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...