American Beauty

I just finished watching the movie American Beauty. It was rather interesting, I guess is how I would put it. Sort of dark in some respects, but also about the beauty around us and the beauty of life. How fortunate it would be to see the beauty in some things where you would never find it (like a dead bird or flying plastic bag, for example). I know I see lots of it, especially in certain things/people, and perhaps more than others. I wish we could all see it all.

Win, Place or Show?

So I decided that it was too cold (19, wind chill of 9) to go running after work today. I figured I'd be running enough at my basketball game tonight. I know, don't complain...it's 8 with negative wind chills at home in Michigan. Note to those in MI - don't go out for a run tomorrow morning...it's supposed to be 3 below with a -20 wind chill. I also am using the fact that I signed up for 2 marathons today, for my running for the day =D

Kentucky Derby (Louisville), April 25th
Grandma's Marathon (Duluth), June 20th

Yay!

Maybe I should make it 3 and register for Baltimore now...ha

Relaxing Tide

Is it just me or is folding clothes a soothing activity?

Cranberry, You Jerk

I thought I'd try Cran-Pomegranate juice. Yuck. What's next, Cran-milk?

As Requested

I got yelled at for not writing in here much the last couple weeks, but I tend to write less when I'm home in Michigan...so here's a real entry:

I drove home to MI for the holidays on the 20th, the day after it snowed a foot there. Weather and traffic were awesome though! A shout out to the priest on the 4th Sunday of Advent who managed to work "persnickety" and "picayune" into the homily. Impressive. Went out for a reunion-type dinner at The Capital Grille on Monday night. I've never paid $44 for a steak before, but it was the best I've ever had (as it should be)! Christmas and such. Bought a new car on Friday. Went up north for the Niebski side Christmas on Saturday. Game night Monday night. New Year's and such. MSU lost their bowl game (just couldn't take advantage of their chances!). Drove back to MD on the 3rd.

The latest is that I passed out in church this morning, so today has been kind of weird and depressing. I'm not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow.

We Are Rivers

I am a river. You are a river. Our courses have met. You are full and flowing, and have rocks blocking me. I must continue my own course, but should you dry up and desire my water, I will gladly be here to provide it. However, rivers change their course with time, and so we may drift.

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 :)