I'm taking a little hiatus from the blog for awhile. I've had some very devastating things happen in my life the past couple of weeks (both professionally and personally) and it's been hard for me to even think about being witty and fun in a blog post. I'll still run, of course...it's the only thing keeping me sane...but I won't write anything because I'm not in the mood to be chipper and funny. And NO ONE wants to read the blog of a gloomy gus, anyway. And yes, I said "gloomy gus." :)
Take care all.
Thursday, January 22
Ran: 1 mile
Walked: 4 miles
Biked: 20 minutes
Only in Texas can the temperature be in the 30s one night, and then rise to nearly 80 the next day. That's how Wednesday night and Thursday was. By Thursday night, it had cooled a little and felt PERFECT. It was awesome running weather, and it inspired me to bike to the track and take a long walk, in addition to my mile run.
I know "one mile" sounds like I'm a serious wuss, and I wholeheartedly admit that I am. But this time I want to be super careful of my Achilles tendons and not overdo it. Even though my mind and lungs are peer-pressuring me to run three miles, my tendons are not so thrilled with the idea. So the mile is good for now. My tendons ARE a little creaky and tight, but their complaints are more like those of grouchy old men and not true aches and pains.
So anyway, I was running along the track, and just finished my first lap when I was blinded by police lights. A cop had stopped a car right near the track. This was odd, because the track is next to a small middle school in the middle of a large residential area. The PO-lice don't usually set their speed-traps in the middle of a residential area, so this was surprising.
Anyway, the lady at the wheel of the car that got pulled over looked SUPER embarrassed. She was slunk down kind of low in her seat, and I got a glimpse of that expression that we all know so well. It reads, Damn it all to hell. Caught in my own neighborhood. I hope the head of the PTA or that snooty neighbor don't happen to be driving past and see this, because with my luck, that's EXACTLY what will happen. Will he let me off with a warning? Should I try my puppy-dog face on him? Should I cry? No, wait, crying never works. Dammit, I really should have bought that "We Back the Blue" bumper sticker from that fundraiser. Maybe if he knew I donated three bucks to the police, he'd let me off with only a warning.
And all the while, for 15 minutes, the seizure-inducing lights were twirling. It annoyed me probably more than the lady in the car because everytime I rounded the corner of the track I was blinded and stayed blinded for that entire side of the track. WHY do they have to keep the lights on the whole time? I mean, really. The point of the lights is to alert the driver to pull over. Once the driver is pulled over, what purpose do the lights serve, other than to harrass the driver and point to the scene like a giant neon-lit arrow that reads "LAW-BREAKER HERE!!! COME CHECK OUT THE CRIMINAL, FOLKS!!!"
Anyway, I guess I've been lucky because I haven't been pulled over in awhile, even though I'm a lead-foot. I haven't had to deal with the annoyance of having to sit and drum your fingernails on the steering wheel and wonder if you could go colorblind from the whirling maniacal disco lights and, if you do go colorblind, if you have grounds to sue. It's been awhile since I've had to deal with that, but I'm sure the minute I post this on my blog, I'll get pulled over.
Karma's a bitch, right?
Have a great weekend everybody!
Well, the 3-week-long bug I've had (it started as a cold and is finishing as a massive sinus infection and bronchitis), as well as the virus's biggest side effect (LAZINESS), has kept me grounded, so I don't have any fun running stories to share.
Instead, I'll share some of my Quebec and Montreal pictures from over Christmas. It was beautiful there, very cold and snowy and icy, but definitely put me in the Christmas spirit. The St. Lawrence River was filled with icebergs, so I felt like I was in Antarctica. Hearing all the French around me lifted my spirits, too. It's such a pretty language (except when it's uttered in a snotty Parisian tone with accompanying body gestures. I don't think I need to elaborate.)
Anyway, enjoy!
If you want to see all my pictures, go to my website here, but be patient cuz all the pictures take awhile to load.
I was tagged by the always-entertaining Miss Merry at On My Merry Way to list six things that make me happy. 2008 was a year that rarely made me happy, and I'm very glad to see it go, as it seems most of the country is. 2008 was a year of leaving behind friends (who admittedly hadn't been loyal to me, but it was still unpleasant), leaving a job that I had worked at my whole adult life, and finally, leaving the comfort of my house in McKinney.
Worst of all, of course, 2008 brought the diagnosis of stomach cancer to my boyfriend. The cancer news has been bad, then good, then bad again, and now as 2008 has come to a close, the cancer news is all good. So I'm hoping that 2009 will be a MUCH better year than 2008! Instead of hearing that Bas has a less than 3% chance of a cure (as we heard this summer), I'm hoping we'll have smooth sailing through his last few months of chemo as the cancer continues to die. I hope to hear he's in remission by the end of 2009. I have a good feeling about it, and am really happy to leave 2008 behind.
So! Here are six of the things that do make me happy, without fail, when I'm having a bad day or a bad period in my life:
- My handsome boyfriend. He is six feet and five inches of fun and happiness (and the cute Dutch accent is just an extra little perk). He has the best sense of humor in the world, he can always cheer me up even with a simple text, and even though we're thousands of miles apart, he is the closest person to me and I love him very much. I am so proud of how hard he has fought his cancer.
- Travelling! I seriously think, if I was forced to stop travelling, I would shrivel up and die. Travel is my life and my passion. Even if it's a short road trip somewhere, I'm happy. But even better is, of course, international travel. All the sadness, uncertainty, worry, and frustration in my life disappears when I am on a plane with my passport in my hand. When I hear a language other than English all around me and I'm in a place surrounded by people who have never heard of Plano, Texas....that makes me happy. I love exploring new places, and even when I have no job and no money, I still force myself to travel. It is truly the only way, in my opinion, to learn and grow as a human being in this global society. Better yet, it's fun.
- My kitty-cat. He's a Russian blue named Vladimir, quite possibly the ugliest name for a cat, and yet he's beautiful, with long silver fur. Even people who claim to be "cat-haters" seem to love Vlad. He's a pretty simple cat, but he's really attached to me. When I go out front to get the mail, he sits at the front door and meows for me to come back. When I'm taking a shower, he scratches frantically at the bathroom door, crying for me to either let him in or hurry up and come back out. He's not happy unless he's sleeping next to me (or on my bed, if I'm out of town.) He's not like this with anyone else. That kind of single-minded devotion and loyalty, which you normally only hear about in a dog, makes me feel happy and loved. Vlad's gotten me through some rough times, and I love him for it.
- My family. They've gone out of their way to help me during this bad year, when friends have deserted me and luck has been bad, and for their help I am very grateful.
- Caffeine. This isn't as warm-and-fuzzy as my first four "things that make me happy," but it's decidedly true. Deny me of the Diet Cokes and chocolate, and things will get ugly. FAST. Give me back the Diet Cokes and chocolate (and occasionally the iced coffees), and I will be your nice, even-keel, laid-back, happy-go-lucky Jess again.
- Being outdoors. It's hard to be outdoorsy in North Texas, where the summer heat is killer (literally) and there's no natural scenery unless you're willing to drive at least three hours. But still, whether it's running, hiking, biking, or just taking a leisurely stroll, I love to get out of the house on a nice day. Even better is travelling + being outdoors. I'm not a big camper, but for the right location (e.g., New Zealand) I could be out in a tent all year long and be a happy camper (literally). But I love hiking in different parts of the world, and maybe I'm lucky I live in North Texas, because if I lived somewhere fun and exciting I might turn into a mountaineering sherpa who eats too much granola and plays acoustic guitar all day.
So that's it, in a nutshell. I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve and will have an awesome 2009 to come.
No, I didn't put that as the title of my post just to whip out the Windows Character Map (which always makes me feel secretly exotic)...I put that as my title because I'm actually serious! I'm going to Quebec for Christmas!!!
I am super, super, super excited. Never mind that my French sucks. Never mind that I'm a fragile Texas girl who knows nothing about blizzards on Christmas. Never mind that I have no idea what hotel I'm staying in. Never mind that my passport photo is bloated and disgusting and looks nothing like me and is sure to get me arrested by Canadian immigration officials who suspect I stole the passport. Never mind all that...because I'm going to Canada for Christmas!!!
Before you get too jealous, it won't be for long -- only 3 days -- and it was a last-minute, impulse decision that I will probably regret once the bills roll in. I chose Quebec because I saw a pretty picture of a snowy Christmassy street in Quebec City. I was originally thinking I'd hop over to New Orleans (not a very long flight at all from Dallas) but then I got crazy and before I knew it my finger was clicking the "Confirm flight" button on Priceline when I saw a decently priced flight to Montreal.
Not that I feel too guilty. The last time I had a vacation, it wasn't really a vacation -- I was rushing to Holland to be with my boyfriend who was in intensive care and possibly wouldn't make it out of intensive care. (His organs had a bad reaction to a blood transfusion after one of his surgeries.) So, even though that trip turned out positive and he recovered well, I didn't really go on the idea that it would be a fun vacation. So I'm looking forward to this, big time. I fly in on the evening of the 25th and come back on the 29th.
Oh, I forgot this blog was supposed to be about running. I have done some light jogging the past couple of days -- nothing more than a half-mile -- and I am pleased to say that I have no pain in my Achilles tendons. They are really tight and I did have some discomfort, but no actual pain. That's great news considering I could barely walk after jogging a quarter-mile only a few weeks ago.
On other good news, my boyfriend's doctors have decided to start him on a double dose of chemotherapy. This means he will receive twice as much chemo every day than people normally receive. While this is going to be very difficult for him, the doctors are only doing it because he's been so strong so far, and not gotten as weak as they had expected. Plus, it could shave off as much as a month of two of chemotherapy later down the line. I think this is excellent news.
So, really, all exciting stuff in my little world. The only little bit of depressing news is that I've contracted an Evil Monster Death Virus known as the common cold, coupled with a nasty sinus infection.
Nevertheless, I'm so excited about my trip abroad!!! (Yes I know it's Canada, but it's still abroad right? I mean, they speak French and curse by saying Catholic words like "tabernacle!". It can't be America.)
I will surely post photos of my trip on here, if anyone is curious to see it :) Otherwise, happy holidays everyone!!!
Shocking, I know, but true.
Well, my birthday was on Wednesday and I can't say it was super great. I feel like my quarter-life crisis is just getting worse instead of better. I'm now 26, and I cringe to have to say it. It sounds like an age where you have to be so freaking responsible. Many people who are 26 are married and have kids and it weirds me out. NOT that I'm needing kids any time soon....but it still weirds me out.
Anyway, I had double-duty birthday cake -- at home and at the office -- and I'm feeling like bloat city. Plus there's all this holiday chocolate everywhere, and I have zero willpower.
Have you ever wondered why the things we love to eat so much are SO FREAKING FATTENING? (Well, if you're a woman, of course you have. That was a stupid question.) I mean seriously....why can't we all just LOVE broccoli? And artichokes? Why can't we be like..."Birthday cake? Heck no, I want me some birthday broccoli. Some nice birthday beets, with candles on top."
Why can't life be that way? Why do we celebrate important moments in our year (like birthday and Christmas) with so much fattening, unhealthy food? Why can't we magically change the taste of gross vegetables into birthday cake and chocolate....yet still keep all their healthy, unfattening, good-for-you veggie properties?
Sigh.
Also, the 5K was yesterday. I missed it. I was happily in bed, no doubt dreaming of eating more birthday cake. I considered going to walk it, but I had a vet appointment for my cat at 10, so there wouldn't be enough time. (Kitty-cat saves the day, I guess.)
I'm not happy. I'm not proud of myself. I thought by now I would be on my way to being healthier, more fit, and looking and feeling better. Instead, I'm a birthday-cake-eating fool with an injured tendon and a quarter-life crisis. I'm getting into my "I hate Dallas" phase again, and that's never good. That kind of mentality often leads to last-minute "escape this damn metroplex" weekend trips that I can't ever afford yet take anyway, to much chagrin later on when I check my credit card balance.
I'm thinking New Orleans, next weekend :) Who's in?
....or rather, to be infinitely more sophisticated, "cyclist lady."
Biked: 40 minutes.
Ran: 0 miles.
Walked: 0 miles.
I went for a bike ride tonight. It was a beautiful evening for a ride, honestly. Cold but not unbearably so, with clear skies. I just tooled around my neighborhood, basically, and looked at the Christmas lights. It appears that about 10% of my neighborhood has put up lights.
To me, Christmas lights are either hit or miss. You don't see a lot of "average" displays. It's either awesome or dismal. The homeowners either spent a chunk of money on their displays and hung the lights with care and positioned yard signs, snow-globes, etc. with care.......or they hung out a lighted wreath, threw some lights on a bush or two, and called it a day.
Honestly, I know we're supposed to love Christmas for a lot of reasons other than holiday lights, but it irritates me when I see half-assed Christmas lights. It's like, what's the point in such a puny display? The yard looks terrible compared to other yards. If you really want to celebrate the birth of Jesus, celebrate with style, pizzazz, and energy. Don't skimp on Jesus' birth, man!! Just leave the lights off next time if you can't handle it.
Is that overly harsh of me?
Anyway, it was a nice ride, even though the seat of my cheap-O bike is super uncomfortable and makes my muscles down there extremely sore. Tomorrow's gonna be fun. How long does it take bike-seat muscles to get used to being on a bike again? Is there anything I can do to expedite the process so I'm not sore every time I hop on my bike after not riding for a week? You know how they have those "Buns of Steel" and "Thighs of Steel" exercise videos -- how about "Groins of Steel"? With Lance Armstrong maybe? No? Sigh.
On the injury front, I'm definitely doing better. I can walk without pain and should probably be able to start light jogging again by next week. For now I'm doing some stretches and exercises for my Achilles tendons. The right one does hurt when I do certain stretches, but I'll take it easy this week and see if it loosens up enough for me to start running again next week.
The 5K is also next week. Guess that's gonna be a miss. I might show up to walk it (and claim my free T-shirt) but I'm not sure I'm that inspired to wake up early if I'm not gonna be running in the damn thing.
We shall see.