Q&A

Stolen from Lea's blog, just for fun:

1. What is your occupation? Sorry, can't say.
2. What color are your socks right now? Not wearing any
3. What are you listening to right now? A film - Crimes and Misdemeanors
4. What was the last thing that you ate? A cracker
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yes
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Dark blue
7. Who is the last person you talked to? Matt via text
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Very much so!
9. How old are you today? 27
10. Favorite drink? Irish tea with a splash of whole milk
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? Red Wing hockey!
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yes
13. Pets? Two cats - Natasha and Elena
14. Favorite food? Sushi
15. Last movie you watched? Currently watching: Crimes and Misdemeanors
16. Favorite Day of the year? Not sure...
17. What do you do to vent anger? Run
18. What was your favorite toy as a child? My Little Pony :)
19. What is your favorite season? Spring or fall
20. Hugs or kisses? Both at the same time
21. Cherry or Blueberry? Blueberry
22. Do you want your friends to email you back? Huh?
23. Who is most likely to respond? I didn't really ask anyone to respond
24. Who is least likely to respond? See above
25. What ever happened to parents who gave a care? Don't understand the question.
26. When was the last time you cried? Can't remember... couple weeks ago?
27. What is on the floor of your closet? Some storage boxes
28. Favorite smells? Vanilla, sweat
29. Who inspires you? I have my muses :)
30. What are you afraid of? Grizzly bears
31. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Cheese or bbq burger
32. Favorite Car? I love Prowlers :)
33. Favorite cat breed? Just regular cats, whatever breed they are
34. Number of keys on your key ring? Seven
35. Years at your current job? 3.5
36. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
37. How many states have you live in? One (Michigan) and one District (Columbia)
38. Do you think you're funny? Yes, but I can't tell a joke to save my life
39. Favorite sounds? Irish music, de-corking a wine bottle
40. Last book you read? A Suspension of Mercy by Patricia Highsmith

NMoCaP

So I am slowly coming out of my weekend of seclusion. Not sure I accomplished everything I wanted to, but overall I had three days of peace, introspection, revision, and running (over 20 miles since Friday!).

Last Thursday I was invited to the opening of the National Museum of Crime and Punishment. They did a really, really nice job with this museum and it's worth seeing. Here are some photos from the reception and museum tour:

McGruff the crime dog was waiting to greet people as they entered!


John Walsh was there and gave a really nice speech about the museum and the important sacrifices that law enforcement, prosecutors, and advocates make in their quest for justice:


The section on serial killers included such artifacts as the switchblade used by the Boston Stranger, a John Wayne Gacy self-portrait, and an envelope addressed by Charles Manson, including his signature in the return address space:


I tried to crack the safe but couldn't do it!


I discovered a secret tunnel in the jail cell:



America's Most Wanted will run their operations, including filming and call intake, from the museum:


At dinner later in Glover Park; I decide that I'm tired of having my picture taken.

Incommunicado

All,

I hope to be mostly incommunicado this weekend. I need a couple days to rest, exercise, and go within a little bit. I'm going to try to stay away from the PC, sweets, and other people as much as possible.

Once that's over, I will post a bit about the opening of the National Museum of Crime and Punishment that I had the honor to attend last night. Expect pictures!

PSA: Dating

Lately it seems like every third person in my life is trying to set me up on a date. Dating is the last thing I want to do right now, but it's really difficult to explain this because the inevitable comeback is, "What do you have to lose?"

Is it not enough that I just don't want to?

Please people, lay off for a second or two. Thanks.

La Vie avec Les Chats

This is what happens when I try to snag a few minutes to read National Geographic:

Progression

Good: A late dinner with friends and a very leisurely morning
Better: Running uphill with Matt biking behind, singing the "Rocky" theme song
Best: Finishing my run, hot and sweaty, letting cold air from the AC blast me in the face

Oops

I meant to go running after work today but fell asleep by accident. There's still plenty of daylight, but I'm in one of those post-nap fogs that feels awful and is really hard to shake. So I'm going to make some caffeinated tea and try not to beat myself up over it. I'll run tomorrow (easy), Saturday (long), and be back on my schedule Sunday morning when I go to yoga.

Official Time

So... I overestimated my 5k time a little. Official results are in, and I have an official time of 29:24, a little more than 30 seconds off what I estimated in my race report.

I'm happy about my pace, though, which averaged out to a 9:28 mile.

See the offical results here.

And... just for perspective... the male winner ran a 5:20 mile to finish in 16:33, and the female winner ran a 5:48 mile to finish in 18:01.

5k Race Report

This morning I ran the National Police Week 5k. It was raining when I woke up and the rain persisted through the entire race. Thankfully, it wasn't a soaking rain, so clothes and shoes mainly stayed dry.

The route began at the FBI Field Office and finished at the National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial, following Independence Ave to the Capitol Building, turning north on 1st St NE, east on Constitution Ave NE, and south on 2nd St NE back to Independence to form a loop.


I already knew about the fairly steep hill between miles one and two, which was just another reason to obey my mantra of "Don't start too fast, don't start too fast, don't start too fast..."

Well... I didn't start too fast, but when all my hill training kicked and I started passing people on the incline, I got a bit cocky and picked up the pace. That resulted in a debilitating cramp just before the second mile marker, the kind where you just want to stop and double over and every inhale feels like an icepick stabbing you in the diaphragm. Yeah. But just then I noticed my support "team" (one loyal friend who braved the rain to cheer me on) and that was the boost I needed to take the pace down a notch and push through until the cramp abated, which it did just in time to turn north on 3rd St for the home stretch.

My official time won't be posted for another couple days (at least), but the clock as I crossed the finish said 30:15. I estimate that it took about 90 seconds to actually cross the starting line, which takes my time to about 28:45, which is exactly within the range I had hoped to finish.

I need to run a few more small races through my half-marathon training program, just to keep an eye on my pace and refine my strategy. Overall, I'm pleased with my performance and my time, especially given the conditions.

5k Eve

I'm running a race tomorrow! It's the National Police Week 5k and should be a lot of fun if the rain can hold out. My plan is to run easy, just a normal pace and see what happens. Since I don't run with a wathc, I don't know how fast (or slow) I am. So... I need to get a handle on that before official training starts in July.

Race report tomorrow afternoon!

Monday Evening

Today on a whim I signed up for a 5k race this Saturday. I think the race atmosphere will be energizing and it will be nice to know my official pace, since I don't run with a watch. But first, I need to pick up and break in a new pair of running shoes, so I'll do that tomorrow.

This is my only night to myself this whole week, and I'm spending it unfortunately watching a mediocre film, Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters. Not his best film, so I've stopped paying close attention and am cleaning up the kitchen, blogging, and browing a fashion magazine.

NHL playoffs resume on Thursday. I'm psyched.

Delinquent!

Okay, so I really haven't updated in a long time. There's kind of a lot going on in my personal life these days that isn't fit to be discussed in a public forum.

My half-marathon pre-training has hit a bit of a snag. I think I'm trying to do too much too soon. So I'm cutting back on my Saturday mileage - instead of doing 7-8 miles I'm going to stick with 5-6 and just try to build strength. I don't want to burn myself out... and acclimitizing to the warmer weather is proving to be a bit of a struggle.

I cooked dinner last night for a friend, and it turned out really well! I baked salmon with tomato, lemon, shallot, and thyme and served it over a bed of penne with a light cream sauce. The salad was baby spring greens with walnuts, cranberries, and goat cheese drizzled with a mustard vinaigrette. He brought an amazing bottle of Medoc. The meal was delicious, if I do say so myself.

This morning I'm going to have brunch with Mike and Christina! So sadly, Mike has moved down to Norfolk (Christina will be following soon), but he happens to be in town this weekend so I'm snagging a couple hours of his time. I know it's a great move forward for them, but it's sad for me that he's left.

The weather is PERFECT today so Matt and I are going to take advantage and go to the Zoo later this afternoon! We're both very fair, so I'm sure there will be much sunscreen invovled.

That's it for now! I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend.

Swapping

I toyed with the idea of writing a post playing on the various connotations that "swapping" contains, but I really don't have the energy.

I just walked all around town in the rain, in sandals (slimy... yick) and now I'm home and I feel like I've been out in the rain enough for one day, so I'm swapping out my run and will have a yoga practice at home later tonight.

I'm trying to be flexible (literally!). There'll be enough time for hard-assness when official training starts this summer.

Reconnecting

I have been busy lately. New friends, old friends, friends in town. This afternoon I played some tunes at a friend's house - there were about eight of us, and I feel like I'm getting back into the swing of practicing my banjo.

I had a terrible run on Thursday and lost a lot of my confidence, so I took it easy this morning and gained some of it back. My diet is super-clean and super-strict right now - I need to seriously detox from the Evil Pastry Table that lorded it's ubiquitous presence over my training class these past two weeks.

On Sunday night I am reconnecting with one of my friends who interprets sign language. Hopefully she can introduce me to a few deaf people who can become friends. I miss signing.

Well, I just finished a film and now I'm going to play my banjo for a while and maybe do some reading. I won't mind falling asleep a bit early tonight.

Not in the mood

I am in the worst mood. Class today was deathly boring. I quit my run with a mile and a half to go and walked home. I didn't feel strong, I had a persistent cramp, I felt bloated and slumped over. Partly because of this training class I have been eating like CRAP for two weeks and I feel hideous because of it.

I just want to get back into my routine, into my diet and training program, into my regular sleeping pattern. I feel like this break in my routine has taken me a giant step back. So demoralizing.

Excuse me while I get into bed for an hour and try to regroup before the Wings go on. Let's just hope to God they win...

Last Night's Fun

I think this photo (courtesy of Matt) says it all:

Run Interrupted

The weather getting warmer is causing me to adjust both my pace and my clothing. Between that and my injury I wanted to take it really easy this afternoon. Despite attempts to moderate my pace, I was flying along my route feeling really good when I noticed that traffic was stopped at the intersection ahead of me. Two police officers were standing in the middle of the street. They motioned me to stop, too.

I looked around. Were the traffic lights out? Was there an accident? Nothing that I could see.

Then, ahead, coming toward me were three police motorcycles followed by three black SUVs. Yep - the Papal Motorcade! Motorcycles, SUVs, ambulances (two!), marked police cars, and somewhere in the middle a long black limo with the Vatican flag flying true. The windows were tinted but the limo was moving slowly and I'm pretty sure I got a glimpse of the Pope inside! I'm not sure which one of the white-robed figures he was, but I bet he was one of them!

Yes, dear readers, my run was interrupted by the Pontiff himself. Only in DC - or Italy, I guess.

Injury Report and Misc. Photos

I am injured. I don't quite know how it happened, but I seem to have strained my entire right quadricep from the knee all the way up to the hip flexor. DEEP within the hip flexor I have pain and it's a really difficult place to isolate for a stretch. So this has thrown my training schedule off a little... I took Monday off instead of running 4 miles, had a light yoga class last night instead of a tough one, ran 2 easy miles today instead of having it off. I hope that I will be back on track for tomorrow's 4-miler. In the mean time I am applying heat, gentle massage, and stretching/walking to keep the muscles loose.

-----

Last night I went out to McGinty's Public House in Silver Spring for some much needed tunes!! Even though I felt way out of practice I had a great time reconnecting with my friends and sharing in the craic. Here is a picture of me and Doc at the end of the evening after many a Guinness.

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A few weeks ago, I talked about purchasing new beds for my kitties and their subsequent turning-up-of-the-nose at my offering. Well, as I predicted, a sufficient amount of time has gone by and they are finally venturing into the beds for their little naps. I caught each of them trading off snoozes this morning.

A Basic Dilemma

It's NHL playoffs time and the Red Wings are, of course, in the number one spot in the Western Conference. We clinched that spot almost as soon as we could.

Most of you who know me know that I love hockey. I love hockey and I love the Wings. I grew up watching hockey at home and have great memories of going to games. But when I moved to DC, I lost a lot of my hockey-watching capabilities. DC isn't much of a hockey town, and the games aren't on the local channels. Not being a digital cable subscriber, I was left listening to the games on streaming radio. I grew to really enjoy that - it's old school, and anyway, I've been watching hockey long enough that I need to hear the game OR see it, but not both.

Now, though, playoffs are here and I decided to bite the bullet and order digital cable so I could watch the games on the Versus channel. This was a really conflicted decision for me, as I tend to eschew technological upgrades (or even initial purchases!) on the grounds that it draws one to the world and away from more important spiritual pursuits.

So, in typical style, I struggled and vacillated about the decision to upgrade to basic cable. I called and made an appointment, cancelled it. Called back and re-submitted my request. And contrary to my fear that having digital cable would draw me to the TV more, I think that the upgrade actually make my TV watching more mindful since I now have the option to flip through the guide (no more channel surfing) and I also have channels that could actually be meaningful to watch, such as the Independent Film Channel.

So now, as this post has been typed in several short spurts while playoff game three goes to commercial, I will end it and go back to supporting my team, who are well on their way past the quarterfinals to the semis...

Huh.

The strangest thing just happened. I got dressed for yoga, walked outside, and at the end of the block I calmly turned around and came home again.

I guess I'm not going to yoga class tonight.

Last night my friend Danny and I took a Level One class together and then went for a nice four-mile jog. I felt great last night and this morning - light and clean. But now I feel heavy and tired, my hamstrings are tight, and I'm just worn out.

Maybe my double workout was a bad idea. Or maybe my body just needs a rest regardless of last night's training. It has been a long, hard week both at work and in my personal life.

Still, I'm stymied.

Oh well. It is what it is. Tomorrow, a 10k.

Phrases that don't make sense if you think about them

"used to" as in, I used to be a runner.

"for starters" as in, for starters you can buy me a drink!

"good people" as in, he's good people. HE (singular) is not PEOPLE (plural)

I'm sure there are more that really get on my nerves, but I can't think of them now.

Good Luck Matt

Today is the culmination of months of training, as Matt heads downtown to run the Cherry Blossom 5k. You can read his pre-race (and, I assume, post-race!) report on his blog, Still Waiting For the Runner's High.

Yesterday he went to the Expo and found a t-shirt that made him think of me. It says, "In my dreams I'm Kenyan" - he was nice enough to buy one for me. He also had the immense privilege of meeting my favorite runner, Catherine Ndereba, aka Catherine the Great. Here is a picture of the two of them:


He taped her whole talk and asked her a couple of questions. I can't wait to hear the tape. She is a freaking LEGEND in the running world. I'll never forget watching her run Athens, and I can't wait to watch her run Beijing this year. ::swoon

Today we are finishing up the birthday celebrations with brunch on the Old Town waterfront and, later, dinner at my brother's. Tomorrow my mom, her husband, and my oldest brother fly back to Michigan and I go back to work.

Surprise!

This weekend my mom and her husband, along with my aunt, are in town for a wedding. It also happens to be my mom's birthday, so as a surprise we devised a plan to bring my oldest brother to DC from Northern Michigan! Yesterday the boys, Mike's finacee, and I gathered at The Dubliner on Capitol Hill to wait for my mom's husband to lure her down to the bar for a pre-rehearsal dinner drink (cause who doesn't need one of those?) The look on her face when she saw me there was slight confusion, then she saw my brother and was uncomprehending for a second before the shrieking and hugging and picking up of jaws off the floor started.

I love surprises like that :)

Then they went off to their dinner and we started the serious business of whiskey tasting and burger-eating. I became a bit distracted around 9pm when my left ankle started to swell and ache. I'm not sure why, exactly - the only thing I can think is that, since my running shoes are completely dead, my form was off earlier that afternoon and that may have put undue pressure on my tendons. Some ice last night, an anti-inflammatory, and more ice this morning seems to be settling things down. I'll replace my shoes on Tuesday and in the mean time try to take it easy.

Today is the wedding and reception, tomorrow is the birthday brunch and then dinner at my brother's pad in Arlington. Then, it's back to the daily grind.

I Need Goals

I feel stagnant.

I mean, I'm happy generally, life is good, I have a lot going for me in a lot of different areas....but... I don't know!

I think I'm finally over all the stress of grad school and missing the constant learning and testing of the intellect.

My New Year's Resolutions don't really count as goals per se, I am thinking of more intense self-improvement oriented things to work toward.

My running has been going great, and I have the goal of running the Detroit Half-Marathon in October. I'm a little averse to the idea of taking a class of some kind, only because I think it would be expensive and I'm not sure what sort of class I'd want to take. But maybe I will look into that more.

I could set a goal of reading more, but I read a lot already. Maybe a good goal would be to incorporate a more "academic" book into my stack. I read non-fiction already, so I need to take it a step further, maybe, and read something... schoolish.

Thoughts?

Yoga + Running = Best Time Ever, Apparently

Ultimately, I've decided, there just aren't enough days in the week for me to have an optimal fitness routine. I'm running three days and practicing yoga three days with one day off. The result? Running is improving. My day off activities are improving (heh), but my yoga is really suffering. So, in the interest of not losing my pathetic (but hard-earned) hamstring flexibility, I have begun experimenting with doubling up on running and yoga at least one day per week.

Last week I went for an easy three miles and ended up at the studio for a practice. The result? Decent run, horrible practice. Okay, well, part of the point is to rule out what doesn't work, so fine.

Last night I tried the opposite - I took the 6pm class and planned on finishing with a 3-mile loop home.

WELL. My instructor (who is a MAD RUNNING MACHINE himself - honestly, who runs 50 miles at a time? Or 100 miles? I mean, do you pitch a tent halfway through and sleep the night? I don't get it) gave me the option of only doing the first half of the practice to run, but I wanted to try the whole thing, just as an experiment.

So, practice over, I stepped into the cool mist and embarked. Disaster right away. My legs felt like spaghetti. Weirdest feeling ever. I almost bagged the run right there and just took it home (1 mile) but instead I said to myself, "Hey, it's just an experiment, give it a shot and see how it goes. If you don't finish, so what."

And so I ran! And as I ran, I felt better and better. My core was completely engaged, my body felt light, my head calm. As I ran my legs moved faster and faster and a couple of times I tried to moderate my pace, but my body wouldn't listen.

The result? A 5k personal record and the best night's sleep I've had in a long time!

Countdown!

Well folks, in yet another defiance of my self-imposed technophobia (the first being the installation of Twitter), if you would kindly look to your right, just under my gorgeous face you will see a countdown ticker.

That's right - my father and I are running the Detroit Half-Marathon in exactly 202 days and... well... you can watch the days, hours, and minutes tick down yourself!

"Official" training won't start until July 1. Until then, I'm just logging miles and trying to build a good base of endurance.

Matt has also signed up for the race! And, hey, if you clicked on the link I just provided to his running blog, you should also head on over to his new political blog, the Intelligent Independent. There's always something good to discuss.

Oh what a day

Day from hell is finally OVER. Things don't blow up at work very often, but when they do, it's a total nightmare.

I spent SEVENTY dollars for my kittens' second birthday. Twenty of those dollars were for new cat beds. Currently, they are taking long naps next to the beds. After about a week, they will deign to climb in. Smartasses.


I need yoga, and need it badly. Then, I need wine. And then sleep.

Foodpix

I am so thankful that good produce is finally coming back to my neighborhood Giant. Today I stopped in and purchased apples (Granny Smith and Pink Lady), plums, and nectarines. The combination of colors is gorgeous. Here is a picture of my fruit bowl. Behind it you can see my Precision Nutrition and Gourmet Nutrition books. There is one less plum now than when this was taken:


Dinner was a simple dish inspired by a conversation last night with my muse of food and beauty, Allison. She told me about some fresh peas she steamed, which led to a discussion of our mutually favored essay "P is for Peas" from An Alphabet for Gourmets by the monarch of food writing herself, M.F.K. Fisher.

I steamed peas (shelled) for six minutes and edamame (in the shell) for five, combined with one pat butter and a handful of crumbled feta. Two grinds of fresh pepper. The texture and color really popped - what a lovely, fresh, simple meal.

Run Report

The moment I set out on my hilly 5-miler this afternoon, I knew it wasn't gonna be good. The top I was wearing was too baggy, meaning that all of my jiggly bits were, well, jiggling.

Ew.

And my legs just felt heavy. I felt like I was shuffling rather than running. Everything felt weighed down. Did I have a 10-pound boulder in my pocket and had forgotten or something?

Nope.

But then I caught a glimpse of myself in a storefront, and I was trucking!

Yay!

But I knew that the last leg of the run would consist of steep rolling hills, including The Hill, and I wanted to save some, so I slowed down. I really make it a goal to run a positive split (second half faster than the first) and the best way for me to do this is to start a little slower than I think I ought to.

But:

After a few minutes my pace picked up again, naturally. So finally I just decided to go with it.

Until;

Turning north on 34th St, beginning the rolling hills. Everything ground to a halt: my momentum, my desire, my pulse. Every step was laborious. And I knew, I still knew that after all these hills yet before I could collapse on the floor of my lobby and stretch was...

The Hill.

This Hill has been my enemy since I began running in Washington, DC. Even during my high-mileage days when I was training for the marathon, I barely ever made it up The Hill without stopping. But recently, and by that I mean in the past month or so, I have made it up The Hill without stopping every single time. Which didn't make me any less worried today because to be honest I wasn't have the greatest run or feeling very strong.

So,

I encouraged my way up one of the preceeding hills by offering myself a bribe: make it up this one and I would let myself walk up That One.

Nice.

But then, when I got to the foot of The Hill, instead of my normal drill-sergeant-esque inner monologue, ("Run your lazy ass up that hill, maggot, if you ever want to see the light of day again!") I said to myself, gently, "Diana, just give it a try."

And!

I shortened my stride, lowered my arms, fixed my gaze, and chugged my lazy strong and sexy ass all the way up that hill and home.

I rock.

Remake!

Hollywood is remaking Michael Haneke's "Funny Games."

I've been a 'fan' of Haneke ever since I traumatized myself and my friend John with "The Piano Teacher" years ago in college. I can't believe John still wanted to be my friend after I subjected him to that film.

Haneke is rough. His films are not for the mentally or physically weak. They will leave you exhausted and wondering if you will be able to crawl the distance from the couch to your bed so you can shudder under the relative safety of your covers until the images go away.

It's not bloody or gory. No gratuitous violence. Just dread. Foreboding. Psychological terror.

I blogged a review of the orignal Funny Games after I saw it. This is what I had to say:

Several years ago, Michael Haneke's film The Piano Teacher traumatized me severely. It wasn't until recently that I was able to sit down and watch it again. I've since decided to face Haneke head on, and a few minutes ago finished his more recent film, Funny Games.

I'm not sure where to start, except to perhaps paraphrase Haneke himself by saying that this is a film reserved for those who need to watch it. If, he says, the viewer is upset with the film by it's end, he would simply ask, "Why did you stay to finish it?" And indeed he presents some interesting concepts that an ordinary person might need to be walked through - or, more likely, might wish he had never be shown.

The genuis of the film is the way Haneke makes the viewer an accomplice in the violence. You'll see what I mean if you watch it. And beyond that, he generates the most acute frustration, as you realize that the victims are acting in a tragedy but the aggressors in a comedy. Watching the interaction is maddening.

Between this film and last night's Janghwa, Hongryeon (A Tale of Two Sisters) I'm in need of some serious comedy.

I deliberately left out any summary of the plot. These sorts of films, "foreign" in genre, don't generally follow the predictable plot arc to which American viewers are accustomed. They're left saying, "I don't get it" or "the ending sucked" or some other comment that entirely misses the point. These films speak to the human condition, that aspect of which most of us prefer to avoid facing. Plot is there, consistency is important, but the plot is not the only genius aspect of Haneke's films, and it's certainly not the most important aspect to bring out in a review.

If this sort of thing confuses or bores you, the film will, too. If you're intrigued, proceed with caution. If you love this line of thought, Haneke's your man, but don't hold me accountable for your nightmares.

On the Importance of Being Flexible

I am home sick from work today. Last night I developed a sore throat, which got progressively worse and woke me up at 4am, throbbing.

I am a firm believe of taking care of oneself at the first sign of sickness. I have staved off several potential colds this winter season using this method. The problem is that I hate taking unscheduled days off from running or yoga, so I need to develop a way to encourage my health while maintaining some semblance of an exercise regimen.

Athletes get sick, they do, and yet they figure out a way to maintain their endurance so that a brief sickness (or preventative rest) doesn't set them back to square one once they finally feel able to get back out there.

So later today, after a couple more glasses of water and tea, some soy protein and ibuprofen, I will go on a long (4.5) mile walk, incorporating one errand, in lieu of the five-mile run I had scheduled.

Walking can be just as good for a person as running. The heart rate doesn't get quite where it should be, but calories are still burned, muscle tone still developed, lungs still exercised. Yet I will be spared the frantic inhale-exhale of cool air that could exacerbate my sore throat.

And, as my mom so wisely said to me this morning, the reason people get tired when they're sick is because the body is expending it's energy fighing the invaders. So it makes sense to try to preserve that energy for the immune system, but at the same time it's important to preserve a certain level of fitness.

Back to the couch now. Here is my map. I hope y'all are feeling okay today and taking care of yourselves.

Need a Break

My social calendar has been quite full lately. I've been out around town listening to amazing concerts, dining with famous friends, flashing my gams around the neighborhood, and playing music.

The result - I'm exhausted. I need a break. I need a weekend.

Bender Ball Review

I can't say exactly what prompted me to finally, after months and months of seeing fragments of the infomercial, purchase a Bender Ball. But I did, and I've used it twice, and at the prompting of uber-reviewer Matt, will attempt to discuss my impressions.

The Bender Ball plus instructional DVD arrived about a week after ordering. The ball itself is rather small, about three-quarters the size of a soccer ball, and comes with a plastic straw that you use to inflate. The size of the ball makes inflation difficult, as the little bit of air that inevitably escapes when you remove the straw to insert the platic plug deflates the ball significantly. The good news is that the ball doesn't have to be fully inflated to work well. The bad news is that you have to inflate the ball before every use, and sometimes mid-use, if your session is vigorous.

The insructional DVD is, to be blunt, horrible. The instructor has flabby, uninspiring abs and the pace is incredibly slow. After one minute of the first segment I skipped to the second segment and lasted only two minutes there before giving up on the DVD entirely.

Regardless, my abs were on fire with the first slight movements, and even though I ended up deviating from the DVD and creating my own moves based on other abdominal workouts I've done, I can say confidently that the Bender Ball targets the upper and lower abs, as well as obliques, efficiently and successfully.

The first day, I used the ball for only about ten minutes, experimenting with various movements designed to hit all abdominal sections. The next day, I didn't feel sore until I got to yoga - suddenly, my abs said 'hello!' in ways they ordinarily don't. The slightest bit of core engagement on the mat and I could feel the soreness; undoubtedly the result of my Bender Ball workout.

The second time I used the Bender Ball, I went for it a little more seriously. I tried some more advanced moves and more repetitions. This thing is TOUGH. My abs were on FIRE. Despite the inflation issues and poor DVD, if you want a good abdominal workout and are decently creative, the Bender Ball WILL develop strength and tone in the midsection.

One last comment - as I was unpacking my Bender Ball, I noticed that the packing slip included an alarming little sentence that said, "Next shipment in about 30 days." Now, I have read myriad reviews online claiming that the Bender Ball company sent additional shipments and had horrible customer service. I've read stories of people claiming that they couldn't get the "continuity service" cancelled despite numerous phone calls and were billed repeatedly for additional DVDs never received. That said, it was with much trepidation that I called the customer service line to request that all future shipments and billings be stopped immediately. Overall, I was very satisfied with the customer service I received - I was immediately connected to a real live (and friendly) person without having to navigate any automated menus. Pleasantly, my representative agreed without argument to halt future shipments and provided me with a cancellation number for my references. I will be keeping an eye on my credit card statement for a few months, though.

Overall, I feel that the Bender Ball, while structurally lacking in some regards, provides a tough and effective abdominal workout superior to floor crunches. I will continue to use it to supplement my yoga and running regimine. The accompanying DVD, however, has been deemed useless and will be going in the trash.

My Lionesses

Elena (left) and Natasha lounging on a Saturday morning.




Normally mild-mannered Elena sneaks up on her sister.

Dinner!

I made dinner tonight after my run and it looked so beautiful that I had to take a photo!

Whole wheat penne with grilled chicken, halved grape tomatoes, baby spinach, and a basil pesto with a half-bottle of Rocca della Macie Chianti Classico.

So Much Going On!

*My Bender Ball arrived. Unfortunately as I type this my hair is soaking up some chocolate brown dye, so I cannot dive in and start working on the rock hard abs. Tomorrow.

*Many of you know that I don't like to have more than two of anything. This includes pillows, kittens, and place settings. Unfortunately, I have come to realize that it is lame to only have two place settings when I am trying to entertain. So I am now the proud and panicky owner of a sixteen-piece dish set. I haven't unpacked yet. I need a tranquilizer first.

*Yes, I am dying my hair. Just one or two shades darker. This may sound weird, but almost two years ago I was at a Hawaiian themed party and I dressed up and wore a long dark wig as part of my costume. And I just loved how my skin looked against a chocolatey brown hue! So I finally went for it. Don't worry, I used an ammonia-free semi-permanent color, so my locks won't be fried and the color will gradually fade in six months. I won't have gross ugly roots showing through.

*This weekend I will combine my two most common running routes to make the longest distance I've attempted in three and a half years. Why? I don't know.

Precision Panic Attack

So my new diet is Precision Nutrition. Without going into major detail, I'll just say that there are these "10 Habits" that you are supposed to be compliant with 90% of the time, and one of those habits is to have a complete protein and vegetable with every meal.

I decided to really give this a shot for at least 30 days with my goals being fat loss and improved running performance.

With enthusiasm, I made a grocery list and hit my local Giant. I just bought more food and spent more money on one shopping trip than I think I have in... well... ever. Honestly. My typical weekly trip costs me about $35, with maybe one additional mini-trip mid-week costing about $15.

Today? I spent SIXTY-FIVE DOLLARS(USD). I feel ill.

Two apples
Two oranges
Organic trail mix
1 bag baby carrots
1 bag baby spinach
1 pint cow's milk
1 quart soy milk
4 servings Greek yogurt
1 pk. whole wheat pita
String cheese
6 chicken breasts
4 cans tuna
1 can cannelini beans
1 box water crackers
1 doz. eggs
1 carton feta cheese
1 carton Unconditionally Chocolate Dove ice cream

I am literally shaking. I can't believe there is so much food in the house. And before y'all get on my case about the ice cream, I have denied myself junk food in almost every form for a long time now, and it was getting to the point where even contemplating an ice cream purchase was grounds for a major panic attack in the freezer isle. So just the fact that I was able to allow myself a little splurge without a stream of negative self-talk pushing me to throw it out as soon a I got home is a pretty good thing. I'll eat it and won't apologize for it, thank you very much.

I was able to squeeze in a five-mile run in between some pretty heavy rain showers. I got soaked turning the corner into the last 3/4 mile, but no biggie...

Disoriented!

So today I didn't have to be in to work until 8am due to having to stay late for a meeting this afternoon. And while it was nice to sleep in and eat a proper breakfast in front of The Today Show (I think Matt Lauer is sorta hot, sorry!), I have to say that I don't really like the feeling of coming to the office so late.

I'm accustomed to being the first one in, before any other day shift official or detective. I'm used to being the first line of information. I like walking into a dark office and flipping on the lights and having an hour or two of silence to get the morning work done in peace. Getting to work early makes me feel like I have a high work ethic.

But when I got here today everything was already bustling, my email was full of chatter and yet I didn't know what the conversation was about because I was coming in in the middle. Even though I was technically "on time" for my tour of duty, I felt late and lazy and as though I would be playing catch-up all day.

At least it's Friday and this weekend should be rainy and cold - perfect reason to stay inside with my Netflix movies, needlepoint, magazines, kittens, and full wine rack. I did my long run yesterday so I'll just squeeze in 3-4 miles tomorrow when I can... no pressure to get out there for more than 45-minutes. I really need a rejuvenating weekend. Let it begin!

Ambitious Undertaking

The weather has been so perfect lately that I am going to do my long run tomorrow instead of waiting for Saturday.

I really have just as much time on a weekday as I would on a weekend if I embark straight after work.

This is it. A 10k.

T-Storm Aftermath

The much-anticipated thunderstorm hit late last night, but I was satisfied nonetheless. The only thing I don't like about such weather is the worms! I hate worm-covered sidewalks, I hate stepping on worms and grinding them into the bottom of my shoes, I hate tracking worm guts around the office or wherever I am. I hate that worms flee to the sidewalks to avoid drowning only to inevitably get stuck and dry up in the sun and die anyway.

I AM NOT LAZY

But it's raining and I'm tired and I'm out of classes on my card at the ashram and I can't afford another one right now so I am just going to stay home and do a practice in the low light of dusk with some nice music and tea and my shower only steps away and I walked over a mile and a half today already and ran four yesterday and I don't want to hear that I'm LAZY for staying in!

That's all, thank you.

Hmmm....

... Even though I'm an adventure junkie... maybe I'm a teensy bit relieved to not be in Colombia right now.

Lately I've Been Single-Minded

So I know this is an all-running all-the-time blog these days, but just deal.

Yesterday I went out for three miles with Matt to see if I could uncover some of the causes of his ailments, notably a numb foot and trouble building endurance.

I had a feeling that the endurance problems were the result of doing too much too fast too soon on too hilly terrain. And the terrain was indeed hilly. I don't think we ran on flat ground at all. So I give him lots of props for getting out there as often as he does... it's frustrating to run on elevation because it takes so much longer to build endurance. And without endurance, running is frustrating. When running is frustrating, people quit. Matt hasn't quit yet and has a lofty goal coming up in April. For that, I'm proud of him!

I'm proud of myself as well for running the longest distance since ending my marathon training several years ago - close to eight miles, and hilly, and I felt DAMN GOOD when I got home.

Being here in this moment, hanging out in my sunny and clean apartment with tea and two snoozing kittens, dinner with good friends last night, a leisurely morning followed by some yoga and then a shopping excursion later on, I'm glad that I'm here and not in South America. Don't get me wrong... Colombia would have been the trip of a lifetime, but in the here and now, I'm content where I am.

I'm All A-Twitter

If you look to your right, you will see a little box above my links called It'sAJoy2BHidden! This is a cool feature called Twitter that Matt has been using for a while and is a lot of fun. Basically, I can provide short snippets from my day without composing a whole post! So check back often because I'm all a-twitter!

Nervous!

Matt is having trouble building endurance. So I offered to run with him tomorrow in order to get a better idea as to what exactly could be going on. Is it a form issue? A pace issue? I'll know more tomorrow.

I plan to run to Matt's (2.75 miles), then do three miles with him at a 3-min run/1-min walk interval. Hopefully he will agree to give me a lift home, otherwise I'll hoof the 2.75 miles back to my neighborhood.

Even with the ride, I'm looking at almost six miles to run tomorrow... the most significant distance I've attempted since getting my feet back under me. And from what I understand, Matt's route contains some pretty significant hills...

Thankfully, I'll be able to soothe my aching muscles and possibly bruised ego over dinner at Dukem with two good friends later that evening.

Shakin' Things Up

After an unscheduled day off this week I decided to shake things up and make sure I wasn't losing strength. I hate taking unscheduled days off; it's a very dangerous habit to get into. So I chose a little longer route with significant elevation changes. See below.


The hardest part of running is the mental part. It always blows my mind. I don't get fatigued running up a hill until I can see the top. I can feel at my strongest until I can actually see my apartment building, and then I can't. run. another. step.

I don't really like the way my shins are feeling these days. I think I'm due for a few pair of shoes. And a massage. Not necessarily in that order.

False Alarm!

I was this close to travelling with Stephanie to Colombia this Saturday, but her family doesn't think it would be safe to take a foreigner into the smaller villages where they would be going to spend time with aunts and uncles. So, in the interest of not being kidnapped by guerillas, I will concede their judgment.

However, her law firm will be putting her up in a swanky London flat for six weeks this summer, my father is contemplating a brief assignment in either Eastern Europe or China, and my mom is still trying to arrange a trip to Ireland in the fall. So all my highly active travel bug will be let out of it's cage this year... stay tuned!

Should i practice swallowing really big grapes?

All will become clear... hopefully by tomorrow afternoon!

Finally

A much needed morning to myself. It's my own fault for working late on Friday and early on Saturday, but the overtime will be worth it. The other result, however, is that I feel totally burned out between that and all the hectic weekends I've had so far.

I mysteriously injured my shin yeserday. My routine 4-miler felt great, but when I got home I developed a dull ache in the lower part of my right shin. Doesn't feel like shin splints. But I almost cried walking down to the Metro last night to meet the gang at Sonoma where we were able, somehow, tragically and only by possessing hearts like champion race horses, to kill the $800 open bar tab created for her fiance's birthday. Steph was worried it wouldn't happen. My naive little Stephanie.

This morning I am slightly hungover - but my shin feels a lot better.

I'm fighting the urge to run off to yoga because I really, really want to stay home and have an unstructured half day. I only want to want to go to the 10:30 class so I don't disappoint Keith, and having realized that that the motivation appears to center around pleasing the instructor and not the yoga practice itself, I decided to chill out and go to the 4pm Open class instead. Keith would understand a need to rest. I'll pick up the pace at Mysore on Tuesday.

Ungh

I'm tired. I've been busy. Good things, mind you - a fantastic trip to Manhattan, my mom and John visiting for a long weekend, lots of running and yoga and long walks during my lunch break.

But I haven't really had much unstructured time to just rest. This weekend I'll be working, which makes three in a row with little opportunity for rejuvenation. And while dawn is breaking significantly earlier (I see rays of light by the time my bus drops me off at work!) I still feel generally run down and slow.

In better news, I've added one mile to my weekday running route, for a total of four miles Monday and four Thursday; five at minimum on Saturday. Here is a map of the four-miler:


It's a decent route, hilly enough to be interesting and populated enough to be distracting.

I just want warm weather. I want light feminine clothing and lemonade. I want to do yoga on the roof and break a sweat while running. I want to throw the windows open and walk outside without tensing against the cold. Soon??

Afternoon Pix

This is a snowplow out on patrol. Note the mostly dry pavement. Note no flurries in the air. I'm all for readiness and all... but this is just silly.





Creepy: two dead birds.

Stuff

I'm delinquent on the blog, which is nothing new.

Last night my mom and her husband, my brother, his fiancee, his future in-laws, and I went over to the ::drumroll::.... H ST NORTHEAST CORRIDOR for dinner and a show.

I only give the drumroll because twelve months ago I severely admonished a friend of mine for venturing to that part of town to visit a bar. It wasn't safe. At all.

It still isn't, really, but there's safety in numbers and one block seems to be gentrifying at a pretty decent rate. There's a cool theater there (The Atlas) and a restaurant that, with some more time under it's belt, will be impossible to get in to. But right now, due to the prix fixe menu and the fact that that it's probably difficult to attract experienced servers to a fledgling restaurant in a fledgling neighborhood, the dining experience was only average.

I've been at a steady four miles per day and feeling good about it. No matter how hard I tried, various impediments have precluded me from going to the yoga studio recently. I'm starved. I'll go Tuesday.

In other news, the powers that be tell me that "ballet" will be in for spring. I can't wait. I think I pull off soft and pretty fairly well, despite my dirty mouth! It would help if I could add another two inches to my hair length...

Unintended Consequences

So it seems that my running days, which are becoming longer and more frequent, provide great opportunities to do good deeds! It seems like every other time I'm out there I'm either able to give directions or help someone cross the street. Yay!

On the other hand, it also makes me the unwitting target of leering strangers. Now, I can see it happening in the summer months when I'm flashing my gazelle-like legs around town, but in the winter? Really? When I look like a blob wearing a sack? Is it really necessary to call me "baby?"

Everyone's got their paraphilia, I guess.

NYC Pics

Okay, I'm really annoyed at blogger right now. Some of these pics aren't posting as the size they should be... argh. And I can't get the line breaks to look right. But anyway, you can see them, I guess, and if you aren't happy here you can go check out the links I left in the previous post to Trent's blog, where the photos came out much nicer. Anyway, for your viewing pleasure, some photographic documentation of our fabulous weekend in Manhattan!



Trent and I after seeing Rent on Broadway. We saw that show together almost ten times back in 1997 at the Fisher Theater in Detroit!




Trent, David, and I having small plates at Tasca in the West Village.





All dressed up and someplace to go? - Siouxsie!!!






Trent's punk a nice contrast to my glam.






A goddess.






A muse.






We bask in the presence of Siouxsie Sioux!






Post-concert contentedness.

Back to my humble little life

Well, I made it home from a wild weekend in Manhattan. Details and pictures to follow tomorrow, but if you just can't wait you can check out Trent's blog for Saturday and Sunday... he posted pictures and a recap at the end of the posts passed the gossip and newslinks...

A Lazy Day in the West Village

So I arrived in Manhattan yesterday and the weekend started off big! Trent and I went for a walk around Soho and found a great little place to have lunch. Then we ended up at Diesel (surprise surprise, Trent's favorite store) where I fell in love with a cute little summer dress. It was one of Diesel's runway pieces - only eight or twelve exist in the NYC and Melrose stores. At Trent's prodding, I tried it on. It looked hot and adorable and sexy all at the same time, but unfortunately cost almost as much as my rent payment.

Well.. I am blessed with a generous friend because that dress is sitting in a bag right next to my suitcase waiting to be brought back to DC.

Then we went on to see Rent. The two of saw Rent several times in Detroit almost ten years ago as our friendship was just beginning, and I have to say that I think that cast was a little better than the cast last night. Roger in particular was a little disappointing, but we had a good time nonetheless. Then we met up with Trent's boyfriend David for some small plates at Tasca before finishing the night Vlada, a bar where few females frequent, if you get my drift. Trent got recognized everywhere we went, which was a little weird for me, seeing as how I've known him since before he even knew what a blog was.

We've just lounged around all day today. I dragged myself out for a four-mile run along the Hudson River in a cold Manhattan rain; now it's naptime so we can be awake and energized for Siouxsie's solo show in a few hours.

I'll post a few photos tomorrow night or Monday, once I get them all from Trent's camera. Stay tuned!

The universe has a way of getting what she wants

This coming Tuesday is "Chesapeake Tuesday." Maryland, Virginia, and DC will hold primary elections, and the race (at least for the Democrats) is close enough that the votes will really count.

Except mine, which will not be cast, because I'm registered No Party/Independent.

However, on Monday I will be serving jury duty. So even though I don't take part in this stage of the electoral process, I will be upholding my duty as a citizen in another realm.

I leave for Manhattan tomorrow morning. Stay tuned.

Siouxsie Sioux!

I'm Going To Manhattan Fo' Shizzle!!

Ah! God! I can't wait to see my dearest friend in the whole world! The friend I knew back before he became famous. Lordy, it's weird to go out with someone who's recognized by strangers. But it's cool, I never object to living the high life the couple weekends that we spend together per year.

Here is a shot of the two of us in LA almost exactly a year ago, enjoying a Thai feast.
















So, here's the scoop:

I leave Friday afternoon on the Hasidim bus, which is apparently much less sketchy than the Chinatown bus. I should arrive just in time to rush for front-row tickets to see Rent, which is leaving Broadway forever! This is major for Trent and I, since we solidified our friendship back in 1997 by seeing Rent in Detroit many a time (what was the final count? At least eight times for me, more for you!).

Then Saturday I plan to go on a nice run around Soho, which is where Trent's boyfriend lives and where I'll be crashing for the weekend. T will have to work (the man never takes a day off!) so I'll have the morning to myself.

The highlight of the weekend will be Saturday's concert - Siouxsie and the Banshees, for crying out loud! Trent and I saw her with her band The Creatures back in 1998 at The Shelter in Detroit. Some of you may recognize The Shelter from the movie 8-Mile; it's where Eminem competed in the rap battles that eventually made him famous. Anyway, she is amazing. She is a goddess and a muse. She is totally hot. Siouxsie Sioux... I can't believe it. I'm definitely going to channel my glam/rocker side for this event. I'm planning a hot red dress with black knee-high boots.

Then Sunday we'll just chill and probably catch up on some Simpson's viewing before I catch the bus back to DC. And Monday... jury duty.

So, I can't figure out how to embed text and the video in the same post, but the video you see is my darling Siouxsie performing one of my favorites, Swimming Horses. Enjoy! And be jealous...

A Zero Interest Day

So, it's the Super Bowl. Yipee.

I have no interest in the match, the half-time show, or the commercials. None whatsoever. But I'm going to stop by a friend's party anyway and take advantage of the amazing locale, decor, and cuisine. I'm sure I'll get at least partially caught up in the excitement of the occasion, right?

And then I'll be meeting up with a long-lost friend for an Afghan birthday dinner. So it should be a decent Sunday, and then it's back to the grind.

I leave for Manhattan on Friday!! More details coming soon.

Better Now

Wow, sorry for the alarm. I'm back on my feet. I left work a few hours early, took a nice long nap, and proceeded to have the strongest run that I can remember, in recent history.

I know myself as a runner well enough to know where my trouble spots are. I know that right around McKinley St I start to fatigue. I know that right after Military Rd, heading home, I start to get really bored and have to play a few mental games to get through it. I know how fast I need to start my run in order to have a positive split (i.e., running the second half faster than the first).

Today, none of that mattered. I started out at a clip that felt alarmingly fast. I never hit the wall. I never got bored. I probably shaved four minutes off my time, which is amazing at my pace and distance. I didn't want to stop. I wasn't breathing hard. I felt like a machine.

Self-Sabotage

Well, I never should have taken that second round of sedatives last night just before midnight, but I was desperate to get to sleep. It's mid-morning now and I'm clearly still under the influence. I could barely keep my feet under me this morning when I woke up.

I hate to say it, but I'm not sure I'll be able to manage my run this afternoon. Yesterday was my scheduled day off, and I don't want to take two in a row, but I would rather rest than have a bad run. I don't know. I'm trying to avoid making a decision until I get home from work and see how my body feels. Taking unscheduled days off is a Very Bad Habit to get into.

I hate this.

Suffocation

I fucking hate anxiety.

I'm suffocating and sedatives aren't working and I've been choking on my own breath for hours and that's just tonight. My alarm is going to go off way to soon to put up with this shit.

Go away and leave me alone. I fucking hate you.

ANXIETY

It's A Joy To Be-Fore I Sleep

The following is the result of a joint post composed by Matt and I after one and a half bottles of wine and scouring our memories for conversations over the past several years.

Reasons Matt and Diana Can Never Date

-Diana is too clean.
-Diana does not do well with "flaky" people. To her, this means people who do not always arrive EXACTLY when (or before) they say they will, or people who do not always do things EXACTLY as she expects them to be done. (N.B.: Diana's "expectations" are based (fairly) on what the person says they will do.)
-Diana has cats. Matt has a bird.
-Diana likes red wine. Matt only likes white wine.
-Diana notices everything Matt may happen to do accidentally. Matt thrives on people overlooking the little things.
-Diana can't sing. (N.B.: Not true!)
-Diana refuses to serenade Matt on her bazooki (N.B.: bouzouki).
-Diana thinks that Vespas are cooler than Segways.
-Diana makes more money than Matt does.
-Diana won't let Matt touch her. When Matt tries, she says, "HEY now! No funny stuff!"
-Diana is technologically inept.
-Diana is afraid of Matt's messy apartment.
-Diana is a fan of the "tough love" school of losing weight. Matt needs babying.
-Diana does not buy into Matt's many reasonable excuses.
-Diana likes the car/apartment far too warm for Matt's tastes.
-Diana gets up way too early and does not enjoy the night life.
-Diana is too argumentative.
-Diana doesn't like chick flicks.
-Matt has seen Diana naked in a professional context. (N.B.: Matt would still likely give Diana a chance because he is a compassionate individual. But to Diana, Matt is like a doctor. Matt has seen her, clinically, in all her glory. Romance is a difficult and fleeting thing to achieve, and the clinical aspect of the photography has made that tricky.)
-There is a lot of competition for Diana.

Let's hear it for collarbones!

Right, so, it's time to get all this under control again. I would like to bring my BMI down 1.5 points, and while I won't go so far as to post the current number (I'm not as brave as Matt when it comes to making personal stats public) I will let y'all know when it gets where it should be.

The weather is cold but generally mild and has made for the following schedule to be maintained pretty consistently:

Monday - 3.3 mile run
Tuesday - yoga
Wednesday - off
Thursday - 3.3 mile run
Friday - yoga
Saturday - 4 mile run
Sunday - yoga

I'm off ice cream indefinitely and trying to avoid the other winter culprits like hot chocolate and (my beloved) chai latte.

I have a host of special events on the calendar this year, including an upcoming trip to Manhattan and four weddings (two of which I'm standing in), so that should be enough motivation to keep the scale moving steadily down!

Nothing Further

Naked yoga. In my bathroom.

That's all I'm saying.

I can't seem to stop breaking glass today!

I woke up a klutz. My first act of the day was to break a glass in the kitchen. A few minutes later, I knocked my fruit bowl off the counter and spent a good minute cleaning up layers of shallot and garlic peel from the depths of the corners. Then I got on a bit of a cleaning kick and promptly shattered one of the glass lightbulb shields in my bathroom.

Later I managed to run AND go grocery shopping sans calamity, but the rest of the evening was spent inside never far from a precautionary box of band-aids.

I Feel Too Fat to go to Yoga

Or more precisely, I feel too fat to put on my fitted yoga clothes and stare at my self contorting in a mirror for an hour and a half.

I had the most delectable lunch: a panini with grilled chicken, avocado, and roasted red peppers. For dessert, a raspberry and strawberry crepe with one perfect scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Hence, fatness. I have fifteen minutes to decide what to do. Fourteen.

EDITED TO ADD: I went to yoga and I feel amazing. An inch taller. More lithe. Glad I swallowed my shallow body-consciousness and made a healthy choice. Here's to not being neurotic!

A Question for Myself

If a person prays to God for stronger faith, does God just give them faith? Or does He present them with situations that require faith and trust?

I don't pray for a specific path to present itself, I only pray that the path He has laid be illuminated and that, through grace, I am given the courage to walk down it.

One foot in front of the other...

Back in 2004 when I was distance running, I became co-dependent with my watch. I relied on it to track my pace, to ensure that I was running a positive split, and to schedule walk breaks (hey, don't judge me. When everything over 6 miles is a personal distance record and you're attemping 14 or 16 for the first time, you may need to walk a little. Or maybe that's just me.)

Since then, I've never, ever run without my watch. Until today, when I got home from work, suited up, and realized that the batteries were dead.

Can you guys believe that I almost bagged my run? Over a dead watch? How lame. After a stern self-lecture I abated my panic attack, laced up my shoes, and proceeded to run my strongest 3.3-miler since I got back out there a few months ago after my hamstring hiatus.

I powered up hills and let it fly on the plateaus. I sprinted through intersections to make the green light and lept over branches and curbs to avoid moms with strollers. I sweated, I burned, and I didn't miss my watch one bit.

Silver Lining

So I'm back to an annoying pre-0630h start time at work. But there is a bright side. Now that I take the 6:01 bus instead of the 6:36 bus, I can avoid the creepy Salvadoran guy half the time! Sometimes he is on my afternoon bus depending on which one I take, but at least I can avoid him in the morning.

Also, the 6:01 bus is right on time, and the 6:36 bus was very inconsistent and so I would end up having to go out early and wait up to ten minutes. And let me tell you, at that hour, every minute feels like an hour...

Temporary Hiatus

Yeah, I know I've been neglectful of IaJtbH lately... seems to be going around... I'll be back soon!

LOL!

Very funny.

Just 'cuz

Can't make up my mind!

I want to start running again! But I don't have sufficient clothing. One improvement via a Christmas present (thank you!!) but there are a few more things I would need... like shoes... and gloves...

I like the idea of running but am ambivalent about actually getting out there. Maybe what I need to do is carve out some time dedicated to running over the course of two weeks and make myself get out there and not skip a planned day. A little jump-start to get me through the painful endurance-building stage. A scheduled addiction acquisition.

Yeah. I'll do that. But first I have to get a day planner. And some shoes. And gloves.

It's that time again

The time for resolutions!

I love resolutions. I love the challenge of improving myself. Call me a nerd, I don't care!

Some of my resolutions this year are financial, and I won't go into detail here, obviously.

But I also want to:

Read more books (fiction and non)
Shop at the Farmer's Market more often (it's only three blocks away!)
Form a solid plan and take some actionable steps in re: my career future
Grow my hair longer!

Let it begin!

Bet

I have a bet with someone from work on the Wings/Caps game tonight.

When the Wings win, he will:
-Go around the office and tell everyone that the Wings do, in fact, rule and that his loyalties have been gravely misdirected all these years;
-Put a WINGS RULE sign on his desk for a week;
-Put a full-color WINGS RULE signs on all his car windows for a week;
-Wear a Wings jersey to the Adams Mill Grill on Thursday night when the Capitals play the Montreal Canadiens.

This guy is a long-time, hard-core Washington Capitals fan and will find all these conditions, even the first three which seem pretty minor to me, a grave injustice. He will be hurting. I will be smiling to myself... not gloating, really, just wondering at his childlike ignorance of the way the world works.

As if the Caps have a chance. Stay tuned.

Middlesex

By Jeffrey Eugenides. An excellent read. Intimate prose. A fascinating story - and set right in Motown, too.

I've been volunteering my time this week to help wrap Christmas presents for a toy giveaway. The first step was to sort the donations by gender, and then by age. This led to an interesting discussion about gender identity and socialization, especially when a guy I was working with threw a Rubik's Cube onto the "boy" pile! Rubik's Cubes are definitely "unisex." :)

In Middlesex, the main character is raised as a girl until, at age 15, her parents discover that she is genetically male. Until that point she self-identified as female, was attracted to females, and had female external genitalia. Her doctors recommend surgery to 'correct' a slightly ambiguous external genital, which would make her physically female, all the while noting in her file that her sex-chromosomes are male.

Is she male or female? Do sex-chromosomes or socialization determine gender, or is it a combination of both? Are there other variables that work in determining gender identification? If a child is born with ambiguous genitalia, should the doctor or the parents 'decide' what the child should be?

The hijras in India are an interesting example of a 'third gender' group generally marginalized but at the same time play a very important and revered role in certain religious ceremonies.

I saw a cute commercial recently. I can't remember the product beining sold, but the segment opens with a little boy tearing into his Christmas presents under a tree. Barbies, ponies, sparkly art kits, these are the sorts of things he's getting and you can see his face falling and becoming sad. He scrawls a letter: "Dear Santa, Kelly is a boy's name, too!"

I need to get me some smarts

I think I'm getting dumber.

So I have a plan.

Tonight I will devise a study plan for the winter which will involve brushing up on my philosophy, history, and law.

I am also going to try to do Sudoku every day, even though I suck at it. I'll still crossword too, but Sudoku is a real challenge for me and I think my brain could use the workout.

Can't... lose... intelligence...

Fierce Dreams

Some of my faithful readers will remember that my dreams are often innundated with large, exotic wild animals, and often bears. Sometimes I'm observing these animals, sometimes interacting with them, and sometimes they are trying to attack me.

Last night I dreamt that my dad and step-mother and I were getting ready to run a marathon. I remembered in my dream that when I ran the Marine Corps Marathon in 2004 that my shoes weren't as broken in as they should have been, which caused me some problems, and I was relieved that I had good shoes and socks for this run. My dad was putting a protein bar in his pocket for later but I was planning on buying one (?) halfway through.

So my step-mother and I posed for a pre-race picture when my dad shouted a warning. I looked through a line of trees to a field beyond and saw a huge lion bounding towards us. I dropped to the ground and laid there on my face and prayed to God while the lion stood next to me, deciding whether to attack.

Then, flash to my apartment and a huge lioness trying to get through the door. I could hear her pacing around outside in the hallway, and when she leaned on the door it opened and she could get a paw or her head inside! I was trying to lean on the door and close it, and there was this pet-door in the bottom center of the door that she was trying to squeeze through.

So I lit some paper on fire and blew the smoke towards her and she retreated a bit. Then I saw that my neighbor from across the hall had nailed some wood across his pet-door, and it seemed like he had been through this before and knew what to do.

But I was thinking, how can I nail something across this door when I have to hold the door shut so she doesn't push it open? But I managed to run and get a hammer and nails from the kitchen, and some cross-thatched Chinese screens I'm storing in my closet (in real life, actually!) and started to nail them across the pet-door.

Then I woke up, buried under the covers, on my stomach with my face underneath a pillow, ten minutes before my alarm.

I have two very cold real-life lionesses won't stay out of my lap or off my feet, which is just fine with me.

Paraphilia Memorabilia

"Prepare yourself to see some genitalia."

Truer prophecies than these, by my training instructor today, were never spoken.

Unfortunately, we were studying sex homicide, so the genitalia we viewed (photographically) weren't exactly... in tact. I will spare you further details.

It's a quiet snowy night (have you ever noticed how snow quiets the world?) and my brother has cancelled our sushi plans, understandable, so I have some much needed time to myself. Characteristically, I'm in the middle of three books. I still haven't put together my photos from the trip I took with my mom to Greece this past June. I might wrap some Christmas presents!!!! And I will certainly go to bed early, to wake early, as usual.

Rest for My Soul

So, I haven't really been running. For a while there I was doing okay, slowly building up my base mileage again. But now it's cold, and dark too early, and I don't have any proper running clothes, and I need new shoes, and running isn't giving me the pleasure it once did. So maybe my return to the streets was short lived. Maybe I'll try again once spring rolls around.

This has been a hellish, stressful, busy week. Two 13-hour shifts; being in a screaming speeding police car resulting in close proximity to a fire after three of the people I work for interrupted each other to call us pathetic for two and a half hours; a lovely dinner with a friend but I still reeked of smoke and pathos; a filthy apartment; neglected furry creatures.

I can barely take care of myself this week, and I'm just one person.

Some Girls Wander By Mistake

I wish I could compose a post as thoughtfully apologetic as Matt's as to why I haven't been writing much lately. But I can't. And I won't try.

I'm here. I've been travelling. Working, yoga, running, blah blah blah.

My life is a little weird right now. Up until my mid-twenties, things seemed to move in several-year stages. Three years of middle school, four years of high school, four years of college, two years of graduate school. And now I've just finished up my third year of full-time work, and I can feel myself getting antsy, not because I've lost my contentedness, but because the pendulum has swung back, the rhythm started over, and my life's clock says it's time for something new.

I also might be getting a little too comfortable. That frightens me. I don't
want to be too comfortable in my life. I want to be challenged and improving and a little afraid. Not afraid, excactly, but I don't want to become too accustomed to God's graces. I want to be awed by them continuously, and thankful, and most of all, I want to steward well the gifts He has given me and continues to give.