Guess who's been running

My sink is still clogged. I am less than amused. A co-worker the other day asked me if I'd ever have this contractor back (please god not another remodel) and of course I said yes. But a couple of times it feels like the work has taken much longer than I expected it it (like that time six weeks ago when he told me it would be five days or work for my kitchen). It'll be a week tomorrow since I called about the sink. I think part of the delay this time is the plumbers fault and not the contractor.

When I got home today the contract was actually putting in his finishing touches (other than the sink) so when the sink works my kitchen will be totally done. Yeah.

I ran around Lake Nokomis again, possibly faster than 12:00 miles, although not too much faster. Wait 'till the summer. I remember those 10:00 miles. Not well, but they did exist. It was a nice and sunny day for a run. And on the way out to my car I stepped in a big puddle. So sad. When I got to the lake I walked (and then ran) through basically a flooded field covered by a centimeter of snow. And I thought, "I wish I had my smart wool socks that Amanda got me right now". Turns out it was warm enough even without the socks. Please don't ask about the puddle issues. It's a story that requires dramatic rendition and must be told in person.

Anyone have trouble getting to work today? I about drove into a garbage truck because I misjudged my speed and the level of ice covering on the road. I'm fine. I just ran a red light instead. Although I saw what looked like a fairly serious wreck at (duh) the bottom of a really big hill. I've never seen a car's bumper literally wrap itself around a telephone pole. That person was out of his car though so hopefully he's fine. Made me feel bad for driving fast.

Want to hear something funny? (And also the reason I didn't blog yesterday). Wednesday morning I woke up around 4am. No, seriously. Around 5am I finally got up. That's when I learned the Y doesn't open until 5:30a. Wow. Last night I was forced to stay up because Men in Trees was new. (It was ok.) And then I completely zonked out. The lesson I learned from the poor sleeping is that my bed still can't be on the wall with the pipes (where it belongs) even though they're insulated now. No, I'm not opening my wall up and putting in more insulation, although the thought did cross my mind. So I moved my bed back to it's other configuration. I'm not sure how I'll keep it. I want it under the window even less than the position that allows a site line to my main door. What feng shui suggestions do you have?

Also, Kelly, I'm ready for those little shelves to put candles on going up the wall on either side of my dresser. Can you recommend anything cute and in my stain of wood or an acceptable color? (Thank you.) Also, Eric if you still read this blog, would you teach me how to hang a light? I'm done with the crappy brass chandelier I've got going on in the living room. (Hope you're well by the way.)

Now, I've got tons of questions to ask about my recent internet travels:
What's "operator error"? Hee hee. I so totally understand this.

I know several people in various stages of family planning, having kids, raising kids, and having their kids move out. For those of you in the earlier stages of this process: there's still time. Odd names really do screw up your kids chances.

Companies using the H1-B or foreign worker visas more frequently. I was surprised to see the University of Minnesota listed so high. Are these people mostly in the med school? I've never seen them.

This is the first thing I saw that made me think of Amanda. Honestly, if you know the situation, it's moderately sweet.

I've mostly thought I was too old for the HPV vaccine but these statistics absolutely took my breath away. Not the 1 in 4 part, but the breakdown of HPV to basically everything else. Maybe 26 isn't too late.

More information about the gender gap in education. After reading this story that I mentioned here I had an overnight full of boys. Serendipity? I figured out that I did have to ask them questions or engage them a little differently but once I had a direction it worked really well.

This is the next thing that reminded me of Amanda. Take a study break. You'll like to look at this. Figure out if you're in the small percentage of people missing any of those bones and muscles.

This tragic picture (that you probably shouldn't look at if you're at work) reminded me of a very dear friend who we mercilessly tease about "crack". Luckily (for all of us), she's never had this problem.