Sooooo...you were thinking this was all about my quest to be a supergirl and sharing my training in the process. And you were noticing that there seemed to be a lack of, well, any training. That, my friend, is about to change.
We are actually well into our training for Seattle to Portland (200 miles in 2 days - ugh!) But the weather has not been cooperating much at all. We have been having some gorgeous days - during the week. And then thunderstorms and winds gusting up to 40 mph to celebrate the weekend. We made it all of 5 miles once when M decided it was too nasty out. And if he doesn't think it is riding weather, it must be absolutely horrid. I've seen him head out to ride in a blizzard.
But, finally, this weekend - sun!
So here is a summary of the training:
Saturday: 67.8 miles. Let's just say 68 shall we?
M was thinking of racing the 6/12 hours of Stoney on Saturday. But Friday, I got it into my head that I really just wanted to ride the tandem. I called him and he said if he didn't race, he would really torture me on the tandem. For some reason, I agreed.
When we started at the lovely hour of 9 am due to someone slacking around and making us late. Not it! (If you say not it, even if you were it, you are no longer it right?) Since I had agreed to pretty much give up all control of this ride, the route was planned by M. The idea was to go on 13 Mile to Meadowbrook then wind into Northville. From there, we would head all the way down to the other end of Hines to visit the gardens, come back to Northville, then go around Walled Lake (the long way) and head home. Doesn't this sound like a LONG bike ride?
Later M told me that he was worried at the beginning because I was not really helping at all. But after one stop to change gloves (yeah, I brought extras) and fix my seat, I decided to improve my mood and we made it to Northville without incident. At this point, I was thinking, "ALL the way down Hines? Really?" but the problem is that the cute little community gardens are ALL the way down Hines. And I love the gardens. I will pretty much agree to anything to get M to ride the gardens route. You go until Hines is done and slip onto the bike path. Over the river and through the woods, past the parking lot and around the corner are these funny little plots, each fenced off with something different. Handmade scarecrows watch over every veggie you can imagine, lots of weeds and random little flowers tucked in too. This is where we get to stop and rest and I wander around to see what is growing this week. Warning - if you ride with me, you will eventually be forced into a garden walk in the middle of your bike ride. It is unavoidable.
Surprisingly, I was still pretty energetic at this point. We hopped back on the bike and discussed (negotiated) the further biking plan (cracking this woman up in her garden bed - wish I remember what was said). We finished out the path which dumps you out on Michigan Ave. You turn right away to go one street over and have a little tour of Dearborn. And to my delight, this. Like hundreds of dogs, all on their best behavior and strutting their stuff.
We then wound our way to Hines and headed back. Into the wind. And my butt started to hurt. I told M that I thought I needed to stop to eat something and he said to wait and I pouted. Which means I pushed much less hard on the pedals. Up the hill. But M was determined to get to the stop he had designated and was not giving in. I threatened to pass out and fall off the bike. Nope. Then we got to the stop and I pouted a bit more until I saw this cute little bird who was feeding her babies and we had to be friends again so I could show M the bird. Also, I ate an apple which always improves my mood. Also, M decided I really needed to eat some more substantial food so we should stop in Northville to get lunch. And gluten-free lemon cake from Tuscan Cafe. See, I had to be nice after that.
We made it to Northville. I am not going to pretend I didn't start having a little discussion about my butt and how it was tired of the bike seat. And I doubt M would pretend that he didn't just ignore me. We were at 50+ miles and the longest training ride we had done this year so far was just under 40. So I was getting a bit tired.
Before breakfast, we stopped into Town & Country bike shop to check on the Cadabra. It's a long story, but M won it from Kona (through the Fat Cyclist) about a year ago. Apparently there were production or shipping or we never really figured it out delays. The rep kept saying the bike was coming and we kept waiting. You'll never guess - the bike had finally arrived! Of course, we couldn't take it with us since we were already on a bike, so we said we would come back later. An here's the best part - over lunch, M said we should go back the shortest route so he could hop in the van and come back to get the bike. HAHA! Saved by the bike!
We still had a bit of a ride in front of us, plus a stop at CVS to pick up Epson salts for my planned long recovery bath, but we made it. We hopped in the van and went right back to Northville (weird) and fetched the new cool bike. I got the have the first ride in the parking lot. It has a full suspension and is all bouncy. Cool!
Than, the biggest surprise of all, I went home and didn't fall over and die. I gardened until it was dark.
Sunday: 24.something. Let's just say 25.
We arrived at the TNT team meeting place at just before 8. The team was not riding until 8:30, but M had to work later so we were starting off early and cutting it short. We rode for an hour when I decided I was just done. In no uncertain terms. Apparently my bike shorts had rubbed on my butt cheek the day before in a weird way and I was not pleased (TMI?) And we still had to go all the way back. I felt guilty until M said he hadn't thought he was going to get me to ride as far as he had, so I decided that he had gotten a bonus and we headed back. We passed the team going in the opposite direction and everyone yelled go team. Yep, we are a cult, but a good one.
I went home and napped. A lot!
Then went to buy a plant. Which apparently means three plants and two little 4-packs of herbs.
So there you have it. Training. And I have heard a rumor that there will be more next weekend.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
The Airport
I drove by the airport today. Coming home from dinner at a friend's house. It was dark so the airport was all lights. I was struck by this deep feeling of what I guess would have to be called nostalgia. Sort of this empty feeling, just for a minute, missing what I never really had.
In my past life, I used to travel for business - a lot. Not the salesperson who doesn't even have an apartment because he would never live in it level of travel, but enough to be able to breeze through security like a pro. I was out of town for maybe one week out of each month. Various places, one year it was pretty much Dallas, another year was mostly Milwaukee.And for maybe a year and a half, it was just everywhere and anywhere. New York, LA, London, even a few weeks in Brazil. To produce photo shoots. With models and photographers, sometimes even famous ones. I met lots of people and we all hung out, went to fabulous restaurants and were nice and friendly with each other. Since I had the power to hire, everyone was actually super friendly.
And when I was in the office, I was pretty much either recovering from/talking about where I had just been or getting ready for the next jaunt. It was difficult to make personal plans because I often didn't know when exactly it would be time to head out again.
The creative director told the head of production that if I didn't slow down, I was headed for a heart attack. When he relayed this to me, I smiled proudly. Then went off to yell into my phone. Or chat merrily. Depending on whether the costs were in and the set was built and the line of skinny hot chicks looked "aspirational," not just hot. This all got me sent to manage the still photo portion of a commercial shoot in Brazil with the directive that when I was not on set, I was to be lying by the pool with a drink in my hand and relaxing. On location, my darn rented cell phone only sort of worked if I stood in the right spot and yelled - at the account guy who called me every 10 minutes since he hadn't made it down to the shoot yet. But every evening, we all floated around in the pool with the fountains. The first night, in my undies because my luggage didn't quite make it there at the same time as me.
It was exciting. It was fabulous. It was too good to last.
I remember sitting in some fabulous bar on top of some tall building in LA with some super gorgeous photographer (never figured out if he was gay) and thinking, "Is he really enjoying our conversation or is he only here because I am the customer and he has to do this to try to get more business?" and conversely, "Am I really enjoying time spent with this person or do I just like that I am in this hot bar with this hot photographer, wasting the hour before I have to head to the airport and move on again?" And everyone I was around every day could inspire pretty much the same set of questions.
The budget was cut, the client left, the well ran dry. And I realized that I had kind of lost touch. I had spent so much time with people who were being nice to me because that was part of the job, that I now assumed everyone was always like that. Anyway, why bother getting to really know anyone because I would just be flying off before we could get too deep into anything.
Cut to tonight. Driving by that airport, somewhere I used to know so well, loved and hated in just the right mix. I had this urge to just drive in, jump on a plane and chase am adventure. I sometimes miss the feeling of not knowing what was going to happen next week, but having confidence that it would be exciting and new. That there would be a constant flow of people who did my bidding, at least I sure hoped they did and, if not, I could just threaten to not pay them.
Instead I drove to my home to hang with M and the cats.
Currently, I work part time. For a small organization full of people who truly want to make our state, and the world for that matter, a better place. I haven't been on a plane in about a year. And that was for a vacation.
I am learning to form real friendships. I am having to realize that sometimes people just like me for me. I am actually enjoying it.
So that is me, gutted. But you damn well better believe that if I am hanging with you today, I really do want to consider you a friend. For real.
In my past life, I used to travel for business - a lot. Not the salesperson who doesn't even have an apartment because he would never live in it level of travel, but enough to be able to breeze through security like a pro. I was out of town for maybe one week out of each month. Various places, one year it was pretty much Dallas, another year was mostly Milwaukee.
And when I was in the office, I was pretty much either recovering from/talking about where I had just been or getting ready for the next jaunt. It was difficult to make personal plans because I often didn't know when exactly it would be time to head out again.
The creative director told the head of production that if I didn't slow down, I was headed for a heart attack. When he relayed this to me, I smiled proudly. Then went off to yell into my phone. Or chat merrily. Depending on whether the costs were in and the set was built and the line of skinny hot chicks looked "aspirational," not just hot. This all got me sent to manage the still photo portion of a commercial shoot in Brazil with the directive that when I was not on set, I was to be lying by the pool with a drink in my hand and relaxing. On location, my darn rented cell phone only sort of worked if I stood in the right spot and yelled - at the account guy who called me every 10 minutes since he hadn't made it down to the shoot yet. But every evening, we all floated around in the pool with the fountains. The first night, in my undies because my luggage didn't quite make it there at the same time as me.
It was exciting. It was fabulous. It was too good to last.
I remember sitting in some fabulous bar on top of some tall building in LA with some super gorgeous photographer (never figured out if he was gay) and thinking, "Is he really enjoying our conversation or is he only here because I am the customer and he has to do this to try to get more business?" and conversely, "Am I really enjoying time spent with this person or do I just like that I am in this hot bar with this hot photographer, wasting the hour before I have to head to the airport and move on again?" And everyone I was around every day could inspire pretty much the same set of questions.
The budget was cut, the client left, the well ran dry. And I realized that I had kind of lost touch. I had spent so much time with people who were being nice to me because that was part of the job, that I now assumed everyone was always like that. Anyway, why bother getting to really know anyone because I would just be flying off before we could get too deep into anything.
Cut to tonight. Driving by that airport, somewhere I used to know so well, loved and hated in just the right mix. I had this urge to just drive in, jump on a plane and chase am adventure. I sometimes miss the feeling of not knowing what was going to happen next week, but having confidence that it would be exciting and new. That there would be a constant flow of people who did my bidding, at least I sure hoped they did and, if not, I could just threaten to not pay them.
Instead I drove to my home to hang with M and the cats.
Currently, I work part time. For a small organization full of people who truly want to make our state, and the world for that matter, a better place. I haven't been on a plane in about a year. And that was for a vacation.
I am learning to form real friendships. I am having to realize that sometimes people just like me for me. I am actually enjoying it.
So that is me, gutted. But you damn well better believe that if I am hanging with you today, I really do want to consider you a friend. For real.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Heroes
I heard a cool interview on my way home from work today. At the end, he said his mom once told him, "I'd love you if you were a garbageman." What a powerful thing, a mother's love for her child. It reminded me of a story about my mom that I will share with you on this (two days after) Mother's Day.
When I was a kid, for some reason I got it in my head that someone was going to come up the stairs in the middle of the night and hurt me. I think it may have been related to my considerable skill at sneaking downstairs, hiding in the doorway and watching whatever late night TV show the babysitter had on without her knowing. This was not a smart choice and I stopped once I saw (no clue what show) a robbery scene where a group of people got herded into the backroom of some business and were gunned down by the bad guys, execution style. They lay on the floor and bled and moaned - seriously, this would have given me nightmares if I saw it today, but I think I was like 10 or so. After that, I stayed in bed when put there but had to play over and over in my head how I would react in a situation like that. How I would get down on the floor quickly so they would think I was hit and how, since I was a kid and skinny, the others could fall on me and no one would notice that I was still breathing.
One evening my mom came home and saw that I was still awake. She asked why and, while I did not confess to the TV part, I asked what would happen if someone came up the stairs to get me. I explained that I had the closest bedroom to the top of the stairs so I would be first in line. My mom looked at me with a fierceness that I had never seen before and said that if anyone ever tried to hurt me, they would have to get past her first. No matter what, she would be there in front of me, fighting them off. And that was it, I should never forget it.
So that was it, I went to sleep. I still think that was the scariest thing I have ever seen on TV, but it lost its power over me. I knew that there would be times when I would have to face my own real-life bad guys, but now I also knew that there was never a time when my mother was not there for me - literally, figuratively, whatever. Because she said she would and that's what mothers do.
When I was a kid, for some reason I got it in my head that someone was going to come up the stairs in the middle of the night and hurt me. I think it may have been related to my considerable skill at sneaking downstairs, hiding in the doorway and watching whatever late night TV show the babysitter had on without her knowing. This was not a smart choice and I stopped once I saw (no clue what show) a robbery scene where a group of people got herded into the backroom of some business and were gunned down by the bad guys, execution style. They lay on the floor and bled and moaned - seriously, this would have given me nightmares if I saw it today, but I think I was like 10 or so. After that, I stayed in bed when put there but had to play over and over in my head how I would react in a situation like that. How I would get down on the floor quickly so they would think I was hit and how, since I was a kid and skinny, the others could fall on me and no one would notice that I was still breathing.
One evening my mom came home and saw that I was still awake. She asked why and, while I did not confess to the TV part, I asked what would happen if someone came up the stairs to get me. I explained that I had the closest bedroom to the top of the stairs so I would be first in line. My mom looked at me with a fierceness that I had never seen before and said that if anyone ever tried to hurt me, they would have to get past her first. No matter what, she would be there in front of me, fighting them off. And that was it, I should never forget it.
So that was it, I went to sleep. I still think that was the scariest thing I have ever seen on TV, but it lost its power over me. I knew that there would be times when I would have to face my own real-life bad guys, but now I also knew that there was never a time when my mother was not there for me - literally, figuratively, whatever. Because she said she would and that's what mothers do.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
I am officially scared of my yard
Here's the short story.
1. We have a lot of landscaping that needs to be done. We are overrun by invasive species and need to fight back.
2. We get a load of wood chips in the work dump truck. It is around 1pm.
3. We decide to dump them in the back in the one spot we had cleared of buckthorns. You know, to smother the baby ones.
4. Apparently my yard is not made of dirt, but instead it is pudding.
5. Dump. Drive. Spin. Sink.
6. We assess (Note the double s at the end. It is very important to include both. Unlike on the status report that used to get sent to a client who is not longer a client.) the situation. This thing is kind of stuck. OK, really stuck.
(There is this sub plan that happened about this time where we drove backwards, but it is not really worth discussing aside to say it turned out to be a bad plan and resulted in further stuck-ness!)
7. We decide to go get more equipment. Bobcat, here we come.
8. Mark tows the Bobcat. I go to Starbucks for motivation.
9. I return. The Bobcat is also - take a guess - yep, stuck.
10. Apparently you can use the arm/bucket thing to prop up one side of the Bobcat off the wheels and drive with the wheels on the other side. You have to see it to really understand it, but somehow that thing praying-mantised its way out of the pudding and back onto safe ground.
11. The chains came out and the dump truck was hooked on. Pull, yank, tug, dump truck moves like an inch.
12. We decide that there are too many wood chips stuck under the dump truck from the fail of the backwards plan. We get shovels and sort of dig under the truck to get out the wood chips. Also we dig out the wheels which are halfway sunk into the pudding.
13. I stand up. There is a big mirror that sticks out from the truck, you know, to see in back of the dump. It is hard. I sit back down quickly.
14. There is this weird noise and Mark says MOVE as he runs to the Bobcat. Apparently it was not secured right and was considering rolling down and crushing me while I sat on the ground and pouted about my bumped head. Decided to stop pouting.
15. There is much more pulling and digging until someone (no names mentioned, but she is a smart someone) thinks that the left over plywood hanging by the gazebo could be cut down to wedge under the tires just right to make ramps under the tires to get out of the pudding.
16. Mark notices that it is nearly 6pm and says we have to stop at 6 and get ready to go out to dinner. The smart someone says to just go cut the boards and it will be perfect.
17. The smart someone is really hoping she is right.
18. Boards wedged, Mark in the Bobcat to pull, me in the dump truck to drive.
19. You should have seen the grin on my face as I drove that dump truck safely up onto the driveway.
20. D and J cooked us fabulous steaks. And J let me watch three episodes of Project Runway. Fabulous day!
Gosh, I bet you really wish I had pictures.
1. We have a lot of landscaping that needs to be done. We are overrun by invasive species and need to fight back.
2. We get a load of wood chips in the work dump truck. It is around 1pm.
3. We decide to dump them in the back in the one spot we had cleared of buckthorns. You know, to smother the baby ones.
4. Apparently my yard is not made of dirt, but instead it is pudding.
5. Dump. Drive. Spin. Sink.
6. We assess (Note the double s at the end. It is very important to include both. Unlike on the status report that used to get sent to a client who is not longer a client.) the situation. This thing is kind of stuck. OK, really stuck.
(There is this sub plan that happened about this time where we drove backwards, but it is not really worth discussing aside to say it turned out to be a bad plan and resulted in further stuck-ness!)
7. We decide to go get more equipment. Bobcat, here we come.
8. Mark tows the Bobcat. I go to Starbucks for motivation.
9. I return. The Bobcat is also - take a guess - yep, stuck.
10. Apparently you can use the arm/bucket thing to prop up one side of the Bobcat off the wheels and drive with the wheels on the other side. You have to see it to really understand it, but somehow that thing praying-mantised its way out of the pudding and back onto safe ground.
11. The chains came out and the dump truck was hooked on. Pull, yank, tug, dump truck moves like an inch.
12. We decide that there are too many wood chips stuck under the dump truck from the fail of the backwards plan. We get shovels and sort of dig under the truck to get out the wood chips. Also we dig out the wheels which are halfway sunk into the pudding.
13. I stand up. There is a big mirror that sticks out from the truck, you know, to see in back of the dump. It is hard. I sit back down quickly.
14. There is this weird noise and Mark says MOVE as he runs to the Bobcat. Apparently it was not secured right and was considering rolling down and crushing me while I sat on the ground and pouted about my bumped head. Decided to stop pouting.
15. There is much more pulling and digging until someone (no names mentioned, but she is a smart someone) thinks that the left over plywood hanging by the gazebo could be cut down to wedge under the tires just right to make ramps under the tires to get out of the pudding.
16. Mark notices that it is nearly 6pm and says we have to stop at 6 and get ready to go out to dinner. The smart someone says to just go cut the boards and it will be perfect.
17. The smart someone is really hoping she is right.
18. Boards wedged, Mark in the Bobcat to pull, me in the dump truck to drive.
19. You should have seen the grin on my face as I drove that dump truck safely up onto the driveway.
20. D and J cooked us fabulous steaks. And J let me watch three episodes of Project Runway. Fabulous day!
Gosh, I bet you really wish I had pictures.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Adventure #1
I decided to have an adventure a day during my break from school, beginning yesterday. That means adventures until June 7. After that, school is adventure enough. So, I cast out to the universe to send me my first adventure and here is what I got:
Monday, April 19: Evading the Fuzz
8 am - Wake up, look around for the check I told MV I'd drop at the bank. No check. Call. He has the check and is working in the shop which is all of 4 miles from the house. Agree to go get the check. After further discussion, agree to get the check in the '72 Roadrunner and swap for the van, leaving it with him for a tune-up after work. He mentions that the gas gauge isn't working, so he should put some gas in after the tune up. (Are you guessing where this goes...?)
10 am - Leaving my road, tires squealing (not my fault - it's a stiff pedal), driving to the shop. Make a right turn. Car is not running. Not at all. Fortunately, coast to the center lane. Try to make the car go. Car is ignoring me. So I am in the center of the road, about 5 cars from the light in the left turn lane except backwards, there are two lanes of traffic on either side.
10:02 am - Me: You have to come right now. The car is dead and I am in the middle of the road. MV: Out of gas? Me: How would I know? I'm guessing but we can't tell until we put some in and see if it goes, huh? MV: But there are tools all outside and I am burning wood. (Note: There is a nice large garbage bin, but apparently extra wood must be burned. Have mentioned this to other guys and they see no reason why this would be odd. They also get a glint in their eyes and offer to help MV at work whenever he needs it.) Me: I am in your RR with expired registration and no insurance and did I mention that I am in the middle of the road. In your illegal vehicle. I apologize in advance for the freak out that I feel coming...but in like 2 seconds some really helpful person is going to call a cop to come rescue me and what do you think he will think about all of this? MV: OK, I am tossing in the tools...
10:15 am - On the phone with MV as he is driving. As I see him approaching, I also see a police car turning into the plaza across the street. Luckily MV gets there first and backs the van up to the car. We prop open the license plate to get to the thingy where you put the gas in - you know, and to hide the 2008 sticker since that makes us feel better. He grabs the gas can he brought and asks who should run across the street to get the gas. Quick decision, he runs and I stand by the cars looking cute and competently rescued. I see the cop car patrolling around the plaza, but it comes nowhere near. Whew...my "I need no help at all" vibe is working.
5 gallons later - MV is dumping gas into the car, the cop is gone and we are making fun of the people who are too dumb to realize that they should go on the other side of the backwards car (with two people standing behind it holding a bright red gas can in a dumping it into the back end fashion) in order to make their left turn. They are all driving crazy and near-missing each other until...screech-bang! From the other side of the van, there is a kind of a crash noise. Me: I heard an accident. MV: Do you really think so? Me (peaking around the edge of the van): Yep. I see a pregnant woman. MV: Oh no. Me: Yep, and she appears to have hit a car with an old lady. MV: Oh no! We have to get out of here!
But I check it out (still peaking around the van since no one can see me smack in the middle of the road if I just stay behind the van) and both get out of the cars and seem fine, so it is totally ok that we are only worried that we need to get the heck out of there before someone calls that cop on back. Plus, they are not only blocking the main forward lane, but between them and us, no one can get to the left turn lane either. It's, frankly, the recipe for a big old mess. Unless of course you are that person who drives around us all to the left in the oncoming traffic lane like that guy in the penis car did.
Fortunately, the accident couple decide to get out of the road to discuss, hop in their cars and turn right to get into the plaza. Neither of them using any turn indicators as they change lanes or make their turns. We feel assured of why they had a smash up - nothing to do with the adorable couple in the middle of the road, it was simply their lack of driving skills.
10:30 - I'm guessing - We need to get away fast. MV jumps in the RR and - yep, putting some gas in appears to have fixed the problem - zooms away. I jump into the nice van which does not have squealing tires and touchy pedals and something called a Detroit Locker which apparently is cool but I still don't know what it does and go meet Mark at the shop. Where we pick up the tools, burn some additional wood (um, turns out it is kind of fun - don't tell) and decide we need some burgers and Starbucks to recover from our adventure.
I have decided that, when requesting an adventure, I need to be far more specific about the type of adventure I want. I would like a nice adventure with no police, no accidents, no standing in the middle of the road and maybe some shopping.
Lessons learned: Other people all drive like sh*t!
Monday, April 19: Evading the Fuzz
8 am - Wake up, look around for the check I told MV I'd drop at the bank. No check. Call. He has the check and is working in the shop which is all of 4 miles from the house. Agree to go get the check. After further discussion, agree to get the check in the '72 Roadrunner and swap for the van, leaving it with him for a tune-up after work. He mentions that the gas gauge isn't working, so he should put some gas in after the tune up. (Are you guessing where this goes...?)
10 am - Leaving my road, tires squealing (not my fault - it's a stiff pedal), driving to the shop. Make a right turn. Car is not running. Not at all. Fortunately, coast to the center lane. Try to make the car go. Car is ignoring me. So I am in the center of the road, about 5 cars from the light in the left turn lane except backwards, there are two lanes of traffic on either side.
10:02 am - Me: You have to come right now. The car is dead and I am in the middle of the road. MV: Out of gas? Me: How would I know? I'm guessing but we can't tell until we put some in and see if it goes, huh? MV: But there are tools all outside and I am burning wood. (Note: There is a nice large garbage bin, but apparently extra wood must be burned. Have mentioned this to other guys and they see no reason why this would be odd. They also get a glint in their eyes and offer to help MV at work whenever he needs it.) Me: I am in your RR with expired registration and no insurance and did I mention that I am in the middle of the road. In your illegal vehicle. I apologize in advance for the freak out that I feel coming...but in like 2 seconds some really helpful person is going to call a cop to come rescue me and what do you think he will think about all of this? MV: OK, I am tossing in the tools...
10:15 am - On the phone with MV as he is driving. As I see him approaching, I also see a police car turning into the plaza across the street. Luckily MV gets there first and backs the van up to the car. We prop open the license plate to get to the thingy where you put the gas in - you know, and to hide the 2008 sticker since that makes us feel better. He grabs the gas can he brought and asks who should run across the street to get the gas. Quick decision, he runs and I stand by the cars looking cute and competently rescued. I see the cop car patrolling around the plaza, but it comes nowhere near. Whew...my "I need no help at all" vibe is working.
5 gallons later - MV is dumping gas into the car, the cop is gone and we are making fun of the people who are too dumb to realize that they should go on the other side of the backwards car (with two people standing behind it holding a bright red gas can in a dumping it into the back end fashion) in order to make their left turn. They are all driving crazy and near-missing each other until...screech-bang! From the other side of the van, there is a kind of a crash noise. Me: I heard an accident. MV: Do you really think so? Me (peaking around the edge of the van): Yep. I see a pregnant woman. MV: Oh no. Me: Yep, and she appears to have hit a car with an old lady. MV: Oh no! We have to get out of here!
But I check it out (still peaking around the van since no one can see me smack in the middle of the road if I just stay behind the van) and both get out of the cars and seem fine, so it is totally ok that we are only worried that we need to get the heck out of there before someone calls that cop on back. Plus, they are not only blocking the main forward lane, but between them and us, no one can get to the left turn lane either. It's, frankly, the recipe for a big old mess. Unless of course you are that person who drives around us all to the left in the oncoming traffic lane like that guy in the penis car did.
Fortunately, the accident couple decide to get out of the road to discuss, hop in their cars and turn right to get into the plaza. Neither of them using any turn indicators as they change lanes or make their turns. We feel assured of why they had a smash up - nothing to do with the adorable couple in the middle of the road, it was simply their lack of driving skills.
10:30 - I'm guessing - We need to get away fast. MV jumps in the RR and - yep, putting some gas in appears to have fixed the problem - zooms away. I jump into the nice van which does not have squealing tires and touchy pedals and something called a Detroit Locker which apparently is cool but I still don't know what it does and go meet Mark at the shop. Where we pick up the tools, burn some additional wood (um, turns out it is kind of fun - don't tell) and decide we need some burgers and Starbucks to recover from our adventure.
I have decided that, when requesting an adventure, I need to be far more specific about the type of adventure I want. I would like a nice adventure with no police, no accidents, no standing in the middle of the road and maybe some shopping.
Lessons learned: Other people all drive like sh*t!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Done.
Done. Done, done, done.
That is what my first full semester back to school is. That is what my final projects are. That is what my side work all is.
That is not what my taxes are, but check back tomorrow and we'll see if something can't be done to fix that.
Except that I don't have to work tomorrow and I plan to play in my yard all day. Hmmmm...
That is what my first full semester back to school is. That is what my final projects are. That is what my side work all is.
That is not what my taxes are, but check back tomorrow and we'll see if something can't be done to fix that.
Except that I don't have to work tomorrow and I plan to play in my yard all day. Hmmmm...
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Volunteer Report
A view from the water table.
Do you know about race reports? Where people have been training and training and training and finally it was the big day. So they write a report to document for memory and to share with everyone exactly how their race went. Or at least how they think it went.
This morning, I volunteered at the Martian Marathon as the Captain of Aid Station #2. This is my third year as Captain of #2. I am getting pretty good at it if I do say so myself. At least I have to assume since they keep letting me do it. I wore my SuperGirl undies to make sure the day went well. They worked!
So, here is my race report from a volunteer perspective.
Night before - Confession: did not pack up and lay stuff out like I should have!
5:15 am - Alarm goes off. Snooze it - a few times. There was a cat depending on me for warmth.
5:45 am - Swap cat over to Mark. Get up, fastest shower in the world, start getting dressed. Mom is volunteering with me this year and she will be here very soon.
6 am - Hear something. Oops, mom at the glass sliding door and I am only half dressed, in the living room, trying to find my tank top to make good layers. Let mom in and get dressed. Look everywhere for box cutter, give up and grab scissors, out to car, stuff in snow shovel and rake for cleaning up cups, back in house for pitchers, scratch little hole in the frost in the windshield and we are off. Mom is following cuz she needs to leave before me.
6:30-ish - What, Hines doesn't connect to Middlebelt? Didn't it before? Head to Inkster.
6:50 am - Whew, made it! A few other volunteers pull up as we do, then talk another guy there by phone. Some of the aid stations are staffed by church groups or similar. I head mine up and they send me volunteers who signed up on the Web, so I have a bunch of strangers - but always super cool. Waiting by the side of the road is a pile of tables, supplies and about a million boxes containing gallons of water. We introduce ourselves and get down to business. (Not like that.) I forget everyone's names that they just told me. Yeah, I'm terrible.
7 am - Tables in the street, start filling cups. How it works: there are two separate table areas, one for water and the other for sports drink. We put the tables in the middle of Hines (which is closed for the event, but not usually in time for the set up - Rule #1: Do NOT get hit by a car!) The runners go out on one side, then come back on the other. We are at about mile 3/23 so we get all the traffic both ways. And we get hit hard with the majority of the runners at first when they are still all bunched up and running out. We have to have the cups ready to go. We cover the tables with a layer of cups, fill them half-full, make a layer of cardboard from the cut up boxes and start another layer. We need 5 layers of water and about 3 of sports drink ready and waiting by the time the runners come. The first year, I thought the volunteer organizer was calling for overkill with all these layers but did it since he said I should. He wins! This time I just told everyone, trust me, you will be glad you have them.
A note on sports drink: If you are picky, bring your own in those little bottles in a belt. We have a big drink cooler, bags of powder and jugs of water. We put in the powder, pour in a bit of water, try to stir it up like the recipe says before adding the rest of the water. Inevitably, there is a gloppy ooze that ends up clumped on the bottom of the cooler and no quality control on the strength of the drinks. I mixed them all myself this time and, well, some were yellow and some were clear as we ran low on powder and stretched it until we got more. But the clear still smelled like lemon-lime... (I can't say more as I would violate Rule #2: Never talk about the sports drink again.)
7:30 am - One of the course marshals drove by just after and said the race started on time so make sure we were ready. I do a quick demo on holding the cup, making a good hand-off and not getting in the way of the runners. I realize I have a total of 8 people including myself. I was supposed to have about 14. Hmmm...
7:50-ish (?) - First guy comes speeding by. Then two more. Then a big group of four or so. Volunteers are thinking, Hey, this is not so bad. Then about a million people appear on the horizon, trailing out in a line as far as the eye can see. Suddenly, 5 layers makes sense. This guy and three kids come strolling up the opposite side of Hines and linger behind the table. I say, joking, Hey, any chance you want to help hand out some water? Guy says, Oh yeah, we are supposed to be helping, we are just late. Stick them in place and we are in action. I never even had a chance to get/forget their names.
8:30 (?) - The stream of people has slowed a bit so a few people can start filling more cups, but it had by no means died off. And remember, we are getting them on their way back too. At some point, the first half marathon guy comes blazing back by, followed in a bit by a group of two, then a group of four, then - you got it - a big crowd of people again, just on the other side.
9:06 am, according to my phone - A girl comes up to me. She says she may need medical, that she is ok, but has done a full and a half before and just doesn't feel right. She is sure she cannot finish. Her face is really flushed and she says she is feeling kind of cold or something. I ask if she needs to sit, but she says not yet. We decide she should drink some sports drink and walk around to cool down since she thinks that sounds good and I'm inclined to agree. I call the volunteer coordinator and let him know that it is not an emergency, but she has requested medical and says she just doesn't feel right. I let her know that I called and she says not to worry and she will just sit in the grass and wait. We keep an eye on her, but she seems ok aside from coughing. Not immediately, but soon enough, we see flashing lights. She asks, embarrassed, Is all that for me? I say it's fine. A police car arrives followed by the Red Cross response vehicle that is working the event. The girl gets up and walks toward the vehicle and I join her. She says she is sorry to make a big deal and looks tired but not near death. The EMS guys take over with her. Now, I know there are good cops out there, we encountered one on Hines when a friend crashed her bike on a training ride, but this didn't seem to be one. He comes right up to me and tells me, pretty angrily, that we need to get our communication straight and that the Red Cross vehicle was flying down Ford Rd for no reason. I told him, calmly - go me, that she was extremely flushed and specifically requested medical, which is what I relayed to my contact, and that I am not messing around when someone tells me they have experience with marathons and knows they don't feel right. He left and one of the medical guys came over. I said I was sorry if it was not appropriate to call and told him what the cop said. He said we did exactly the right thing and did the cops really want a repeat of the Detroit Marathon. They spent a good 15-20 minutes with the girl and ended up putting her on this mobile stretcher on a golf cart vehicle that came and giving her some oxygen since she was wheezing. Poor thing - she was really embarrassed to have such a fuss made (but Rule #3: Better to be safe). While they were there, one of the volunteers brought up a young girl who was trying not to cry and said she was in pain all down the side of her leg but wanted to finish. Someone she knew ran up too - I think a coach. They iced her and she ended up deciding to keep going. Seriously, a trooper! I found out later she was only 15 years old. Would you have pushed through pain at 15? Before they left, the EMS guy left me two volunteers to hang out if we had more people needing assistance. And he thanked me for doing the right thing and said he was going to call the cop's boss and let him know how he acted. Unfortunately, I was more worried about the girl and didn't bother to look at the name or city of Mr. Meany-Pants so it will remain a mystery.
A bit after 10 - I remember that it had slowed to just a steady and manageable flow on the return side by this time, as Mom and two of the volunteers (super nice couple who were runners themselves and, last minute, had some plans canceled so they could come for the morning - so glad they did!) had to leave for other appointments. One of the volunteers (VERY helpful guy!) went out and swept up the cups all over the street (being mindful of Rule #4: Do not get in the way of the runners! Trust me, they would rather avoid a squashed cup than a guy and a broom.)
Maybe 11:30 - Did a bunch more cleaning up. Sent two more volunteers home. Extremely helpful couple, awesomely jumping in wherever needed. She was getting really tired. Found out she was pregnant and had to stop running for a bit so decided to volunteer. Told you they were fabulous.
Noon - It's really slow now and the kids are doing a lot of complaining about being cold, so the guy and kids trek off down Hines. There are three of us left, but that is just right for the occasional runner or group passing now.
12:30 - Truck comes by to take most of the stuff. We leave out a table with some cups of drink and water for the few people coming by and I'm out of there just before they open the road at 1pm.
I went home and took a nap.
In summary: Fabulous. From my perspective: a well-run event, super nice runners (following the Runners' Rule: Thank the volunteers!), great volunteers - one slightly grouchy kid, but as long as he grouched with a water cup in his hand... It is amazing to see all these runners and know they have been training in the cold - or worse, on a treadmill - for months to get to this point. Yeah runners!
If you have ever thought you might want to volunteer at an event, go for it. I would absolutely recommend the Running Fit events - they are organized so you don't stand around wondering why you bothered to volunteer if no one knew what to do with you (I've been there too). It is a great way to enjoy the excitement of race day, even if you are not a runner or a racer yourself.
Do you know about race reports? Where people have been training and training and training and finally it was the big day. So they write a report to document for memory and to share with everyone exactly how their race went. Or at least how they think it went.
This morning, I volunteered at the Martian Marathon as the Captain of Aid Station #2. This is my third year as Captain of #2. I am getting pretty good at it if I do say so myself. At least I have to assume since they keep letting me do it. I wore my SuperGirl undies to make sure the day went well. They worked!
So, here is my race report from a volunteer perspective.
Night before - Confession: did not pack up and lay stuff out like I should have!
5:15 am - Alarm goes off. Snooze it - a few times. There was a cat depending on me for warmth.
5:45 am - Swap cat over to Mark. Get up, fastest shower in the world, start getting dressed. Mom is volunteering with me this year and she will be here very soon.
6 am - Hear something. Oops, mom at the glass sliding door and I am only half dressed, in the living room, trying to find my tank top to make good layers. Let mom in and get dressed. Look everywhere for box cutter, give up and grab scissors, out to car, stuff in snow shovel and rake for cleaning up cups, back in house for pitchers, scratch little hole in the frost in the windshield and we are off. Mom is following cuz she needs to leave before me.
6:30-ish - What, Hines doesn't connect to Middlebelt? Didn't it before? Head to Inkster.
6:50 am - Whew, made it! A few other volunteers pull up as we do, then talk another guy there by phone. Some of the aid stations are staffed by church groups or similar. I head mine up and they send me volunteers who signed up on the Web, so I have a bunch of strangers - but always super cool. Waiting by the side of the road is a pile of tables, supplies and about a million boxes containing gallons of water. We introduce ourselves and get down to business. (Not like that.) I forget everyone's names that they just told me. Yeah, I'm terrible.
7 am - Tables in the street, start filling cups. How it works: there are two separate table areas, one for water and the other for sports drink. We put the tables in the middle of Hines (which is closed for the event, but not usually in time for the set up - Rule #1: Do NOT get hit by a car!) The runners go out on one side, then come back on the other. We are at about mile 3/23 so we get all the traffic both ways. And we get hit hard with the majority of the runners at first when they are still all bunched up and running out. We have to have the cups ready to go. We cover the tables with a layer of cups, fill them half-full, make a layer of cardboard from the cut up boxes and start another layer. We need 5 layers of water and about 3 of sports drink ready and waiting by the time the runners come. The first year, I thought the volunteer organizer was calling for overkill with all these layers but did it since he said I should. He wins! This time I just told everyone, trust me, you will be glad you have them.
A note on sports drink: If you are picky, bring your own in those little bottles in a belt. We have a big drink cooler, bags of powder and jugs of water. We put in the powder, pour in a bit of water, try to stir it up like the recipe says before adding the rest of the water. Inevitably, there is a gloppy ooze that ends up clumped on the bottom of the cooler and no quality control on the strength of the drinks. I mixed them all myself this time and, well, some were yellow and some were clear as we ran low on powder and stretched it until we got more. But the clear still smelled like lemon-lime... (I can't say more as I would violate Rule #2: Never talk about the sports drink again.)
7:30 am - One of the course marshals drove by just after and said the race started on time so make sure we were ready. I do a quick demo on holding the cup, making a good hand-off and not getting in the way of the runners. I realize I have a total of 8 people including myself. I was supposed to have about 14. Hmmm...
7:50-ish (?) - First guy comes speeding by. Then two more. Then a big group of four or so. Volunteers are thinking, Hey, this is not so bad. Then about a million people appear on the horizon, trailing out in a line as far as the eye can see. Suddenly, 5 layers makes sense. This guy and three kids come strolling up the opposite side of Hines and linger behind the table. I say, joking, Hey, any chance you want to help hand out some water? Guy says, Oh yeah, we are supposed to be helping, we are just late. Stick them in place and we are in action. I never even had a chance to get/forget their names.
8:30 (?) - The stream of people has slowed a bit so a few people can start filling more cups, but it had by no means died off. And remember, we are getting them on their way back too. At some point, the first half marathon guy comes blazing back by, followed in a bit by a group of two, then a group of four, then - you got it - a big crowd of people again, just on the other side.
9:06 am, according to my phone - A girl comes up to me. She says she may need medical, that she is ok, but has done a full and a half before and just doesn't feel right. She is sure she cannot finish. Her face is really flushed and she says she is feeling kind of cold or something. I ask if she needs to sit, but she says not yet. We decide she should drink some sports drink and walk around to cool down since she thinks that sounds good and I'm inclined to agree. I call the volunteer coordinator and let him know that it is not an emergency, but she has requested medical and says she just doesn't feel right. I let her know that I called and she says not to worry and she will just sit in the grass and wait. We keep an eye on her, but she seems ok aside from coughing. Not immediately, but soon enough, we see flashing lights. She asks, embarrassed, Is all that for me? I say it's fine. A police car arrives followed by the Red Cross response vehicle that is working the event. The girl gets up and walks toward the vehicle and I join her. She says she is sorry to make a big deal and looks tired but not near death. The EMS guys take over with her. Now, I know there are good cops out there, we encountered one on Hines when a friend crashed her bike on a training ride, but this didn't seem to be one. He comes right up to me and tells me, pretty angrily, that we need to get our communication straight and that the Red Cross vehicle was flying down Ford Rd for no reason. I told him, calmly - go me, that she was extremely flushed and specifically requested medical, which is what I relayed to my contact, and that I am not messing around when someone tells me they have experience with marathons and knows they don't feel right. He left and one of the medical guys came over. I said I was sorry if it was not appropriate to call and told him what the cop said. He said we did exactly the right thing and did the cops really want a repeat of the Detroit Marathon. They spent a good 15-20 minutes with the girl and ended up putting her on this mobile stretcher on a golf cart vehicle that came and giving her some oxygen since she was wheezing. Poor thing - she was really embarrassed to have such a fuss made (but Rule #3: Better to be safe). While they were there, one of the volunteers brought up a young girl who was trying not to cry and said she was in pain all down the side of her leg but wanted to finish. Someone she knew ran up too - I think a coach. They iced her and she ended up deciding to keep going. Seriously, a trooper! I found out later she was only 15 years old. Would you have pushed through pain at 15? Before they left, the EMS guy left me two volunteers to hang out if we had more people needing assistance. And he thanked me for doing the right thing and said he was going to call the cop's boss and let him know how he acted. Unfortunately, I was more worried about the girl and didn't bother to look at the name or city of Mr. Meany-Pants so it will remain a mystery.
A bit after 10 - I remember that it had slowed to just a steady and manageable flow on the return side by this time, as Mom and two of the volunteers (super nice couple who were runners themselves and, last minute, had some plans canceled so they could come for the morning - so glad they did!) had to leave for other appointments. One of the volunteers (VERY helpful guy!) went out and swept up the cups all over the street (being mindful of Rule #4: Do not get in the way of the runners! Trust me, they would rather avoid a squashed cup than a guy and a broom.)
Maybe 11:30 - Did a bunch more cleaning up. Sent two more volunteers home. Extremely helpful couple, awesomely jumping in wherever needed. She was getting really tired. Found out she was pregnant and had to stop running for a bit so decided to volunteer. Told you they were fabulous.
Noon - It's really slow now and the kids are doing a lot of complaining about being cold, so the guy and kids trek off down Hines. There are three of us left, but that is just right for the occasional runner or group passing now.
12:30 - Truck comes by to take most of the stuff. We leave out a table with some cups of drink and water for the few people coming by and I'm out of there just before they open the road at 1pm.
I went home and took a nap.
In summary: Fabulous. From my perspective: a well-run event, super nice runners (following the Runners' Rule: Thank the volunteers!), great volunteers - one slightly grouchy kid, but as long as he grouched with a water cup in his hand... It is amazing to see all these runners and know they have been training in the cold - or worse, on a treadmill - for months to get to this point. Yeah runners!
If you have ever thought you might want to volunteer at an event, go for it. I would absolutely recommend the Running Fit events - they are organized so you don't stand around wondering why you bothered to volunteer if no one knew what to do with you (I've been there too). It is a great way to enjoy the excitement of race day, even if you are not a runner or a racer yourself.
Monday, April 05, 2010
Crabby
In case you were tempted to think that I am happy all the time, you are wrong. Right now, I am crabby. Here is why:
1. Poison ivy on my ankles
2. Poison ivy on my arm
3. No more little cupboard with itch medicine in cute little packets
4. Could have my own little cupboard, but M won't hang it up because it is not repainted
5. Tired of school until 10 pm three days a week
6. Assuming in May, it will be four days a week so am extra tired in anticipation
7. But no one from CCS has returned my many emails telling me when the next semester starts, so cannot make any plans because I don't know when school starts again
8. Should be sleeping because have to work tomorrow
9. Can't sleep because awake from school and itchy
10. Everyone else is going on fabulous vacations and I have no money to travel
11. Cuz it is all going to pay for school until 10 pm all the time
12. And I couldn't even make travel plans since I don't know when school starts anyway
13. Not that I could afford it
14. And have no idea if, after all this school, I can get a job anyway
15. Cuz I'm old
16. And found a white hair the other day
17. Along with wrinkles
18. And fat
19. Which I assume has multiplied quite nicely today due to eating all those cream eggs
20. There are no cream eggs left to eat
21. And the chance of ever having time to work off the fat is slim to none
22. Which is a big problem since I am supposed to ride 200 miles in two days in July
23. On the back of a tandem so won't M be surprised when I collapse halfway from lack of training
24. Probably not - he has already noticed my lack of training
25. And commented - though may not be doing that again
26. And I have to wear a long-sleeved short to work tomorrow due to scratches on my arms from the tree removal this weekend - which compliment the poison ivy well
27. And I am pretty sure most of those damn trees are going to grow back in and give me trouble for years - because that is what they do according to the magical Internet
28. Plus, if I do get rid of them, deer will probably eat the new plants
29. Which I can't get anyway, due to no money and no time
30. So why bother?
See, I am an absolute joy to be around right now. At 11:35 pm when I should be asleep. M just rolled over and commented that the typing woke him - excuse me while I go be a crab in person.
oh and
31. Also, my toenails are not painted
1. Poison ivy on my ankles
2. Poison ivy on my arm
3. No more little cupboard with itch medicine in cute little packets
4. Could have my own little cupboard, but M won't hang it up because it is not repainted
5. Tired of school until 10 pm three days a week
6. Assuming in May, it will be four days a week so am extra tired in anticipation
7. But no one from CCS has returned my many emails telling me when the next semester starts, so cannot make any plans because I don't know when school starts again
8. Should be sleeping because have to work tomorrow
9. Can't sleep because awake from school and itchy
10. Everyone else is going on fabulous vacations and I have no money to travel
11. Cuz it is all going to pay for school until 10 pm all the time
12. And I couldn't even make travel plans since I don't know when school starts anyway
13. Not that I could afford it
14. And have no idea if, after all this school, I can get a job anyway
15. Cuz I'm old
16. And found a white hair the other day
17. Along with wrinkles
18. And fat
19. Which I assume has multiplied quite nicely today due to eating all those cream eggs
20. There are no cream eggs left to eat
21. And the chance of ever having time to work off the fat is slim to none
22. Which is a big problem since I am supposed to ride 200 miles in two days in July
23. On the back of a tandem so won't M be surprised when I collapse halfway from lack of training
24. Probably not - he has already noticed my lack of training
25. And commented - though may not be doing that again
26. And I have to wear a long-sleeved short to work tomorrow due to scratches on my arms from the tree removal this weekend - which compliment the poison ivy well
27. And I am pretty sure most of those damn trees are going to grow back in and give me trouble for years - because that is what they do according to the magical Internet
28. Plus, if I do get rid of them, deer will probably eat the new plants
29. Which I can't get anyway, due to no money and no time
30. So why bother?
See, I am an absolute joy to be around right now. At 11:35 pm when I should be asleep. M just rolled over and commented that the typing woke him - excuse me while I go be a crab in person.
oh and
31. Also, my toenails are not painted
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Best. Bike. Ride. Ever.
Some may have noticed that there has not been a huge amount of training discussion here lately. Those who noticed, of course, did so because they are rude and should go be judge-y elsewhere. But that does not detract from the fact that there has actually not been a lot of training discussion here lately. And now, the reason why:
There has not been a lot of training at all lately.
Did you guess the reason? Are you shocked?
What there has been is a lot of work and school and, well, maybe a (tiny?) bit of time on Facebook. Training has pretty much been limited to an hour long TNT training plus maybe one other ride over the weekend.
Except for today. Today was the BBRE (best bike ride ever). Which really did not start all that promising. Yesterday was the battle of the buckthorn, a contest that pretty much came out even. I took them out, but I also ended up with scratched arms, a bruise on the top of my head and an allergy attack. And also made me VERY TIRED. So at 8:30 am when M jumped in the bed, rudely interrupting my dream, and announced it was time to go for a bike ride, I really didn't expect much. I managed to get him to pet the cats for like 15 minutes, but then stalling failed and I had to get up.
Further, new stalling involved deciding on an outfit and searching around for the chococonut bars (genuis and not made anymore - I am sure the new version, simply called dark chocolate chip, is going to disappoint me so I am hoarding the originals!) then I ran out of ideas and went outside. The plan was to ride from the house to Northville to check on the bike Mark won that is supposed to be delivered to Town and Country any day now. The route ended up being west on 12 Mile to Meadowbrook, to 8 Mile, by the cider mill, through the neighborhood and pop out in downtown Northville. But as we passed by the cider mill, we (M) noticed that we were passing a hardware store that carried the fasteners we needed for the decking in the gazebo - because the magical Internet gave us all the names yesterday. So we stopped in to Northville Lumber, which was super awesome because we got pricing for the deck stuff, wheels (in stock! not just a blank look like we got at the big orange store) to fix the sliding patio door, extremely friendly and helpful service and a nice break off the bike. With the I-can't-even-tell-you-how fabulous-because-there-will-be-a-breeze-in-the-house wheels stuck in M's pocket, we headed out again. For like a mile. And got to the bike store where they let us know they expected the shipment in later that week and got our name so they could call us directly. When we were safely outside, we jumped up and down in excitement.
Then we popped next store to Tuscan Cafe where they just happened to have some Zingerman's Flourless Cake available. And called our gorgeous friends Mark and Rachel who live right nearby and were finishing breakfast so walked on over to say hi. How cool are they that whenever we happen to end up in Northville, they just come right over to see us? I am sure they have lives and are not sitting at home waiting for us to call. Or do they...?
Finally, it was time to get back on the bike and ride. We were thinking we would just take Center to 9 Mile, turn right to get to Meadowbrook to trace the route back, but when we got 9 Mile, suddenly we were going left instead. To Taft, to 11 Mile, to Beck, over the freeway and out to Pontiac Trail. What a gorgeous day it was, all cars were driving politely and we were just having fun. We took P Trail toward Walled Lake and that was when the wind hit. That was some wind, but it had no power to mess with the joy that is riding on a spring day. We had a little question as to where to turn (seriously, it didn't look like that when I lived there) and ended up going through downtown Walled Lake and all around back to 13 Mile. There are some scary big houses all smushed up together around that lake, but still was nice to see everyone getting out their docks and welcoming spring. Then it was just 13 Mile all the way back home. with a sort of head/side wind trying to take us down. We won! Maybe because I kept poking M and asking it he agreed that it was the Best Bike Ride Ever. Because, like all other best bike rides before it, it really was.
Summary: 34.5 miles on the tandem, around 2 hours riding time, plus stops. Two screen door wheels, cake, donuts, coffee and lemonade/iced tea.
There has not been a lot of training at all lately.
Did you guess the reason? Are you shocked?
What there has been is a lot of work and school and, well, maybe a (tiny?) bit of time on Facebook. Training has pretty much been limited to an hour long TNT training plus maybe one other ride over the weekend.
Except for today. Today was the BBRE (best bike ride ever). Which really did not start all that promising. Yesterday was the battle of the buckthorn, a contest that pretty much came out even. I took them out, but I also ended up with scratched arms, a bruise on the top of my head and an allergy attack. And also made me VERY TIRED. So at 8:30 am when M jumped in the bed, rudely interrupting my dream, and announced it was time to go for a bike ride, I really didn't expect much. I managed to get him to pet the cats for like 15 minutes, but then stalling failed and I had to get up.
Further, new stalling involved deciding on an outfit and searching around for the chococonut bars (genuis and not made anymore - I am sure the new version, simply called dark chocolate chip, is going to disappoint me so I am hoarding the originals!) then I ran out of ideas and went outside. The plan was to ride from the house to Northville to check on the bike Mark won that is supposed to be delivered to Town and Country any day now. The route ended up being west on 12 Mile to Meadowbrook, to 8 Mile, by the cider mill, through the neighborhood and pop out in downtown Northville. But as we passed by the cider mill, we (M) noticed that we were passing a hardware store that carried the fasteners we needed for the decking in the gazebo - because the magical Internet gave us all the names yesterday. So we stopped in to Northville Lumber, which was super awesome because we got pricing for the deck stuff, wheels (in stock! not just a blank look like we got at the big orange store) to fix the sliding patio door, extremely friendly and helpful service and a nice break off the bike. With the I-can't-even-tell-you-how fabulous-because-there-will-be-a-breeze-in-the-house wheels stuck in M's pocket, we headed out again. For like a mile. And got to the bike store where they let us know they expected the shipment in later that week and got our name so they could call us directly. When we were safely outside, we jumped up and down in excitement.
Then we popped next store to Tuscan Cafe where they just happened to have some Zingerman's Flourless Cake available. And called our gorgeous friends Mark and Rachel who live right nearby and were finishing breakfast so walked on over to say hi. How cool are they that whenever we happen to end up in Northville, they just come right over to see us? I am sure they have lives and are not sitting at home waiting for us to call. Or do they...?
Finally, it was time to get back on the bike and ride. We were thinking we would just take Center to 9 Mile, turn right to get to Meadowbrook to trace the route back, but when we got 9 Mile, suddenly we were going left instead. To Taft, to 11 Mile, to Beck, over the freeway and out to Pontiac Trail. What a gorgeous day it was, all cars were driving politely and we were just having fun. We took P Trail toward Walled Lake and that was when the wind hit. That was some wind, but it had no power to mess with the joy that is riding on a spring day. We had a little question as to where to turn (seriously, it didn't look like that when I lived there) and ended up going through downtown Walled Lake and all around back to 13 Mile. There are some scary big houses all smushed up together around that lake, but still was nice to see everyone getting out their docks and welcoming spring. Then it was just 13 Mile all the way back home. with a sort of head/side wind trying to take us down. We won! Maybe because I kept poking M and asking it he agreed that it was the Best Bike Ride Ever. Because, like all other best bike rides before it, it really was.
Summary: 34.5 miles on the tandem, around 2 hours riding time, plus stops. Two screen door wheels, cake, donuts, coffee and lemonade/iced tea.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
A rainy day makes me think of...parades!
My Review of the 2010 Royal Oak St. Patrick's Day Parade
I volunteered M and I to march with TNT in the Royal Oak St. Patrick's Day Parade. Well, I actually volunteered M on the unicycle - if he gets to ride/show off, he will pretty much do whatever I want. You see, it was a beautiful spring-like day when I decided to do this. We woke to a rather gloomy, overcast sky with a threat of rain. We got all fancied up in our TNT green and purple. Not so sure why I was worried about my outfit - the big, puffy down coat pretty much made it a moot point.
As we drove there: oh no, is that a drop. As we walked to the parking lot, those little sprinkles were a regular old shower. The slightly sideways kind that renders an umbrella just for show. We looked around, but no TNT people. We looked some more, no TNT people. My pink cowboy hat, complete with tiara, was getting damp. There were quite a lot of other damp groups, including a whole lot of puppies for the fancy dog accessory store and cheerleaders with green faces and green hair - soon to be green all over. Apparently cheerleaders don't use umbrellas or wear coats. All I could think was - hey, that is going to be just awful to wash off and you really look cold. Am I getting old or what...?
Just as we decided that maybe our group was smart and had stayed home, a voice was calling my name. Oh look, wet TNT people. We ended up being a group of nine. Huddled in a little circle, waiting to go. When the parade did start, no one went in order, with the political candidate groups taking the biggest cuts. Uh huh! Do gooders that we were, trying to wait our turn, we ended up last except for the fire trucks. Turns out, the parade went about three blocks, turned down a side street and that was all she wrote. No, not me, some other she. I'll write more.
This was a decent sized parade. I would guess there was a 4 to 1 ratio of people in the parade vs. watching. But those that did brave the cold and wet sure got some candy. The kids had trick or treat bags ready by the time we reached them. I was just giving it to them - the throwing often involved a puddle. But we did hand out some (wet) TNT brochures and I had a fabulous time. I've got to admit, I love a parade.
I volunteered M and I to march with TNT in the Royal Oak St. Patrick's Day Parade. Well, I actually volunteered M on the unicycle - if he gets to ride/show off, he will pretty much do whatever I want. You see, it was a beautiful spring-like day when I decided to do this. We woke to a rather gloomy, overcast sky with a threat of rain. We got all fancied up in our TNT green and purple. Not so sure why I was worried about my outfit - the big, puffy down coat pretty much made it a moot point.
As we drove there: oh no, is that a drop. As we walked to the parking lot, those little sprinkles were a regular old shower. The slightly sideways kind that renders an umbrella just for show. We looked around, but no TNT people. We looked some more, no TNT people. My pink cowboy hat, complete with tiara, was getting damp. There were quite a lot of other damp groups, including a whole lot of puppies for the fancy dog accessory store and cheerleaders with green faces and green hair - soon to be green all over. Apparently cheerleaders don't use umbrellas or wear coats. All I could think was - hey, that is going to be just awful to wash off and you really look cold. Am I getting old or what...?
Just as we decided that maybe our group was smart and had stayed home, a voice was calling my name. Oh look, wet TNT people. We ended up being a group of nine. Huddled in a little circle, waiting to go. When the parade did start, no one went in order, with the political candidate groups taking the biggest cuts. Uh huh! Do gooders that we were, trying to wait our turn, we ended up last except for the fire trucks. Turns out, the parade went about three blocks, turned down a side street and that was all she wrote. No, not me, some other she. I'll write more.
This was a decent sized parade. I would guess there was a 4 to 1 ratio of people in the parade vs. watching. But those that did brave the cold and wet sure got some candy. The kids had trick or treat bags ready by the time we reached them. I was just giving it to them - the throwing often involved a puddle. But we did hand out some (wet) TNT brochures and I had a fabulous time. I've got to admit, I love a parade.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The Very Good Day
So, I had a lovely (wet) TNT-filled weekend, but that story will have to wait until I have time to properly tell it. For now, just a quick round up of all the wonderful things that happened today:
1. Woke up with enough time to pack lunch, make breakfast AND shower - did not have to pick and choose.
2. Arrived at work on time!
3. Updated the finicky scrolling TV screen program, including a new background, without having to swear or call the tech guys. (This is way more impressive than it sounds...)
4. Was told by multiple people that they think it is so great to have such a creative person at the office. Then did creative stuff all afternoon.
5. Read code and actually understood it.
6. Found out that I have another blog reader - so that means at least 2 people read this. Guess I'd better keep writing...
7. Left work at just after 5!!! This is normal at this job!!! Which means I could clean up the kitchen and put in laundry before school!!!
8. Got to see M before going to class - and he was working on my gazebo which is turning out too awesome to even describe.
9. In class, the guy next to me said the icons I was drawing for my project were really cool.
10. Then I did all the technical stuff by myself AND it worked. Second try!
So on the way home, I listened to the radio on 24 (12 is considered loud in my car) to celebrate spring and this fabulous day. Gosh, tomorrow has some big shoes to fill...
1. Woke up with enough time to pack lunch, make breakfast AND shower - did not have to pick and choose.
2. Arrived at work on time!
3. Updated the finicky scrolling TV screen program, including a new background, without having to swear or call the tech guys. (This is way more impressive than it sounds...)
4. Was told by multiple people that they think it is so great to have such a creative person at the office. Then did creative stuff all afternoon.
5. Read code and actually understood it.
6. Found out that I have another blog reader - so that means at least 2 people read this. Guess I'd better keep writing...
7. Left work at just after 5!!! This is normal at this job!!! Which means I could clean up the kitchen and put in laundry before school!!!
8. Got to see M before going to class - and he was working on my gazebo which is turning out too awesome to even describe.
9. In class, the guy next to me said the icons I was drawing for my project were really cool.
10. Then I did all the technical stuff by myself AND it worked. Second try!
So on the way home, I listened to the radio on 24 (12 is considered loud in my car) to celebrate spring and this fabulous day. Gosh, tomorrow has some big shoes to fill...
Monday, February 22, 2010
Snow Day
Yesterday: Gorgeous day. In the 30s, dry roads, hardly any wind. Perfect for a 20 mile ride on Hines.
Today: I just stuck a ruler in the snow in a spot on the driveway where there was no snow yesterday. I measure 6.5" and it is still coming. Big, fluffy, gorgeous flakes. And I don't go to the office on Mondays, so how does one spend the day?
5 am: M says, "Hey, there is some snow out there." I say, "I'm sleeping..." and a cat curls up next to me.
8:30 am: I say, "Hey, there is some snow out there," and a cat yowls at me to be fed.
8:45 am: Check phone - no text saying school is closed. But class is not until tonight, so there is time.
9 am: Call mom to make sure she still wants me to come over and paint since she has a snow day. She says sure. Decide to quickly pop some soup in the slow cooker before leaving.
10:15 am: While chopping soup items, call mom back to say there are giant flakes still coming so might be better to stay home. She agrees. Decide to clean the house.
11:15 am: Well, since I am finished with the important tasks of checking email and updating Facebook while fending off cats who want to rub their heads against the laptop (what is the appeal?), I may as well head to Starbucks to fortify myself for the cleaning ahead.
11:45: Mocha obtained. Roads really don't seem too bad.
Noon: Call M. Goes like this.
Me: Guess where I am?
M: Your mom's?
Me: No
M: The hospital?
Me: No (???)
Me again: I am where the chipmunks live. (This cute little spot under a bending tree near the edge of the driveway)
M: What are you doing there?
Me: Well, June (my car) is there too and she is sideways.
M: What? Don't mess up the ivy!
I decide that it is not the best time for a botany lesson, but I assure you, I was not messing up any ivy since there is only myrtle under that tree. And that stuff is not going to be bothered by a little Mazda3 parked in the middle of it.
1 pm: Having successfully scrubbed the sink, stove and broiler, I decide to celebrate with a burger and some baked sweet potato fries.
1:30 pm: Guess what - the smoke alarms still work...
2 pm: I was thinking of shredding some old papers, but I am a little scared to try to work the shredder. Considering my track record so far today...
Training Report
Not much training at all last week. Lots of school due to make up for previous snow day. But a lovely 20 mile ride on the tandem yesterday. So very, very lovely. You all should have been there!
Today: I just stuck a ruler in the snow in a spot on the driveway where there was no snow yesterday. I measure 6.5" and it is still coming. Big, fluffy, gorgeous flakes. And I don't go to the office on Mondays, so how does one spend the day?
5 am: M says, "Hey, there is some snow out there." I say, "I'm sleeping..." and a cat curls up next to me.
8:30 am: I say, "Hey, there is some snow out there," and a cat yowls at me to be fed.
8:45 am: Check phone - no text saying school is closed. But class is not until tonight, so there is time.
9 am: Call mom to make sure she still wants me to come over and paint since she has a snow day. She says sure. Decide to quickly pop some soup in the slow cooker before leaving.
10:15 am: While chopping soup items, call mom back to say there are giant flakes still coming so might be better to stay home. She agrees. Decide to clean the house.
11:15 am: Well, since I am finished with the important tasks of checking email and updating Facebook while fending off cats who want to rub their heads against the laptop (what is the appeal?), I may as well head to Starbucks to fortify myself for the cleaning ahead.
11:45: Mocha obtained. Roads really don't seem too bad.
Noon: Call M. Goes like this.
Me: Guess where I am?
M: Your mom's?
Me: No
M: The hospital?
Me: No (???)
Me again: I am where the chipmunks live. (This cute little spot under a bending tree near the edge of the driveway)
M: What are you doing there?
Me: Well, June (my car) is there too and she is sideways.
M: What? Don't mess up the ivy!
I decide that it is not the best time for a botany lesson, but I assure you, I was not messing up any ivy since there is only myrtle under that tree. And that stuff is not going to be bothered by a little Mazda3 parked in the middle of it.
1 pm: Having successfully scrubbed the sink, stove and broiler, I decide to celebrate with a burger and some baked sweet potato fries.
1:30 pm: Guess what - the smoke alarms still work...
2 pm: I was thinking of shredding some old papers, but I am a little scared to try to work the shredder. Considering my track record so far today...
Training Report
Not much training at all last week. Lots of school due to make up for previous snow day. But a lovely 20 mile ride on the tandem yesterday. So very, very lovely. You all should have been there!
Monday, February 15, 2010
And the grand total is...
For the past few years, M and I have been doing a Valentine's weekend fundraiser at Emagine Theater in Novi. We set up a table in the lobby and sell heart-shaped and glow-in-the-dark mardi gras style beads for $1 donation to TNT.
Back in 2005, we did pretty good.
This time, well the haul for the weekend was over $1700.
We had some help from two fabulous TNT participants: Heather, who is training for her first half Ironman and Kit, who is doing S2P with us. Yeah all of us!
BTW - If you haven't been there, Emagine Novi is a pretty cool place to see a movie. And not just because everyone there knows us. The theater is really nice with luxury seating options and quiet crowds while watching. Also, they have a bar in the theater. Yep, all the bartenders know us too.
Workout Summary
P had the day off and I don't work on Monday. Perfect! We could go try this yoga class in Northville at 8:15. We made an early morning plan and actually made it there in time. But as we approached, it didn't really look so open. Shouldn't there be some lights? Or some people? Maybe some chanting? Nope - dark, empty and totally closed. In protest, I say, "Look there is a sign right here saying class on Monday at 8:15." P says, "Um, pm?" Yep, they have yoga on Tues and Thurs in the morning and Monday in the EVENING!
We went back to her house and did her energizing yoga DVD. But she decided it wasn't enough and made me do the Jillian 30 day shred. Which just hurts. I think it was punishment for making her get up on her day off for imaginary yoga.
Then we went and tried on wedding dresses. Which was a whole different kind of workout.
Back in 2005, we did pretty good.
This time, well the haul for the weekend was over $1700.
We had some help from two fabulous TNT participants: Heather, who is training for her first half Ironman and Kit, who is doing S2P with us. Yeah all of us!
BTW - If you haven't been there, Emagine Novi is a pretty cool place to see a movie. And not just because everyone there knows us. The theater is really nice with luxury seating options and quiet crowds while watching. Also, they have a bar in the theater. Yep, all the bartenders know us too.
Workout Summary
P had the day off and I don't work on Monday. Perfect! We could go try this yoga class in Northville at 8:15. We made an early morning plan and actually made it there in time. But as we approached, it didn't really look so open. Shouldn't there be some lights? Or some people? Maybe some chanting? Nope - dark, empty and totally closed. In protest, I say, "Look there is a sign right here saying class on Monday at 8:15." P says, "Um, pm?" Yep, they have yoga on Tues and Thurs in the morning and Monday in the EVENING!
We went back to her house and did her energizing yoga DVD. But she decided it wasn't enough and made me do the Jillian 30 day shred. Which just hurts. I think it was punishment for making her get up on her day off for imaginary yoga.
Then we went and tried on wedding dresses. Which was a whole different kind of workout.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
The training begins...
So yesterday, M says," Are we riding the tandem on Hines tomorrow?" I temporarily lose touch with reality and reply, "Sure."
M calls Daniel and they agree to meet at the bike shop at 9 a.m. Somehow, I imagine they are agreeing that it is cold out and that it is not a good idea to ride.
I set my alarm for 7:30. I immediately turn it off. I assume M didn't notice and...nope too late. He is up and perky and all ready to ride. I try to use the "this cat is sitting on me and I can't get out from under him" excuse, but it doesn't fly. Crap!
I will spare you my stalling and inability to find my winter riding stuff. Two winters ago, we rode every weekend that the roads were safe. Less last winter due to weather - the tandem is on skinny tires and does not play nice in snow. This year, well, the rack was still on the back from our Livestrong ride in Austin last October. Suffice to say, we made it there 15 minutes late and D was, full face helmet and goggles, all ready to go.
Eighteen miles later, I was very glad we went. I'd do it again in a second. There really is nothing like road riding in the winter, provided you are dressed well. Aside from the occasional runner, we were the only brave warriors, battling the elements (well, one element - wind - but it was pure evil) until the end when another group of bikers went by on the other side, merrily waving. See, I am not the only crazy one!
Training for Seattle to Portland has officially begun:
Sat 2/6: Fabulous indoor trainer ride at the more reasonable hour of 8 a.m.
Weds 2/10: Snow Day! Spin at Beverly Hills Club. I usually have class, but what fun to have a snow day on spin day.
Sat 2/13: Spin at Continental - 7 a.m. It wasn't pretty, but I somehow managed to arrive and make my legs go around. Pretty much ignored coach Steve and just cruised, waiting for see if I would wake up anytime soon. Let's call it a recovery ride and leave it at that. I just don't do mornings!
This weekend has been full of fundraising, but got to wait until tonight for the total...
M calls Daniel and they agree to meet at the bike shop at 9 a.m. Somehow, I imagine they are agreeing that it is cold out and that it is not a good idea to ride.
I set my alarm for 7:30. I immediately turn it off. I assume M didn't notice and...nope too late. He is up and perky and all ready to ride. I try to use the "this cat is sitting on me and I can't get out from under him" excuse, but it doesn't fly. Crap!
I will spare you my stalling and inability to find my winter riding stuff. Two winters ago, we rode every weekend that the roads were safe. Less last winter due to weather - the tandem is on skinny tires and does not play nice in snow. This year, well, the rack was still on the back from our Livestrong ride in Austin last October. Suffice to say, we made it there 15 minutes late and D was, full face helmet and goggles, all ready to go.
Eighteen miles later, I was very glad we went. I'd do it again in a second. There really is nothing like road riding in the winter, provided you are dressed well. Aside from the occasional runner, we were the only brave warriors, battling the elements (well, one element - wind - but it was pure evil) until the end when another group of bikers went by on the other side, merrily waving. See, I am not the only crazy one!
Training for Seattle to Portland has officially begun:
Sat 2/6: Fabulous indoor trainer ride at the more reasonable hour of 8 a.m.
Weds 2/10: Snow Day! Spin at Beverly Hills Club. I usually have class, but what fun to have a snow day on spin day.
Sat 2/13: Spin at Continental - 7 a.m. It wasn't pretty, but I somehow managed to arrive and make my legs go around. Pretty much ignored coach Steve and just cruised, waiting for see if I would wake up anytime soon. Let's call it a recovery ride and leave it at that. I just don't do mornings!
This weekend has been full of fundraising, but got to wait until tonight for the total...
Thursday, February 04, 2010
My plan
I go to school three nights week. Web and graphic design stuff. Class is from 7:15 - 10 pm. I don't get home until 10:45ish. Two of those days, I have already been at work since 8:30 am. And in spring, I begin classes for my MBA. Know why? The obvious answer would be that I was downsized, from a career that was fading quickly anyway, so I need to upgrade my skills to remain employable. That is painfully true. Remind me to tell you the story sometime. But it's not just that.
I was driving to class on Monday and something hit me: all of the sudden, I felt really happy. Now if you know me, you also know that I usually maintain a rather high level of optimism. Sort of like I am floating around on my own little pink cloud of delight. Heck, if I am having a bad day, inside I am thinking, "This is useful. Now I will enjoy the good days even more." I truly appreciate this miracle of body chemistry that allows me to look on the bright side of practically anything. This was more than just regular happiness. It was like bubbling joy all inside of me, but not even like that at all. And it seemed to be related to the fact that I was driving to school.
I did a little analysis as to what was up with this feeling. Because M-10, the concrete gully, is really boring for driving - especially when dark out - so I had the time. Here is what I concluded:
I was finally taking back control of my destiny.
For the past few years, my work situation had been getting less enjoyable. I really do love the concept of what I did, but in practice it was no longer the same job that I had signed on to do. Partially due to technology taking away a good portion of the creativity and knowledge required to get the job done. Partially due to reduced budgets, tighter deadlines and, my opinion, a willingness to settle for "ok" if it came fast and cheap. And finally, most recently, due to just getting stuck with some cr*p clients that showed no respect for anyone. I had stopped making plans during the week and people just had to understand that I could not be counted on to show up anywhere but work. Then suddenly, it was all gone.
And now I am in uncharted territory. But making my own choices. And loving it.
For years I have talked about, thought about, even researched, getting my MBA. Something always came up. More often than not, it was that I couldn't guarantee I could leave work to get to class with any regularity. I didn't want to waste my money to be "that person" who never made it to class and always had to reschedule project meetings. It was an excuse, I know, but a pretty darn valid one. One that crushed down on me and didn't let me see out from under it. Now, no excuses and no desire to look for them.
I am well aware that I am fortunate. Not many people have the opportunity and support system to work a lower-paying, part-time job that they love, that lets them feel like they are doing something positive and allows them to go back to school full time. I don't know how long it will last. We had been making conservative financial decisions, never really expecting it would happen but aware of the direction things were going - still I foresee a pile of student loans looming in my future. A really big pile! With no promise that anything will come of it. Except that big bubble of unexplainable happiness.
Now it is time to go chase a dream. Because reality is crashing down around us in a not very pretty manner. And this state needs to reinvent itself, one person, one plan, at a time. This is my plan. I don't yet know where it ends, but I can see far enough that I like the direction.
I was driving to class on Monday and something hit me: all of the sudden, I felt really happy. Now if you know me, you also know that I usually maintain a rather high level of optimism. Sort of like I am floating around on my own little pink cloud of delight. Heck, if I am having a bad day, inside I am thinking, "This is useful. Now I will enjoy the good days even more." I truly appreciate this miracle of body chemistry that allows me to look on the bright side of practically anything. This was more than just regular happiness. It was like bubbling joy all inside of me, but not even like that at all. And it seemed to be related to the fact that I was driving to school.
I did a little analysis as to what was up with this feeling. Because M-10, the concrete gully, is really boring for driving - especially when dark out - so I had the time. Here is what I concluded:
I was finally taking back control of my destiny.
For the past few years, my work situation had been getting less enjoyable. I really do love the concept of what I did, but in practice it was no longer the same job that I had signed on to do. Partially due to technology taking away a good portion of the creativity and knowledge required to get the job done. Partially due to reduced budgets, tighter deadlines and, my opinion, a willingness to settle for "ok" if it came fast and cheap. And finally, most recently, due to just getting stuck with some cr*p clients that showed no respect for anyone. I had stopped making plans during the week and people just had to understand that I could not be counted on to show up anywhere but work. Then suddenly, it was all gone.
And now I am in uncharted territory. But making my own choices. And loving it.
For years I have talked about, thought about, even researched, getting my MBA. Something always came up. More often than not, it was that I couldn't guarantee I could leave work to get to class with any regularity. I didn't want to waste my money to be "that person" who never made it to class and always had to reschedule project meetings. It was an excuse, I know, but a pretty darn valid one. One that crushed down on me and didn't let me see out from under it. Now, no excuses and no desire to look for them.
I am well aware that I am fortunate. Not many people have the opportunity and support system to work a lower-paying, part-time job that they love, that lets them feel like they are doing something positive and allows them to go back to school full time. I don't know how long it will last. We had been making conservative financial decisions, never really expecting it would happen but aware of the direction things were going - still I foresee a pile of student loans looming in my future. A really big pile! With no promise that anything will come of it. Except that big bubble of unexplainable happiness.
Now it is time to go chase a dream. Because reality is crashing down around us in a not very pretty manner. And this state needs to reinvent itself, one person, one plan, at a time. This is my plan. I don't yet know where it ends, but I can see far enough that I like the direction.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Un-Training
A fabulous time was had by all at the first indoor cycle training for the Summer 2010 TNT MI Bike Team. At least, that's what they tell me. Yeah, um, I was in bed. Apparently, I told M to go without me and he actually listened. This never happens. But I am not the most pleasant person in the morning (ask my mother, I have never been, ever), so I can't blame M. I wouldn't want to have to wake me up and drag me to training. Wait, that's exactly what I should have done...
This means tomorrow I will have to ride on the stationary bike all by my lonely self. At the gym with lots of other people who sometimes grunt while lifting weights and blow their noses while they are riding their stationary bike. In a really gross way. That can penetrate through my personal cloud of iPod music. Because I can never get that one bike that is upstairs near the running ring (and not near the grunting) no matter how many mental signals I send to the old guy to be off it when I get out of the locker room.
I may as well ride, because I'll be at the gym already. For the past four months, I have been employed as a Campaign Coordinator with TNT. I refer to my position as the Weekend Marketing Girl since it better describes what I have been doing. The day after I was laid off, I was contacted by the then director of TNT who said she heard the bad news and wanted to let me know about an opportunity to do promotions for two months at race expos. She encouraged me to send my resume to the person doing the interviewing. It sounded like a good plan, something to keep me busy and bring in a little bit of income while keeping the week free for job hunting. Resume, interview, adorable Thank You card and I got the job. Possibly because I have a pink sequined cowboy hat with a tiara that I promised to wear to draw attention to myself. Two months turned into four months. I've spent the past 15 weekends hanging out at various races, expos, farmers' markets, parades and wherever else we could find, promoting the TNT program and telling people about my experiences with the Team. At first, it was a little scary. While people tell me they think I could talk to anyone, I was rather intimidated by the whole thing. Once I told myself to get over it, I've got to say, I loved nearly every minute. I've talked to hundreds, maybe thousands, of strangers about a cause I believe in and heard their stories of how they have been touched by blood cancers. People are now coming up to me and asking if they met me at previous events (it's the hat). Hopefully that means they also remember TNT. Sometimes it made me sad too. At one expo, a woman came up and said her father had been diagnosed with lymphoma two days ago and she needed to do something to feel like she was helping. We hugged for a long time.
This is my last weekend. For my final, for now, appearance as The Girl in the Pink Hat, I'll be at Livonia Rec Center during the Indoor Tri. Handing out Power Bars, mini Body Glides and lots of stories about TNT. I'm going to miss it, but it is time. Keep in mind, I have been at races and such nearly every weekend since October. And I have to be there to set up before registration. Which is often really early in the morning. If you can't remember how much I love early mornings, go back to the first paragraph. Plus, now that training is starting, I need weekends free. To wake up early for that - or at least try.
So, why am I so into TNT? Why do I force myself to wake up at insane hours on the weekend? Why do I use my free time to raise money, train with my team and even take a job working for them? Last weekend at the Plymouth Ice Festival, I was joined at the booth by some volunteers - Jewels and his girlfriend Diane - from a past bike team. Jewels had been fighting his battle with cancer at the time of our ride and was our honored hero. He told me he was now one year into remission. He looked so fabulous and I couldn't stop telling him so ("Everyone says that. I must have really looked like sh*t back then." "No, but you looked tired." "Well, I was!") That's why I keep doing it. Because I can.
This means tomorrow I will have to ride on the stationary bike all by my lonely self. At the gym with lots of other people who sometimes grunt while lifting weights and blow their noses while they are riding their stationary bike. In a really gross way. That can penetrate through my personal cloud of iPod music. Because I can never get that one bike that is upstairs near the running ring (and not near the grunting) no matter how many mental signals I send to the old guy to be off it when I get out of the locker room.
I may as well ride, because I'll be at the gym already. For the past four months, I have been employed as a Campaign Coordinator with TNT. I refer to my position as the Weekend Marketing Girl since it better describes what I have been doing. The day after I was laid off, I was contacted by the then director of TNT who said she heard the bad news and wanted to let me know about an opportunity to do promotions for two months at race expos. She encouraged me to send my resume to the person doing the interviewing. It sounded like a good plan, something to keep me busy and bring in a little bit of income while keeping the week free for job hunting. Resume, interview, adorable Thank You card and I got the job. Possibly because I have a pink sequined cowboy hat with a tiara that I promised to wear to draw attention to myself. Two months turned into four months. I've spent the past 15 weekends hanging out at various races, expos, farmers' markets, parades and wherever else we could find, promoting the TNT program and telling people about my experiences with the Team. At first, it was a little scary. While people tell me they think I could talk to anyone, I was rather intimidated by the whole thing. Once I told myself to get over it, I've got to say, I loved nearly every minute. I've talked to hundreds, maybe thousands, of strangers about a cause I believe in and heard their stories of how they have been touched by blood cancers. People are now coming up to me and asking if they met me at previous events (it's the hat). Hopefully that means they also remember TNT. Sometimes it made me sad too. At one expo, a woman came up and said her father had been diagnosed with lymphoma two days ago and she needed to do something to feel like she was helping. We hugged for a long time.
This is my last weekend. For my final, for now, appearance as The Girl in the Pink Hat, I'll be at Livonia Rec Center during the Indoor Tri. Handing out Power Bars, mini Body Glides and lots of stories about TNT. I'm going to miss it, but it is time. Keep in mind, I have been at races and such nearly every weekend since October. And I have to be there to set up before registration. Which is often really early in the morning. If you can't remember how much I love early mornings, go back to the first paragraph. Plus, now that training is starting, I need weekends free. To wake up early for that - or at least try.
So, why am I so into TNT? Why do I force myself to wake up at insane hours on the weekend? Why do I use my free time to raise money, train with my team and even take a job working for them? Last weekend at the Plymouth Ice Festival, I was joined at the booth by some volunteers - Jewels and his girlfriend Diane - from a past bike team. Jewels had been fighting his battle with cancer at the time of our ride and was our honored hero. He told me he was now one year into remission. He looked so fabulous and I couldn't stop telling him so ("Everyone says that. I must have really looked like sh*t back then." "No, but you looked tired." "Well, I was!") That's why I keep doing it. Because I can.
Friday, January 29, 2010
It's Been a Long Time
Hey look! My old blog. And I figured out how to get back in. (Being a Technical Apprentice is brilliant, as it makes you think you now magically know all sorts of stuff that you never knew before you got a cool title, but more on that at another time.)
What an appropriate time to get back in here. You see, tomorrow begins training for Seattle to Portland with Team in Training (TNT). The short of it is that I will be riding 200 miles in two days this coming July. On the back of a tandem, of course. And though it may seem like I can just hang out back there and have a picnic, M refuses to do all the work so I have to help out quite a bit.
What an appropriate time to get back in here. You see, tomorrow begins training for Seattle to Portland with Team in Training (TNT). The short of it is that I will be riding 200 miles in two days this coming July. On the back of a tandem, of course. And though it may seem like I can just hang out back there and have a picnic, M refuses to do all the work so I have to help out quite a bit.
But that's jumping ahead. Best not to think about those 200 miles yet. Because 200 is a lot of miles. And will make my butt hurt. Also, the rest of me, I assume.
So for now: I will be meeting tomorrow with some members of my team at the unthinkable hour of 7 am, hooking my bike up to a trainer and pedaling my first few indoor miles in quite a long time.
Hope my recent foray into sweaty yoga and occasional gym attendance has been enough to maintain some level of fitness. Otherwise, I am in for quite a nasty surprise.
Friday, March 17, 2006
I'm Back...
Well, I've never really been gone. I've just been away from the blog for a bit. But fortunately, not from my training. We cut back a bit, loosened up and tried some new things. Also, I have been learning what has been going on with my health. Here's the short of it:
PILATES
P, T and I got 2 months of free membership to the local Bally's through a promotion by the Discovery Channel. We discovered Pilates! (OK, someone else discovered it - but we feel like we did.) While T used the rest of the gym, P and I spent the first few classes trying not to look each other in the eye while we attempted to do something resembling the movement demonstrated by Amy - the eternally cool and perky-in-a-good-way instructor at the Wednesday class. When we did, we got a good workout anyway - trying to crack up silently is surprisingly core-intensive. But after a few classes, we mastered the basics and were hooked.
Sadly the 2 months ended. We decided not to commit to Bally's just yet. It is summer and we would rather be outside. The class is the same time as our regular swim and we need to get back to that. And frankly, at times I'm cheap. But our cores are stronger and a DVD plan is underway, if Hunter would just stop licking my ear during the "hundreds."
SWIMMING, BIKING and RUNNING
As you may know, we are doing the Danskin Triathlon in Chicago in July. We've got about 4 months to go. Time to get down to some real training, so this will be our future focus. I have yet to sit down and really map out a plan, but Weds we were back in the pool for a 75 minute swim and last night we did 30 minutes of aerobics followed by 20 minutes of brisk walking (with a little burst of a run at the start). Sounds like a good beginning to me.
TEAM IN TRAINING
M and I will be participating in El Tour de Tucson again this year. Fundraising for the event does not officially start until June, but we are already on our way. We will be selling Shamrock Beads at a few bars tonight and already have $400 in waiting. So please keep The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in mind when planning your charitable giving for the year. I'll be in touch...
AND THE HEALTH THING
Looks like I may not have Celiac after all. I got the biopsy test and my Dr said it was completely negative and he could absolutely say that at this time I did not have Celiac. So I asked if I could just not eat gluten anyway and he said it would not hurt anything. At the 6 week check up, I was perky, energetic and completely over the GI symptoms - with no change but removing gluten. He seemed puzzled. He checked my chart. He did find that no one had run the full panel of Celiac tests or checked my vitamin levels. (Insert scary blood draw.) About a week later he called and said I was very low in vitamin D and B-12 in addition to some other questionable stuff in a previous test that did not seem so off until he had this other info. Maybe it is one of a few things and more tests are in order - none of which are scary or dangerous.
So I am sort of in limbo. But as long as I eat gluten free, I feel great. And the two times I have accidentally eaten gluten (why in the world is wheat in World Class Chocolate ice cream?) I felt awful for about three days. We'll just have to see...
So check back and keep up with our progress. Your support means so much to me!
PILATES
P, T and I got 2 months of free membership to the local Bally's through a promotion by the Discovery Channel. We discovered Pilates! (OK, someone else discovered it - but we feel like we did.) While T used the rest of the gym, P and I spent the first few classes trying not to look each other in the eye while we attempted to do something resembling the movement demonstrated by Amy - the eternally cool and perky-in-a-good-way instructor at the Wednesday class. When we did, we got a good workout anyway - trying to crack up silently is surprisingly core-intensive. But after a few classes, we mastered the basics and were hooked.
Sadly the 2 months ended. We decided not to commit to Bally's just yet. It is summer and we would rather be outside. The class is the same time as our regular swim and we need to get back to that. And frankly, at times I'm cheap. But our cores are stronger and a DVD plan is underway, if Hunter would just stop licking my ear during the "hundreds."
SWIMMING, BIKING and RUNNING
As you may know, we are doing the Danskin Triathlon in Chicago in July. We've got about 4 months to go. Time to get down to some real training, so this will be our future focus. I have yet to sit down and really map out a plan, but Weds we were back in the pool for a 75 minute swim and last night we did 30 minutes of aerobics followed by 20 minutes of brisk walking (with a little burst of a run at the start). Sounds like a good beginning to me.
TEAM IN TRAINING
M and I will be participating in El Tour de Tucson again this year. Fundraising for the event does not officially start until June, but we are already on our way. We will be selling Shamrock Beads at a few bars tonight and already have $400 in waiting. So please keep The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in mind when planning your charitable giving for the year. I'll be in touch...
AND THE HEALTH THING
Looks like I may not have Celiac after all. I got the biopsy test and my Dr said it was completely negative and he could absolutely say that at this time I did not have Celiac. So I asked if I could just not eat gluten anyway and he said it would not hurt anything. At the 6 week check up, I was perky, energetic and completely over the GI symptoms - with no change but removing gluten. He seemed puzzled. He checked my chart. He did find that no one had run the full panel of Celiac tests or checked my vitamin levels. (Insert scary blood draw.) About a week later he called and said I was very low in vitamin D and B-12 in addition to some other questionable stuff in a previous test that did not seem so off until he had this other info. Maybe it is one of a few things and more tests are in order - none of which are scary or dangerous.
So I am sort of in limbo. But as long as I eat gluten free, I feel great. And the two times I have accidentally eaten gluten (why in the world is wheat in World Class Chocolate ice cream?) I felt awful for about three days. We'll just have to see...
So check back and keep up with our progress. Your support means so much to me!
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
I did it!
I did it! I did it! Between getting caught up at work and Thanksgiving, I am going to have to save my race report for another day, but wanted to thank everyone again!!! I couldn't have done it without each and every one of you.
Now to just finish up that last few hundred of fundraising...
Now to just finish up that last few hundred of fundraising...
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Long time, no write
I'm back. For those of you who did not know, I was on a nice long vacation in Argentina! I don't have my photos back, but as soon as I do, I'll have to figure out how to post them.
As far as the event, it is less than two weeks away. I am pretty excited, and a bit nervous. As I am not the fastest rider, I certainly hope they do not close before I finish! Looks like if I can at least maintain 12 mph and not spend too much time goofing off at the rest stops, I should be fine. Well, fine as far as finishing in the allotted time - probably not so fine if you ask my sore butt.
We had our final training last Saturday. I rode 54 miles. About half of what I will be riding on the 19th. In spite of the threat of rain, it was actually a nice day to ride and I felt great. I missed the 80 mile big ride while I was on vacation. Of course I regret missing our longest practice ride and know that it would have been good for me. From what I heard, it was VERY cold, had lots of hills and involved a bug attack at one point on the course. Maybe I don't regret missing it so much...
We turned in our bikes yesterday to have them shipped to the event. So now it is up to us to keep our aerobic capacity up through cross training and build our energy stores for the big day. Looks like I'm up for some swimming tonight.
As far as the event, it is less than two weeks away. I am pretty excited, and a bit nervous. As I am not the fastest rider, I certainly hope they do not close before I finish! Looks like if I can at least maintain 12 mph and not spend too much time goofing off at the rest stops, I should be fine. Well, fine as far as finishing in the allotted time - probably not so fine if you ask my sore butt.
We had our final training last Saturday. I rode 54 miles. About half of what I will be riding on the 19th. In spite of the threat of rain, it was actually a nice day to ride and I felt great. I missed the 80 mile big ride while I was on vacation. Of course I regret missing our longest practice ride and know that it would have been good for me. From what I heard, it was VERY cold, had lots of hills and involved a bug attack at one point on the course. Maybe I don't regret missing it so much...
We turned in our bikes yesterday to have them shipped to the event. So now it is up to us to keep our aerobic capacity up through cross training and build our energy stores for the big day. Looks like I'm up for some swimming tonight.
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