Good Things

Since my last post was full of bad stuff, I figured I’d give you a good one to help balance out the universe and all. I do spend more of my time on things I like, as opposed to hating on Brett Favre, you know.

The big news is, I got a new job! I’m still at BAC, but will be moving to the office closer to home. I’ll be going from a 1.5 hour commute each way, to 25 minutes. I can’t wait to get 10 hours of my life back each week. I, of course, will spend that 10 hours working out, and will be nice & skinny ASAP, which is why I’m eating everything i sight now, to bulk up. More to come on the transition in the coming weeks!

OAR’s new album, King, drops on August 2. I pre-ordered it, and then learned (via the beauty of Twitter) that you can stream it for free on Rdio. Guess what I’ve been listening to non-stop? The concert in Boston is August 10, so I’m psyched to still be working in Boston that week.

I have some friends with some really great things happening in their lives right now, and I can’t wait to be a part of most of it.

My hammock. I puffy heart love it, especially now that my butt doesn’t hit the ground. My in-laws just left, it’s a beautiful night, and I am happily lounging.

Life is good.

Things I Hate, in no Particular Order

Disclaimer: despite my hatred, I wish no harm to any of these people/things. Except the geese.

Brett Favre – retire or don’t retire. I don’t care. But stop going on tv and crying about it. You’re a football player. Man up.

Birds – they’re loud and squawky and dirty. All of them. They wake me up at 4am. Anyone remember bird flu? (The exception to this is dead, cooked birds. Those are cool.)

Canadian geese – I see no redeeming value in these creatures. I doubt they even taste good. And they’re mean. I’ll cross the road if I run by one, because I’m convinced they’ll attack me for no good reason.

John Mayer – I’m sure he’s a great guitar player and all, but I can’t get past his lyrics. “Your body is a wonderland”? “Say what you mean to say”? Gag. Stupid, cheesy, gross. I was horrified when he dated Jennifer Anniston.

Flan – could there be a more disgusting dessert? The only dessert that should jiggle is Jell-o. I was adamant that I not get the free birthday flan at my Mexican birthday dinner a few ears ago. I made my friends spring for the fried ice cream, the far superior Mexican dessert.

The Black Eyed Peas – yes, you were cool for awhile. Until I heard that awful song every day. And I can’t believe you messed with Time of My Life. Patrick Swayze is rolling in his grave over that one. It’s as bad as putting baby in the corner.

Trail running – in all fairness, I’m not 100% sure I hate it, but I got 5 feet into a trail today when I fell and scored this, so it’s not my favorite activity at the moment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Race #6: The Urban Dare in Providence

I believe this was my 50th race ever (since my first in 2005), so I wanted to do something a little different.  I found out about the Urban Dare on Cool Running, and quickly recruited three friends to join me.  The Urban Dare is basically a one day Amazing Race.  No course, no real starting line, just a sheet full of clues and a whole city to roam.  The only rules are that you can only run, walk or use public transportation.  Since we were in Providence, public transportation wasn’t really an option.  (I hear there are buses, I just don’t know where you get them, when they run, or where you go in them).

Saturday was a beautiful day, a little warm for a race that starts at noon, but no humidity.  It started at my least favorite bar in Providence, Ri Ra, but it’s not so bad with no people there.  My teammate and I got these awesome shirts the night before, and met our other friends to start the race.  The plan was to work together, and then we would pull away and win (I’m a little competitive).  Here we are before the start:

We started the race with a bang, figuring out one clue and running to the State House while looking up other clues and making phone calls on the way (very dangerous for klutzes like myself).  Most clues (like this first one) required us to take our picture in front of the landmark.  While at the State House, we stood on the lawn and figured out the other clues.  Thank God for iPhones.  We seriously would have gone nowhere fast without them.

One clue required us to take a picture of a couple acting out this photograph:

The “couple” we chose were a father/daughter from NJ, who obliged after much begging, but we had to do them a favor first.  We had to take their picture in front of the State House, very specifically, with no brick, but most of the building.  With his big fancy camera.  I let my pal B handle that one, I probably would have cut off their heads and they would have stormed off.

From there, we had a plan.  Well, people who knew the city had a plan, I tagged along and periodically asked “now, where are we?  what are we near?  which way do we go?”  My teammates also had CamelBaks, while I had one warm bottle of water.  My only asset was my iPhone, I really brought nothing else to the table.

Providence is quite hilly.  So hilly that I had to walk like I was riding a horse up the hills.  Trust me, it works.  We hiked up an extra hill to get bonus points on this one, and then wanted to die:

Our one real failure was phoning my brother for a clue answer.  He neglected to note that Patrick Keely designed two churches in Providence, and sent us to the wrong one, clear across town from the correct one.  We left a confused older man at the first one, looking for a memorial that wasn’t there.  I hope he’s not still looking for it.  (My brother’s free post race beer was revoked for this mishap, by the way.  I don’t play around).

In addition to the picture-taking, we had to answer a few trivia questions, do a 3-legged race for some homeless people, and jump rope five times.  Overall, we covered about 6 miles, and I’d say we ran almost as much as we walked.  And we did not trip over any sidewalks or hoses while running, even if we almost tripped twice.  (yes, by “we” I mean “I”.  I told you I was not an asset to the team).

We sprinted in to the bar  (beating the other team, of course) at around 2-1/2 hours.  The judges checked our pictures, and we got some time bonuses, so our official time was around 2:05.  I was pretty happy about that, considering I was afraid we wouldn’t make the 5 hour cut off.  After the race, we had burgers and as much water as we could hold, plus a super late, super gross order of fried pickles.  Not bad for race #50!

Next up: TBD.  My training is all but non-existent, making the 10 and 13 mile races I had planned on impossible.  There aren’t many races in July & August around here, but I’m hoping to get one in before September.  My running bug is back, so I need to capitalize on it before I lose it again!

Random Saturday Ramblings

I wanted to get a “real” post in before I blog about Race #50, happening in a few hours.  In no particular order:

– J & I had a great day off together last Friday.  We biked 9 miles on the East Bay Bike Path, had lunch at Luxe Burger Bar (slowest burger in RI!), and went kayaking on the Narrow River.  My butt has still not forgiven me for the bike ride.

– We started getting out market shares from the farmer’s market, and after a few weeks of too much applesauce, we’re getting into better veggies.  More kale than I care for, but some awesome raspberries & granola this week.

– Speaking of veggies, my garden is out of control.  J built a fence to keep the bunnies out, and its starting to stunt the growth of my tomatoes.  I’ve also got some awesome basil & rosemary, plus actual flowers that are surviving the summer.

– Seafood Fest 2011 was a success, despite the keg being kicked fairly early and my drunk husband’s diatribe on the way home on how “No good music has come out in the last 5 years.”  (he later promised he did not include OAR in that statement).

– Did you know OAR has a new single out?  Go here for a free download.  You can also pre-order the new CD if you’re crazy like me.  It’s not my favorite song ever, but its growing on me.  It will be interesting to hear how it sounds live (on 8/10!)

– Life has been stressful lately, for a variety of reasons, some good, some bad.  I’m going to have to make some big decisions soon, that I may or may blog about.  How’s that for vague-blogging at its best?

– Did we talk about how the Bruins won the Stanley Cup?  And that J was (and still is) ridiculously excited about it?  Really, no one was happier than this kid:

He was not so pleased when he had to work on parade day, and I forwarded him a picture of the cup from a friend at work.  He thought I went to the parade without him.  I’m not sure our marriage could have survived that.

– I almost forgot (blocked out) the fact we dog sat for a few days for my parents’ puggle.  She was actually okay, despite being a beggar & a bed hog, until the last day we had her, when J took her to the farmer’s market.  She was not well behaved, and he put her in the car for three minutes to grab some more stuff, and she peed on the passenger seat.  She’s lucky she’s so cute.

 

I have to go finish my pre-race prep.  I’ll be blogging about it later, as long as I don’t get lost somewhere in Providence forever.