to whom it may concern:

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Dear FM 100,

My name is Chloe and I am stuck (yes, stuck) listening to your station all day, every work day. My employer chooses what station we are able to listen to and we can either listen to you or listen to nothing. Some days we (my staff and I) honestly choose nothing.

Now, it’s not that I mind most of the music you play (and no one ever likes every song on every radio station), but your music sets are way too short. There have been days when I hear the same song three times in eight hours, and that is just ridiculous.

Not only that, but songs will play at about the same time for days in a row. We paid attention one week and “Chasing Cars” played at approximately the same time for four days in a row…twice a day.

You say that you have “the most variety”, and if you’re only talking about variety as in, from different decades, ok. If you mean variety as in songs, you are lying. The variety stinks. If I had the option, I would never listen to your station. I don’t have that option, unfortunately, because I am not the only person in the office. I don’t want to hate you, I promise, but I do.

Please help me out. Just change things up a bit more. It would be super if I didn’t have to hear Celine Dion croon “My Heart Will Go On” every single day of my working existence. I would love it if you really would make it “the station with the most variety”…and if you’d stop playing “Chasing Cars” two to three times a day, always between 15 and 30 after the hour. Seriously.

Sincerely,

A very disloyal listener

p.s. This one was a real letter, that I really sent, to the real radio station…I finally had enough yesterday. Bill West emailed me back and said they’d work on it. Sure they will.

Dear body,

I realize that you are probably not super happy about the recent obsession with running and restriction of treats. However, you need to know that your counterattack is not appreciated. You could have at least tried talking to me before producing massive amounts of estrogen, causing me to be snappy, moody and ravenous. You have not attacked me like this for years…literally. Don’t you realize that this is not the only way to handle things? Don’t you realize that the consumption of sweet, baked goods that occurred yesterday will only result in more running, not less?

And if you had to attack so forcefully, did it have to be something that negatively impacted so many other people? I mean, you could have kept the casualties to a minimum, but instead the list goes from my sweet friends who so kindly put up with me because they at least know that I’m not always like this, to every woman who was in church this Sunday while I was conducting our meeting, and further to my kindhearted employees who have no idea what’s going on since they’ve never seen me like this before.

In the future, could we just stick with things like the stomach flu or knee pain. I mean really, hormones? That’s just low.

Thank you,

Your owner

Dear bangs,

I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cut you so short. I know that I shouldn’t ever cut you, that I should save that job for my fabulous stylist. But really, Sunday morning I just couldn’t deal with you. You were laying the wrong way and in my face. I couldn’t see. I’m sorry. I lost it. Before I could stop myself, I was standing at the mirror with scissors in my hand.

The good news is you grow quickly, so we should be able to get you fixed in a matter of weeks, maybe even in time for our trip to Arizona. If not then, definitely by our trip to D.C. I hope you will be able to forgive me. Although, by the way you looked this morning, I’m guessing it might take a while.

Sorry,

The girl who didn’t have enough patience to re-wet and re-dry you

Dear Aaron, my ever faithful GMAT course instructor,

You are brilliant. I seriously feel like the little tips you shared last night will add 20 points to my verbal score. I need to ask you a favor, though. Can you please, please, please stop using the word “pagination”? Really, it was fine the first ten times you said it, the first night of the course, but at this point, it’s just irritating. Why can’t you just say, “my page numbers are off”? Why does it have to be, “my pagination is not the same as yours” or “this is an old book and the pagination is off”? I mean, I realize that it doesn’t sound as intelligent and I realize that pagination is a real word, but must you use it five times every hour?

Sincerely,

Your very grateful, but extremely irritated student

Dear Utah,

Thank you for recognizing Pioneer Day as a state holiday. This gave me the opportunity to sleep in this morning, and now to avoid all people all day if needs be. I can feel myself getting back to normal, so tomorrow should be better.

With immense gratitude,

A current resident

Dear friends, family and stalkers,

Thank you for putting up with my sassiness during these trying times. Thank you for laughing with me, rather than at me. Thank you for your encouraging words and your patience. Thank you for understanding that sometimes it’s better to just leave me alone for a bit. Thank you for not asking me why I’m tearing up while watching Rumor Has It. I am truly a very lucky girl to have such great people in my life. I promise to be back to my sweet, kind, normal self soon (Erika, now would not be a good time to argue that point).

Love,

Chloe

and the show will go on

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Apparently, people are not fans of breaking things up. I guess I was just worried that my running friends didn’t necessarily want to read about my weight loss stuff, or that the foodies out there don’t necessarily want to hear about my internet dating tragedies…that, and I feel like I post way too much and way to often. It appears, however, that I was mistaken. One blog it shall remain…which is nice since it took about 9 months to get this one looking and functioning the way I wanted it to.

Oh, and I do love the name of this blog. It was inspired by a quote from the movie Reality Bites. A lesser known film of the 1990’s that I don’t know that I would recommend to anyone, but a film that I thoroughly enjoy. Ethan Hawk, a soundtrack with U2, Ben Stiller before anyone knew who he was. A great flick, seriously. Although, I am easily entertained, so be warned.

Thank you all for your feedback. Admittedly, it was nice to hear that you all do like the one blog, even with the superfluous randomness that so often emerges from the depths of my crazy mind. Glad to know you’re enjoying it.

And Cristin…you really should try Google Reader. It changed my life.

breaking up the band

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I’m thinking of starting two more blogs…actually, it’s more like three. One for my cooking, one for my weight loss and one for my running. This one would remain intact…as a place for me to write about the other stuff. What other stuff? Well, the stuff I don’t write about because I already post so much and so often.

Anyway, I’m looking for some blog titles. Choosing a title is a big deal and I want to do a good job. And since two minds are better than one, and so on, I figured it would be wise to consult you, my readers.

So, if you have any ideas for names, please leave a comment. If I choose any of them, or if one happens to inspire me in the naming of one of the new blogs, there will be prizes. Now, I’m not promising anything big, but something thoughtful and from the heart.

Or, if you think it’s a bad idea to break up the blog into its individual parts, or if you think I should split them differently, you can tell me that, too. Please share your thoughts, feelings and opinions. And if you’re not comfortable posting a comment, you can always email me.

12 miles of music

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So, here’s the playlist…I didn’t hear the first 9 songs very well because I had my headphones (ear huggers) hugging my tank top rather than my ears. It was weird to listen to myself breathe while running. I didn’t really like it. Maybe it was the fact that I was also straining my ears to hear any movement of the crazy man in the bushes. I don’t know. But I was very happy once it was light enough that I felt safe to put the headphones in!

Anyway, as you’ll see, this week’s playlist was a tribute to teeny-boppers everywhere. As k8 says, “I’m pretty sure my 16-year-old self would approve.” Well, except for the fact that some of these songs could use a little editing…something I didn’t necessarily realize when I put them on the playlist.

Anything not in black is download-able. Enjoy!

  1. in too deep 3:29 sum 41
  2. Summer Love 4:15 Justin Timberlake
  3. if i could go 4:14 Angie martinez
  4. suga suga 3:42 Baby Bash
  5. If You Were Here 2:57 Thompson Twins
  6. i didnt steal your boyfriend 3:04 ashlee simpson
  7. Workout Plan 2:52 Kayne West
  8. beautiful love 4:09 The Afters
  9. My Love (Feat. T.I.) 4:36 Justin Timberlake
  10. Big girls don’t cry 4:28 Fergie (this is when one headphone went into my ear)
  11. pump it 3:38 Black eyed peas
  12. Voulez-Vous Danser 3:20 Ace Of Base
  13. Every Other Time 4:07 LFO
  14. LOVE 2:37 ashlee simpson
  15. No One Is to Blame 3:59 Emile Millar
  16. Lifetime (radio) 3:29 better than ezra (and this is when both headphones went in)
  17. breathe 3:48 Blu Cantrell
  18. calling you 4:22 Blue October
  19. Boys (The Co-Ed Remix) 3:47 Britney Spears Feat. Pharrell Williams
  20. Fields of Gold 3:33 Sting & Edin Karamazov
  21. Do It 4:04 Spice Girls
  22. LoveStoned 7:24 Justin Timberlake
  23. I’ve Just Begun 3:23 Britney Spears
  24. what about us 3:57 Brandy
  25. A Sorta Fairytale 5:29 Tori Amos
  26. me & u 4:20 Cassie
  27. Just The Girl 3:50 The Click Five
  28. All Falls Down 3:43 Kanye West
  29. I See You Baby 4:03 Groove Amada Feat, Gram’ma Funk
  30. Resolution 3:49 Nick Lachey
  31. Summer Girls 4:19 LFO
  32. in too deep 3:29 sum 41
  33. Clothes Off 3:55 Gym Class Heroes
  34. Workout Plan 2:52 Kayne West
  35. Lay Lady Lay 4:37 Magnet
  36. Saturday Night Divas 4:25 Spice Girls

12 miles

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Yes. Twelve.

I did a much better job with my preparations this week. I didn’t get all of my midweek mileage in, but I got the majority in. I did hill work outs. I cross trained. I made good food choices last night. Actually, if I’m being completely honest, I didn’t have anything to do with my food choices last night. The dinner that was made for me was full of good carbs, so it made for some good energy this morning. I turned down a movie invitation so that I could get to bed at a decent hour…which was pretty early considering what time I needed to be out the door this morning. And I remembered to fill all of my water bottles and put them in the fridge.

The one thing I did forget was that I needed to wash my “outfit”. Yes, I have an official “long run get up”…from my tank top to my socks. And it was still in the hamper from last week. By the time I got home, it was about 9:00 and so I ran inside “the big house” to get the washer going, only to discover it was in use…oh how I miss the days of living totally alone. However living with my dad and step-mom does have its advantages. I ran upstairs and asked Sharon if she’d mind throwing my laundry in. Of course she said yes.

Oh, and I was heading back to my hole over the garage to go to bed when I realized that the new playlist had not been created, and you all know how I feel about my playlists (do you love how I put that right in passive voice, like it was supposed to create itself?). They are the lifeblood of my runs. My playlist is my guide. It determines when I run, when I walk, when I drink and when I refuel. Amazing, isn’t it? Who knew a playlist could do so much?

Not only had it not been created, but I had a whole shload of songs that I needed to download onto my computer. My darling 19-year-old cousin, Tanya, was at my grandma’s this week with her computer (i.e. her music), so I asked her if she wouldn’t mind making me a cd. You see, I love to run to rap and hip-hop but I don’t actually own a lot of it. I’m not super familiar with which artists I like, so it’s hard to know what to buy. Plus, I’m trying to curb my superfluous spending.

Tanya burned me an entire dvd of songs, in data form, so I am now fully stocked. While I could have easily just put up with the old music, after reading all about how much Cristin loves the Spice Girls and hearing JT’s Summertime about five times this last week on the radio, a song which is now in my possession thanks to Tanya, I just didn’t want to do it. So, I sat down and downloaded about 50 of the 400+ new songs…and a playlist was born, with a “walk” song every fifth, rather than sixth, song since I was going to be working on my uphill game.

Okay…to the run. Apparently, when the majority of what I’ve been doing on my long runs has been downhill, changing things up to do half up and half down adds about 1 minute to my average mile. I was a little discouraged, but part of this whole training process is about me learning how to be okay with setbacks and imperfections, so I managed to let it go about four miles into the run. Of course, it probably didn’t help that the first, oh, four miles of my run were done in the dark. Did I mention that I started my run at 4:45? No? Well, I did. The “friends” were having a joint yard sale starting at 8:00 am and I had yet to take my stuff over or tag it, which meant I had to be done by 7:15 at the latest, so 4:45 it was. Yes…I am insane. I have a hard time dragging my butt out of bed at 6:00 to get to work, but I’ll get up at 4:00 on a Saturday.

Back to the run…I’m sure the fact that I was running in the dark, a bit paranoid about both tripping and being attacked by the crazy man who lurks just off the canyon trail waiting for some idiot runner to come by at 5:00 am, on top of the fact that the first half of my run was uphill, slowed me down just a bit. Evidently, the crazy man had been apprised of my mad fighting skills, so he didn’t mess. And because I was picking up my feet a bit more, there was no tripping either. However, I don’t think I’ll be repeating that again. I mean, I don’t like it when the trail is crowded, but when you are the only person on it, and it’s dark, it’s a bit, well, creepy. I was so glad when I spotted two runners right around mile 4.

Moving on…the run was relatively uneventful…besides the visions of death and dismemberment going on in my head. My callouses are protecting my feet nicely, so I didn’t get a single blister. After testing both Body Glide and Sport Shield (at the recommendation of my friendly running store clerk), I’ve decided that Sport Shield works much better for me, so zero chaffing. I managed to finish off my pina colada energy chews (I really did start gagging at one point) and was able to finish my run with the strawberry ones. That is definitely my favorite flavor, although I plan on using other flavors so that I don’t end up hating them. The new playlist was great…once I actually felt safe enough to put my headphones in. I’m not usually a paranoid person. In fact, it’s probably good that I did feel a little scared this morning since I can be a bit naive when it comes to my safety.

It took me about eight miles to get into any kind of groove (so not fun), but the last four miles were pretty great and I was able to pick up the pace quite a bit. The best part of my run, though, was seeing one of the counselors from my work and his wife, who are also training for St. George when I hit mile 11. Why, you ask? Because, while they were only one mile into their 12 (we are on the same training schedule), I was one mile from being done. It was a great feeling!

No deep thoughts for today. No new insights. Nothing. Apparently, fearing for your life completely eclipses any epiphanies that might have otherwise occurred. Oh well, I’ve got quite a few long runs to come, during which I can epiphanize to my heart’s content. Yes, epiphanize…I like to make up words. Sue me.

Playlist to come…but for now, I’ve got to run (not literally…I think 12 miles is good for one day).