Leaving Town

I'm getting ready to fly to Northern Michigan and visit my father, his wife, and my brother and sister-in-law. We'll be doing lots of running, lounging by the lake, boating, hiking, bonfiring, and (I hope) - sleeping!

One thing I definitely want to do is take the fishing boat up Platte River to the Riverside general store for ice cream! We used to do that all the time when I was a kid and it is the best. If you go late enough they have the fire roaring. Nothing like pulling up and leaving a place by boat. So cool!

I doubt I'll be updating the blog over the weekend... so enjoy the long one and check back early next week!

THE WIRE SPOILER ALERT

NOTE: IF YOU ARE WATCHING THE WIRE AND HAVE NOT SEEN THE ENTIRE SERIES, INCLUDING SEASON FIVE, DO NOT READ THIS POST. This post contains a Season Five spoiler. Step away from the blog. You have been warned.

Once again, I have stolen a very interesting survey from Air Force mom Lea:

Do you like blue cheese? Yes

Have you ever smoked heroin? No

Do you own a gun? No

What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? I have never been to Sonic!

Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Not really

What do you think of hot dogs? Totally gross. Even the smell. Can't even walk past the street vendors, have to take a detour across the street.

Favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Story

What do you prefer to drink in the morning? A big glass of water first thing, then black tea with milk.

Can you do push ups? Yes

What would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? I always loved you.

What's your favorite piece of jewelry? The amber necklace, earrings, and ring my mom bought me in Athens

Favorite hobby? Playing Irish music at pubs

What's one trait you like about yourself? I am comfortable in almost any social setting

Middle name? Marie

Name 3 things you bought yesterday: A metro farecard... groceries... and that's it. It was Sunday

Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Water, tea, red wine

Current dislike right now? The Wire because Omar just got smoked

How did you bring in the New Year? With many resolutions

Where would you like to go? Finland and Russia, Korea. Singapore. The Himalayas

Name three people who will complete this? Probably no one ;)

Do you own slippers? No, but I do own fuzzy comfy winter socks

What shirt are you wearing? A dark brown tank top

Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? No

Favorite color? Dark blue

Would you be a pirate? WTF?

Favorite girl's names? Natasha, Elena, Laura

Favorite boy's names? Patrick, Daniel

What's in your pocket right now? No pockets in my pj's

Last thing that made you laugh? A text message I received

Best bed sheets as a child? My Little Pony sheets and pop-up tent that fit over my mattress ;)

Do you love where you live? Absolutely

How many TVs do you have in your house? One

How many dogs do you have? None

Does someone have a crush on you? Yes

What are your favorite books? Anything by Thomas Merton or Patricia Highsmith

What is your favorite candy? Does ice cream count?

What song do you want played at your funeral? Never thought about it...

What were you doing 12 AM last night? Sleeping!

What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Did I sleep through my alarm??

DNF

I didn't finish my training run yesterday. I was going to post a map of the route versus what I actually ran, but I don't have the energy. Let's just say I'm pretty sure I know what happened and hopefully it won't happen again. Still bad for morale, though.

I have a scar on each hand now, neither of which will fade completely. Has anyone ever tried that Mederma stuff? Does it work?

I finally have a few hours to myself. I'm going to heat up some vegetable and shrimp stir fry and pour it over a batch of quinoa, maybe settle down and watch some TV or a movie.

Dinnerblogging

Dinner was whole wheat rotini with shrimp in a light sauce made from olive oil, butter, chopped onion, a fresh tomato from Mike and Christina's garden, scallion, baby portabello mushrooms, and fresh basil and oregano also from the garden.

Some more fresh basil on top, and this was the final product. Delish!

Weekend Away

Over the weekend I took a train ride down to Norfolk to visit my brother and sister-in-law for the weekend. What a nice getaway... not only the food (homemade lasagna, squash casserole, dill-havarti omelettes with poached salmon, marinated cucumber salad, pork chops, tea, ice cream, homemade hazelnut chocolate cake, and plenty of red wine) but also two six-mile runs along Knitting Mill Creek, cocktails overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, some reading, a nap or two, the Olympics, and lots of talking outside on the back porch under a dim morning sun.

This is the route that Christina and I ran. It's a perfect two-mile loop around their little peninsula:


This is the view over Virginia Beach and out into the Atlantic Ocean where we enjoyed frozen drinks on Saturday evening:



And this is the three of us, getting ready to head to the train station for my departure:

Timeline

In just a few short minutes I'll be leaving work to go home, pack my bag, and hop on a train headed for Newport News, VA, where my brother and Christina will be waiting to pick me up for the weekend!

I'm psyched, and yet I'm sure I'll be utterly jealous of their gorgeous house (yes, I am the last renting child, sue me) on the water, outdoor patio, little path around the inlet, and overall fantastic life.

I'm sure we'll have good food and good conversation. I'll be squeezing in a run, and don't anyone forget to watch Catherine the Great take the gold on Sunday morning!

My Consolation

'Let men compose themselves and live at peace,
Set haughty fate beneath their feet,
And look unmoved on fortune good and bad,
And keep unchanging countenance:
Unmoved they'll stand before the ocean's rage
Which churns up waves from deep below,
Unmoved by restless Mount Vesuvius,
Her furnace burst and hurling flames,
Unmoved by fiery thunderbolts in flight
Which sweep in ruin towers on high.

Why then are miserable men in awe
When tyrants rage impotently?
If first you rid yourself of hope and fear
You have disarmed the tyrant's wrath:
But whosoever quakes in fear or hope,
Drifting and losing mastery,
Has cast away his shield, has left his place,
And binds the chain with which he will be bound.'
-Spoken by Philosophy in Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy

Busy Days!

The social life has been pretty darn good lately! On Thursday some friends and I got together for happy hour at Creme Cafe on U St. Slightly disappointing (they were out of four of the six red wines they offer by the glass!) but the company made the leisurely evening worthwhile.

Friday I took my usual afternoon yoga class and kept the standing dinner date with the one and only AVE. Long and lean after a tough class, we both walk down the street to whichever restaurant in Tenleytown suits our cravings. Usually it's for sushi at Murasaki, but this last time we decided to grab some pizza at Angelico and work on sovling the world's problems.

Saturday I took a nice 8.5 mile spin around the National Mall. The weather was cool and gorgeous, and my legs felt fresh the whole way. Then I hooked up with a girlfriend and we headed to deep southwest for a birthday party where much ribs, mac/cheese, and birthday cake was consumed. When the Texas Hold 'Em started up we decided to take our leave and spent the rest of the night at Nanny's nursing pints of Guinness and solving our own problems.

This morning I had another yoga class - a great one - and now I'm off to get together with an old friend and his new wife for lunch before a bit of tunage, then it's on to church.

A busy but fulfilling couple of days.

A thought

This blog post feels pretty scattered. I've spent a lot of time try to express this idea, and... well... I can't, really, very well.

A while ago I read an interesting article about disappointment. If I were more motivated, I'd find the link for you. I think it was from the New York Times, and it was very interesting... the basic gist being that a lot of people don't feel free to express disappointment because things could always be worse.

I do this ALL THE TIME. Last week at work was so stressful, one of the most stressful weeks I've had, and all I could think was - you're nuts, you don't have kids, or a mortgage, you have no "real" responsibility other than yourself; other people have it a lot worse so quit complaining about work being hard and be thankful that you're working at all.

Where did I get the idea that only those who have experienced the most profound loss can legitimately express disappointment or grief?

Weekend End

Sundays are always a little hard for me. I tend to experience some anxiety regarding the upcoming week. Work is stressful, and while I can usually (read: usually) handle it.. lately things have been a bit over-the-top.

So, in anxious anticipation of my 5:15am alarm, I tend to go to bed too early, only to toss and turn for an hour or so, each passing minute increasing my fear that I'll be groggy in the morning.

Working a job where noticing every little detail means the difference between success and (potentially deadly) failure, exhaustion at work is prohibitive.

I've been trying to develop a Sunday evening routine that is quiet, contemplative, and reflective of the church service I've just attended, but I've little success so far. Maybe I'm just doomed to start each week with difficulty.

Run Report - 8 Miles

This morning I went for two laps around the National Mall, which comes out to a little over 8 miles. On the advice of uber-runner Keith, who just completed his umpteenth 100-mile trail race despite a killer bee attack around the 60th mile, I tried to relax and get my mind set that I'm going to be running for a long time.

No hurry.

I went out at what felt like a painfully slow pace. Other runners were passing me in droves, but I remembered what Keith said and also took a lesson from my favorite runner, Catherine Ndereba, who recently ran a 1:10:00 half marathon in New York. She said that she and her trainer decided on 1:10:00, and if someone else was going to run a 1:08, fine - she wasn't going to speed up. She had a calculated goal in mind and the achieved that goal. Nice.

Around mile 5 I could feel myself start to speed up in response to a bit of boredom. The faster I could get it over with, the better. But, I reminded myself, if I pick up the pace and thusly hit a wall, I'll end up walking, which is mentally demoralizing and defeats the point of speeding up to finish faster.

So I tried to set my mind to my goal and cruised the second lap at a slow but very steady pace. I felt great overall - legs tired by the end, and sitting on the metro didn't help matters, but I actually felt like I could have done more - which I will be doing on October 19th when the distance moves to 13.1.

The overcast skies probably helped things. The temperature stayed relatively low and the morning sun wasn't beating down on me. Also, the Mall, unlike my regular routes, is flat.

I have no idea what my pace was because I wasn't wearing a watch, but I don't honestly care. Not only did I go for it, but I finished and finished strong. That's all that matters.