A typically routine retirement week has been anything but typical. “Meatless Monday” was not meatless because it was my birthday. Next Monday will also be “Meaty” with dinner plans at the Portland City Grill, entertaining out-of-town friends. Fortunately, my Tuesday night kitchen experience was not traumatic, since the sticky chicken wings turned out to be edible. “Date Night” was a two-and-a-half hour, 19-course sushi extravaganza. Thursday night I’m on my own as a result of my wife’s dinner with LPGA legend, Nancy Lopez, and Friday’s “Leadership Meeting” is being replaced with Indy Car practice at Portland International Raceway. We should be still able to get in “Movie Night” and the weekend “Schnauzerthons,” before we head to Austin. Last weekend we spent at the Oregon coast with the dogs, so my retirement routine is in positive disruption.

One element of my morning routine that has avoided any disruption has been getting-in daily runs in excess of three miles (5K a day), a string that now extends back over 30 days. As we travel on red-eye or very early morning flights, I sometimes have to drop back to the monitoring organization’s one-mile minimum rule in the interest of time. My overall streak of consecutive days is now at 3,532 with the 10-year anniversary approaching. The latest newsletter from the United States Streak Running Association (USSRA) ranks me at #203. I was hoping to break the 200 mark, but that would require the end of someone else’s streak. I’m sure it will eventually happen with natural attrition, unless it’s me that suffers an injury, so I’m not wishing for anyone’s misfortune. We are bonded together in a unique way that many might consider obsessive. If you’re interested, you’ll find all the stories at www.runeveryday.com.

Last night was another unique dining experience. It was at a Japanese restaurant here in Portland called Nodoguro; it translates to “black throat,” a high-grade sea perch or rosy seabass from the Sea of Japan. The style of dining is called Omakase, another Japanese phrase that means “I’ll leave it up to you.” This provides the chef with total control of the menu selections, as each dining participant “entrusts” his or her judgement. In this case, it was a husband and wife team that served us 19 courses – but who was counting? There was a bit of a disagreement before we started on how many there would be? I guessed higher than 19, and as it turns out I was closest because I ended up eating several of my wife’s servings. She does not like tuna, coffee, asparagus, or onion, whereas I will eat anything. We’ve also both been participating in a “white food” ban from our diets, so sushi rice was a tough ingredient to avoid. She did a better job of that, passing those “violations” to my plate. I, of course, did not want to offend the chef, as my wife also began to get full. He described the meal as “hardcore sushi,” but it was not “hard” for me to finish every bite.

They paired my dishes with five different varieties of Saki, so I was also feeling no pain as we left the restaurant. She drove me home with no complaints, despite the fact that she had to go to work today. When she initially asked me to make this “Date Night” reservation, she was thinking it would be more of a traditional Japanese tasting. She was also tired from preparing my special birthday dinner two nights ago and the recent pressures of her job. She’ll be home begrudgingly late tonight after dinner with the lady golfers, another sport that she’s not particularly fond. She does all this while somehow putting up with me. I’m a very full and fortunate guy, after adding a few pounds of sushi and Saki.

“Arigatou Gozaimasu”