Today's race info:
Distance |
Mile Time |
Race Time |
Mile 1 |
9:55 |
9:55 |
Mile 2 |
9:20 |
19:15 |
Mile 3 |
9:45 |
29:00 |
Finish (Mile 3.1) |
00:51 |
29:51 |
And then later at Eric's pig roast complete with live video feeds... It's 4:45 AM as I'm walking home, it's raining and I hope it continues to rain all day Sunday so that I can have a cozy day in bed catching up on BSG before the new season starts on Friday.
Friday September 29 :: workworkwork
MEtRoday: 1027, 5056, 4013, 4044
Check this out. All you have to do is have a flickr account and twenty bucks. It's worth the setup if you don't have one (I didn't). The concept is great, the price seems reasonable; I'll inform you of the print quality whence I receive them within 10 working days. Work!
An outdoor pizza & beer lunch with Katie and then restorative yoga after work was how I wound down this busy week. I'm glad it's over. I may not get out of bed all day on Sunday.
Here's how Kilian wound down his work week: by going to the beergarden! It's Oktoberfest over there in Bavaria so who can really blame him? Actually, it kind of looks like K hasn't been to work all week. Lucky him.
Thursday September 28
MEtRoday: 5148, 3021, 2019, 5149, 3271, 1201
Single's birthday party was this evening. Being the New York sophisticate that he is, he rented a bar patio, opened the bar and said please come. It rained, so the party moved indoors. Doesn't that always happen when you're trying to throw an outdoor extravaganza? Regardless, I had a great time and met many of his friends. It was fun telling the whole "21-years-ago" story. Sometimes edited, sometimes not. It was nice to see him. I was going to bring my camera, take some shots for the fuju and all, but decided against it. Other people brought theirs, and then I wish I had. Is all of this copy without any recent imagery boring you?
Wednesday September 27
MEtRoday: 3120, 4069, 3176, 3110
Tonight I went running in preparation for Saturday's 5K. I took it easy, not running my entire usual route (which frankly, I haven't run in a year or so) because I didn't want to push my body too far so that I couldn't run Saturday morning. I shaved the route by a few blocks but still I think it was about four and a half miles or so. And I even ran up Capitol Hill instead of walking that part like I usually do. My timing was 48:36 according to Runner's playlist, so that gave me roughly a 10 min/mile which is okay after having not run in so long. The unexpected part was that I completed it easily (within reason) and actually enjoyed it. So I think I should be fine running a shorter distance on Saturday. This was also the first time I had run with music. Sidenote: When Melba and I got our phones last winter, they came with free iPod shuffles. I thought "Cool, I can use it running." and so I called it Runner like in Logan's Run: "Run, Runner!" The point that I'm getting at is that I need to run more often, even on top of all the cardio at the gym. I hereby proclaim I will run once a week.
I get home just in time to catch episode 2 of ANTM, followed by the last episode of the last season of QAF on DVD. With orange sherbet.
The new Scissor Sisters album dropped this week. They continue to get a lot of press for sounding like an Elton John/Bee Gees mashup. I understand the use for the references, especially with their first album. But this 2nd effort, I don't think it's Elton. I don't think it's Bee Gees. I think it's more... yes, I'll say it... I think it's more Leo Sayer. Discuss.
Tuesday September 26 :: no i never, ever realized
This morning on the 3210: fight. When I get on the morning train, it's standing room only and many of the times shoulder to shoulder so there's not even any room to start the Sudoku. Today was medium capacity, so there was a little room to keep ones bag on ones shoulder and have 18-inches of space in front of ones body to do ones Sudoku. So that's what this one started to do. All of a sudden, black teenage girl "A" knocks the paper out of black teenage girl "B" 's hands, about three feet in front of me. B says to A: "Pick it up!" A says to B: "No!". B says to A: "Pick it up!!" A says to B: "No!!". B lunges at A (thankfully in the opposite direction from me). Screaming, kicking, hair-pulling, crowd-making-room-for-the-fight ensues. I look up from my puzzle but hold my position. Soon they are pulled up from the floor by what appears to be male friends of theirs. They are quickly scorned by the African-American-womyn-of-ethnic-color-who-are-not-their-hair, who would be around A and B's grandparents age. "Y'all are actin' just like boys." "Don't you want something better for your life?" "Y'all should be ashamed of yourselves." Then their male friends all started talking about how they were going to tell everybody at school about it. The paper was still on the floor of the train when I exited two stops later.
Tonight only reminded me of what I'm not. I went to the AIGA Annual Meeting, where Sam Shelton was presented with a Fellow Award. "The Fellow program is a means of recognizing designers who have made a significant contribution to raising the standards of excellence within their local or regional design community as well as in their local AIGA chapter." I'm not saying Sam did not deserve this award, quite the opposite. But as I sat there and listen to his introductions and his speech, it occured to me that Sam is only a few years older than me, yet has already been more successful than I'll ever dream to be, and contributed more than I ever will. He's also in an 18-year relationship. I've never even been in an 18-month relationship, let alone one that lasts 18 years. Sam, will you please tell me what I'm doing wrong?
MEtRoday: 2053, 3113, 3112, 3066, 1047
Ladytron at 9:30 Club tonight. I saw them when they came around earlier this spring, and it was a great show. There's a couple of folks from work coming along. I don't know about them, but I'm down on the main floor dancing. Actually, they'll probably want to move upstairs so they can see better. They're short.
I'm going to take the Racist Bus to the show and will probably take it back, depending on what time the show ends. If you don't hear from me in a few days, fear the worst. Wish me luck.
Unrelated
1)
Miss Cleo probably had
a feeling years
ago...
2) If anybody is feeling generous they can anonymously send me one of these.
3) Few things are as embarrasing as taking something someone has set out as trash
on
the
sidewalk, being caught by the person who put it out there and forced
to have a conversation about the item.
4) I spent $318.60 on transportation last week.
Sunday September 24
I haven't been in a Metro train since last Wednesday. Bliss! The reason is back-to-back press inspections Thursday and Friday, which I rented the flawless Volvo V50 and then my yellow Mini that you've heard about before. The Volvo wins hands down. Such a smoother ride, although I did get called "Soccer Mom" on more than one occasion. Thanks Goldy, don't H8.
Here's another reason to move to Germany.
Wednesday September 20
MEtRoday: 3108, 2003, 3076, 1175
Tonight is the season premiere of ANTM, the only reality show I regularly watch. During the season, this is usually my pizza night. So I'm going over to Melba's to watch the season premiere. And we're ordering. Our five-topping special: garlic & feta (these are two mainstays of my orders), pepperoni (Melba's a big pep fan), cherry hot peppers and mushrooms. Doesn't that sound yummy? Maybe we'll get some wings, too. It is a two-hour premiere, y'know.
Tuesday September 19
MEtRoday: 1151, 3097, 2023, 1112
Lots of work this week.
Sunday September 17 :: please don't make it 3 in a row
My Uncle David died this morning. He had cancer. He met my aunt Carol back in the 80s, they fell in love and were married. They lived in Florida and enjoyed their life there, even though they were removed from the rest of the family. Can you blame them? I didn't see Carol as frequently as I would have like in these years; I was away in college so sometimes we would miss each other during family visits. She was always a good friend while I was growing up. I would like to believe she liked me the best. We would talk about music, cars and plus she had a really funky room (this was the 70s) that was red, white and blue stripped. My dad helped paint it, and we did stencils of my hand and foot (think: Keep On Truckin') which were painted on the walls. Like I said, it was 1972 or something like that. Anyway, Carol met David and went off to live her life and she's had a great time doing it. I just talked with her and she was very calm and very appreciative of the time she and David spent together. I will miss him and everything he has done for my aunt. The memorial service is Wednesday, 11:00 EDT. RIP, David.
Saturday September 16 :: yellow rose of texas
Ann Richards passed away on Thursday. She was Governor of Texas back in the good ole days, 1991, when you could actually hold your head up high and say you were from Texas. Now, it's more shame and disgrace to claim that. Perceptions, and reality, have changed. I remember her descending the stairs at the Wortham Theater, at a fundraiser, in a seemingly debutante Junior League fashion. But then when she got to you on the stairs, and talked with you for five minutes about how wonderful the Texas humidity was because you didn't need moisturizer, then you realized she was not a Cinderella, not a Junior Leaguer, but someone just like you and me, yet she could look far more fabulous in a yellow skirt suit than anybody dared to dream. She was a definite firecracker. Her most famous quote refers to George Bush when she said "He was born with a silver foot in his mouth" but my fave quote from the true Texan: "Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels." RIP, Ann.
Friday September 15 :: lip schmakaz!
MEtRoday: Thursday 5141, 3114, 3019, 1190; Friday 3061, 3121, 3010, 1266
The Twins™ are very grateful and gracious after you've fed them wet food. Take your bows, ladies: stage left, center, stage right.
Wednesday September 13
MEtRoday: Tuesday 3077, 3061, 2030, 3043; Wednesday 1273, 3000, 1234, 1120, 2040, 2015
Tonight I went to a work-related happy hour with Kristin and Mila. All we talked about was boys.
Monday September 11 :: time will change the picture
It's been five years. How do you feel?
Balmer, hon, trip! To those not in the region, this translates as a day trip to Baltimore. The reason was Deirdra's housewarming party in the Butchers Hill neighborhood. Becker & Don picked me up late morning so we would have time to do some antique/thrift store furniture shopping before the party. We arrive at Deirdra's, and Alice is there and also Deidra's friend Ron, down from Brooklyn. Deirdra has a great rowhouse, very wide and deep and lots of light. Beautiful floors, too. Becker has our shopping route all planned out, so we head to Fell's Point. We grabbed some lunch at a diner there, saw a couple of shops and went into an open house that was selling for $759,000. Totally huge and with great amenities, but I have to agree with Alice that some of the finishings were not that great. I mean, who combines 1-inch multi-hued blue backsplash tile with 12-inch beige flooring from Home Depot? Ugh. It looked as if someone had clicked these treatments into place while playing The Sims. We grabbed ice cream from Maggie Moo's, which I had never been to before. It reminded me of Marble Slab in H-town. My order: Better Batter with Reese's Cups. Typical order for me, but it was delicious. I can't remember the last time I had real ice cream.
Our next destination was the Hampden neighborhood, the home of big hair and pink flamingos. There were some great shops there. Some were insanely overpriced, but others had affordable, unique furniture in good condition. There was a couch I had my eye on...
After that it was on with the party, back to Deirdra's where John and Goldy join us. John starts making pomengranate martinis and Deirdra starts frying up the goodness: egg rolls, crab cakes and dumplings. Then she brings out the big guns: jerk chicken wings. Can you say 'Yum!'? I thought you could. Then we did a very Balmer thing to do: hang out on the stoop, greeting neighbors and strangers that walked by. Baltimorians are a friendly bunch.
On the way home, I started getting texts from Katie, saying the JoyLuck crowd was at Henry's. I joined them for a nightcap and then had to come home and crash.
Katie and I are going to run the Gulf Coast Relief Run 5K again this year. It's a good cause. I hope it's not as humid as last year, but it seems that this one is a little later in the year, so hopefully it won't be. Come and join us!
MEtRoday: Thursday 1187, 2007, 3024, 3025, 1279; Friday 3039, 3068, 3083, 1294
10 things I learned about LK from last night's dinner date:
01)
drives an Escalade
02) weighed 2 lbs when he was born (he is a twin)
03) oldest sister, Marsha, died in an accident along with her girlfriend
and her brother's girlfriend; the only survivor was his twin
04) orders margaritas without salt
05) runs a 9-minute mile
06) was on the wrestling team in high school
07) was third born of six children
08) wears Keen's
09) likes to entertain large groups of friends/relatives
10)
is a self-proclaimed "sort of neat-freak"
10 things I shared with LK during last night's dinner date:
01)
my mother is ill
02) the reasoning behind my name
03) sometimes I don't like DC
04) the farthest I've ever run, in one duration, is 4.7 miles
05) like to sit at the counter at Jimmy T's
06) enjoy entertaining out-of-town friends
07) lived on Capitol Hill for 11 years
08) ate at La Lomita the previous night
09) love where I work
10) going to Balmer, Hon tomorrow
I am currently borrowing high-speed internet access from a neighbor "dlink". Thanks dlink! We'll see how long it lasts; hopefully you won't realize I've stumbled upon your wireless network. If you have, can't we all just get along? I promise to keep my heavy downloads light.
I'm going to be an Uncle again! My brother and wife had their sonogram today for their 2nd child, due around halftime on Superbowl Sunday. It's a boy! So Miss Cutey Pie is going to have some competition soon! Just joshing, they will both be equally loved and equally spoiled. Trust.
MEtRoday: Sunday 2034; Tuesday 5143, 1252, 3024, 4090; Wednesday 1022, 2007, 3055, 1246
Happy Birthday, Melba! A fun night at La Lomita and Trusty's. Time for some pix.
A little addendum: Sunday I spent the evening with Brandon. It was great to reconnect with him after being away for so long (he moved away a few years ago). He's been back in town for a while, but we just haven't hung out. It's my bad, but I've always believed that when someone leaves, it's their responsibility to keep up with the ones they've left behind. I've learned that after many times of leaving people. I guess it's one of the things that being a military kid has taught me.
Oh, and tomorrow I have a dinner date with MrLK. Wish me luck. He already knows that I don't have a car (and still wants to go out) so that's one strike down in my favor. Other strikes that have killed dates/boyfriends in the past, in no particular order: the Twins™, post-coital suffocation, my apartment, car status, social rank, body realization, income, drinking habits.
As an added bonus, here's a pic of the Twins™ sniffin' out my dinner the other night. They may look mean, but they're really sweathearts.
Speaking of sweethearts, check out these superduper cute pix of Marlene and her best friend Paul. As I told Ziska, they'll be best friends until they're 9, hate each other until they're 14, be best friends until they're 25 and then fall in love with each other. Don't you think?
Friday September 01 :: life isn't standard issue, it's customized
MEtRoday: Thursday 3179, 3242, 5014, 5017; Friday 1109, 3055, 1046, 3016, 3045
Great news! I just won two free tickets to a DD concert! The bad news is that the concert is in Poland. So if there's anybody in Europe with my name and can make the show on September 23, contact me before this Saturday 8pm EST and the tickets are yours. {They may play songs from the new album.}
Segue to Europe: this is my photo essay on signage in Munich, and sometimes Austria. Most of them are street navigational signs, but the theme deviated to posters, maps, buzzer entries, grocery items, phone booths, electrical markers and store beacons. Basically, it's everything that I thought was fascinating about being in a foreign country, but at the same time the very things that alienated me.
