blogs bring people together

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Technology is such an interesting thing. People like to pontificate about how technology is suffocating humanity. I have a sister who doesn’t say exactly that, but she cannot understand my love of twitter and blogs, etc, etc.

I’ve written before about why I started blogging, but I don’t know if I’ve ever fully described how blogging has enriched my life through the people I’ve met as a result of it. The impetus for this post? The book club I attended yesterday with a number of other bloggers. All of us strangers. Brought together by technology.

I’ve followed Meg’s blog for a while now. I think part of what I like so much about her is her honesty and the way she shares that honesty through words and pictures and poetry, etc, etc. I’m a fan. She decided to start a book club to meet some new people in the city. While I’m always apprehensive about these things, I’ve had enough experiences meeting fellow bloggers and all have been good, so I jumped on the chance.

Of course, when yesterday rolled around, part of me was tempted to not go. It would have been so easy to not show up. But then I thought about how much courage it probably took to invite a bunch of random people to a book club and I just couldn’t not go. So, there we were. Thirteen strangers. Brought together by a desire to meet some new people…and maybe also getting to meet Meg in real life. She just seems like someone anyone would want to be friends with. (These are the things I say that make my sister think I’m crazy.)

And yes, it was scary to just show up. And of course I was worried about making a good first impression. I always worry about those things. And maybe it took a little bit to get warmed up, but we did get warmed up and I met some very nice, very intelligent, very interesting people. People who live in my neighborhood, even. People I would have likely never met had it not been for this book club.

the book club
(names to follow next month)

And so once again, I’m grateful for technology and how it can bring people together.

And now, in honor of this, a quick homage to my blogger friends who are now real life friends:

  • My favorite marathon buddy, Anne
  • My other Moab partners (Anne was there, too), Christy and Jen
  • Hannah who was one of my favorite Utah (now Texas) bloggers (who I also ran a race with)
  • And then there are all of the bloggers I met through Jill’s blogger parties; I still read most of the blogs of the people I met through that one party back in 2007
  • The people I met through the first blogger book club I went to (admittedly, I only ever read one of the books and didn’t actually read it in time for the discussion)

sitcky

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Oh, the joys of four year olds.

This week I wasn’t teaching, which meant I was on bathroom/crisis duty. Totally fine. There are two of us in the class for a reason. Eleven kids…it’s a lot. I don’t know how pre-school teachers do it.

As I was sitting there, watching the kids, managing the couple who are just a little more wiggly than the others, I saw something that didn’t look right out of the corner of my eye. Rebecca* has a habit of sucking on a little piece of her hair (I won’t comment on how I feel about that habit…), but something looked off. Her hair had a light blue streak going through it…

GUM!!!

I was out the door with her in about 2.2 seconds. And this is when you know you’re starting to love a kid. We went into the bathroom and I ever-so-slowly got all of the gum out of her hair. With my fingers. Her gum. My fingers. And somehow, I was okay dealing with this…which is a small miracle considering that I don’t generally like children I’m not related to/that don’t belong to my friends. That is love.

The best part was, after I had gotten it out, she was upset that I wanted her to spit the rest of it out. “My daddy gave it to me!” But apparently I really do have the “angry mom” face down because she handed it over as soon as she saw it.

When I saw the Primary President after church (who incidentally saw me going into the bathroom with Rebecca), she joked about my “baptism by fire”. And then she said, “All you need next week is a bloody nose, and I think you’re initiation will be complete.” I think I can pass on full initiation, thanks.

Next week, we will be starting with potty and gum checks. And maybe I’ll be purchasing some tissues for my purse…just so I’m prepared for the inevitable bloody nose. And maybe some wipes.

*Name has been changed for obvious reasons. 

nine miles

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Let’s talk about how much I didn’t want to run this morning. And how much I didn’t want to get out of bed early enough to get my run in before mentoring. And how many times I didn’t run this week when I should have.

I should have been out the door of my apartment by 8 am. I got out of my door at 9 am. First, I couldn’t make myself get out of bed. My head hurt. My stomach was a little queasy. My knee still isn’t feeling great. Every excuse…and those excuses were almost enough. Almost.

When I finally did get out the door, I knew it was going to be rough. I was not going to have time to do any walking. And nine miles with no walking when my longest run this round of training was a six miler three weeks ago was not going to be easy. Or fun.

I warmed up on my way to Central Park. My plan was to do two laps around the Reservoir and then the six mile loop. I headed up to the Reservoir which took a little bit of time because the way up was super icy only to discover that the trail around it was basically a skating rink. Not sure why I thought it might not be, but 10 minutes into my run, I had yet to actually do any running. The minutes were ticking away. New plan: the six mile Central Park Loop and then I’d figure it out. I had six miles to think about it. Plenty of time.

The first three miles of the run were great. I was pacing a little faster than I had anticipated. Nothing was hurting. It wasn’t too cold. And then, when I hit mile four and had yet to see a street vendor with water, I started to worry a little. I hadn’t brought any water with me, just money, because there are always street vendors and that way I don’t have to carry it. But, just as I was thinking I would have to take a little detour to find a bodega, I saw a vendor on the horizon. I took a quick break to buy water and then allowed myself a little walking time to drink some and down two Shot Blocks. And then, I was off again.

The rest of the loop went off without a hitch. I mean, there were a couple of hills that made me want to scream and, at one point, I thought I was going to puke (too much water too fast), but then everything balanced out and I was fine. I decided I would just do the last three miles on CPW, so when I finished the loop, I headed south again. I was amazed to discover that I was still pacing at my goal pace. Mile seven was quick. Mile eight my feet were starting to hurt, so I allowed myself to walk a quarter of it. And then, I was back running for the last mile.

I cooled down on my way home. Because of my late start, I was only going to have 30 minutes to shower and get out the door–no time to eat, which is never a good idea after running that distance–so I grabbed a chocolate milk on my way home and chugged it. Some of you might think that’s weird (I did too the first time it was given out at the end of a race), but it really is a perfect recovery drink; carbs, protein, a little fat…exactly what I needed.

I got home and discovered the pain in my feet was a result of a couple of blisters. With no time to deal with those, I was grateful for my oh-so-comfy Uggs to throw on. I rushed out the door to get to mentoring, only to discover that my trains weren’t running…so I ended up being an hour late anyway. It’s a good thing I didn’t know that my trains weren’t going to be running, or I probably wouldn’t have gone running, but I’m so glad I did.

I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll say it again. There is nothing like running that helps me forget all my stupid drama, all of body issues, and just appreciate how great my life is. And I just don’t think that starting my Saturday mornings with a run through Central Park will ever get old. Seriously. What a fun life I have!

Today’s top songs:

  • Dancing in Heaven – Q-Feel
  • Stereo Love – Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina
  • Alors on danse – Stromae
  • Teenage Dream – Glee Cast
  • Feel It In My Bones (feat. Tegan and Sara) – Tiesto
  • Not Broken – Goo Goo Dolls
  • Sick – The Lovemakers
  • Mercy – Duffy
  • Superstar (feat. Matthew Santos) – Lupe Fiasco
  • S&M – Rihanna (p.s. in case you didn’t get it from the title, this song is super trashy)
  • I Like It (feat. Pitbull) – Enrique Iglesia
  • Lollipop (Candyman) – Aqua
My goal for next week: following my training schedule every day but Wednesday. (I’m going to see Ian Axel that night with Kelly…working out is not going to happen…unless I somehow manage to get up really early, which I’m not planning on doing.)

my latest read

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A while ago, I read this post on one of my favorite blogs about a book club that this blogger will be starting. She’s a New Yorker and I plan on attending. It will be a bunch of people I don’t know, but isn’t that what makes life fun.

Anyway, the book she chose was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Ann Barrows. I had never heard of it, nor did I research it. I just trusted that it would be good, purchased it on my Kindle, and jumped right in. 
It was so good. Beautifully written and so enjoyable. I underlined (digitally, of course) so many passages. One of my favorite is about marriage. I only hope I’m so lucky to feel exactly like this someday:

All my life I thought that the story was over when the hero and heroine were safely engaged–after all, what’s good enough for Jane Austen ought to be good enough for anyone. But it’s a lie. The story is about to begin, and every day will be a new piece of the plot.

Isn’t that a lovely thought?

There’s another one that I also loved, probably because it was exactly what I needed to hear at that moment:

Think of it! We could have gone on longing for one another and pretending not to notice forever. This obsession with dignity can ruin your life if you let it. 

And finally, this one that just perfectly articulated how I feel about marriage:

I don’t want to be married just to be married. I can’t think of anything lonelier than spending the rest of my life with someone I can’t talk to, or worse, someone I can’t be silent with.

If you’re looking for something to read that is both well written and absolutely delightful with brilliant characters, I highly recommend this book.

back in the saddle

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My knee is still not 100%, but it’s been a lot better. While I still have some sniffles, my cold has generally subsided. And with a half marathon a little less than six weeks away, I just couldn’t give myself any more time off running. I decided on Saturday that I would start again today and I was actually really excited about the prospect.

And then, last night, I got to bed late. I tossed and turned for about two hours…realizing about 30 minutes in that my restlessness was likely due to the large about of Diet Coke I consumed at the Super Bowl party I went to. I haven’t really been drinking it lately (not for any particular reason, I’ve just kind of stopped), and so the 4+ glasses I had of it did a number. The last time I remember looking at the clock it was about 2:30 am. And then, at 5:30 my body decided to wake up. I managed to get another hour or so of sleep, but four hours the night before I was going to start running was not really ideal.
At work today I was dragging a little. Add to that my brilliant idea to wear my new shoes. While lovely and very comfortable, the heels were doing my knee any favors. Of course, being the oh-so-smart-and-practical woman that I am, I totally didn’t change my shoes even though I have four or five other pairs under my desk. 
So, come quitting time, the last thing I wanted to do was run. By the time I walked in my door, I was exhausted. My head hurt. My knee ached. I was beat. But then that little voice that I love so much started talking to me; whispering about how good I would feel once I was done, helping me recall just how not fun running a half marathon untrained can be (I never want to make that mistake again), reminding me that the weather outside was actually more amenable than it had been in weeks. And for some reason, the realization that I wouldn’t have to put on three layers to survive my run did it. Oh, that and the decision that if I went running I would let myself get a slice of pizza for dinner. I popped an Advil cold, changed my clothes, put my keys and some money in my little pocket and I was off. 
Since I’ve already done a 6-miler, I decided that jumping right in where I’m supposed to be would be no big deal because I only had to run 4.5 tonight. I went up to 110th, back down to 65th and up again; 90 blocks in all. My shuffle gave me exactly what I needed when I needed it. It was a perfect run, given the circumstance…right up until the last 1/4 mile when suddenly my shuffle stopped cooperating and my foot decided to land in a huge puddle. But even that worked out as it motivated me to run the last 1/4 mile hard so I could get home and out of my gross NYC puddle sodden shoe. (I love this city, but I have never lived in a dirtier place.)
And the songs of the night…the ones that came on at exactly the right time:
  • Stripped – Natasha Bedingfield
  • Dog Days Are Over – Florence + The Machine
  • Break Your Heart (feat. Ludacris) – Taio Cruz
  • You Make My Dreams – Hall & Oates (I know, weird, but seriously…it was awesome. Every time I hear this song I picture the scene in (500) Days of Summer and I smile. I mean, how could you not?)