MVA! Agh!

So I'm a little angry at the MVA. I went Friday during my lunch (from work) to see if I could go take care of getting my MD driver's license, but after getting there the lady said it was like a 45 minute wait, which I couldn't afford to do on a work day (at the end of the week when there's a party afterward, anyway). She looked at my info I had with me for reference and proofs and all, and said I'd be fine. So, I had to get up early Saturday morning to go in and do it.

Doesn't stop there. Once I got there, again - I forgot my credit card bill, so I had to go back home and get it (10-15 min drive) - I waited an hour and 15 minutes with my "take-a-number" number only to find out that what the lady told me Friday was incorrect. Fantastic. At least I didn't break anything on the way out. Other than some of the skin on my right hand =/

Now I have to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday when my roommate gets back so he can sign the lease - unless customer service helps and says that something else might work. That's another thing. The offices are open 8:30-12 on Saturdays, but the customer service line isn't, and there's no direct line to the office that I could find, so you can't get questions answered without physically going to the office. Stupid.

There's my rant.

Vegas Vacation

Well, Vegas was fun, and I did pretty well in the marathon. I missed Boston by a few minutes, but I did PR by 6.5 minutes for a 3:16:29 (7:30 pace per mile). Next year, Boston. Next year... (I need to run a 3:10:59)

Watch Out, Boston!

I fly out tomorrow after work for the Las Vegas Marathon (race is Sunday). The goal is to qualify for Boston. Sure, it's a stretch, but I think I have a shot! Here goes nothing!

Also, a fun article about a guy who has run every day for 30 years. My favorite part:

Running with me let my father indulge his screwball sense of humor. One year, we ran in a road race just before Thanksgiving, and though it wasn't supposed to be a costumed affair, my dad talked me into dressing like a chef, with a giant tin-foil cleaver. He put on a turkey costume and as per his instructions, I spent the entire 5-mile route a few steps behind him, waving the cleaver and shouting: "Come back here, you turkey!"

Wow, UNC

Wow. North Carolina is REALLY good. They embarrassed MSU tonight by 35. It was a good first half though.

On a more entertaining (than the second half) note, here's a fun link from a friend:
The 7 Most Terrifying Disney Movie Deaths
I love the sarcastic remarks and there is some creativity in the post - and check out the related links too :)

Helping the Economy

Well, I have to say that I am helping the economy out a little as of this weekend and the month or so to come. I bought a new camera and have plans to buy a car and a computer in the next month or so. Also on my list is a new phone. We shall see how everything turns out.

You Turkey!

I'm so glad to be going home for Thanksgiving tomorrow (after a half day of work). It's going to be a long drive and hopefully not too much snow and traffic. We shall see. Home Sweet Home.

I've Got My Eye on You, Boston...

I had a great bounce-back run today after Saturday's misery and Thursday's "bad" run. It was arguably the strongest I've felt in a training run all year. Did my 8-mile tempo run at 6:57 pace, and even pushed the last one to 6:45! I'm officially declaring myself unofficially ready for the Las Vegas Marathon!!

In other news, someone stole my peanut butter last night...

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Now playing: Marc Broussard - Momentary Setback
via FoxyTunes

Paging Mother Nature!

Hellooooooo!? November 15th is not supposed to be 65 and humid! Kind of made my 22-miler yesterday a little difficult... and then deciding to make it pour at the end too? That's not nice! Got a little chilly when I got soaked there. And the humidity forced me to run out of water (thank you to the fire station that let me steal some of theirs!) - but I finished, and still with an 8:09 pace.

TAPER TIME!

Put on a Smile

Happy World Kindness Day!

I hope you all did something nice for someone today :)

Veteran's Day

Thank you to all those, past and present, who protect our freedoms!

Yay! Boom!

So, I'm rather excited to have gotten gas for $2.04 today! The guys next to me at the gas station, though, apparently don't know to turn their car off while pumping gas...HELLO!?!? Isn't that a fire hazard or something??

1000!

With today's run I surpassed 1000 miles for the year. That's the first time in 11 years of running that I've done that! :) I hope I don't fizzle at the end of the season like a rookie pitcher... That being said, today's run was probably the toughest run that is on my training schedule. Sure, there's a 22-miler and all, but 8 x 1-mile repeats at 6:30 pace is kinda hard =P My legs felt a little heavy/tight, but I made it through and averaged 6:33 per interval :)

Another weekend is here. I still need to eat more and sleep more...

Panic Room

CRAP AND DOUBLE CRAP!

So, searching around my room to pack for Homecoming this weekend, I am surprised to find that I have very little winter clothing here in Baltimore. Apparently I didn't bring enough back on my trips home...did I think I was going home again soon?? I don't have my long-sleeve running shirts, my hat, my headbands, my gloves... I need to do some major shopping. It's getting cold. The hat I can do without, but the others are vital for running. I'm trying not to panic too much...

I might actually listen...

...if they were this interesting: Fabulous Flight Attendant

Oh Pikes Peak...

A fun quote from the Pikes Peak Marathon website:

"There’s a reason trees don’t bother growing above 12,000' on Pikes Peak. They can’t! Makes one wonder if trees are smarter than runners."

Mawwage / Running

Went up to Lewisburg for my friends' wedding this weekend. It was tons of fun and really nice :) A big congrats to them both and well wishes galore! I think I got myself a little sick walking back from the pool barefoot though =/

I've been pretty happy with my running lately. I've been ahead of my planned paces and haven't been pushing extremely hard to get there. I'm confident I could pretty easily break 1:40 for a Half Marathon and 3:30 for a full, right now. Assuming they're not crazy hilly or anything, of course. BQ is looking more and more do-able. I hope this continues! :)

Running Log link

Thoughts

Here are a few thoughts and oddities from this weekend...

- As I said in the last entry, I finally saw Dark Knight :)

- Before the movie I learned some things about pool (billiards), and had my first margarita. It was a fresh fruit mango margarita, so it was rather good!

- On my run Saturday morning, as two passing bikers rode by I heard "It ended up, the squirrel had taken the bronze medal." I was about 14 miles into the run and now realize that maybe he said "this girl" and not "squirrel" ... But it was funny to hear and got me thinking that it would be interesting to do that and say random things and somehow see the other people's reactions... My run was awesome, as I did 18 at an 8:05 pace. Boston (BQ) is looking a little more do-able now!

- Saturday at the grocery store a mother was telling her daughter to pick out a cereal, but one without a lot of sugar. The child proceeded to choose Coco Crisp...

- I took a walk over to the nearby Route 1 Flea Market this afternoon. It's basically a Hispanic version of Gibraltar Trade Center. It's also a little smaller and a lot more useless stuff. At least I some of the stuff at Gibraltar is interesting. Though I did see a fedora I think...

- Kalev chocolate (from Estonia) is good stuff. Though since it's from Estonia, it was $4.

Seriously?

I thought it was just the football players...
Wisconsin's Band Suspended

In other news, I finally got to see Dark Knight! It was quite good. And Heath Ledger was as good as hyped. Why does Batman talk like that? Is his mask too tight, or is it simply to conceal his identity?

Weekend in MD

Wow. Sadly, I'm in MD for the weekend. I say sadly because I like seeing my friends. I need to somehow make some here...

I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with myself. I got up at 1 today, and I'm going to do some shopping. Saturday morning I'll do my 18-miler and hopefully get back in time to see all of the MSU-Iowa game. Go Green! And then church on Sunday. Exciting weekend, eh?

Happy National Pizza Month!

Regrets

5 years ago, I made a bad choice. I've rarely been satisfied with my major and career decision. I know people complain about things like that a lot, but I was always pretty serious. I never had the courage to change my major and never thought about enough in the first place. I hope that I don't end up regretting my move to Baltimore or other important things. There has to be a way to fix all that, doesn't there?

I wanted to move East so I could be closer to my friends. I still haven't made any in Baltimore. Sure, I'm gone just about every weekend, but even if I was home, I don't think I would still. I've never had to go out and find friends before. Not that I ever had any real close ones anyways. Maybe I am afraid to be disappointed that my new friends won't be as good as my other ones. I'm rather picky. And I am not good with change. I want to be with the friends I have.

Here's to another breakdown.
Cheers.

Worth 1000

So I found this website via an email, and it's pretty interesting to take a look at. Basically a bunch of fun photoshops... Worth1000

A couple of examples:


Also, I'm home in MI for the weekend :) But I still wish I could be two places at once...

The Life Hectic

I get to go home this weekend for a wedding :) Unfortunately, since I'm flying out Thursday at 4:30, I need to work overtime the rest of this week to make up for some hours. So, this week so far I've put in some long hours. I've also been trying to get to sleep earlier. And since I get home from work, run and eat dinner, and sometimes shower, it doesn't leave much time for anything between then and bed =/ It's been crazy. But I live for the weekends and those make it all bearable.

I love music.

And being random.

On Your Left

Ok, so one of my pet peeves when I'm running is a biker who doesn't sufficiently let you know he's coming and going to pass you. You're supposed to say "on your left" (but not when you're right next to the person) or ring a bell or something. That being said, I ran into quite the predicament today during my speed work run...I actually passed two people on bikes! They were a father and son (I presume) on a nice easy bike ride on the BWI Trail (bike path by the airport). I wasn't sure if I should say something or not. If I could... I didn't have the breath/energy too. I guess I'll just count on them hearing my breathing and/or footsteps. That was an interesting first :)

What I Love Hearing

"Hi, I was just thinking about you"

Do you know how good it feels to hear that?

Snowball

We got free snowballs at work today (my first one ever) , which are apparently kind of a mix between a snow cone and Italian Ice (i.e. Rita's/gelati). I guess it's a Baltimore thing.

Work Ramble:
I think I exaggerate about not liking my job a little bit, but I would really like to find something eventually where I will enjoy being at work or even want to go to work everyday... I don't know what it would be or what I would do, but it would be fun to start my own business. Then I could choose where and when I want to work, and it would probably be something I enjoy doing. I would make my office with a balcony or something so that I could sit outside and work on nice days. It would be tough for me to be a good business man. I'm not pushy enough.

Where am I going?

What am I doing with my life? I wish I could find a job doing something I like. I wish I could find an area I like. I wish I could learn to how to make new friends that I like.

I've never been more homesick.

ROY?

How about Armando Galarraga for AL Rookie of the Year??

12-4, 3.17 ERA, 97 SO (leads all rookies)!

His only real competition is Evan Longoria who is likely helped by being on a first place team.

Green Ed

So I can't decide if people are just lazy or they don't know how to recycle and need to be educated. Cardboard is supposed to be broken down and flattened, wadded up pieces of paper is not how to recycle, and don't leave plastic trays and garbage inside the cardboard box you didn't flatten.

That's a good start.

Apnea?

I saw this ad on gmail, and I just thought it was rather funny:

Apnea?
Play a didgeridoo! Doctors say it works!

Hmm...

DCL

So last weekend I went up to my friend's lake house for her birthday party get-together. It was so much fun, as expected :)

We played lots of Mafia, did some tubing, hiked/swam at the falls, some of us kayaked, and I learned how to wake surf! Well, I got up for a few seconds! I'll post a picture as soon as I'm anxious to try again sometime. Six of us kayaked around the lake for about 3 hours, which I measured out to be about 5 miles! With all that time outside and on the water, I didn't get sunburned really at all - which is amazing for me... the weather was pretty nice, mostly sunny and highs around the low 70s, which is pretty good for the area I think. A little chilly sometimes, but who cares. It was so much fun. I didn't sleep all that much, as per usual...I kinda got up early Saturday, but that's perfectly fine with me =D

Well, after all that, I've been exhausted and a little since, so we'll see how I feel tomorrow. I get to go up to Lewisburg next weekend to, so I'm pumped - and I'll probably be continuously pumped for a while... :)


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Now playing: Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You
via FoxyTunes

Goodnights

I love when the last thing I do before bed is say goodnight to you.


An entry on the fantastic weekend will come soon...

Half-Washed & Perplexed

So I found out today that since I moved in to the new place I've only been like "half" washing my clothes because of the washer's settings. Oh well, I didn't really notice any difference...did you? Now that I know, I'm going to smell like roses =D

Also, I'm a little confused at my computer right now. Yes, at it. I have it set so that it does not go on stand by or hibernate if it's plugged in, yet it keeps doing just that. I really should look into a new computer soon...

Also, I just have to get through the work day tomorrow and then it's go time! Well, and get an oil change and my brakes looked at, and run 8 miles Friday morning. But basically once work is over I'll be ready to go =D Actually, I've been ready to go for a while now!

What are the odds...

...that I get to sleep by midnight tonight?
...that the Tigers win the AL Central this year?
...that a Bucknell alum would be leaving the parking lot ahead of me after work today? (driving a BMW, of course)
...that I'm getting sick (my food has had hints of chlorine and vinegar tastes the past two days)?
...that you get abducted by aliens?
...this ends and we don't meet again? (you know I had to throw a song lyric in somewhere)

Anyways, think I can start sleeping more? I'm so excited for the weekend. Can it be now?

Moose Videos!

Moose in Sprinklers!
Cute video, thanks to Lisa...I remember when I used to run through the sprinklers :)

Taking Care of the Moose
And since I got on the topic of moose videos...a pet moose! I love the music in the video too =P

Better Together

There's no combination of words
I could put on the back of a postcard
No song that I could sing
But I can try for your heart,
our dreams, and they are made out of real things
like a shoebox of photographs
with sepia-toned loving
Love is the answer
at least for most of the questions in my heart, like
Why are we here? And where do we go?
And how come it's so hard?
It's not always easy and
sometimes life can be deceiving
I'll tell you one thing, it's always better when we're together

- Better Together, Jack Johnson

I'm very tired. Sleep, come to me.

I Woke Up Happy

I'm not much of a morning person usually, and I don't usually wake up happy. But today I did :)

I am back in MD after a great and eventful weekend trip up to Bucknell. I hadn't seen any of my college friends in almost 4 months, which is entirely too long. I had a bit o' trouble on the way up... I hit something on I-83 in Harrisburg, which blew one of my wheel cylinders, saturated the brake system and made my brakes not work. Luckily I didn't have to stop quickly. Unluckily, that means my car had a weekend getaway in Harrisburg and I had to play passenger for the weekend (which was definitely not all that bad). Also unluckily, that means an $820 shot to the bank account. But, especially after that fun event, this weekend turned out to be much better than I could have expected.

Again in 12

Let the Games Begin!

Well, I went out for my first run of LVM training! I need to get used to the heat down here and figure out when the best time is to run (right now, at least, I won't be getting up before work...)

3 miles down, 617 to go!!

In Case You Were Wondering...

Here's how tall I am:

4.17 cubits
1.0417 fathoms
2.013586589e-16 light years
0.009469697 furlongs
1.069423653 famns
225 barleycorns
108,000 twips
0.899280576 kens
0.000000003 radii of the Sun

...and how much I weigh:

74.842741 kg
4.5071598425628 daltons
5.128356778 slugs
2640 oz
0.074842741 metric tons
374,213.70525 carats (I must be expensive!)
1.252388572e-23 mass of the Earth

How I know...

Failing Health

Ok, so I made the title sound worse than it really is...I just need to figure out how to get more sleep. I'm really bad at going to bed, especially when friends are up to talk to...and it's probably not good for me at all. I have no regrets of staying up talking to people, but when I'm just putzing around or just plain can't sleep, it...sucks, I guess. I just feel like I'm going to miss something if I go to bed...

Dawn will come faster if I go to sleep now. When you're waiting for the sun to come up it takes a detour. In my dreams the possible and wished for future is the now.

Trudging Along

The long path to a beautiful place is full of pointed thorns to endure and jagged mountains to climb. I hope that I am fighting the right battle.

Earth Is Not A Trash Can!

Some people seem to think so though. Why? Is it the "inconvenience" of waiting until you find a trash can when you could just throw it out your car window? Did the Earth hurt you? Do you just have a general disdain for your well-being and that of others who call this planet home?

Ok, so I had to get that out after this afternoon... I was driving home from work and waiting at the light to turn left. A guy in the right turn lane in his TEAL Mustang casually dropped what looked like a pop can out his window onto the street. I wanted so bad to get out of my car, since the light was red, and pick it up and say "you dropped this" - but it was under his car and he could have turned at any moment. Oh well...

Another Year

Well, this is long overdue now, but my thoughts on year 23 and things I learned, as well as some events...

- Being single can be fun, and I can be a happy, functional human being without a relationship.
- I can fall in love again.
- A broken heart always sucks, no matter if it's the first time or 256th...if you're okay with it, either it's not a broken heart or you're a cold, heartless mass that is no longer a human being.
- I miss my Bucknell friends dearly (which is part of the reason I moved to the East Coast).
- Finding a place to live is fun and exciting, but difficult and stressful!
- I do still need 4E wide shoes (don't pick a running shoe just because you like the colors...)
- Pliers can be rather sharp.
- Eating spicy foods when you have a sore throat is not that enjoyable.
- I don't really like beer that much, but would like to try a bunch of new kinds just to see if I like them.
- I learned what a fedora is, and I want one.
- Sterling Heights is apparently Michigan's 4th largest city!
- I learned where your obliques really are and how to work them.
- I really am rather politically oblivious and should probably care more than I do...
- Mascara is a liquid.
- Frank Sinatra was in the original Ocean's Eleven.
- There is another place in the world besides The Pantry that can satisfy my breakfast hungers (Coogie's in Malibu).
- Health insurance can be expensive.
- Wii is fun.
- Food gets expensive when you eat as much as I do.
- "Yes, We Have No Bananas" is a real song.
- I learned what tulle (the fabric thingy) is...
- People do deserve things.
- There's a difference between expecting things and expectations.
- I feel old when I say "When I was in college..."
- I like cherries and tomatoes.
- I haven't kissed anyone in 15+ months
- Running in circles repeatedly the same way isn't good for your legs.
- Sleep is very important for your body, especially when training for a marathon.
- Running surfaces are important...
- Someday I want to finish an Ironman.
- The shortest residential street in the U.S. is in Baltimore (Ohio, 25 feet long).
- Sappho killed herself over a man.
- The highest and lowest points in the continental U.S. are both in the same county.
- Alaska is state with the longitudinally Eastern-most point in the U.S.
- Fingerprinting costs $20.
- Don't do a phone interview with a company if you've already accepted a job offer.
- After 10 years of injury-free running, then two injuries, I've become a hypochondriac...
- I learned how to deposit a check via ATM.

- Had my first plane ride and now have 4 trips under my belt.
- Visited CA for the first time.
- Went to the fireworks downtown for the first time.
- Watched more movies and plan to continue that trend.
- Discovered Colbie Caillat and Feist, and discovered more Coldplay and Vertical Horizon.
- I've been trying to relearn piano.
- Learned to cook a little more.
- Had my first real running injury(ies)...toe and ITB :(
- Began using the ChiRunning technique
- Did a little bit of drawing.
- Met some wonderful new people.
- Experienced my first dog attack/bite during a run.
- Re-connected with some old friends.
- Ran my two slowest marathons (one due to injury, one to the hard course) instead of BQing.
- Spent one of the best weeks of my life with friends down in Orlando.
- Had my wisdom teeth out (all three).
- Got my first job after college (and second...)
- Went to my first Big Ten football game (go green!)
- Pa'diddle
- DoRAK is growing :)

Looking forward to many things in year 24!

Hopefully Sooner Than Later

It's been far too long...

Off I Go!

Moving to Baltimore tomorrow (well, today, 6/28)!

Oh and I turned 23 on Thursday. Year's reflection to follow when it's not really late and I have to drive 9 hours the next day...

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Now playing: Dashboard Confessional - Screaming Infidelities
via FoxyTunes

Transitions

Well, I just arrived back home after working my last day in Ann Arbor yesterday. I have a week off to prepare myself for the move to Baltimore. I'm sad and excited, and somehow I don't think this week "off" will be very relaxing... I also am currently re-installing Windows and re-formatting the hard drive on my computer. I'll be back up and running in a bit. Hopefully tonight sometime?

Hockey: The Musical!

Wow. I swear the people on the running board find the most random things...

Hockey: The Musical

Hungry?

Clever!

I got this from the running board. It's a pretty clever student and kind of funny. Yay Physics?

More than one way to answer a question correctly

Signspotting

I love these kinds of things...

Funny Signs

In the Books

I got fingerprinted today for my security clearance. That was a new experience. It took longer to get there than to actually do it.

I also learned a few new things today:
- Sappho killed herself over a man
- The highest and lowest points in the continental U.S. are both in the same county
- Alaska is state with the longitudinally Eastern-most point in the U.S.
- Fingerprinting costs $20
- Don't do a phone interview with a company if you've already accepted a job offer
- After 10 years of injury-free running, then two injuries, I've become a hypochondriac
- How to deposit a check via ATM
- What tulle is (actually that was yesterday)

Lemonade

I've been drinking a lot of lemonade lately. Is that bad? Is my stomach going to be dissolved by the acid? :-p

Run Until You Drop

So during my run on Thursday, when I'm normally thinking to myself "WHY do I do this?" and it's 85 degrees and I'm dying, I came up with a great idea. Someday I'd like to do a run for charity, basically just running as much as I can without stopping (other than bathroom/water breaks) or for 24 hours or something. Donations are per mile. I'm sure there are lots of things to consider and plan for...perhaps I should start making a list. I expect I can do at least 30...

We Got Stanley!

Woo hoo! GO WINGS!

That's Why Fireflies Flash

I'm tired of the highs and the lows, but the sun both sets and rises.

Moving to Baltimore in a month.

Expect(ations)

I don't know if this is going to make any sense to anyone else, but it's hard to explain...

There are expectations, and then there are things you expect. An expectation can be something that you don't necessarily expect. Expectations are more uncertain.

Detroit Sports City

Want an argument that Detroit is the best sports city in America? Well, here's a few reasons...

Pistons are again in the Eastern Conference Finals (won 94-75 last night). Wings are up 2-0 in the Stanley Cup Finals after shutting out the Penguins for the second straight time (3-0 last night). The Tigers sold out a 19-3 victory on the same night as the Wings and Pistons were playing at home. And well, the Lions still sell out games, which is saying a lot...haha.

Also, I like the random game notes from ESPN's recap of the Pistons game last night...

Allen learned how to sign "NBA Basketball is Fantastic" in American Sign Language before the game as teammate P.J. Brown ate a PBJ sandwich.

Congratulations PJ.

New Proverb

The harder you fall, the harder you fall.

A New Record!

Sadly :( I paid $3.89 for gas today, for a total of $42.97 to fill up. Shattered it. That's a solid 32 cents per gallon more than I paid 12 days ago. 12 DAYS ago!

Escape

I went out for my first run since Big Sur today - a nice easy 2.5 miles, which actually turned out to be a little faster than I wanted to go (9:02 pace), but oh well. It wasn't as satisfying as I thought it would be, but it was nice to have my means of escape back.

Speaking of escaping...I want to go on some random exciting adventure. Who's with me?

It's True

Some of the best things life are free.

Hanging out with your friends.
Spending time with your family.
Smiling.
Making someone smile.
The first kiss.
Sleep.
Singing.
Watching a sunset on a beautiful day.
A beautiful girl falling asleep in your arms.

Unfortunate Skill?

I'm really good at seeing who likes who. Unfortunately it's often someone else who likes the girl I like. I need to stop that...

It reminds me of JD in Scrubs. "Hi, I'm a doctor who is afraid of sick people. Want to take a picture with me?"

You are the Sun

You are the flowers and the warm spring breeze. You are all that has kept me sane and smiling for the past two months. I care only that those lips curve upwards, but if a day comes where you want to know me, I will gladly show you without hesitation. Know that my heart does not change direction easily and that it will be hard to see your beauty shining in a different light. I will give a little more space, but I refuse to leave. I promised myself I wouldn't let you go easily and I keep my promises. I understand the situation. There are so many things I have to say and I pray that I will be around and have that chance one day.

If I bring you a yellow rose every day of your life, would it be enough at least to make you smile?

Sometimes It's You

And sometimes...well, sometimes I guess it just sucks (or you're just unlucky).

On the other end of the spectrum, I'll be going down to the Baltimore area on the 19th for a very promising interview with Northrop Grumman.

On the Run...

A couple fun quotes from the book I'm currently reading, "On the Run From Dogs and People" by Hal Higdon:

The race had been conducted despite a blinding snowstorm, which made it impossible to see more than five yards ahead. The runner sat on a bench next to Ed O'Connell, now a bureau chief for the Office of Economic Opportunity. For several minutes both competitors were too cold to talk. Finally the other runner turned to O'Connell and chattered through half-frozen lips: "Did you see those crazy people out there trying to drive in that weather?"


Arthur Lydiard has a test he uses on anyone who approaches him uncertain what event to run. "I take a flashlight and shine it in one of his ears," explains Lydiard. "If I see light coming out the other side, he's a marathoner."

:-D

California

Well, we flew out to LA last Wednesday evening. We met Vicki in Hollywood for dinner and walked around to see some of the stars and all. Not that exciting, though we saw Kermit's star...haha. headed over to Calabasas for the night. What I saw of LA and Hollywood didn't impress me all that much. I did see those things in songs like Hollywood boulevards, Reseda, Ventura Blvd, etc :-p

We drove up the coast (Highway 1) most of the way, with stops in several cities along the way. The rest of California was nice once we got outside LA :-p There are a lot of cute little towns. Except Guadalupe, which was kind of a dump. We stopped at a few beaches, bought some strawberries from a roadside stand, walked around towns. We stopped in Santa Barbara for most of one of the days, which was a nice little town. Solvang is a little town that is all Dutch-like and was pretty neat. Looking at the map now apparently we passed through a town called Bicknell... We stopped at Pismo Beach for lunch and in the area for beach/dunes. We stopped in San Luis Obispo for an hour or so and found out that Cal Tech was not there, but Cal Poly. We also stopped in Morro Bay and Cambria, as well as some random stops along the way.

Friday night we stayed in San Simeon. We decided not to go up to tour Hearst Castle...2-hour walking tour the day before a marathon? no thanks :) Friday night we sat along the shore and watched the sunset and then went inside to eat dinner. Saturday morning we went back to Cambria, which is another cute little town, for breakfast. We also stopped to see a place there called Nitt Witt Ridge. Basically a guy built a house and gardens out of recycled objects and materials. We got to Big Sur Saturday afternoon-ish and drove the course. I think driving the course scared me more than actually running it!

Sunday morning was the race. It was slightly warm and there were a few breezy spots, but otherwise beautiful weather. The course was by far the toughest and most beautiful course I have ever run, and possibly will ever run. I finished just under 4 hours, 3:58:36, which I am very happy with :) After the race and lunch, Vicki drove me back to her place in Tustin so I could fly back home from LA on Monday afternoon. That was a long drive and I was exhausted.

I only got about 3.5 hours of sleep (which is probably why I got sick this week...) because the new kitty kept hopping up on the bed and annoying me. Really really cute kitty, but not at 2am... Vicki and I had breakfast Monday morning in Surf City USA and I flew out in the afternoon. About 5-10 minutes before landing our plane got struck by lightning, so that was an experience. Nothing really happened besides the flash and noise, but nobody panicked, so I figured nothing was wrong. Just something to laugh at :-p Oh and I got pulled aside before getting on the plane for a random search. Fun.

So, to summarize: the race went really well, I had a great time, and it's beautiful on the Pacific coast :)

Getting Back in Gear

Well, I arrived back in Michigan on Monday night, but I've been sick most of the week, so I haven't gotten around to writing up a little entry about the trip. I'll do one soon. Tomorrow perhaps.

I am very happy with my time of 3:58:36 - BQ in December?

California Dreamin'

I ended my two-day work week about 5:00 today and got a haircut on the way home. Tomorrow afternoon (3:33) we fly out to California! I've never been, so I'm pretty excited. And I've heard the Big Sur area is nice :)

The marathon is Sunday morning. It starts at 6:45 am. Buses start taking people over to the starting line at a bright and early 3:45! It's an hour bus ride... So, anyways, if you happen to be in the Big Sur/Carmel/Monterey area, and are crazy enough to get up this early, swing on by ;)

I'm hoping to get some awesome pictures!

Look, it's Spring!

The weather has been so beautiful the last week or so! I love it. Though I wish I was in PA to enjoy it with my friends :(

Unfortunately that meant that it was quite warm for my run yesterday. I went out at noon expecting it to cloud up and maybe even start to sprinkle/rain a little. Of course it didn't, and I absolutely died out there. About 3 miles in I was exhausted. I managed to keep a decent pace and go the whole 10 miles, but I was absolutely exhausted. Last long run before the marathon! ONE WEEK! I leave for CA Wednesday :)

It's Gon' Rain!

First weather report on weather.com for Big Sur. Temperature would be great, but not the rain... 10 days!

Keep Pushin' On

Running does not know the word tired. I do not know the word tired. I know sleepy and exhausted, but never tired. As far as I'm concerned, it's just another word for lack of will.

One Year

Tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of the tragedy at Virginia Tech.

While I didn't have a direct connection to the school, there was a connection. Plus the connection of being a college student at the time. It's scary. It really is. Somehow I knew it was only wishful thinking that it would be the worst and last of these tragedies. And it's terribly sad. I can never imagine what it would be like to be a student, a friend, a family member of those so unfortunately involved. I am an emotional person, there's no doubt about that. I feel it. Don't you? The community and nation banding together in support of the Hokie family shows how many people care and grieve with you.

I'll link again to Fields of Gold - the video itself is a tribute to Eva Cassidy so just listen to the song.

Another video tribute

I'll end with something borrowed from a friend.

With Hope - Steven Curtis Chapman

This is not at all how
We thought it was supposed to be
We had so many plans for you
We had so many dreams
And now you've gone away
And left us with the memories of your smile
And nothing we can say
And nothing we can do
Can take away the pain
The pain of losing you, but ...

We can cry with hope
We can say goodbye with hope
'Cause we know our goodbye is not the end, oh no
And we can grieve with hope
'Cause we believe with hope
(There's a place by God's grace)
There's a place where we'll see your face again
We'll see your face again

And never have I known
Anything so hard to understand
And never have I questioned more
The wisdom of God's plan
But through the cloud of tears
I see the Father's smile and say well done
And I imagine you
Where you wanted most to be
Seeing all your dreams come true
'Cause now you're home
And now you're free, and ...

We have this hope as an anchor
'Cause we believe that everything
God promised us is true, so ...

So we can cry with hope
And say goodbye with hope

We wait with hope
And we ache with hope
We hold on with hope
We let go with hope

Voice of an Angel

So I stumbled upon some Eva Cassidy stuff while I was putzing around on YouTube. What I learned shows exactly how much I knew about someone who appears to have been quite a talent. I thought she was an older jazzy lady from maybe the 60s or so. Way off.

Eva died from cancer at age 33 in 1996. She was locally known in the DC area, but had just begun to break out of the local scene and her records became successful after her death. She does a beautiful cover of "Fields of Gold" and has quite an eclectic range.

Tornado Watch

It was like 72 today, and tomorrow it's going to be...44 for a high...and 39 on Sunday with a chance of snow. Ah, Michigan...

Roller Coaster

It's been a rough week. I'm really glad tomorrow is Friday.

Miles away you close your eyes and dream
I lie awake and wonder if it's of me
The river of love will flow as it will
I'm just along for the ride
Despite what I feel inside.
I would swim against the current
Waves could crash against me
But I won't go under
There's too much there
Too much to wonder.
The heart knows no time and place
But does the mind, and oh it races
Trying to find
The answers

Time, why you punish me?

Time can be a wondrous thing, but it can also be the worst thing in the world.

There are times that you wish time would just stop and that moment could last forever. Unfortunately, you can't stop time. Instead, drink it all in. Never forget them. It lasts as long as you wish in form of memories.

Then there are times that you wish time would go much, much faster. Unfortunately, you can't speed up time. Be patient. Know that things will turn out how they are meant to turn out.

Make the most of your time. It's not always the amount of time, it's what you do with it. Enjoy it! And, to steal the old army slogan...be all that you can be.

I need to let life comes to me as life wishes. As much as waiting may hurt, sometimes it is needed. So come get me, Life. I am at your mercy, Time. I can only be who I am. I can only give what I have.

Next time don't let me leave

Another great weekend with the C&H crew.

I hate goodbyes. Especially when it's uncertain when you're going to see someone again. It kills.

Back to the Buck!

Woohoo! Heading down to Bucknell for the weekend. Leaving straight from work around 3pm, so hopefully getting there around 11pm... Doin' my 22-miler Saturday morning on very little sleep, and hopefully not getting bit by a dog again... then mini-golf, partyin' it up and heading home Sunday night :-p Until then...

A new PR!

Boy am I going to be sore tomorrow...

Spring is in the air

Baseball season is underway! Tigers lost the home opener 5-4 in extras :( Plus it was like 59 degrees yesterday, and will be again today (though back down after today).

Also, here's a fun new feature from gmail...

Go Green?

Wow. If Memphis plays like they did in the first half tonight, they may just be unbeatable. They were so freakin' good. I do have to give MSU credit for fighting back in the second half though. Who's gettin' dinner?

Another Lonely Night in Georgia

I used to think I spent so much energy trying to make others happy that I didn't have enough to keep myself happy. But making others happy makes me happy, so... I am looking for jobs out closer to school so I have some friends around once in a while. The closer the better...that way I can hopefully see them almost every weekend. I really need to talk to people more. I'm definitely happier when I'm talking to someone, and lately I have been a little down unless I'm talking to a certain someone. It's a lot easier in the college environment when your friends are always around, and I miss that more than I could say here.

9 days.

"Entry Level"

Ok, so I've seen positions that require 1-3 years experience or something for an "entry-level" position. If that's so, is it really entry level?? Here's another weird one...

Must have the following:
1. Must be nearing completion of BS degree in a major Engineering discipline (Engineering Mgmnt, Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, Systems, etc.)
2. 3 + years of Experience.

Uhhhh, if you're NEARING completion of a BS degree, how likely is it that you have 3+ years of experience?? No wonder they can't find "qualified" candidates sometimes...

Happy Easter

A very Happy Easter to those who celebrate!

Essentials & Field Trip

Well, hopefully I'll be able to get some sleep now. I really need to so that I can stop being sick. Hopefully I'll get to sleep in Saturday morning. It's not like I have to get up early and beat the heat for my 20-miler...

In other news I get to go on a field trip to a supplier next Tuesday. They're in Spring Lake, MI - the west coast of Michigan - a 2 1/2 hour drive. That means, unfortunately, that I need to meet people in the Brighton area around 7am...AKA so freakin' early. Definitely going to bed early Monday night.

Funny Quote of the Day

Courtesy of gmail's web clip thingy at the top of my inbox...and I like how his name is Emo...

"My computer beat me at checkers, but I sure beat it at kickboxing."
- Emo Philips

GO TO BED!

Yell at me.
Stop being stupid Mike!

Falling Slowly

I'm rather obsessed with a couple songs from movies right now ("Falling Slowly" from Once and "So Close" from Enchanted). I'm really happy that I've found out how to play "Falling Slowly" on guitar. So that's my current project. It would be cool to figure out "So Close" too, but that might be tough on guitar. Keyboard maybe?


Falling slowly, eyes that know me
And I can't go back


And now forever I know
All that I wanted
to hold you so close

Florida, Part III

Final Installment: continued from previous entries...

Thursday was my last day since I had such a freaking early 9am flight :( We were pretty pooped so most of us slept in. Some went to the park early. Some rented a car and went to the beach. Shawn, Mark & I took the afternoon shuttle to the parks. We rode three rides and walked around Universal Studios, then rode the Hulk and met Sarah & Josh at Islands of Adventure. We spent the rest of the day there. I was pretty tired. I got my picture with Bullwinkle! Everyone met back at the hotel for dinner. A group of us splurged and went to a Japanese steakhouse. That was pretty sweet. Expensive, but sweet. It was one of those places where they cook at your table (I forget what that's called). Our chef (Yashimi) was pretty entertaining and made fun of me a lot because of my drink. Shawn ordered a strawberry lemonade, which sounded good so I ordered one too. Apparently it came also with 7-up and pineapple or something, so it came in a fancy glass with an umbrella and all. Of course I had to put the umbrella in my ear, which was Yashimi's muse for making fun of me :-p He nicknamed me "Happy Meal" and was calling me "sexy" haha. He also was making fun of the drunk couple that got seated with us. Caroline showed me how to use chopsticks properly, and I think I did pretty well, though I was pretty slow. The noodles were a little tough and I couldn't do the fried rice. Of course I had to get dessert too :-p (fried cheesecake!) We watched another movie at the hotel. Went for a walk at like 2 am and crashed after packing up.

Friday morning I got up at 6:15 (a solid 3 hours of sleep...haha) so that I could get to my stupid early flight. The cab guy was kind of sketchy and it was $55 because I was by myself, so that also sucked. It was a long flight home (figuratively) though I actually got in about 15 minutes early. Dad picked me up and we went to lunch, watched MSU beat Ohio State and also went to dinner.

The end. Unfortunately. Perhaps another time :)

Florida, Part II

continued from last entry...

Tuesday we took the morning shuttle again and spent the day at the park(s). Most of us came home on the afternoon shuttle. Burns, Shawn, Mark and I went for a run while the girls hung out at the pool. Then we all hung out at the pool area for a while and played some "Asshole" before dinner. Again, we probably watched a movie. I believe we played some "Mafia" as well that night.

Wednesday a group of us went to Wet N' Wild (water park), which was awesome. I haven't been to a water park in such a long time, and forgot how much I love them. It wasn't your typical water park (or what I would think of as a typical water park). It wasn't just the slides...you know, just going down the slides and all. They had some cool stuff and theming. A "cliff" type slide that they drop you from a little shell (floor disappears), a couple that you spin around in circles a few times, one where you fall through a hole in the middle eventually, a disco-themed one with loud music and lights, etc. We also played some beach volleyball after lunch. They took a group picture of us underwater, which was pretty neat. Unfortunately I forgot to put sunscreen on my stomach/chest, so my front got pretty burnt. Oh well, totally worth it :) I slowly started to get my voice back by then too (it's almost all back now). We walked back to Universal for a little to catch the shuttle. Some people went to Universal Studios and did some more rides. Caroline and I went to Hard Rock and got some TCBY. Got my third guitar pin.

I don't remember which days were which dinner for the most part, but we had Chinese twice (some only once), CiCi's pizza (sweet deal, pizza buffet) and Chili's. Thursday night we splurged on a Japanese steakhouse (see Thursday's paragraph, in the next entry). I upheld my ridiculous eating habits on the trip. I think CiCi's was Tuesday night now that I think about it, but I'm not positive.

Florida, Part I

Ok, so here's my update. I'll split it up so it's easy to stop somewhere. Kind of like chapters in a novel ;)

So now that I'm all gradumatated and have money, I went on Spring Break with my fellow Bucknellians (and one honorary C&Her). Basically it was one of the best weeks EVER.
We went down to Orlando for Universal Studios and other fun.

I got up Saturday morning and ran 16 miles in a blizzard (wind chill 8 degrees). I actually had to force myself to go 2 miles shorter because I didn't have time. I had to catch my plane! We sat on the runway for a while in Detroit, so my flight got into Atlanta about an hour late. Apparently planes still take off in whiteouts. I got to Atlanta at about 6:30, and had to catch my connecting flight to Orlando at 6:50. Of course they put that flight on the complete opposite side of the airport... Luckily it was delayed until about 7:20, so I made it with plenty of time to spare (though I still didn't get to eat anything). I got to Orlando about 9:30. I caught Chik-Fil-A just before it closed and had some dinner (after removing those disgusting green things they put on their sandwiches). The Baltimore crew arrived at about 11 PM, I think, and we took a cab over to the hotel. I learned what a pudiddle was and that mascara is a liquid. We hung out in the room until the Jersey/PA crew arrived (really late). I had the best night of sleep on the floor perhaps ever, thanks to Allison's AMAZING blanket that I hogged for the rest of the trip :-D

Sunday we slept in a little because of the late night and caught the afternoon shuttle to Universal. We managed to pack like 16 people into a passenger van, utilizing lap space and the floor. We spent the day at Universal Studios, which was pretty fun. Some workers let us get on the Mummy ride right away, so that was pretty cool. The ride was by far the best one in that park too, in my opinion. We came back and had some dinner and I think watched a movie. Some of the nights kind of blend together now. Also, I started losing my voice.

Monday we hit up the morning shuttle and spent the whole day at Islands of Adventure. Lots o' fun even though I had basically no voice. They have Fire & Ice (Dueling Dragons), coasters that "duel" each other. They're some pretty cool coasters, and twice during the ride you almost hit the other train so that's pretty cool - Fire was slightly better, especially since you couldn't really see Fire from Ice on the first close passing of the rides. The Hulk was pretty sweet too. Lots of other fun things too, like Spiderman and the Jurassic Park area. I think (again, these couple days are blending with each other now) we did some water rides. We played games and watched movies or something again at night.

Coming Soon...

I'll write up a post on the past week's trip to Orlando when I have more time this weekend. Right now I'm pretty beat, so I need to sleep. If I had to summarize it in one word, it would be: SOFREAKINGAWESOME.

BIN-GO!

I'm off to Florida!

GO BISON!

I just lost my lunch

I went to put it in the microwave and my spaghetti slid right off the plate onto the floor :( So my lunch consisted of carrots and popcorn/cheesepuff hybrids ("puffcorn"). I'll have to get something to snack on later...

Circles

Do you ever get stuck in a circle, a pattern, that's tough to get out of? I'm stuck in one right now. I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping since I got back from the weekend at Bucknell. Part of it was staying up a little later than I'm used to now, and part of it is missing Bucknell and wishing I could go back to school. Thus I don't get much sleep because I have to get up for work in the morning. I get to work a little later, feel bad about it and am already a little down from being so tired. Work actually lifts me up a little if I'm busy (like the last week+)...weird. Then I either find something to do at night or just can't fall asleep. Hopefully I can fix that this weekend or so.

That being said, work has been quite busy. I'm the leader for 3 different projects with a couple other things to work on as well. Some of which is holding up production, but I think that will be all cleared up tomorrow morning. It's kind of nice being the "important" one, and keeping busy sure makes the day go by faster...and keeps me awake ;) Sad news that we lost two co-workers from Tustin last night in a plane crash. One was my age, and a friend of Vicki's. It's moments like these that you sit back and thank God for all you have in life and for every day you have on this planet.

My IT band has been feeling better recently, and I ran today under an 8-minute pace for the first time in a while. Felt pretty good. I think as long as I keep stretching (and icing if it hurts) I will be okay. The guy at T&H suggested using one of those foam roller thingies - actually said it's the best thing for it. I may have to acquire one cheaply or steal Dad's! I bought my plane ticket for Big Sur today. Prices finally dropped again.

I got a call from a recruiter place saying there is an EE position open at some government company in York, PA. I'm going to review that and see if I want to set up an interview. The thing with moving out there is job security (it would need to be good and permanent since it's not close to home) and what happens when all the college friends graduate. We shall see.

I made some other observation tonight, but I forgot what it was...

8 days until Florida!

And the Oscar goes to...

So now I know why I've never watched the Oscars. It was entertaining, but remind me next year to have something else to do, because I can't sit through 4 hours of that without having something else to do. I saw a whole 6 of this year's nominated movies and 11 of the 80 Best Picture award winners. I gots work to do!

I've always thought I'd be a pretty good actor but I've never gotten the opportunity. Some day I want to be in a musical or play.

Also, I bummed the day away. I did work on the websites, and that's about it. Oh well.

18 down, 8.2 to go

Went out for the first 18-miler of the season yesterday afternoon. It went pretty well. It was a beautiful day, sunny and 32 degrees...almost shorts weather! My IT was good after the first 3 miles (I moved my knee strap). The only problem then was stupid blisters. I managed an 8:30 pace without too much work other than the last 2 miles, so that is satisfying. I think I'm ready to ramp it up a little (but not too much) as long as I keep stretching the IT!

Some things are for the best

Thinking positive. I'm satisfied as I can be, I guess. There are some good things. This might be what I need, actually.

2 weeks until Florida!

Roses

I can remember every smile, every look
and it only makes me miss you more.
You have that something, makes me melt.
With you I wish time went real slow.
When that smile is shadowed, I'll be there
for you until your tears run dry.
Here, take this silk rose bouquet,
I will love you until they wilt and die.

Velvet petals
Smooth against my face.
Sweet rose
It could all fall into place.

Take Me or Leave Me

I know who I am, and love who I am 99% of the time. I still try to better myself all the time, though. And I try to help others better themselves. I'm sorry if that's a little overbearing sometimes, but I'm working on it. Sometimes you have to find out for yourself rather than the grapevine. I understand, however, there will be a bias regardless of who you hear it from. Anyways... I am who I am, and I like that. I think I'm a pretty good person.

Someday, someday.

Thanks for the talk - it really helped.

Thank You Lolz Cats

They always make me smile.

Oh, and sorry if you tried to comment and couldn't. I changed it to where everyone can. You had to have a Google account before.

There's a time and place

I'm all panicky now. Really panicky. And upset. I caught wind of something and of course I am assuming the worst case. Am I being blind? Am I just still bitter (thought I was over that)? Am I way over-assuming? Maybe it's just so sensitive of a topic for me.

So I kin kiss yeh anytime I wawnt

I don't know what it is, but it is,
and there's nothing I can do about it.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Well so does presence, doesn't it?
I don't know how to go, where to go,
and so I keep running in place
Can I drown in your eyes, and memorize
the lines upon your face?

The heart has so much to say,
but the lips won't form the words.
The heart races too fast to speak.
I see your poetry and forget my verse.
So it's possible to miss somebody
the moment the door closes.
Would it make a difference
if I could speak roses?

Bucknell Weekend

Went up to Bucknell for the weekend since I had Monday off for President's Day. I had a blast, as usual. Oh how I miss Galloway. Got there late Friday night. We went Wal-Marting at like 1 am.

Saturday morning I got up early to run. At about mile 7 a little white fluffy dog bit me, so I had to get that bandaged up and talk to the owner to make sure I'm not going to get rabies. I almost finished the full 10 miles, and the last 2.5 or so were the fastest because I just wanted to get back to wash and take care of the wound. My IT band was okay, but not great. I think the bite took my mind off of that at the end. We went to the gym to play some basketball for old time's sake. That was rough. I haven't used those muscles in months and months! My shot was a little off, but not too bad for not playing in like 9 months. We lost to Holy Cross, which was a little disappointing, but I still had fun at the game. I got to see why our offense doesn't score much. Poor passing and a weird, slow motion offense... After the game the Wing Night crew headed over to Bull Run. After that a bunch of us went up to the LC to see Enchanted. Cute, but a little over-cheesy at points, especially at the start. Maybe that was the point. I don't know. It was entertaining anyways. I rarely see a movie I don't enjoy. A few of us played Scrabble when we got back. I came in second. Grr Josh! :-p

Sunday I slept in! So that was nice. We basically hung out all day. I went and sang at church. It was just two of us, so that was interesting, and I sight-read the Mass parts, but it went pretty well. I had most of my voice even after the basketball game the night before. I got to surprise/see Kim and a few other CCMers, which is always nice. The rest of the night we basically watched movies. I saw some of Flashdance, and we watched Bruce Almighty and Sweet Home Alabama.

I left Monday afternoon. Well, almost evening. I tried to stretch it out as much as I could. I hate saying goodbye. It's really one of the toughest things to do. Off the top of my head, finishing a Marathon is the only thing I can think of that is as tough. That and get over someone...

NIU

I just don't understand it. Probably never will.

Five Killed at NIU

Virginia Tech last year was a horrible wake up call for me: this stuff really does happen, whether we understand it or not. While I'm not as close to NIU as VT, it hits just as hard. Seeing something like this just tears me apart and leaves me speechless. It's senseless, sad and terrifying. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends of victims and to the Northern Illinois community.

Mass Transit

Well, this would be interesting... an eco-friendly mass rail system between Ann Arbor and Detroit, supposedly starting to be built in 2008! Read about it.

It's places like these...

...that make me want to travel so much:

Iguazu Falls

There are so many beautiful places in this world. It also makes me wonder if I shouldn't go live out West somewhere near the mountains and nature. Or the East has some too. I love Michigan. It's where I grew up. I know so many people here. But who knows. I'm still trying to find my place. Apparently I need to find a girl who likes hiking, nature and travel (and music, of course) ;)

Frozen Fingers

It's super cold outside today. Let's see, currently it is 0 degrees with a wind chill of -17 (Fahrenheit), though it did get down to 22 below wind chill earlier. I made the mistake of going home to pick up a few things, as well as going to church in this winter madness. I was smart, however, to do my long run yesterday instead. 16 miles in this weather would have been brutal.

I also determined this weekend that I am going to go to Bucknell next weekend. I have President's Day off next Monday, and the men's team plays at home against Holy Cross, so I figured it was a great time to go back :) That's part of the reason I went home today - picked up my hair and game gear!

On Friday, Dave told me that they might just give me the position that's supposed to be for a mechanical engineer. We'll see if that pans out and how long it will take.

I talked to the student choir director at St. Mary's after Mass tonight, inquiring about joining. I will now be singing with the St. Mary's Student Choir :-p I miss CCM choir though!

Please give your opinion on the templates below. I'm kind of leaning towards the guitar one. I also like the running, Hobbit and dog ones. The others are probably out of the race. Besides, I'll be talking about music or running a lot.

Help Me Pick!

Okay, here are the templates I'm looking at...sorry they're small, I don't have a good image editing program... :(

Blue Guitar

Hobbit

Running
Puppy
RoadRunner

Brother Bear
Boat Thingy

Well, there they are. What do you think? Of course the weird stuff like links will be replaced with the correct stuff...

Template

So I'm in the process of getting a new template for this thing and am deciding between a few layouts. I'll post screenshots in a bit and maybe get some feedback as to which you (whoever you are) like the best :)

More Experiences

Well, I'm proud to say that I successfully made a real meal last week. I was so proud I took a picture! :)


Saturday I went running with the Tortoise & Hare running group. It's a local running store with group runs and a team and all. I ran with them again this evening. It should help meet new people, I hope. Saturday's run was my first time running with the new fuel belt. I just have to figure out how high or low it should go, because it kept riding higher. The last part of the run it wasn't as bad. I also ran last week with a new moldable insert. Let's say that was probably the first time I put part of a shoe in an oven :-p

Bad news about running is that my ITB has been acting up since Thursday, so I need to cut back a bit on training and do some massaging, stretching and icing. If anyone knows any nice girls that give massages...haha.

I went home Saturday/Sunday to watch the Super Bowl. Hell of a game! Probably the best since the Rams/Titans. The commercials were a little disappointing, though there were a few that were pretty decent.

Our apartment last night lost power. Therefore I had no alarm. So, given that I don't get as much sleep as I should, that means I didn't work a full day today... Got up at 9:45, heh. At least I was awake I guess... We'll see how I sleep tonight.

Bucknell made the Top 5!

Too bad it's...
World's Most Expensive Universities

A new experience every day...

Well, I moved into the apartment in Ann Arbor about a week and a half ago now, and I'm still getting adjusted. I've had some new and interesting experiences and have learned a few things, so here they are day by day.

SAT 1/19
Moved in! And my first "cooking" experience. Hah.

SUN 1/20
Realization about birthdays and getting older. It's a strange progression, really: When we turn 14 it's like "Sweet! 2 more years until my driver's license!" When we turn 15, "one more year!" When we turn 16, "I can drive!" When we turn 17, "One more year until I'm 18!" When we turn 18, "I'm 18! I can go to Canada (among other things)!" When we turn 19, "2 more years until I'm 21!" When we turn 20, "Next year!" When we turn 21, "I can drink (legally)!" Then, when we turn 22..."Wow, I'm old...I don't want to face the real world." The excitement of getting older goes away quickly, doesn't it?

MON 1/21
My first full solo grocery shopping experience. I took all 44 items to the self-checkout line and proceeded to have several problems with the computer thingy. The lady was nice enough to tell me halfway through that the self-checkout lines were supposed to be "12 items or fewer" - which is apparently posted. On the floor... So that was fun.

TUE 1/22
My first run in Ann Arbor. I learned that I needed to find an alternate route to get to Barton because Pontiac Trail has no sidewalk and basically no shoulder for a little over a quarter mile, so it was kind of unsafe and crappy. Especially in the snow. The way back was all uphill too, so I had to run uphill in snow. I realized how tough that is and that I'm going to have to get used to the hills out here. It's tough right now, but it will be good for Big Sur!

WED 1/23
My first near-dog attack on a run. Seemed like the owner was a very grumpy/angry person and basically yelled at me because I didn't stop running while she took 5 minutes to reel in her dog.

THU 1/24
Saw the Spirit of the Marathon movie. It was pretty good. Not great, but pretty good. It reminded me of why I run. When you see people finish. That says it all. Finishing a marathon has been one of the few moments in my life where I was purely happy.

FRI 1/25
I discovered my puncta lacrimalia, the lacrimal point (on your eye...border...thingy).

SAT 1/26
My first long run in Ann Arbor. I ran down Huron towards the river and through the parks along the river there by the middle of the city and the hospital. It was really nice, though there was a fresh coat of snow (1-2 inches?), so it was a little tougher than I wanted. But that's okay because it was "nice" out. I wanted to take some pictures but apparently my mini camera battery was dead :( Those parks are probably really nice in the Spring!

SUN 1/27
First trip to IKEA. Went to get a desk, bookshelf (ended up being part of the desk), dresser and desk chair. Went to Rose's in Canton with the 'rents for a good dinner. When I got home I put the dresser together. I only hammered my thumb once, so that was good.

MON 1/28
Second trip to IKEA...because apparently there were two boxes for my desk. Who knew? It would have been helpful if the person at checkout said something... Anyways, after realizing it I had to drive over to IKEA at like 8pm and get the second box. I did finish putting it together the same night. It had more parts than the dresser, but I knew more what I was doing, so it went quicker.

TUE 1/29
In our ESD class at work I learned how an Air Ionizer works. Exciting, huh?
My run was in the rain with temperatures in the mid-40s, so I got to wear shorts for the first time in a while!

WED 1/30 (today)
My roommate's sister was here for the last few days painting, so I didn't have an accessible bathroom in the morning. So, I just went and showered and shaved at work...heh. Hopefully it will be the last time I have to do that :)
The heatwave went away with strong winds for highs in the teens today. So I had a chilly 13-degree (-5 wind chill) run. A "fun" run as the ChiRunning book calls the easy ones.
Work sucked, as two of my "projects" at work got questioned, but I got one answered, so that's good. I was really tired all day because I didn't sleep well (noisy wind and painting), so it was kind of a miserable day. I'm surprised how productive I actually was (not very, but more than I expected)...

What has tomorrow got in store for me?

Off to AA

So tomorrow I move in to an apartment/condo thingy up in Ann Arbor. Now I don't have to drive so far to work! We'll see how this goes. I have to learn to cook a little more...

Moose!

See? Everyone loves moose :)

Moose Rescued!

Wintry Week

So, here's what I got for the 10-day forecast while I was looking at work:

(today): 34/28 flurries
TUE: 33/25 snow shower
WED: 35/30 partly cloudy
THU: 31/19 snow shower
FRI: 24/13 snow shower
SAT: 14/9 few snow showers
SUN: 16/13 few snow showers
MON: 24/15 few snow showers
TUE: 25/12 snow shower
WED: 15/9 snow shower

A bit wintry, methinks (except for this Wednesday).

'Ray Bucknell!

Halftime in Iowa: Iowa 20, MSU 18. Yeah, you read that right. That's the halftime score.

Anyways, a guy sporting a Bucknell Lacrosse sweatshirt is sitting right behind the announcers, so we got some airtime on BTN. Haha.

Bison beat Navy last night to open Patriot League play, 85-77. Good job guys! It's nice to have all the injured guys back...

Be Healthy, You Won't Die

Hmm...

Healthy Habits May Give 14 Years

I particularly like this part:

"People who scored four were four times less likely to die than those who scored zero."

Not dying? Now that's REALLY healthy!

2007 - Year in Review

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2008.

2007 was an up and down year for me, but I learned so much about myself, life and the real world. So, here are some things I've learned in the past year...

1. A better idea of what I want in and out of a relationship.
2. That it's relatively possible to be single, but it's tough.
3. People change.
4. The heart does not forget.
5. Friends are very important and so nice to have.
6. I don't take very good care of myself.
7. How important surfaces are when running.
8. How hard it really is to run a Marathon.
9. How important training is for Marathons, and how much a toll it takes on your body.
10. That it's much more necessary to choose shoes by the fit/size, rather than by color/looks.
11. That my toes would eventually cause problems if I wasn't careful.
12. I'm even more passionate about some things than I thought.
13. Yes, I am really that skinny.
14. I'm not very good at writing music. I'm better at lyrics.
15. Las Vegas is not my kind of town.
16. Michigan's economy sucks. So do gas prices.
17. I like to learn, just more at my own pace.
18. School was not very practical...I've learned a lot more at work and from co-workers.
19. How important sleep is to your health.
20. Electrical Engineering isn't as bad as I thought, but I'd still like to find a job I'm more passionate about or enjoy more.
21. I want to live within a 1/2 hour of my workplace.
22. Who invented the glow-in-the-dark toilet seat.
23. It's harder than I thought to pick the up playing the trumpet again.

I'll add more as I think of them. Now for the resolutions/goals...

1. Stick to my running schedule and stay relatively uninjured.
2. Qualify for Boston.
3. Get a permanent job and apartment near work.
4. Take better care of myself and get more sleep.
5. Get better at playing guitar and piano, and work on my vocal range a little.
6. Join a gym so I can run indoors and work out so I can get stronger and feel better about myself.
7. Join a church and church choir.
8. Meet new people.
9. Join some sports teams, maybe via work.
10. Finish my website before I die...ha