Thursday, November 17, 2011

San Antonio

Dear Diary,

Well, I guess I am a little burnt out on road marathons. This was not all that exciting. I felt like I wasted a lot of eneergy in the first ten miles dodging around women walking six abreast walking elbow to elbow.  And crap, it was hot. I hoped for a PR. Then I hoped to break five. Then i hoped to break 5:15.

By the time I was at mile 20, and had thrust a bag of ice into my bra top to ward off the 87 degrees heat, I just wanted the damned thing to be over.
And yet...
I continue ti be grateful that I can even run a marathon.

12.  Of course, I'm gonna lose a toenail.  or three.  Lovely.

11. The Army had other plans for our hope-for weekend. They had Baboo work all day Saturday and part of the day Sunday. Immediately after the marathon, I had time to shower and get into a cab. By the time I hit the airport at 3:30, i was ready to chew my own arm off, having not eaten since 4 am.

   I ate three suppers. Of airport food.  I practically had to sell blood to pay for it.  But surprisingly, I made good choices.  I ate at some schmancy place that served little pices of food for a lot of money, hoping for good protein. I grabbed a sandwich to go.   Then, in Dallas, I ate a grilled chicken sandwich at McDonalds DON'T GIVE ME ANY CRAP I was starving.

10. Oh, AND the Garmin Nuvi kept sending me to closed gates on base?  There's no "I can't go this way" button, either.  So, I would just turn back while the Nuvi erupted into a hysterical litany of turn left make a u-turn turn left then turn left make a u-turn...I have to wonder if the Nuvis all talked to eath other, what mine would say about me?  You wouldn't believe the idiot who owns me. She never follows any of my damned directions. Why does she even use me?

I'll tell you why.  Because it always leads me to a Starbucks.

9.  I took the week off from running so that my toe could turn black and stop hurting.

8. You know what? I forgot how much I liked celery. I started taking it to work and eating it,with hummus. Of course, I have to say it in a gutteral, sexy way HHHHHHUMMUS.
But, this seems to be helping my, "it's 9 am an I've eaten my lunch" problem.

7.  This week I had a kid's mother in my office. The kid asked me about my medals and then I told her, Running is my anti-drug. we talked about coping skills. We talked about treatment. I worked my magic, the magic that is required when the state you live in allows anyone over 14 to refuse treatment. . I shit you not.
Anyway. As we leaving my office the kid's mother took me aside on the stairwell to ask me a question, in private: so I bet you know where I can get a good workout bra.
Why, of course I do. It's all about priorities, you know. You can have more kids. But a good fitting bra, well, I mean, c'mon.

6. I have bifocal contacts! I am incredibly excited about this, new piece of artifice and vanity. Why, no, my eyes are not 46 year old simultaneously near sighted and farsighted organs. Not as long as I have these little babies. I am a snowflake, as fresh as the day the cloud made me.

5.  So the eye doc told me how they work: at a near microscopic level, the lens is like a window screen, with the screen part being corrective for reading closely. The rest is corrective for distance vision. Cool, huh? So this week, i have the 'low' version in, during which my brain begins to train itself to fill in the gaps.
If you have ever taken perception or cognitive psychology, this is even cooler. Eventually, my visual cortex and I suspect, my executive functions, will learn to integrate decent vision close and far. If this is too nerdy for you, forgive me. I just love that as i age I can continually prop up my various functions in a way that my parents couldn't have.

That's your science moment for the week.

4.  and yet...as Baboo and I were discussing this week, I am pretty satisfied being the wise woman.  I am older than most of the people I work with.  I work with a lot of twenty-somethings, and I interview a lot of teenagers that utter dramatic statements like, why are they even including that stuff that I did before in my case? That was like, six months ago!  It's history!
Meanwhile, I find that I have lots to say on any number of topics.  I never thought I'd be this satisfied being older, but I am. 
But I'm still vain.
I still want the Retinyl palmitate in my skin cream.

3.  Blind kitty is learning her way around the house now.  She's completely blind, and yet can find her way to and from the little box, at two months' old.  *snif* I'm so proud.  I still can't leave food out for her, because Catso and Hissy Fit will eat it if I do.  They have no shame.  They've been freaking out since I put them on Indoor Cat Weight Control Formula.

2.  Jonster has come home.  This is former Seaman Jon.  He is no longer in the military.  I've had a rough year worrying about this kid, but I think he's going to be okay.

1. My souvenier from San Antonio.  I picked up this little gem at the expo, where I'd gone to get the injinji socks I forgot to pack.  At f

At first, I thought it was related to the gels and electrolytes it was sitting among. Then I looked closer at it.


No, I said to the saleswoman.

Yes, she said. 

Not--

oh yes.  I sell tons of these.

I will tell you that it is pink.

I promise a full report.

...

No, I said

6 comments:

  1. OH that peeing standing up thing just made me forget to comment on the rest of the blog because I am just...CURIOUS!

    At age 14 kids can refuse treatment in some states??? REALLY? Can they buy beer too?

    GREAT job on the marathon!!! Congrats

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  2. Looking forward to the ongoing reports on bifocal contacts....says the 45 y.o. woman who is incredibly nearsighted (can no longer read bedside clock at all), wears contacts for distance and has to put reading glasses on top of those now! I'd so prefer to stay w/ contacts rather than having to go to glasses (bifocal) f/t.

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  3. My friend has one for camping (and now I want one). She peed off a cliff with it. That moment changed her life. Now she's excited for winter so she can write her name in the snow.

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  4. It always makes me laugh to piss off the Garmin. And she has the most disgusted tone when she sighs, "Recalculating...reCALculating..."

    I'm very intrigued with your new souvenier. Peeing in the woods is my least favorite thing about being a girl.

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  5. ok, now I'm thinking I'm a freaque of nature because I pee standing up every time I need to (bib shorts or on a run). I don't get the novelty.

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  6. This video reminds me of your blind cat.... you should try it :-)

    http://icanhascheezburger.com/2011/10/12/funny-pictures-videos-oskar-the-blind-cat-vs-hair-dryer/

    ReplyDelete

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