journal for 2002-10-02
day five in exile
Today was meh. Apart from my quick phone call home, the highlight of my day was determining that squash probably isn’t as annoying as it seemed. Some googling revealed that squash balls come in different speeds. Speeds are marked by colored dots, and they go something like this:
| dot | speed |
|---|---|
| 🔵 | fast |
| 🔴 | medium |
| 🟢/⚪️ | slow |
| 🟡 | super slow |
Now, the faster the ball (generally) the easier it is to use, because it will tend to just fall down less. A slower ball will rebound less, so it will have less air time, and you’ll need to hustle more and have more energy in every shot to keep it in play. So, I had said our ball seemed slow or squooshy. It had two yellow dots. According to squash.org:
The slowest speed of balls intended for elite players and Championship usage may if required be identified by a double yellow dot.
WTF.
I guess either the Squash Ball Selling Lady thought we were amazing (albiet slightly tubby) players or she wasn’t paying attention. I’d like to try again with a red or blue ball, but my body might not be ready before I leave the hotel. Blech! I need to get into a shape such that half an hour of sport doesn’t leave me ruined for two days!
the daily food report
Breakfast: the usual hotel breakfast. Too much fat and grease.
Lunch: McDonald’s. Ugh! The only good thing about McD’s here is that they’ve got Fanta. Also, they serve donuts as a dessert item. I didn’t get (or want) one, but it was amusing.
Dinner: I wasn’t really hungry, but I ate pizza. Why do I eat when I’m not hungry? Stupid! I should only eat when I’m hungry—and probably not even that often. The pizza was from the same mediocre place, but this time had bland ham cubes on it.
programming
I still haven’t gotten any new coding done, really. I’ve puttered around on some things, but nothing significant has been started or finished, either at work or on my own. I’m working on planning a CVS repository for work, which is relaxing. I’m going to set up a GNU/Linux server to host it, for now, although I’ve said I’ll try to get CVSNT working. It doesn’t seem to “just work.”