Trading Da Clubb for Da Tubb

Somehow my sleep schedule got messed up enough that, in tandem with a touch of the hermits, I decided to spend New Year's in the tub with some tunes and a glass of wine. In some respects, this mode of celebration and playlist were inspired by this Babyface video (also, this is my favorite version of this song and I have yet to find it sans video).





I'll post all my biggest plans for 2009 in the coming days.

How I Spent My Summer Solstice

June 21st really was the longest day of the year for me -- I got in the car at 3 am CDT and stayed out until 1 am PDT for my 15-year high school mini-reunion. Let me tell you, it was well worth it. It was just a small gathering of the bunch of us who took honors classes together -- some of us having been together since elementary.


This really couldn't have come at a better time for me. I've spent all these years out marauding around the country -- it was great to come back to my roots, especially since my parents moved out of the area about a year after graduation and I've had no occasion to run into anyone. At the cores of our beings, none of us has really changed. What was especially wonderful was to find myself in a room full of happy, confident people who do not derive their identities/self-worth from their jobs. I've felt like an odd-ball in this sense in the places I've found myself all these years away. Turns out, our whole cohort is like this and I either learned this from them or alongside them. So refreshing. My impression of reunions is a bunch of people clobbering each other with how successful/happy/better they are...pretending to be. This factor was decidedly absent from this gathering. Nowhere to be found. We were genuinely curious and celebratory of everyone's paths since the last time we were together, and everyone seemed to be quite comfortable in their skin. Fantastic!

I'm not sure how to describe my exact feeling in seeing everyone so healthy, happy and content. Joyful? Satisfied? Affirmed? All of the above? I don't think I'll press the issue, just revel in the feeling.

These next pics are for my Mom. She fed these people lots of free and/or discounted donuts, which they remembered. I suspect she was more popular with them than I was because of it. (Also, I was kind of a rowdy numbskull. Like I said, none of us has changed much.)

Tammy, Jim, & Tom
(Mom, you probably remember Tom as the super tall kid who came in with Keith and the rest of the swimmers.)

Sara, Mike & Tammy -- The Bus 'D' crew.

Alas, not everyone was able to make it, but we enjoyed being together so much there is talk of making this an annual event -- especially since everyone but Sara and I live within an hour or so of each other. Can't wait 'til next year!

Earthquake!!!

Epicenter was in Illinois, but at 5.2 it's no wonder we felt it here.

I must admit, I feel a little responsible.

Last week, we had a tornado warning, and ever since then I have been telling anyone who would listen how much I prefer earthquakes to tornadoes. And yesterday on the street, I had an impassioned conversation with my friends wherein I *might* have uttered the words "please give me an earthquake!"

My apologies to the Midwest.

Here's the crazy thing: it was kind of comforting...like a little bit of home (for those of you who don't know, I spent my first 20 yrs in CA). But the fact that I didn't sleep through it, as I did easily in my younger days, tells me that maybe they're right about not being able to go home again.

*sigh*

Still, despite my preference for earthquakes over tornadoes, I will (for the benefit of my new, retrofit-less Midwestern neighbors) be more careful how I word it next time.

Not California Dreamin' but...

I miss the desert.

Are you happy midwestern winter?! You finally broke me. I want to run outside!

I Can't Believe I Clicked It

As of last night, I am officially registered for the California International Marathon from Folsom to Sacramento.

My first marathon.

And I have ample time to prepare. Can you believe it?

I've been training for the last few weeks, but without any big, ridiculous goals ahead of me, it feels like something's missing. So I broke out my copy of Four Months to a Four-Hour Marathon and the cogs started turning. Then I got on the Runner's World Race Finder to see what might be available about four months from now.

And there it was.

Here's why I think this will be AWE-SHOME:

1. I am prepared to start the training plan (which starts Monday).
2. I am not, repeat NOT, shooting for 4:00 (my uber-runner neighbor from NM who's been running for 22 years only recently cleared this time), I'm just looking to finish...under six hours would be nice.
3. My childhood friends who married each other live there and are hosting me!
4. Ana might even run this with me! (no pressure...wink) It will be like first period freshman PE all over again!
5. One of their friends (and therefore, one of mine) has a HOT TUB!
   
   
   
   
   

Now for the mushy sentiment:

One of the other reasons I decided to go ahead with this instead of waiting for a local race in the spring is because I kind of see it as a homecoming.

I spent the first 20 years of my life about 40 minutes away from Sacramento, and though I haven't lived in CA for over ten years, it's still part of me. It also occupies a place and time in my life when I was still athletic and active -- and thought I'd always be. And since my 32nd birthday is in December, it will also be a gift to myself...like I'm getting my old self back.

And did I mention the hot tub?