39 posts tagged “running”

I do not like driving in the rain, in traffic.  This morning I had to head back downtown for the rescheduled meeting.  I left at 8:06, which was a mistake; usually, I can get downtown in 45 minutes with traffic and still make the meeting on time.  But this morning was just a clusterfuck. I didn't get to the downtown office until 9:20, and by then, the meeting was canceled (again) because another coworkers had been stuck on the same freeway was late just like me, and my project manager had to go to another meeting by then.  Sigh.  

Right now I am working on a massive Microsoft Project file for work.  I can't work off the originals since I don't have the program uploaded on my computer yet, so I'm working from scratch. I'm not sure how much of a benefit it is to start from scratch, but I can at least play around with the file a little more.

I am feeling better today. I am a tough cookie.

I am very tired. Lately I can't fall asleep unless it's past midnight. And last night my neighbors downstairs were slamming doors and walking loudly and God knows what else.  For once it didn't bother me, because I know that it's hard to gauge sometimes how loud I have the TV - maybe they hear my TV all the time and don't complain.  I ended up drifting off to sleep anyway and woke up this morning to head downtown for my 9:00 meeting. Except the meeting was canceled by email at 8:20, when I was still in the car, so I drove 45 minutes for nothing. Oh well.  Good driving practice, right? Right.

This weekend was fun.  I went with my friend Conrad to the haunted house and a movie on Saturday night.  It wasn't scary, of course, but they did a really good job with it.  There were two little kids in front of us freaking out.  Some guy dressed up as the dude from Texas Chainsaw Massacre started sniffing me too, which was kind of funny.  There were only 2 parts of the haunted house that were a little creepy. The first was when we were walking through what was supposed to be someone's living room, and this guy ran by in his underwear holding pictures.  You got the impression that he was a serial killer or pedophile or someone gross, and I found that part creepy.  Then we walked through this room where a bunch of fake meat was hanging, and they had the strobe lights going so you could barely see what was going on in front of you, and everything came in flashes.  That was a little creepy too.  But other than someone jumping out at me at the VERY END and making me jump, no thrills.
 
I have been trying to exercise more regularly lately.  Usually I only work out 2-3 times a week with a run, but I don't think that is enough. Not counting dancing, I worked out 4 times last week, so that is good. I had a really good run on Sunday.  It was just beautiful outside. I warmed up by walking about 1.75 miles listening to The Beatles, and then ran about another 4 miles afterward. My only mistake was I hadn't had anything to eat since I didn't want to be full while I ran, so I was completely starving by the end.  If I'd had something to eat, I think I may have been able to run longer.
I had a really good run yesterday as well.  I had been planning on sandbagging it, but we had to do relays with a partner. My partner ended up being one of the fastest girls in the group, so I was like, craaap I have to bring it.  I am nowhere near as good of a runner as she is, but I had to at least be respectable.  Our relays were 8 x 300 m.  It's all mental - 300 meters is just short enough for me to be able to run fast without feeling like I'm going to collapse.  I was doing pretty well until after the 6th one when my stomach was all, "Hey, so I'm kind of in pain."  "Shut up, stomach," I said to myself firmly.  "You only have two more left to go."  After the 7th lap, my stomach said, "OK LOOK, Jenny, I'm in pain.  Why don't we stop?  You can finish your lap later."  "Stop being a pussy," I retorted.  "You have only 300 meters left! That's less than two minutes out of your life. Woman up."  So I put on "All My Life" (seriously, Foo Fighters is my running soundtrack, especially for the end when I need to feel motivated - even if I'm tired, I'll just put on "All My Life" or "The Pretender" and feel like kicking so much ass).  I found myself running faster and faster, passing people up and sprinting towards the finish line.
 
"Daaaamn!" my partner said when I finished. "That was your fastest yet!" I hadn't been timing myself, but apparently I'd been running each lap faster and faster after the fourth lap, finishing lap #8 off at 1:12.  I felt really proud of myself and we talked for a bit afterward.  Then my stomach was all, "BITCH. I TOLD YOU. I AM IN PAIN. PAIN PAIN PAIN."  So the next ten minutes were rather painful, but other than that, I felt great with my run.
 
I want a nap. I am looking forward to this weekend.
 

I should be asleep right now. I have a dentist's appointment in the morning. Can't wait for that (sarcasm). 

Today was just a really good day. I've been keeping busy at work with my neverending real estate tasks and writing a report for the field work I did last week. I'm really enjoying working with the data.  I had a "math fail" moment yesterday which was really embarrassing.  I'd had a hard time solving this EASY problem while out in the field, and was determined to solve it yesterday for my data...it was so simple.  My only consolation is I was making it too complicated, but STILL NO EXCUSES. My master's degree should be revoked.  I realize that I miss the mental stimulation of doing math problems (I KNOW, WHAT?) so I need to keep my mind fresh by doing those.

I had CPR/First Aid Training today.  The instructor was really funny and kept the class interesting. I was CPR/First Aid certified like, ten years ago, so I paid attention.  I wonder if I would really remember all that information in an emergency, though. My brain is notorious for shutting down in emergency situations, so I don't know.  CPR seems pretty easy to remember.  I just hope I never have to use it, but if I do,  I hope I can be level-headed.  I just need to give myself more credit, perhaps.

I went back to my running group for the first time in a month.  I haven't been able to go all last month, what with being out of town, being sick, having Pat here, and other general excuses.  Here's the difference between running by myself and running with other people. I went on a run last Sunday and it wasn't great - I was slow, ran only for 34 minutes, and had incredibly sore legs the next day, like I'd run 15 miles. Granted, it was my first time back to running after a month, but still.  Today I planned on taking it easy, but other people were using me as their pacer.  They are probably my dad's age but I learned long ago that age has nothing to do with running, as some of the best and fastest runners I know are in their fifties (my dad included). Several of these runners are marathoners, so they could outrun me without any problem.  Since I'm competitive, there wasn't any way I was slowing down when I saw one of my past pacing buddies catching up with me. So after that, I resigned myself to the idea that I was running fast today and joined their group when they asked me to pace them.  They were a really nice group of people to run with and I was really grateful for the chance to run with them, and was humbled by their compliments (they nicknamed me "The Rabbit."  I'm not fast but hey, I'll take the compliments!)

It was funny because after the first running set I did with them, my stomach started hurting, as it does when I run faster than I'm used to.  But they were being so complimentary of me that I thought, I can't stop now. Suck it up, Jenny (and it's not like these were deathly abdominal pains - they were bearable). After the second set, my stomach hurt even more, but then other people were noticing my running and complimenting me on it.  So I definitely couldn't stop!  But what do you know, once I started running again my stomach pains went away.  Phew :)  I had a reputation to uphold.  Seriously, though, without the group, I would have defaulted into my old lady crawl. They definitely paced me and I hope I can run with them next week.  I'm pretty happy that I didn't lose all of my running speed in the month I haven't run...I heard it takes 6 weeks to lose your training, so I guess I hit it right before that crucial mark.

Ohhh and one more tidbit of great news - my friend can't go to the Them Crooked Vultures concert because of school, but Pat can! His prof will let him take the test early!  I was so elated to hear the news - it wouldn't have been the same without my concert buddy Pat there, especially since he's such a huge Dave Grohl fan.  Now he just has to clear it with our parents...lol.

Well, I need to head to sleep. I had Dr Pepper today (shh don't tell my mom that I relapsed), so I expect to wake up in the middle of the night gasping for air again.  I read more of my true crime novel again before sleep...usually that stuff doesn't affect me, but last night I kept on waking up.  Hehe.  Ok off I go, night y'all.     

I think by now everyone loves my love/hate relationship with running. I love it because there isn't anything that makes me feel stronger than being able to say, "Yeah, I just ran five miles BITCH!" (Well, maybe not like that, but you get where I'm coming from.) I've been running since I was 8, so it's one of the few hobbies I've kept consistently practically my whole life.  I fell in love with running...damn, on this day, 1992.  Isn't that crazy?  How the hell do I remember that?  (Actually, I wrote about it in my journal back then, which is partially the reason why the date sticks out).  I love the feeling of strength I feel after completing a run, the rush of endorphins, the feeling like I've done something good for myself.  If you want to see why I love running more, see this old blog entry I did for an English class a couple of years ago (and yes, that's me...Nicole is my middle name).

But sometimes I can really hate running...especially on those shitty runs where I either feel too slow to move, or too tired to push myself, or when I can hardly breathe and I think, "WHY AM I DOING THIS TO MYSELF?  HOW CAN THIS BE GOOD FOR ME?" But I can get through those moments because they are so ephemeral.  The worst, though, is when I get bored of running.  I hit these plateaus every so often, and they are really detrimental, both physically and emotionally.  They are physically detrimental, because with all the hard work you put into your training, it evaporates in weeks if you don't keep up.  That's why after my break this winter, I kind of hated myself when I was getting back into shape.  But it's emotionally detrimental for me, because running is my Prozac.  Seriously.  I can trace really blah periods of my life to periods of time where I was not running regularly (maybe one run a week at the most).  The last one was this winter.  But once I started running regularly again in April, guess who was a happier person?  Me.

I'm happy because I'm really trying not to miss my regular workouts - fast run on Monday, lake run on Wednesday, slower run during the weekend. Of course I can't say that I've made every single run, but I've put an effort and I feel it because I feel like a strong(er) runner.  I've been able to run faster.  Not quite my peak when I was 19, but not bad either.  Tonight's workout was pretty tough in the triple digit heat, but I did it...four half mile laps with a recovery walk between each.  I did negative splits on each of them, with my fastest being 3:45 (not bad in the heat!)  The last one I took slower (about 4 minutes), since I was starting to feel the effects of the heat.  One of the runners at the Wednesday workout group said that I was looking more toned (which may have been a little inappropriate...) but that I was back to the running shape I had before I took my winter break and that I was running strongly.  That made me happy.

One thing I really have to work on this winter (and it's going to be tough!) is finding a way to go to all the workouts, even in the cold.  It'll suck for awhile, but it's better than the alternative. 

I was watching The Wedding Singer tonight. I must have seen that movie forty times now but it's one of my favorites.  I love it. Thanks to that movie, I can't hear the song "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" without breaking up in laughter. (I was also watching for inspiration for our 80's theme party two weeks from now.)

So, I've had to work from home the past two afternoons to get my A/C fixed.  (I say "work" but it's incredibly hard to work from home without getting distracted...I'm going to take 3 hours or so of sick time just to set things straight. I'm pretty conscientious about charging my time).  Now, friends, I am not mechanically inclined.  I did not inherit that gift from my dad. If not for my dad, who was an engineer down in the engine room back in his Navy sailor days, I would be completely clueless.  I had two different repairmen, the first who was clearly in a big hurry and said I was low on freon...except my unit kept on dripping. My dad said this meant something was wrong with the condenser or compressor, but the maintenance man didn't entertain my questions.  "Don't you feel the difference already?" he asked, trying to shut me up.  "No," I replied.  But the person today took his time.  So far the leak has stopped but we'll see. My dad is convinced my A/C unit will go out soon.  Hopefully it will happen when Patrick is here next week (hehe), so he can be at home when the repair guy shows up (I dislike having people in my apartment when I'm not here, and try to avoid it as much as I can).

This weekend was really good. I went to a friend's birthday party on Saturday. The introvert in me is always a little unsure about attending parties where I know only one person...but this ended up being a lot of fun. There were cool people there. We are all swing dance nerds, so there was a lot of conversation about dancing...I even got a dance in, lol.  I was exchanging numbers with someone at the end, and this really drunk girl spotted us across the room and said, "WOO! Go ::insert guy's name here::, she's hot!"  Haha my face was red.  Then on Sunday, I ran for 40 minutes in the heat (like around 3 o'clock...I know, I'm crazy) because I'm trying to get acclimated to it.  Then I dashed home, cleaned up, and headed to my aunt's and uncle's, who live about 30 minutes away from me.  I had a good time and was happy to see them and my adorable twin cousins (who are going to kindergarten this fall. OMG. I remember waiting in the hospital when they were born.  When did time pass by so quickly?)  Joshua reminds me a lot of my brother and me when we were little.  We were pretty energetic kids...I think Joshua would make a good runner when he gets to be a little older.  (Maybe that's why my dad took me running all the time...hmm).  My new baby cousin, Eliana, is supposed to be born the day after my birthday.  I'm pretty excited to meet her.  She'll be my...35th cousin? I think? I lost count.

Yesterday was good.  I talked to my project manager and received unsolicited feedback...very good! She said I'm doing a really good job, and that I have natural management skills (me? lol).  I was really happy to hear that.  Then I went for a good run.  It was a partner relay...5 x 1.5 lap sprints.  It was tough.  My partner is a good runner so I didn't want to be lame and slow.  The first two intervals I was doing pretty well, hitting 2.5 minutes.  But I got kind of tired by the 3rd lap, so after that I slowed down to 2:45 minute intervals.    

My mom told me that she found old family friends on Facebook.  My mom was good friends with an Italian woman who had three daughters, Jessica, Laurie, and Jennifer. I have such good memories of hanging out at their house in Virginia when I was little, so I was really happy to find them on Facebook.  The girls all speak Italian.  Three of my Italian aunts, Zia Lucia, Zia Tonia, and Zia Daniela, are on Facebook.  And some of my Italian cousins - Diego, Stefania, Sabrina, Antonio, Rossanna, Antonio, Amanda, Tony, and Noemi-are on Facebook (you know how everyone is named "Nick" in My Big Fat Greek Wedding?  In my family, it's like that, except with the name Antonio).  So that means I really have to crack down on my Italian, because it's embarrassing when my cousin wants to talk to me, and I can't understand what she's saying because she's using some slang version of "What are you doing?" or whatever.  I'm the only one in that whole group who doesn't speak it fluently and I'm ashamed of it. It's not my mom's fault because she certainly tried...it's just my lazy self.

Wow, it's already 11. Time to get ready for sleep. 

1.  Today my coworker and I went out to eat Thai food. I know, that shouldn't qualify as a "thing" right? But it was SO GOOD Y'ALL. There was a lunch special buffet, so along with your lunch plate, you could get all-you-can-eat soups, veggie rolls, and the like. Oh man.  I seriously pigged out.

2.  I had a really good run today.  The run was 12 intervals of .25 miles, with a minute rest in between each quarter-mile.  I did pretty well, averaging 1:45 - 2:00 for most of the intervals, and getting faster (into the 1:30 range) for the last few.  This is because someone decided to use me as their pacer. I am usually not a big fan of when people use me to pace themselves, because that means I can't be lazy and have to run faster.  Every once in awhile, I'm like, "Screw it, run ahead of me because I don't feel like keeping up with you." But the majority of the time, my competitive streak comes out and I can't let them get too far ahead of me.  But I also like when people use me as their pacer because it forces me to be a better runner. I got some good times in because of this person, so we thanked each other at the end.

3.  I saw this posted on my friend's Facebook page the other day, and it's too good not to share.  It's a "literal interpretation" of "Total Eclipse of the Heart."  There are several more of these out on Youtube, but this one is by far the best that I've seen - yeah, the singing isn't the greatest, but the video is hilarious. Enjoy.  (And watching this will make you wonder what the eff the original video was supposed to convey!)

I've been bad and haven't updated in the past week or so.  Last week was kind of blah, because work was alternately busy and frustrating, and I was bummed out about Jacob.  But there were still good moments.

Friday, April 17 - Friday night blues dance was fantastic.  They had a really good live band, and the place was packed. Had a great time.

Saturday, April 18 - Had a really fun blues workshop.  Lucky Skillen taught it.  He was very funny and dynamic. Plus he had a NYC accent, so we Texans couldn't help imitating whatever he said ("Pantha, paht-na.")  The workshop was 5 hours total, so I was wiped when I got home.  One of the workshops was "Blues and Hip-Hop," and that class reminded me just how white I really am. 

Sunday, April 19 - FINALLY went to the Alamo Drafthouse.  Went with Katherine, which was a lot of fun.  Then I went to a barbeque and hung out with some people from my running group.

Tuesday, April 21 - I was at the downtown office. I walked outside to make a delivery to a building across the street.  I noticed a group of people standing outside, along with about four or five cops standing on the edge of the sidewalk.  I kept walking but was stopped by one of the cops.  "I'm sorry, you need to stay 10 feet away from the sidewalk," the officer said.  For a moment, I wondered if there had been a gas explosion.  "What's going on?" I asked.  The officer replied, "We're doing an escort."  I looked up and down the street, with the officers and their motorcycles stationed every ten feet, the streets completely devoid of traffic, and the pedestrians not allowed to walk on the sidewalk.  I knew this person must be pretty important.  "May I ask who?"  The officer paused and then said, "Biden." 

So I waited excitedly for a bit. A part of me considered going back inside to work, but then the rational part said, "When's the next time you're going to see something like this?"  I was soon rewarded.  A motorcade of at least 20-30 vehicles started passing.  There were cop cars, cops on motorcycles, even an ambulance.  It was hard to tell which car Vice President Biden was in (there were two black, official-looking cars, but the windows were too dark to see anyone). But I waved anyway.  It was a really cool moment.  It made me wonder what sort of the security the President has, because this seemed pretty hardcore.

Wednesday, April 22 - Hill workout.  It was my first time doing the hill workout in months, so it was ROUGH.  Did 4.5 of the .75 mile loops.  I think next time I should shoot for five, because my legs weren't even sore the next day. 

Friday, May 1 - Blues dancing was a little empty tonight (a lot of the regulars were out of town), but still had a good time.  I received two compliments on my dancing - one person said I was elegant, and someone said he liked my follow.

Saturday, May 2 - Man, this day was so much fun.  Katherine and I went to Macy's to see Clinton Kelly on his Makeover America tour.  He was really funny. One of the women from the audience volunteered to have her outfit critiqued (I raised my hand but he didn't pick me), and he totally eviscerated her. In a nice way.  But he was really funny and offered really good fashion tips. I really enjoyed myself.

Afterward he said he was signing autographs.  So Katherine and I hurriedly went downstairs and got in line, all happy and excited, until some snooty Macy's employee said, "Where are your books?"  Apparently we could not stand in line unless we had a copy of Clinton Kelly's newest book, available only with a HUNDRED DOLLAR purchase of Macy's clothes. Naturally, Katherine and I were like, "Eff this," (our decision was also aided by the fact that there was security standing around), so we went next door to Border's to see if they had a copy of the book that we could sneak in with.  No such luck - it was sold out. I guess meeting Clinton Kelly was not meant to be. Maybe he would have hated my outfit and it would have scarred my self-esteem forever.  This was as close to Clinton Kelly that we got:

Clinton Kelly

Afterward, Katherine and I made ourselves feel better by going into all the fancy shops and trying perfume samples, and going on a shopping spree.  Not gonna say all that I bought, except that the Back in Black album was an absolutely essential purchase.  We alternated between playing "Good friend/bad friend."  Later we went out to eat with Katherine's boyfriend Rob, and Katherine bought us all dinner because she's a sweetie <3

Now I'm just here exhausted after a long day of work.  Well, I'm not exhausted anymore, because I'm a vampire and I get this weird energy kick around this time.  I have meetings tomorrow downtown...I really hope I don't get to run one of them, because I don't have a grasp on the details that I need.  Ah, such is life.  We'll see in the morning.

P.S. My parents have vacation until next Thursday due to swine flu scares in their school district. Clearly I am in the wrong profession.

P.P.S.  There was ANOTHER hornet in my apartment last week. I'm starting to wonder if I have a nest in the vents or something. I got the little bugger. Jenny 5, Hornets 0.  This one was very efficient too. No Swiffers were broken.
  

When I was seventeen, I would judge how good a day would be by the music I heard in the morning on the radio. If I heard some Pink Floyd or something like "Enter Sandman," then it was going to be a good day (and funny enough, something cool would inevitably happen to MAKE it a good day).  I kind of gave up that idea up as I got older, but as I was driving in to work this morning, I heard "Flying High Again," which reminded me of high school (and no, not because I would get high), and "This is a Call."  "Man," I thought, "I bet it's going to be a good day."

And so it was.  Work is keeping me pretty busy with two projects, but I was able to enjoy myself with it today.  I had a meeting downtown today.  I ended up making a joke in the meeting...not on purpose, just kind of came out, and everyone started laughing. It really throws me off when people laugh at me because at work, I tend to be rather quiet and keep to myself...I think I'm a lot funnier with people I know really well, or on paper.  So anyway, that incident made me laugh.  After the meeting I got a chicken sandwich and a milk shake...yum yum.

Tonight I went running. It was an interval workout. I ran six .53 mile laps, with a walk break in between.  With the exception of one lap, I was actually getting faster with each progressive lap, so that was an improvement, because I usually run slower.  I ran the last one at 3:34, so I was pretty happy with that time.  I've been getting myself out of my winter laziness and getting back into my routine of running and dancing...and I'm LOVING IT. I just feel so much happier with it.  This next winter, when it's cold and miserable outside, I need to remind myself that it's worth feeling like crap during the run for how great you feel afterward.

This weekend was great. Blues dancing on Friday, watched a bunch of movies on Saturday, 8 mile run on Sunday.  Then yesterday, Katherine and I had a girl's night out.  We ate at Panda Express with her boyfriend, then we girls headed to watch 17 Again.  I really liked it!  It was funny.  I was remembering all the funny parts today during my meeting. I'm not a Zach Efron fan girl (to be honest, I wanted to see it for Matthew Perry), but he did a good job in it (and come on, I'm not BLIND. He is a good-looking guy).  Reno 911 fans, the guy who plays Dangle is in the movie and he basically stole the show.  My only complaint is that Matthew Perry deserved way more screen time. 

I have a lot of fun things lined up for this weekend, so I can't wait for it.  At least tomorrow is Thursday. It's flying by fast!    

Sigh.  My Thanksgiving break went by so fast!  But I had several days off, so I can't complain.  It's absolutely, positively insane to think that Christmas is already only 3 weeks away.  And then it's 2009!  At this time last year I was still in school...it's just incredible how so much has changed.

Work has been a little slow since returning from break. I can't complain too much, but it's hard to stay focused when I'm bored.  I was at the downtown office today.  I don't know what was going on but the traffic was particularly bad this morning; it took me an HOUR to get there.  AN HOUR. Without traffic, it takes me 20 minutes.  Usually, it takes me 45 minutes with the traffic.  But this morning? No.  At one point, I'd gone 4 miles in 20 minutes.  I parked in the parking garage today too (cue horror music).  I parked on the roof, so that there wouldn't be any cars around me.  It's a bit narrow driving through the garage, because there are barriers there and if you zip around them at 30 mph like my project manager does, then bad things can happen.  I drive in there at 5 mph, so screw anyone who's behind me.

At 4:30 my project managers had already left, and all I had left to do was to modify some rights of entry agreements.  So I logged onto Gmail chat while correcting them. I know.  Bad.  I see people at work on MSN chat, and we even have a work chat through Lotus Notes, so what the hay (I never say "what the hay," but I figured it was appropriate in this situation).

Dance class was fun tonight. It's our last class for this month before break.  We learned the "pimp walk."  LOL.  "Please do not try to impress people with this," our teachers cautioned.  We also tried to dance some of the moves High School Musical-ish (like with the big wide smiles as you look at your partners), so I had the giggles for a lot of the class. 

I had two pretty decent runs so far this week.  On Saturday, I went running with my dad.  My dad plays mind tricks a lot when we run, so I decided to keep a steady pace that was comfortable for me to run at just in case he started sprinting on me or something.  But apparently the pace I picked was a pretty decent one, and my dad and I sprinted to the finish line.  Then yesterday, I ran 3 miles on the track (bo-ring).  The first lap of each mile was supposed to be at a 5K pace, and the next three laps at a 10K pace.  The fastest I'd done a 5K was in the 22 minute range, but that was almost 5 years ago.  So needless to say, my "5K pace" lap was a bit slower, and I ran my 10K pace laps a bit faster.  Anyway, I ended up finishing 25:39, which is not bad, I guess, but not as fast as I used to be at my peak.

Okay, I am going to blather on and on and I need to make my lunch for tomorrow.  I should get to sleep early, but I'm wide awake, unfortunately.  Good night!

So last night was pretty fun...I was under the impression that I would meet up with some of my swing friends at one location, but apparently this was not the case ;) I went to the blues concert and then the dance at the studio afterward.  The dance made me eat my words because people actually showed up.  The blues dance was fun, too, because they played some contemporary music (like Amy Winehouse) as well as the older stuff.  I wish the Thursday night swing dances would do that, too.  That's the only thing I miss about the College Station swing dances; they would mix up the traditional swing and big band music with some 70's and 80's music (like dancing Lindy to "Footloose" is a blast!) 

Other than that, I didn't do much yesterday. I just stayed home pretty much all the day and lounged around.  Sometimes those lazy days are good, but I don't like them all the time. They remind me of the boring weekends in College Station when I didn't have a car and had nothing to do other than go on my computer, study (boo), go running, or walk to Barnes and Noble.

Oh, I did go to Borders and bought a little journal for my notes and stories. Liz had gotten me a Moleskine notebook for work meetings as a gift, and I absolutely love it.  It made me want one for my writing.  Moleskines are too expensive ($17!), but I got one that is styled in the same way for $5.  I took it to Starbucks and wrote a little in it. I had the eggnog latte...it tasted weird at first but I liked it more as I drank it.  I wrote a poem about my dislike of people who shop at Central Market.  Seriously.  It's full of hipsters and walking in one is like walking into a giant cliche of everything about this city.  The guys look like they will blow away with the wind.  One woman didn't flush the toilet yesterday because ~it's not environmentally friendly.~  UGH.  I flushed it when I got in there to piss her off.  Yes, I'm an environmental engineer, and yes, I think that people should be aware of global warming, but don't get me started on this "green" fad.  Please.  That is an argument for a whole other post.  

Today might have been just as lazy, but this morning my dad called me and told me about the run he did. I thought, ok, now I need to go running.  I'm glad I went in the morning, as opposed to the afternoon as I'd originally planned. I went around 11 to the park, and it was an incredible run.  First, the lake looked really gorgeous.  The weather was comfortably warm (yay Texas), and there were many runners, walkers, bikers, and families just enjoying the outdoors.  I followed some runners and explored the park a little.  It was a blast.  I ended up running for a full hour (1:01:42 total), so that would be at least 6 miles, since I was trying to take it slow. Great run, and it eliminated some frustration, too. I love running (can't you tell?). I would be certifiably insane if I didn't run.

Then I went to HEB because my fridge was starting to look like Old Mother Hubbard's.  Got some food...trying to make myself eat fresh fruits and less carbs (I'm a total bread/pasta girl).  I'm not going on a diet, just restructuring my eating habits to eat healthier. We'll see how long it lasts.  Generally I eat pretty healthily, it's just my downfall is sweets.  I did have a Dr Pepper today, though.  SOME people have gotten me into the habit of getting a Dr Pepper after a long run.  I will not say who the guilty party is in this case.

There are now two hornets in my apartment. I have no idea how they got in here. I think they snuck through a crack in my door.  Either way, they are sitting quietly on the top of my window, where it would be hard to swat them. What am I saying? I am a total wuss when it comes to hornets and bees, so I probably wouldn't swat them even if I had the chance to.  I don't even have a flyswatter.  I've never been stung, but my mother and Patrick are allergic to them...so what if I am too? (Pat got stung twice near his eye when he was seven, and his eye swelled up so badly that it looked like Mike Tyson had punched him in the face).   If I open the door, more will come in.  Getting Raid is my last resort because that stuff isn't great for the environment.  I'm kind of hoping they'll just die naturally.  They stay in the same spot, at least.  If they start building a nest, then eff it, I'm going for the Raid. 

Well, I'm going to read.  A little later I have to make up an hour for work (for leaving early on Election Day, hee).  I'd like to make some meals for the week, too.  Have a good Sunday!