Running and pools

I woke up this morning and ran around Lake Nokomis. I'm still on week 4 of the couch potato plan. I actually threw in an extra three minute run at the end because I made the walking break between the second 3 mintues/5 minutes of running longer. The thing about running around Lake Nokomis is there's a stop light at Cedar Ave that impedes my progress but the little part of the lake that's on the west side of Cedar Ave is my favorite part of the whole run.
When I got done running I decided to walk back to my car and get my gatorade and then walk around the lake and enjoy the sunshine. I could only do this because I had taped my arches and my feet didn't hurt. I have a slight shin splint in my right leg but other than that I am doing amazingly well.

When I got home I got in my suit and jumped in the pool. I very quickly climbed out of the pool because it is freezing cold. I sat in the sun for a while and read and now I'm enjoying the air conditioning.

the problem of being bored

The problem of being bored is that I tend to want to do stuff, much like being hyperactive. Anyways, I want to go to Ikea and there's no one to go with me right now. This is the thing about not working normal hours but having friends who do. I could shop alone at Ikea, which let's be honest would be no fun, or I could sit home and think about shopping at Ikea. Recently, Kelly got a new drawer divider that looked cool. I guess it's a silverware holder. Anyways, mine is plastic and belonged to my Grandmother, I'm just saying...

The second problem is that I have less than my normal amount of money right now with plane tickets and trips home and laptop batteries so I guess it's good that no one can come to Ikea and play with me right now. Although, Amanda is feeling hyper. She might go with me...

screaming kids

Recently I've noticed a lot of screaming children around me. Especially at places like Target and ball games and restaurants. I don't know what it is but always these screaming kids. I'm always troubled by it. I think I'm picking up on the kids' emotions that go with having a total meltdown and not enjoying it.

I was at Target tonight and this little girl was going absolutely nuts in the shopping cart and it hit me: If I ever have kids, this is how they will act because this is how I acted as a kid. So here I am, trying shop and listening to this kid scream through Target for a long time and throw things out of the cart (which is really kind of funny now that I think about it) and then out in the parking lot where the lady just let the kid sit in the cart and continue to freak out. Then something else occured to me: If I were a parent, I would have given that kid way more consequences that this lady was giving her. Seriously, when I was a kid if I was bad, like the very second I did something I heard, "no TV tonight" and if I kept it up, "no TV tomorrow" and the next night and so on. Eventually I had to stop myself.

It's totally sad that a six year old having a meltdown in Target made me feel better. This kid had no one to set boundaries for her, which obviously she couldn't do herself. No one to give her any cues that freaking out is not ok. This lady just sat there and let her. She may have cried herself out eventually (or perhaps they're still standing there) but there were no consequences for her behavior, nothing to make her think she shouldn't do it again other than it feels lousy and kids don't understand that. So this poor lady and her kid really made me feel better in a sick "I-could-totally-do-that-better" kind of way. (I take back the "I could do it better" comment because who needs to tempt fate by putting that out there?)

I never knew this

Well, given who my friends are, this seems important to know. See what happens when I don't check my "how-to" of the day for a little while?

ugh

Driving is Wisconsin is hell.

'Nuff said.

Things I learned today

The things I learned today

1. My Dad is a t-shirt snob. He will only play tennis in 100% cotton shirts. He refuses to play in blends because they are too hot. This is sad because, as mentioned before Mom and I hit paydirt at the Jockey Outlet and one of the Father's Day presents we got him was a workout shirt that is all polyester. Ann said that Uncle Dave wont run or play tennis in anything else, so at least we got an outside endorsement that they are cool.
2. It's really hot here. Perhaps I've already mentioned this once or twice... a minute... all day... every day.
3. I love Skyline.
4. I have lots to do at work when I get back and I need to remember to do it all.
   

wierd day

I had a very strange day yesterday. Mom and I went to the Jeffersonville Outlets. I hit paydirt at the Jockey store. My bras and underwear (which are usually super expensive) were $3.99 each. Randomly, my aunt Ann was shopping at the same set of outlets so we saw her for a while. It was toally wierd running into her there considering she lives like 45 miles away in the other direction.

Second and definitly more weird, Mom and I watched this movie called What the Bleep Do We Know. It's about quantum physics. It totally creeped me out. My Mom said she's never met anybody who could see it only once because it's so complicated. We are talking about quantum mechanics here. For example, did you know that

1. Even in atom (the most basic unit of whatever), there is mostly space between electrons and protons and neutrons. Atoms are mostly space yet we perceive our environment as solid.
2. Our eyes and our brain will only see what it knows can exist. So if our brain doesn't know something can exist, our eyes will not see it. When Colombus sailed to the Carribean islands, the indians there couldn't see his ships because they didn't know a clipper ship could exist, even though the indians could see the ripples in the water and the wake left by the ships.
3. In labs accross the US scientists have been able to make objects that are visible the the naked eye appear in two places at once, raising questions about the famous "I can't be in two places at once" line.

My "Love Languages"

Well, since Kelly did it, and I've heard Amanda talk about it, I decided to take the Five Languages of Love Test.

Here are my results:

The Five Love Languages

My primary love language is probably
Acts of Service
with a secondary love language being
Physical Touch.

Complete set of results

Acts of Service:		10
Physical Touch:		9
Quality Time:		6
Words of Affirmation:		5
Receiving Gifts:		0

Information

Unhappiness in relationships, according to Dr. Gary Chapman, is often due to the fact that we speak different love languages. Sometimes we don't understand our partner's requirements, or even our own. We all have a "love tank" that needs to be filled in order for us to express love to others, but there are different means by which our tank can be filled, and there are different ways that we can express love to others.

Take the quiz

Apparently, I don't like receiving gifts, which is not really true. I just think of gifts as like an "act of service" since some of the nicest things people have given me have been related to acts of service. For example,
Kelly and
Amanda gave me a gift certificate to Ikea which I loved but it was related to the hours upon hours they spent helping me move and clean. It was really an extension of their service (in cleaning and keeping me from going insane which is like trying to keep dirt off a sidewalk somedays).

Related to my five languages of love, what did I get my parents for Mother's Day/Father's Day...

1. A book called The Three Questions which I gave them last time I was here.
2. I washed the curtains in the kitchen and breakfast nook.
3. I bought a squeegie and a bucket.
4. I used the squeegie and bucket to wash the windows since the curtains were already down.
5. New cell phones. Not my brightest move.
6. I finally got the new microwave out which I gave them two years ago. They are now forced to use this one.
7. I helped my Dad carry the old microwave out the curb. Turns out in Cincinnati it can be thrown away with the regular trash.

While 1,3, and 5 are actualy gifts, washing the curtains was perhaps the biggest "act of service" and possible the most meaningful.

My Day of Rest

Yesterday I ran... more even that was scheduled on the Couch Potato Plan and the I played lots of tennis with Kao. She actually taught me how to serve. So now it's 9:30 on a Friday morning and I am sitting in my hamock.

I have to work later today (1-5) at the museum and tonight (6-12a) at the aquarium.

Tomorrow will be another day of rest but I may actually excercise and pack my car that day...

Also, I was doing laundry a couple of days ago. There I was in the laundry room sorting loads for the dryer and a neighbor who I've (sadly) never seen before comes in to get his laundry. He was in shorts with no shirt. I think I may have inadverntently growled when I saw him.

The Never Ending Story: My Bathroom

(again)

New updates for my bathroom:

1. After some drilling and several broken drill bits (sorry Kelly) my cabinet doors all properly open and close. One or two of those drill bits are permanently lodged in my vanity by the way. I hope that's not a problem.
   
2. After learning to use a hacksaw, I have now properly installed all of the drawers in my vanity. They too open and close properly. No drill bits were harmed in this portion of the day. I've also got to say, I'm very impressed with how easy the hacksaw turned out to be. I thought I'd still be sawing that metal track in two.
3. The towel rack (and towels) are back on the door. They look good.
4. A dark green shower curtain may be more of a challenge than I had first anticipated.
5. The hole in my ceiling is still there, and still gaping by the way.
6. The paint on my tub and floor is still there.
7. I got a shelf and drawer for under the vanity. Very nice. Can't wait to put them in.

I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel on this one. Bathroom redecorating is a long long tunnel.

the weekly call

I called my parents tonight for the weekly Sunday call. My Dad answered and says, "We're eating right now. We'll call you back on a conference call."

What?!?

Who the hell are you and what have you done with my real parents? The ones who just got cell phones last week? The ones who still don't know how to operate the DVD player? The ones who swore to my face that the microwave that's twenty years old (and takes 10 minutes to pop popcorn if it pops at all) isn't it dead?

I must have called the wrong house becuase I got the parents who can operate their new cell phones well enough to make a conferece call.

hm....

Well this is interesting. I'm not sure which disturbs me more. That two college students didn't understand there's no oxygen in a helium baloon, or that there is a Compressed Gas Association.

The Never Ending Story: My Bathroom

Since the begining, the things I have done to the bathroom

1. Taken everything out of it
2. Scraped paint off of the walls and ceiling (not my favorite job)
3. Two coats of kills over the areas where paint was scraped
4. Tried to patch a hole in the ceiling, I have spackle and I need joint compound. Let me know if you know what that means.
5. Removed the medicine cabinet and found even more razor blades. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to dispose of them behind the medicine cabinet clearly never had to replace a medicine cabinet.
   
6. Picked out paint colors. (Thank you Kelly)
7. Taped. Between the tile, the sink, the shower and the doors, my bathroom is all edges.
8. Painted the walls yellow. (Again, thank you Kelly)
9. Took the door off of the hinges.
   
10. Took the drawers and cabinet doors out of the vanity.
11. Sanded the drawers, cabinet doors, vanity, door and door frame. (Again, not my favorite job although not quite as bad as scaping paint).
    
12. Painted the fronts of the doors and cabinets yellow.
13. Painted the vanity blue.
14. Painted the door.
15. Painted the door frame.
16. Used Killz on the bottom inside of my vanity. It was foul, it needed it.
    
17. Installed the medicine cabinet. (I really thought this was going to be my least favorite job and it wasn't traumatic at all.)
18. Replaced the doorknob on the door. Note to Kelly, had the same problem we had last time. I missed your help.
19. Put in new hardware on the cabinets and tried to install them. Note here that I say tried. While the hinges fit the doors, they no longer close properly and I'm not sure what to do about it. Again, call me if you know.

Things I still need to do to my bathroom:

1. Make the cabinets close properly.
2. Touch up lots and lots of paint chips.
3. Put my towel rack back on the door.
4. Get a dark green shower curtain.
5. Patch my ceiling. (See number 4 above).
6. Put everything back in the bathroom. (I actually cannot wait to do that one because it means that both my bathroom and my bedroom will be clean again.)
7. Fix the track to one of my drawers. Anyone good with a hacksaw?
8. Clean paint off the walls, the tub, the sink and the floor.
9. Clean dirt and grime out of the bathroom.
10. Get a new shower curtain liner.
11. There must be more. Right now I'd be happy if my cabinet doors closed properly.