31.8.06

Why Lake Street, the State Fair, and a bus don't mix

Well, I hit the perfect storm of being on the bus today. It all seemed like it was going to be ok this morning when I got out to the bus stop, realized I forgot my badge and had time to run back and get it wihout missing the bus.

I want to be clear. The ride home killed that joy. It wasn't the bus drivers fault she was actually pretty nice and tried to keep a good sense of humor. The bus I took uses the expressway but gets off the expressway at the same exit as all of the people going to the fair. Then traffic was totally stopped on Marshall Ave. from Snelling Ave. to the river. I have no explanation. A bus ride that's usually fairly quick for how much distance it covers took me about twice as long as it usually does.

I'm happy to be home and planning to not take that route home tomorrow...

Running update

Well, I went to bed last night with every intention of waking up at 6am (yeah, I know, there was the flaw in my plan) and running 6 miles. When the alarm went off at 6am I thought it'd be best to go back to sleep and try waking up again in an hour. This only left me time to run the short loop of 3.5 miles as I have been all week. It's possible I'll run more tomorrow. (Although at the moment I'm not hopeful becuase I'm all but totally off of food.)

30.8.06

really fast

reall fast becaues Cindee says I blog too much, I ran 3.5 miles this morning. Almost had a panick attack, well did actually at lunch but it wasn't too bad. Thank god for Kelly.

29.8.06

Hmph




I'd like to offer these recently scanned photos to Kelly as proof that she's not the only person I can annoy with a camera. It's a rare gift, I'm amazed y'all didn't discover it before now.

There are some warnings we just shouldn't have to give

There are some warnings people shouldn't really need in life. I've always found the one about not using a hairdryer in the shower and not ironing clothes while they are being worn particularly funny. What prompted me to think about funny warnings? Well, it has a lot to do with this story I found on Yahoo.

Here are some other things to think about:

This sign looks like it belongs on the side of the road in Kentucky. I know I seem to crap on Kentucky a lot. (I also think it's just the prettiest place in the world.) However, if you've been out into the boonies, you'll know what I'm talking about.




Now, I ask you....

Short run

This morning I did a short run (because I had to take the bus to work earlier than I would have liked). I ran 3.5 miles in... I have no idea how long. Possibly 40 minutes. I was hauling tail by the end.

As I just mentioned, I took the bus this morning. To all of you who take the bus in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, is Tuesday the day when the entire freaking world has it together enough to get on the bus? Seriously, I'm like 14 blocks from the begining of my bus route, and it's already late by the time it gets to my stop. It's only anxiety provoking because when the bus runs on schedule (like Mondays when apparently no one has it together enough to get on the bus), I have plenty of time to make my connection. However today, when the bus had only travelled two miles and it was already a full five minutes off schedule, it was a close call.

Today was lousy

I'm not even going to mince words. Today was lousy because of a situation at work. I'm powerless to help the person who needs help, but I have to help my co-workers deal with the situation because I've been through this kind of thing before and sort of know how to protect myself emotionally. It's awful.

Other than that, we spent the day at work cleaning. I'm always the one saying, "We don't need that, let's throw it away." It was funny because we're all sort of like that to varrying degrees. Kao always wants to move stuff but not throw it away. There's one person who works there that is on a different page about throwing stuff away, like she keeps everything.

The people who were cleaning were all sort of remarking on that (that we all want stuff thrown away except this one person which makes life difficult) when said packrat walks into the office and started making comments about all the stuff she had been wanting to throw away or get rid of for a while. I did not make eye contact with any of my co-workers for quite some time after she said that. To my credit, I didn't roll my eyes or bite my thumb either.

However, the coup de gras was when Travis walked in and saw all of the boxes of books I was preparing to get rid of (as in donate, I'd never throw books away) and with a little sad face said, "oh, you're getting rid of all these?" I absolutely could have strangled him in the cute way that means, "I love working with you but I busted my butt this morning so back off."

28.8.06

Just because I thought you might be interested

In an attempt to keep my home as clutter free as possible, I try to throw away all the crap I possibly can. (It's really a fight between my sentimentality and the part of me that needs to have everything neat and orderly.) As you can imagine, the computer is my best weapon in said war-on-clutter because it can hold tons and tons of information in an amazaingly small space.

In the lattest battle I had to decide what to do with my very first racing memento, my number from the Milk Run. My options were to either stick the sucker in a scrap book or throw it away and move on. In the end, I opted for surpirse option C: to scan the thing into my computer, post the image on my blog, and then throw away the original.

Where have I heard this before?

This story sounds like something someone else I know has been or will be asked at one point in her life.

walking back something I said earlier

In an earlier post I think I pretty properly dissed Kentucky. Then I was poking around on the internet today and found this funny story which also took place in Louisville, KY. If you haven't had a chance to check this site out before, it's called Overheard in the Office and it's really funny. Seriously, who hasn't worked in an office that had something to contribute to this site?

in the long run

In honor of choosing the next race I run to be a 5 mile race, I decided this morning I should run at least that far. In fact I repeated the route I took on my Tour of Parks and ran just over 6 miles. (6.0359 miles or 9.7159K to be exact.) Now I'm hungry and I badly want a shower and coffee.

Also, Kelly has been away for the weekend and someone who shall remain nameless doesn't write in her blog, so I'm cruising for something to read. Right now I'm finishing up The Second Summer of the Sisterhood which is the sequel to The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. I was inspired to start reading the second book after watching the movie made from the first book. I actually want to re-read the first book becuase I think the movie director took a few liberties with the plot.

27.8.06

And for my next race

After this morning's fun I started looking into races I can run in the fall. I've sort of decided, not sort of, I've actually decided that I'd like to keep running and the thing most likely to keep me running is another race. I found a 5k around Lake Harriet for cancer and a 5k in Minneapolis that starts on Boom Island but the one I'm most intrigued by is the Run for the Apples which is a 5 mile (not 5k) run in White Bear Lake at the end of October.

This morning Amanda let me know she had to take a break from running to deal with the real life issue of simultaneously working and attending school (oh, how I feel her pain). I'm hoping I can convince her and Kelly and Eric (Side note: Would Eric ever run a 5 mile race?) to come and be my cheering squad.

I'm not the slowest person on the earth

This morning I ran in the 2006 Minnesota State Fair Milk Run. I'm pleased to report (even though my normal running pace is such that if I moved any slower I'd be going backwards) that I'm not the slowest person on Earth. I ran an 11:45 mile. Of 720 women, I finished 556 (right behind an old lady in her 60's). Of 93 women in my age bracket, I finished 73rd. The competitor in me wants to do way better in whatever event I run in next, like go much faster. The calmer side of me is totally excited I ran a road race, happy that I went faster than I thought I would, and grateful to Amanda for getting me back into running.

I ran with Amanda and a friend, Amy. I actually wound up running pretty much the whole race with Amy. Having other people to talk to made the up hill portions of the race not so bad.

Check out all the results of the 2006 Milk Run at Apple Raceberry Jam's site.

26.8.06

How fun is this?

You Are a Mermaid

You are a total daydreamer, and people tend to think you're flakier than you actually are. Yes, they do. I hold Kelly's comments about me and the hair dying incident as proof.


While your head is often in the clouds, you'll always come back to earth to help someone in need.


Beyond being a caring person, you are also very intelligent and rational. Oh yeah!


You understand the connections of the universe better than almost anyone else. You bet I do. Now, ask me what they are...

25.8.06

Perhaps I shouldn't run this far every day

I ran a little over 5 miles in 60-70 minutes this morning. I'm begining to think that I shouldn't be running 5 miles every morning. Maybe I should wait until I'm a little stronger to do it every day. As it is my knees and lower back start to protest somewhere along the run. Also, with this route, it's much flatter than my neighborhood running route except at the end when there's a giant hill. All of my run I'm thinking I just need to save enough juice to get up this last hill. It wears my mind out thinking about that hill for the entire run.

Last week I decided that I would take tomorrow off of running in order to save some love for Sunday. A day with no excercise just makes me feel fat and lazy so perhaps I'll take a little walk tomorrow instead. (Not my regular 5-6 mile hike. I like to excercise but let's not go too nuts here.)

24.8.06

More things you should know

More things you should know about me and why we all can't wait for school to start and me not to have so much free time on my hands.

First:
Your Linguistic Profile:
50% General American English
25% Yankee
15% Dixie
The only reason there's any "Dixie" in there at all is becuase I use the word "y'all" in my sentences.
5%
Upper Midwestern
0% Midwestern This is only funny becuase I grew up in the Midwest. (Yes, Ohio really is part of the Midwest for those of y'all that don't know.



Anything called "The Underwear Oracle has got to be good.
What Your Underwear Says About You

You like your underwear to make you feel girlish and pretty. Let's hope you're a chick.

You're comfortable in your own skin - and don't care to impress anyone.



This one is specifically for Kelly and Amanda. I can't wait to hear who your Mom is even though I already know what I call her.
Your Mommy Is Madonna

What You Call Her: Ma

What people say about yo momma: Yo momma so hairy Bigfoot is taking her picture!

While eating my lunch

While eating my lunch and surfing the internet, I've discovered some things I'd like to share with you.

First, Kelly if you're still looking for that perfect aniversary gift for Eric, I think this page should give you some ideas.

Second, this story makes me feel old and I only graduated college 4 years ago. Wow, four years. What the hell have I been doing all this time? Seriously, I'm only a few years older than these kids and I remember both Germanys and the Soviet Union. Check out number 46. I remember part of that drama at my high school. Let me just say lawyers were called. Number 71 is hillarious and has the added bonus of looking like a headline from The Onion. Also, what's this thing about headphones in the back seat and "Boogers" candy?

Third, all I have to say is that with the amount of Chipotle I eat and Diet Pepsi I drink, there's no way that this can be correct.
You Are 72% Healthy

Your diet is quite healthy, but you don't too crazy with what you eat.
You know how to eat what's good for you, but you're also careful not to deprive yourself.

I didn't know I could get any slower

I ran 5.6 miles today in lets say 70-80 minutes. I went slower than I do on my usual neighborhood run which means I do have a pace slower than the 12:30 mile I usually run because I wasn't sure how long my new route was going to be. Turns out, not as long as I thought. This morning I got up (late, but how is that different from any other day?) and ran down to Minnehaha Parkway and around Lake Nokomis. It was raining almost the whole time I was running but I did manage to get back home before the thunder started.

23.8.06

Well clearly I need sleep

Here's how I've been entertaining myself the past few minutes.

You Were an Eagle

You are able to rise above the details of life and see the big picture.
A spiritual being, you tend to go beyond material concerns.



This one was a bit of a surprise.
Your Travel Profile:

You Are Extremely Well Traveled in the Midwestern United States (100%)Could be because that's where I live.
You Are Very Well Traveled in the Northeastern United States (71%)
You Are Somewhat Well Traveled in Canada (40%)
You Are Somewhat Well Traveled in the Southern United States (38%)
You Are Somewhat Well Traveled in Africa (25%)I think this question is inaccurate. I'm really fairly well traveled in Africa, just not the places they ask about.
You Are Somewhat Well Traveled in Asia (21%)Again, I've been to several places in Asia, just not the ones they're asking about. Does Kobe coun't for nothing?
You Are Mostly Untraveled in Southern Europe (13%)Can I just express my frustation that Europe gets broken into "Southern", "Eastern", "the United Kingdom", "Western" and freaking "Scandanavia" while Africa is only one category. More importantly, Asia where a bajillion people live is also only one category.
You Are Mostly Untraveled in the Western United States (11%)
You Are Untraveled in Australia (0%)My missing continent. We're not counting Antartica right now. I'm not sure how I'd ever get there.
You Are Untraveled in Eastern Europe (0%)
You Are Untraveled in Latin America (0%)This is flatly untrue. Who can say "Brazil"? Who can say, "Cuba?"
You Are Untraveled in New Zealand (0%)
You Are Untraveled in Scandinavia (0%)
You Are Untraveled in Western Europe (0%)
You Are Untraveled in the Middle East (0%)
You Are Untraveled in the United Kingdom (0%)



Your Brain is 80% Female, 20% Male

Your brain leans female
You think with your heart, not your head
Sweet and considerate, you are a giver
But you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!



Now, everyone remember this one.
Your Power Level is: 64%

You're a very powerful person, and you know that all of your power comes from within.
Keep on doing what you're doing, and you'll reach your goals.



Going along with the theme of world domination:
You Should Rule Jupiter

Huge and hot, Jupiter is a quickly turning planet with short days and intense gravity.

You are perfect to rule Jupiter, because you are both dominant and kind.
You have great strength and confidence, but you never abuse your power.

You are always right. Even if you make mistakes, you compensate for them... before anyone knows it.
Headstrong and ambitious, you always have a goal in mind. You are optimistic and believe thing things will always work out.

A couple quick things

Here's a couple quick things since I didn't run today (and therefore feel fat and useless) and also because Kelly was at a staff meeting all day and so unable to post to her blog.

This headline was at the top of My Yahoo fitness tips yesterday. Hee hee.

Also, I don't think this comes as a great shock to anyone, but I thought you'd like to know anyways.

You Are 72% Pure

Well, you're not exactly an angel - but you're pretty darn close.
But chances are, you have a couple juicy secrets deep in your closet.

A couple pictures I meant to post earlier

These are from the other day at work. (I know you all want to know where you can get one of those fancy orange shirts.)






That Moolate was the biggest thing I've ever eaten.

Fun blog things

A couple of fun blog things happened to me today.

First of all, I have discovered that the readership of my blog has gone above two although given the nature of the comment I'm not sure how long that will last. Welcome to everyone else out there who is reading but too shy to comment.

Second, anyone know why the RSS feed on Kelly's blog never works.

There was going to be a third thing. I have no idea what it was. Perhaps it's time for me to sleep.

22.8.06

For Amanda

I'm posting this for Amanda who asked if I knew the difference between running and jogging. I looked it up, and there are a couple of ideas. Here's one. Here's another. It sounds like semantics to me, but the kinds of semantics that some people take very seriously. We've never had the caving/spelunking or boat/ship debates on this blog, but I assure you, there's a difference. Also, I'm posting this because it's seems relevant to the topic.

I love the stuff that happens in Kentucky

Let me just open by saying, I've literally travelled around the world and Kentucky is the most beautiful place I've ever been. However, Mark Twain once said that Cincinnati is twenty years behind the times. I like to think Kentucky caused the drag.

So, in Louisville, Kentucky (where students are in school in August in an effort to store up snow days because in Kentucky if a cow pees on the road and it freezes the kids will get the day off of school) a history teacher burned two american flags, one in each of two history classes. He did it as an excercise to get kids to think about free speech. The more interesting thing is how it's being reported in the news. Check out story 1, story 2, and story 3. There's also a story with video at CNN available but the link is to a java script command to open a video player and I don't know how to transfer that onto my blog yet maybe one day Kelly will help me.

I'm interested in two things:
  1. The first news story was filed before a parent complained. Who told the news?
  2. The school board now seems to be all hot and bothered (I wonder if they're up for re-election this year) and is saying the teacher could illustrate his point to students any other way.
Now let's just sit for a moment and reflect on the fact that this assigment that was designed to get students to consider free speech and the school board is telling the teacher he shouldn't use a currently legal act of free speech as a teaching tool. Then, for performing said act of free speech, the school board censures the teacher in the news, re-assigns him, starts an investigation, and notifies fire officials who are able to start their own investigation.

If I was a seventh grader in Louisville, Kentucky I would assume that it's really not legal (or smart) to burn an American flag.

Since I don't knit

Since I don't knit, I was thinking maybe I could do this instead. At least if it doesn't work out for me, surely Kellyor Amanda could make one. I'm sure one of them carries a purse more than I do anyways.

The tour of parks

Since I have the day off and was able to sleep in, I went for a really long run this morning. When I say long, I mean I toured a couple parks I don't usually see along my normal route. I ran through Powderhorn Park which I haven't done since I left for the Peace Corps, and two tiny parks on either side of Park Ave between 43rd street and 44th street. They're really cute little parks. All in all, I ran just over 6 miles this morning in about 75-80 minutes (which still makes me the slowest runner on the planet). My knees were kind of hurting by the end. Is that bad?

Also, random question: Does a cat in heat sound roughly the same as a baby crying?

Just a few other things...

Just a few other things you should know about me because I didn't get home from work (no, not that job, the other one) until 11pm and I'm not quite ready to sleep yet.

Your Aura is Blue

Spiritual and calm, you tend to live a quiet but enriching life.
You are very giving of yourself. And it's hard for you to let go of relationships.

The purpose of your life: showing love to other people

Famous blues include: Angelina Jolie, the Dali Lama, Oprah

Careers for you to try: Psychic, Peace Corps Volunteer, Counselor



You Communicate With Your Ears

You love conversations, both as a listener and a talker.
What people say is important to you, and you're often most affected by words, not actions.
You love to hear complements from others. And when you're upset, you often talk to yourself.
Music is very important to you. It's difficult to find you without your iPod.



This one seems a little low to me. As I said before, I doubt the accuracy of some of these tests.


You Are 44% Obsessive

You're somewhat obsessive, especially when it comes to a couple things (like horrifying thoughts or cleanliness).
As long as your quirks aren't interrupting your life, it's all good.



On Average, You Would Sell Out For

$1,118,111



I did actually know this one.


You Are 90% Psychic

You are so very psychic.
But you already predicted that, didn't you?
You have "the gift" - and you use it daily to connect with others.
You're very tapped into the world around you...
Just make sure to use your powers for good!



You Are Periwinkle

You're very intuitive and sensitive. You often know other people better than they know themselves.
You're also quite optimistic, and you think well of yourself and others. You know your dreams will come true.



You Are a White Flower

A white flower tends to represent purity, simple beauty, and modesty.
At times, you are dignified like a magnolia.
And at other times, you represent great ecstasy, like a white orchid.
And more than you wish, you're a little boastful, like a white hydrangea.



And my personal favorite although I knew this as well


Your Lucky Underwear is Purple

Dreamy and idealistic, you envision great things for your life. Your lucky purple underwear can make those dreams come true!
You're a busy little butterfly. You have the most projects, interests, and friends of anyone you know.

You also have a flair for the dramatic. Sometimes too much drama comes in to your life and brings things to a stop.
If you want to focus more, and flutter less, put on your purple underpants. They'll help you get the important things done.

Now I'm entertained

After taking this quiz and these two quizzes this morning, I'm quite entertained with the quizzes at Blogthings. Here's a couple more:

I don't think this is a suprise to anyone who knows me:

You Are 30% Extrovert, 70% Introvert

You are quite reserved
You aren't afraid of social situations...
But you very much prefer to go it alone
And why not? You're your own best friend!


This one was just entertaining.

Your Career Personality: Idealistic, Service-Oriented, and Future-Oriented

Your Ideal Careers:

Alternative health practitioner
Architect
Environmental lawyer
Librarian
Magazine editor
Museum curator
Novelist
Nutritionist
Photo journalist
Playwright

21.8.06

Against my better judgement

I'm posting this one against my better judgement, only because I think it's a flawed test. I just had to giggle at the first line. The second line made me giggle too.

Your IQ Is 115

Your Logical Intelligence is Below Average

Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius

Your Mathematical Intelligence is Exceptional

Your General Knowledge is Above Average
I was playing at Kelly's blog. She had taken these tests so it seemed like the thing to do.


You Are 45% Left Brained, 55% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning.
Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others.
If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic.
Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet.

The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility.
Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way.
If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art.
Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.



I just don't even know what to think about this one.

You Are Animal

A complete lunatic, you're operating on 100% animal instincts.
You thrive on uncontrolled energy, and you're downright scary.
But you sure can beat a good drum.
"Kill! Kill!"

Well now it's even more annoying

Ok. That stupid pedometer is even more annoying now. I re-mapped my route. I ran 4.33 miles or 6.975K this morning, thank you very much. And then I tried, once again to save the picture of the elevation changes in my route. As you can see from my previous post, all 4.3 miles are not in the picture even though when I right-clicked and selected "save image as" I could see the whole thing. When I tried to save the elevation picture the second time, once again it didn't even show three of the four miles even though the entire picture was displayed on my screen as it was saving. Anyone who knows what's up with this, let me know.

The Long Run

... and why Google Maps Pedometer is goofy.

I ran, well, I'm not sure but over 4.3 miles today. Maybe 4.4, maybe not quite. I was on G-Maps clicking out my route and suddenly it wouldn't click anymore. I blame Google. They are, afterall, the source of all my problems in life.






This is a picture of this mornings run. Minus the last block. It's ok. That block was downhill anyways.

20.8.06

Some funny pictures

These are two photos I saw on Bald Guy Greetings. Is it wrong they both remind me of Kelly?













This is a photo to remind everyone that it's very difficult to get the perfect picture of the Taj Mahal. It always winds up being crooked.

18.8.06

Interesting discovery

I was on Google Pedometer and I discovered something very interesting about the elevation feature. It only measures the elevation change between the points I mark on the map. So if I don't make a new point at every block, the measures are less accurate.





On the right is just putting points on the maps where I turn corners or turn around. On the left is putting a point at every city block, no matter if I'm going straight or not.









Here are the less and more accurate elevation maps for my normal neighborhood run. See the one on the left, between miles two and three it looks like I run basically straight up a hill. I do. Remember all the times I complained about the big hill in my run?

I still feel like crap

My my, I'm quite whiny these days. I'm blame biology. I felt in a bind this morning about running. On the one hand, I need to run because I work tonight which means running tomorrow morning is unlikely and I work tomorrow night which means running Sunday morning is unlikely. I didn't want to not run 3 or 4 days in a row. Who can predict the likelihood of running on a Monday?

As a compromise, I decided I would run hills. I still ran 3 miles, almost a whole 5K, just with many more hills. There's one in particular that's an absolute beast. I've circled it in blue.

17.8.06

In honor of Jenny




In honor of Jenny, who doubted that pictures of people jumping would look cool, here are a couple of my own. Yes, I know I've written a lot of posts today but I'm bored and it's too early for bed. I miss cable.

what just happened

I went to open up my blog and all I could see was a bunch of code. What the he!! just happened?

Here are a few more pictures to explain how crappy I feel




this is new

I saw this story earlier and meant to write about it. It's funny that I told Jenny a story of a couple friends who met on Geek 2 Geek and Jenny was asking me if I'd ever thought about meeting someone that way. Cause just waiting for Mr. Right, or anyone else, is working so well for me right now. The flirting in traffic thing sounds like it could be absolutely hysterical.

The sad fact is




The sad fact is I ran a really long way today and I should feel proud of such an accomplishment. Instead, I feel like crapola.

well that was sad

I had a nice post, but it didn't publish properly. I'm not sure if it was because of Blogger or because of my wireless connection. Either one is a possibility at this point. The point of the post was to ask if anyone knows how to get a .gif animation file up on my blog. No, I do not have a server.

In other news, I ran 4.28 miles today and now I'm in pain. In all fairness, it's a biologically inconvenient time for me right now and I think I'd still be in pain even if I hadn't run.

Yesterday I started running but then got the feeling that I had to use the bathroom and so only ran a mile and headed home to avoid any disasters. After I got home I decided to do sit-ups as an alternate form of excercise that wouldn't take me far. Ultimately that may be been a bad decision because the soreness from sit-ups (does sit-ups have a hyphen like that?) may be adding to other pain that I'm experiencing right now. It's hard to say.

does anybody now

Does anybody probably named Kelly, but Amanda may know too if it's possible to post things besides pictures on blogger. In all the free time I've created for myself this summer (by not going to school or working very hard) I found some photo morphing freeware that's pretty fun.

Anyways, I was playing today after running 4.28 miles and I created a cool .gif file it could also be a .swf file or an .avi file. I'd like to put it up here but I'm not really sure blogger is going to let me.

16.8.06

I never really realized

I never really realized how much I sit in my "I-look-so-bored-I-could-spit" pose. It's funny how similar this picture from camping is to this picture from the Twins game. (I'm in the top left corner of this one, ignore the two girls in the front.)

15.8.06

In an effort at adding color to my page

In an effort at adding color to me blog, there are some pictures I'd like to share. Some are penny bridges which involves impressive architec tural skills as well as many many pennies. Other pictures are from the totally fun camping trip we just took.