposed to be worrying too much about how fast i'm going, but I still like to know :-)

I'm still trying to figure out what tri's i'm going to do this summer. I had thought I might do an oly mid june...but that is proving difficult to schedule due to a friend's wedding...so...hmmm...i donno. Still working on that.

The goal this week...get off my butt and actually go and get my swim pass...my goodness it's MARCH...and I have no swim pass which means I have not been to the pool since Dec. oops.

happy training

seasons

Four seasons in one day
Lying in the depths of your imagination
Worlds above and worlds below
The sun shines on the black clouds hanging over the domain

Even when you're feeling warm
The temperature could drop away
Like four seasons in one day...



Ah... Crowded House...it's not quite four season in one day right now in New England, in fact as I was out for a run this morning I realized that New England doesn't have four seasons...it has something like 8 or more depending on the year.

There is fall which everyone thinks is absolutely beautiful...and it is.

And then there is early winter where the snow has come down, it's not yet christmas, it's festive, snuggling in front of the fire with a hot cup of tea is quaint...it's quintessential New England.

Then there is post christmas....itsfreakingcoldmakeitstop season...that's usually from about Jan to some time in Feb. That's the season where you try to figure out how to put on more than 20 pieces of clothing all at once, look like a giant walking marshmallow person and try not to let it bother you that your boogers freeze when you go outside and it's so cold it makes you cough when you breath.

Then there is pre-mud season I have recently named "gross season". This week was the epitome of gross season. Friday the weather report called for a 'wintery mix'...aka gross wet coldness. It snowed 3 inches or so thursday night and then proceeded to pour rain on friday leaving us with a nasty slushy muck. Although the nice and quaint New Englandness of this season is the cute little maple syrup buckets attached to the maple trees. They are cute.

Soon after gross season is mud season where it has sorta stopped snowing and now it's just raining trying to get rid of the snow.

Then SUDDENLY (typically Memorial day weekend this happens) it is 'summer'. It's the nice part of summer, 75-80 degrees not too humid, making you enjoy the season and thinking how great being in NE in the summer is...and then it becomes...

Hot and gross summer...80-90 percent humidity with no air conditioning and temps in the 90s. Even hot and gross summer doesn't bother me that much...but people sure like to talk about it a lot.

So...i'd say that in a typical year there are 7-8 seasons...there can sometimes be some more seasons mixed in there. Like this year we had 'pretending not to be winter' season where there was no snow and not very cold.

But hey that's how it goes I guess. I am trying to be all giddy about these seasons right now as soon there will be less of them...maybe when my socks stop getting wet I'll be happy with all the seasons...

that IS a light at the end of the tunnel

It truly is a light at the end of the tunnel...and not a train coming towards me. :-) SO...things are going pretty well. 40 minutes on the trainer this morning. Whoohoo.

AND the big news about the job thing...i was re-reading my posts and realized I should update. A week ago, I was offered both positions I was interviewing for and on Friday I accepted one of them! So weird to take a job that you won't start for 7 months...but now I don't have to stress about finding a job AND finishing up the stupid book (aka dissertation). Now I can just focus the crazy on one thing at a time. And can we say 'motivation?'

OK at the same time this is hugely motivating and amazingly frightening. I have so many things to do to finish up and some days I feel a bit overwhelmed by it all. But the crazy thing is that every time I begin to freak out I start thinking about triathlon training. I basically have 12-14 weeks til I have to pass a milestone with my thesis committed before being given the big OK to write the book. And then another 12 weeks to write the book. First instinct...Freak_ out. But then I thought about training. Slightly dorky I know, but once I started to think in 12-14 week training chunks, it helped me to calm down.

I guess I figured that if I decided to do an Olympic distance triathlon...in 14 weeks from now (brrr...new England) I definitely could. I'm not planning an Oly in 14 or 12 weeks...that's be a silly time to do that as I'd be nuts-o with the milestone and freakishly cold water in New England, but you get my point. (maybe)...my point being that even though it doesn't sound like a lot of time, 12 or 14 weeks...it's lots of time to prepare for a sprint triathlon, an Olympic triathlon or other things. These are things that a few years ago the mystery of finishing these distances seemed almost out of reach, but I have recognized that by committing myself to the training and the daily-ness of it all I can succeed.

My 'training' at the moment is mountains of experiments...many which make my back hurt as I have to stand for hours on end...but I'll get there. And have a stronger back by the end of this week.

All is well...all is well.

Oh and the job location...about as far away as one can move from New England...California. Many have commented that I won't have seasons anymore...my thought: I've had my whole life with seasons...I got the point. :-P

outside running

I managed a 6 mile run today outside in the oh so nice 27 F weather. It is 'warming' up...hahaha. Oh well...it does look like this will be my last New England winter quite possibly ever...although one never knows what the future holds, so I won't say never. So I'm attempting to embrace the New England-ness of the cold and 'enjoy'...um right...sure...whatever.

but it was a great run...back to building a base

Metric

Metric...that is the answer to the mystery numbers on the bike...my 'power' meter has decided not to stay in imperial units and when ever you give it a chance (read: look the other way after you have programmed it with mph) it will blink at you show weird number reading and then go to km/h. Fun. I'd been dreaming of moving back to metric loving countries recently, maybe I'm getting prepped for it. ;-)

Road my trainer for 45mins as it was a nasty-windy-myuniversityisactuallyclosed-snowy-sort of day. I did get out of my PJs and did a lot of work on one of my graduation milestones, so today was a SUPER productive day. Loved it.

Things are looking up on many fronts. Many details to still figure out in the scheme of it all with work-life-job stuff-graduating....bla, bla, bla. But maybe one day I will find some balance.

so...much...going...on..need...to...breath...

GASP....

So today I finally unpacked my bags from my trip out West from last week. That's just about how insane things have been. The job front from the interview last week is all going in a nice and positive direction. Research is going in a nice and positive direction...what in the world is going on around here??? :-) I likey it though. Although i'm insanely busy and I get the feeling breathing will soon become optional. I actually tried making out an actual training schedule this week for the next few weeks. So far...doing OK. Not fab. But...breathing has becoming my number one focus lately. Although I am reminded that my number one tri goal this season is to graduate...so I guess I am on target :-)

on a training note....I had a weird bike trainer sesson. I have this 'fake' power meter(well that's what I call it)...From what I gather on how it calculates the Power and speed and I'm rather suspect about it it's actual values being accurate...but it gives me numbers and well...being of the science minded I like numbers most days. And if anything even if the numbers are 'fake', (as in not truely what would be going on while you are out on the road), you can at least compare the fake numbers and make some sort of comparison of how you are doing.

So...ok...i'm not super speedy when it comes to the bike. When i'm on the road my avg speed is typically 15-17mph. And in all truth the trainer comes in around that, usually a little on the lower end of things. But yesterday that was not the case. I have worked with the trainer to know enough that my speed is in the 14-17mph typically and i'm usually feeling it pretty much on the higher mph...so last night when I'm happily putting out numbers that look between 22-25mph...my thoughts...huh? I have NOT been doing much of well...much...and yet...er...is the thingy working?

Indoor tail wind?? It is a bit drafty in the old house i live :-)

Either way....lots of fun...i can deal with the new digits.

Chaos

Well the first week of my 'get back into training/tri' schedule did work, but the second week...not so much....BUT it wasn't due to the original issues that were plaguing me...it was due to a lot of Chaos that in-sued due to a sudden job opportunities/interviews. I tried to keep some training in order and some got done...some didn't. I know 20 mins a day isn't a lot to commit, but as this was my first monster interview (being flown somewhere ect, ect with crazy prep)...what can i say...ok no excuse, but live and learn.

I am currently WAAAAAAAAAAAAY across the country. Quite possibly about as far away as I can get while still staying in the lower 48 states. And the weather is DEFINTELY not New England.

This whole thing happened wicked fast and suddenly i'm out doing the job interview thing. It has gone well...and i will know more next week. It's a bit weird to be interviewing for a job i'd start this next fal, but that's how it goes with how grad school and everything. Anywho...it was good. The interviewing process was a lot of fun actually. And things do look favorable. Who know what will come of all of it...will I get the the job offers (as there were two jobs I was interviewing for) will i not...will I take a job offer here...or some where else. Time will tell...time will tell.

So, today i'll be hiking around with some friends and be headed back to MA tomorrow. Good fun. And come monday...i think that saddle is waiting for me. :-) Bring. it. on.

good, good, good

Good stuff going on.

1) I did some yoga this morning
2) I went to a yoga class BEFORE going in for work (i've been struggling with getting my AM work outs done which is better for me generally)
3) I have been asked to do a phone interview for a job i might be well suited for.
4) The bottom still hasn't fallen out of research...good.

I was talking to a friend about the saying 'back in the saddle' and I would like to say that's where I am with my training and balance on life. But in all truth it's more like I'm in the same corral as the horse-y. I'm not quite 'back in the saddle'. But one day at a time...one day at a time.

This all has been an interesting lesson as I've realized that some times in life when things in my life have blow to pieces (as they have in my life over the past few months) and my training has basically gone down the tubes, I've discovered that there are times when it is easy to just JUMP back into the mix of it all and into the ol' training routine. But at other times (like this experience for myself) I've learned that I just have to dust myself off and give myself some time to get back to the actual 'saddle' (i.e. my regular schedule)... Recently, I've been learning how to get back into a schedule piece by piece. I've had to learn how not to get uber frustrated with myself when I just don't have the energy to dedicate to focusing on jumping into the mix of training with my life/research making me crazy at the moment. It is possible to get back into the swing of my training little by little, and that has been a valuable lesson. I will get there. I know it. It may take some time, but hey that's OK. Sometimes the person in my life I am the hardest on is myself. I am learning how to give myself space when that is really what I need while working towards getting back into it all. In time...it will happen...i know it.

going positively

Amazing...really...really...amazing...things are going positively. I won't say things are going 'well' as we aren't there yet and have a long time to get to 'well' but things have taking a nice up swing.

1) I rode my trainer for 25 mins today even when I really...really...REALLY wanted not to as I got home at 930pm and hadn't had dinner yet. But i persevered. And i'm happier with those extra endorphins in me.

2) Today I expanded some of my experiments from Friday and guess what...i have this amazingly sharp curve that is SOOOOOOOOO reproducible I almost fell over. (no idea what it means yet...that's a ways to go...but i'll take reproducible curves with small error bars please, hence why things are just positive...cautiously so...ok i'm gun shy and I can't say things are going awesome when I fear it will all come crashing down the minute I think that...soooo I'll just say things are going positively.)

Keep crossing those fingers, toes, arms and legs. This girl might *actually* graduate WITH the project she started with. It was discussed last week bagging my project...(that's a horror movie for a 5th year graduate student or beyond...To TOTALLY scrap what you have been doing for 4 years...even when you are crazy and frustrated that it won't work, the thought seems like a freak show...but it doesn't look like it will come to that) .

Sweet...4 out of 5 days of exercise and lab actually not trying to kill me. Pinch me quick.

success

I managed 20 mins on the trainer today...yea...3 out of 4 days.

i'll cheer every chance I get :-)

Now tomorrow...plan is to try out the ol' morning work out at the gym.

bit by bit

So...unfortunately my big 'declaration' from thursday went bust on Friday. But Friday was a day that was uber insane and I just had to say 'OK'...it didn't happen let's move on. Due to a doctor's apt, a job prospect call during lunch and working rather late...i just had to give myself some grace and move forward. Now today...i was making EVERY excuse imaginable not to do something when it justifiable....and I over came my hurdle in the end....i succeeded in 20mins on the trainer. Tis good. I'll come around...i do know it. Life will right itself and I'll come around. Til then...

bit...by...bit