2009

(Don't drink and drive, okay?)

Here's to (literally) getting back on track. *clink*

P.S. I have to do Happy New Year early because I'll be at work when the new year rolls in.

Checking in.

Just a little note, to anyone still reading this, that I'm still around. Not running, not even working out. Just trying to survive the winter. I miss running like you wouldn't believe, but I can't seem to motivate myself enough to get back out there.

Any suggestions? Words of inspiration? Ass kickings?

Looking forward to the end of 2008. I never make New Years resolutions, but come January first I am going to get back to being kind to myself. Eating better, at least walking the dogs once a day. Baby steps back into fitness. Whatever it takes to get me there, right?

I've got a bead on a consult with an ADHD doctor in Portland, but ... I flaked on my appointment two weeks ago. I didn't even bother trying to set up a new one this last week and a half because we've been snowed in like ... I don't know. Something that gets trapped by snow?

Eventually, I will start running around my sister's neighborhood. I hate it. I hate the neighbors, I hate the area. I miss my quiet little broken down track in the middle of nowhere, where I could run and run and not be bothered by aggressive dogs and off-roading rednecks.

Well, I'm going to run along now. I've got to go to the library (in 12 hours, so I'd better hit the hay) and pick some stuff up (Bad Company, The Elephant Man: A Study in Human Dignity and Johnny Got His Gun). So I am going to watch some videos and then hit the hay. We didn't have much of a Christmas this year (as in: not at all), but we're all alive and doing relatively well, and that's pretty much all I want. My good friends Andy and Ed collaborated on a little gift for me, and it really made my day/week/year. For those of you who didn't grow up in Chicago, Svengoolie is only one of the best shows ever. It was like early MST3K except there was only one character (Svengoolie) doing sketches and telling jokes during the breaks. I spent many happy hours watching this show as a child, so when Ed mentioned the show on his blog, I seethed with jealousy. And what do you know? I recently received a package from Ed. Inside I found three DVDs, each containing two episodes of Svengoolie:

• Night of the Lepus
  
• The Creeping Terror
  
• The Gorgon
  
• Gallery of Horror
  
• The Boys from Brooklyn
  
• Mothra
  

Ed supplied the videos, Andy did the transferring. Don't I have wonderful friends?

I wasn't able to get the videos until yesterday (they were up at my mom's), and I still haven't had a chance to watch them yet. But I will. Maybe I'll have a Svengoolie marathon on New Years day. I have the day off. Why not start the new year off with an old friend?

P.S. I got my new work schedule and it just so happens that three of my days off coincide with several firefighter hockey games! I'm really excited and can't wait to go. I'm also hoping to catch one or two more Winter Hawks games as well. And let's not forget about THE WINTER CLASSIC. I'm so fucking excited, I can't even tell you. It might get postponed to January 2nd, though, because, well ... only in Chicago. Either way, I'm on it. I'll be glued to the TV, decked out in my Yzerman jersey. I am a bit conflicted about who to support, though. I was born in Michigan (about 45 minutes south of Detroit) but grew up in Chicago. I guess I should just consider myself lucky that both my home states (what? I can have two home states) are playing HOCKEY IN WRIGLEY FIELD. I'd give anything to be there.

And oh. My. Gad. I HAVE TO HAVE THIS:

Merry Christmas, eh.

Merry Whatevermas, internet people. My gift to youse: my favorite Christmas song:

The courage to start. Again.

Still not running, but this evening I found myself a pound away from my weight from my running days. I know it's not the numbers that matter, but it was disheartening to see I'd gained weight again. But I'm back down again and even my mom is telling me I look smaller.

I think maybe it’s because I’m working now and don’t eat as much? Honestly, I still stress-binge like a motherfucker. I might be able to attribute it to the diet root beer I’ve been drinking. Sure, the Splenda will probably kill me in the end, but at least they won’t need a forklift to get me into my coffin.

At any rate, I’ve lost weight and I intend to run with it. Literally. I’m not going to start up again until I’ve gotten in a good week of aerobic and strength training, and I also need to get that new pair of running shoes.

I just want to get out there and run right now, mostly because IT STOPPED RAINING.

ETA: I forgot to mention the hockey. I know, it's not a hockey blog.

Last weekend, I dragged my sister to the Golden Skate charity hockey game between the Portland Firefighters Hockey Club and Seattle firefighters (not sure what their club is called). The benefit was for the Down Syndrome Network of Oregon, and it was open seating so my sis and I sat up by the glass. It was awesome, especially since some guy in the seats behind us kept yelling out a line from Slap Shot, which you can here in this video I took:



Sure, he wasn't saying it correctly, but it was still awesome. Slap Shot quotes at a hockey game. Life is good.

P.S. Portland won, 8-1. And there was a fight.

Change.

We just made history. I don't even know what to say.

The Fourth of November

I hope you all voted today. I wish I was at a bar right now, drinking root beer and watching the elections with everybody else, but noooooooo. I have to go to work. How the hell can I concentrate when something this important is going on??

Well, anyway. No matter who you support, I really hope you went out and cast your vote.

If it turns out the way I hope, maybe we can make this country great again.

Fever.

I usually get home from work at around 5:10 a.m. Driving through the city in the wee hours of morning, I've been amazed at how many people I see jogging. They inspire me. There's nothing stopping me from running again (aside from untreated ADD); I get up at 2 p.m. and leave for work at 8:30 p.m. Plenty of time to exercise/run every day.

Soon. Very soon. I need to build up some strength first and then ease back into it. I hate to start all over at Week 1 again, but if I have to, I will. As long as I start moving again, things will be fine. I need to run again. First things first, new running shoes.

In the streets on Halloween, there's something going on.

I speak in answers only to see them in my mind.

Just stopping in to say I'm still not running. BUT. I am slowly settling in at work. I'm still confused as hell most of the time, but I'm not quite so overwhelmed. Depending on how busy we are, I usually get home around 5 a.m. I fart around until 7:00 and then feed the animals. By then, it's starting to get light out. While they're all chowing down, I go and get ready for bed. Then I take the dogs out to potty one last time and hit the hay. I wake up anytime between noon and 2:00. Let the dogs out, wash my face, have some breakfast, run errands. I've been running errands like crazy lately. It kind of drives me nuts because I'm sick of being in the goddamn car all the time. But my sister is still in Chicago and there's no one here but me to take care of things. Yesterday I went to the post office to overnight her a package and ended up tearing off half my fingernail with the P.O.'s big tape dispenser thingy. So I'm standing there in line with blood dripping off my finger. It was pretty heinous. I wrapped it in my sweatshirt because I didn't have any tissue. Have you ever ripped off a fingernail or toenail? It's pretty fucking painful. And I had to go to work that night and enter shit into a computer for seven hours.

But I digress. This is my third week at my new job. My benefits kick in next month, which means I'll be able to see a doctor for the first time in five years. And I can go to the dentist. And see my therapist on a regular basis. That reminds me, I've got to finish filling out this paperwork and send it to Dr. ADHD so I can get my brain fixed. I'm getting my hair cut on Thursday and Friday I'm seeing Not!Mia (my therapist). Hopefully, my sister will be home this Saturday. Once she gets back, I won't have to worry so much. Plus, I miss her.

Anyway, my point is, things aren't feeling quite as hopeless anymore. Once I get settled at work, I'll be able to focus on my home life and get back to regular workouts and, more importantly, RUNNING. I took the boys up to my mom's for dinner on Sunday and when I drove past the track on the way there, I got really, really upset. I had my shit together and it all went to hell. I don't feel strong anymore. I've been so stressed out lately, and I know that running has always made me feel better and put things into perspective. I stuck with it for over a year. That's a big deal for me. To have not run in so long really bothers me. I miss writing about my runs three times a week.

Well, I'm going to go hang out with my dogs and read Slap Shot Original for a little while. Oh! And also fill out my ballot!

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE, PEOPLE.

New blog.

Just a short note to let interested parties know I’ve started the Curly Joe blog, which can be read here. I don’t have a lot of time for updates right now, but LaShea and I at least got things started. It is my intention to post regular updates on Curly Joe's health and well being. Good days, bad days, so-so days. It's all part of the adventure. If you want to be updated on how he's doing, go to his page and click on "Follow." I won't be posting anymore Curly-related updates on my running blog.

Update.

Still here. Still not running. I thought I’d be able to fit my workouts in before I left for work, but boy was I wrong. I leave at around 8:45 p.m. and get home sometime after 5 a.m. At first I tried going right to bed when I got home, but I’d have to get up at 9:00 to feed the animals because my sister was working. So I’d get very little sleep and when I tried taking a nap in the afternoon, there was way too much going on. Neighbors running chainsaws, cats making noise, Curly Joe had to go out again, etc. So I haven’t been working out. I’ve lost some weight though (2 lbs); I guess being too busy to eat really pays off.

This past week was really incredibly stressful. My sister flew back to Chicago on Friday because she got the call that her mother-in-law was in the end stages of cancer and fading fast. She’d been in a coma for three days and when she woke up, all she did was ask for my sister. I went in to work Thursday night, intending to ask if I could leave early to drive my sister to the airport (which I work near), but when I went in to talk to my supervisor, I was appalled to find myself bawling my eyes out. J isn’t my mother-in-law, and I certainly don’t know her as well as my sister does, but she is a wonderful woman, and I hate that this had to happen to her and her family. My supervisor was incredibly understanding and told me to just head home. I was so grateful. I went home and stayed up with my sister, who was a wreck. I got about 20 minutes of sleep and then got up to drive her to the airport at around 5:30. Dropped her off, came home and stayed up long enough to feed the animals and let the dogs out at 9:00, then went to bed and slept until 6:30.

My sister is staying with her mother-in-law until the end, which the doctors say won’t be too long now. A couple of days more, I guess. J sleeps most of the time, but she woke up a few times and knows my sister is there. I am here alone, taking care of the animals and struggling to adjust to a hectic new job and trying to change into a night person after over 20 years of being a morning person. Saturday, I was so happy to have survived the week, I dropped off three rolls of film, went to the library, checked out some books and sat on a bench in the sun and read for an hour and a half. I was just so grateful to be out in the fresh air and feel the warm sun on my face. Winter is coming and there won’t be many more days like that.

I’ve got Wednesday off this week. I’m going to try and get my hair cut on Thursday (before work) and Friday (before work) I’ve got to take Curly Joe for a recheck with the doctor at NWVS. I work Saturday night, too (which is why I have Wednesday off). I’m kind of worried because I think Curly Joe may have a hernia. My sister says it’s nothing to worry about as long as he’s still pooping, but I’m going to ask the doctor about it on Friday. If he has to have another surgery, so be it, but that might be the end of me. I honestly can’t handle anymore stress.

I brought the dogs up to my mom's this evening to visit while I made dumpling stew. I also did laundry and took a shower. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do when we grow up? Mooch off our parents?

There is one good thing, though. I got a book in the mail: Slap Shot Original: The Man, The Foil, The Legend, by Dave Hanson. Totally forgot I’d pre-ordered it. I look forward to reading it on my lunch break. Now all we need is a book from the Carlson brothers, and I’ll be happy.

So that’s the news for now. I’m not doing very well these days. Nothing to do but keep on keeping on, right?

Just like anything.

Still here, guys. Still not running. Curly Joe came home a week ago and has recovered remarkably well for a puppy who has been on death’s door twice in the seven months he’s been on this earth. He’s a fighter. If he’s not giving up, neither are we. He hasn’t felt well since last night, but I’m trying not to freak out about it. I’d forgotten to give him his Pepcid two nights in a row, and that might have something to do with it. Not to mention he still has a severe liver problem, and is bound to have off days.

I started a Curly Joe blog with his foster mom; it is for anyone who wants to keep tabs on Curly and how he’s doing, and also so that I don’t clog up my running journal with puppy stuff. Not that the puppy stuff is bad, of course. I just want to try and stay on topic as much as possible. The blog will be made public once we get a few “earlier” entries up.

I weighed myself last night (for the first time in about four months) because I wanted to see if Curly Joe had gained any weight (he had lost two pounds pre-surgery). Curly has gained two pounds. I have gained eight. THE HORROR. I’m not freaking out about it, though. I’m on my period, and I had also just eaten a huge (veggie) meatball sandwich before stepping on the scale. I start my new job tomorrow night, and I know that having a set schedule will help me with eating regular meals. I have been stuffing my face regularly for the past two weeks, from stress and anxiety. My sister bought me a little laptop (bento) lunch box as a gift for getting the new job, and I’m looking forward to coming up with tasty meals to stuff it with. Right now I’m thinking a small salad, some raw red pepper strips, baby carrots, some almonds and raisins. I don’t have much of an imagination when it comes to food. It’ll be strange eating my lunch at midnight, but I guess I’ll get used to it. You know what else I know I’ll get used to? A PAYCHECK. And as soon as my health insurance kicks in next month, I’m making an appointment for a complete physical. I haven’t seen a doctor in six years. That’s bad. After that, I’m heading straight for the dentist. I need to have a wisdom tooth pulled and get a cleaning. I’m toying with the idea of teeth whitening, but I don’t want to look like an actor. I’d just like a shade lighter than what I’ve got going on right now. I want to look healthy, not Hollywood.

In other health-related news, after some careful consideration, I signed up at Jillian Michaels’ website. Of course, I didn’t find out until afterward what a shrew she is about veganism, but that’s fine. I love watching Biggest Loser, and though I know this website isn’t the same as working out for two hours every day with a personal trainer while your whole life is put on hold, I know that having structure works for me. Being able to enter my weight and my workouts and tracking my progress is what keeps me motivated. Here’s a recipe that’s easily veganized:

Dried Figs Stuffed With Almonds & Cream Cheese

Prep Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 5 mins
Makes 4 Servings:
Per Serving: Calories: 154 , Saturated Fat: 1.9 g , Total Fat: 7 g , Carbs: 21 g , Dietary Fiber: 4 g , Protein: 4 g , Cholesterol: 7 mg , Sodium: 73 mg

Ingredients:
1/2 cup(s) figs, dried
1/4 cup(s) cream cheese, reduced-fat Tofutti
1/4 cup(s) nuts, almonds

Instructions: Make a lengthwise slit in each fig, not cutting all the way through. Spread a teaspoon of cream cheese inside each hole, and stuff with one or two almonds. Serve.

Plenty of recipes to choose from/veganize. I have it set up that Wednesdays and Sundays are my rest days. Tomorrow my workout consists of:

Warm Up/Prep: Warm Up
Circuit 1: Jumping Squat (3 sets of 15), Plyo Push-Up (3 sets of 15)
Circuit 2: Military Shoulder Press (3 sets of 15), Sumo Squat (3 sets of 15), Mountain Climbers (3 sets of 1)
Circuit 3: Bench Dip (3 sets of 15), One-Leg Pelvic Thrust (3 sets of 15), Jumping Rope (3 sets of 1)
Circuit 4: Weighted Crunch(3 sets of 15) , Jumping Jacks (3 sets of 1)
Circuit 5: Tricep Kickbacks (3 sets of 15), Russian Twists (3 sets of 15), Jumping Rope (3 sets of 1)
Cool Down: Cool Down

I figure I will just do the elliptical for warm up and cool down. And I think I’ll change the jumping squats to regular ones; I’m not sure my knees could handle that. At any rate, I’m really looking forward to starting this. There’s a weekly checklist you can print out that lists all the exercises and has check boxes so you can mark them off as you complete them. Perfect for me! I'm giving myself some time to settle into my weird work hours and also build up my strength again before picking up where I left off with the Couch-to-5k program.

In addition to having a healthy body, I’m also working on having a healthy mind. I have contacted a doctor about coming in to be evaluated for ADHD (sans H). The trouble is, she has ADHD herself, so it’s hard to pin her down. She e-mailed me some paperwork to print and fill out while I wait for her to send me a packet in the mail. If I am diagnosed, I am comforted to know that in a month I will be able to afford medication. My sister has been doing well on Adderall, though she forgets to eat. I try to make meals and bring them in to her (she does medical transcription from her home office), but after I start my job, she’ll have to fend for herself.

That’s about all I have time for right now, but before I go, ARE YOU REGISTERED TO VOTE? Go to Vote for Change to register to vote, register to vote absentee or find your polling location. You can also double check to make sure you’re registered to vote in your state. In this day and age, it’s a good thing to pay attention to.

ETA: I forgot to mention how incredibly happy I am that hockey season is upon us. My Red Wings are off to a good start, and I'm looking forward to seeing how Stamkos does as a Bolt, not to mention Artyukhin. Oh, and Malone and Roberts. I was flipping through the channels the other night and was delighted to find some hockey. The Winter Hawks vs Guelph. I thought it was strange that they kept mentioning Marian Hossa. Eventually I realized this was a Memorial Cup game from ten years ago, before Hossa became a Senator. And now he’s a Red Wing!

Speaking of the Winter Hawks, I dragged my sister to the season opener at the Memorial Coliseum on September 20th. The Spokane Chiefs won 3-0 (the third goal was scored during a five-on-three power play) and with 3:12 left in the third period, one of the Chiefs hit a Hawk. The Hawk took exception to this and shoved the Chief. The Chief shoved back. The Hawk hauled off and popped him right in the face. Then there were helmets and gloves all over the ice and the crowd was roaring. It was beautiful. It went on for quite a while. Not a bench-clearing brawl, but there were three fights going on at once. The goalies stayed out of it. At one point I looked at my sister and she said, “Ok. Fights are fun!” They put two guys from each team in the penalty box (one of them practically had to be dragged) and then the captains spent a few minutes talking to the ref. Eventually, three guys from each team were led off the ice, and there was much cheering.

Depending on my work schedule, the next game I can go to is this Saturday (against Seattle). Sis said she would go to another game with me, and my friend Rene is interested in going, too. The Portland Firefighters Hockey Club are starting up again soon, and I plan on going to a lot of those games. They’ve got a charity game against the Seattle firefighters club in November. I’m really looking forward to that. And here I thought I would only have TV hockey to slate my thirst! I’m still planning on getting my passport so I can go up to Vancouver for a Canucks game, and speaking of which, I would looooooooooooooooove to get tickets to the Winter Games in 2012. And I really hope this shows in Portland. If not, I’m getting the DVD.

Living is a gamble, baby. Loving's much the same.

I have so much to say and no time to say it. Curly Joe is being released from the hospital in a few hours. It has been one big roller coaster ride of emotions these last four days. Curly Joe was in such bad shape that we almost euthanized him. I called them to let them know we were on our way, and the tech put me on the line with the doctor. She said another specialist had taken a look at him and offered (at no charge to me) to take radiographs to see about the blood that was collecting in his chest cavity. "He doesn't see a dog who is ready to die," is what she told me. So I gave them the OK to do a chest tap and autotransfusion. The short of it is, after an unsuccessful surgery, a blood transfusion, a plasma transfusion and an autotransfusion (draining the blood from his chest cavity and putting it back into his system via an I.V.), Curly Joe is alive and (mostly) well and ready to come home.

We all knew he was special. Now I've seen firsthand just how strong he is, and I will never give up on him so easily again. Yes, the doctor was unable to repair his shunt. Yes, he developed serious complications post-op. But the doctor said if we can just get him past this, we can maintain him on special food and medications until we can find someone who can fix his specific problem.

So that is what we are doing.

Thank you to all of you who have supported me and Curly during this difficult time. It was really, really close for a while there. I'm anxious to get him back home where I am sure he will continue to improve. Tank will be so happy to see him again, as much as he hates to admit it.

Reg is our coach.

The good, the bad, the Curly.

The good: I GOT THE JOB. My schedule is Monday - Friday (some Saturdays) from 9:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. Yeah. It's going to take some time to figure out sleeping, working out/running and working, but I'll manage. Now I can afford to get fitted for good running shoes, and I won't be in pain anymore.

The bad: I still haven't been working out.

The Curly: I had Curly Joe in for his post-surgery bile acid test yesterday. This afternoon, we dropped him off at the NW Vet Specialists. They'll call me tomorrow before he goes into surgery and again when he's out of surgery and in recovery. It was hard dropping him off. He was having such a great time being around all the other dogs in the lobby, but when we said goodbye and the tech took him in back, he didn't want to go. He looked back at me like, "Why aren't you coming with me?" and it KILLED me. I cried when we left. I'm a nervous wreck already and they haven't even started operating yet. I shouldn't feel bad, I know. Despite the risks, he had to have this surgery or he would have died.

When they called to offer me the job, they said I could either start September 29th or October 6th. I picked October since it would give me about two weeks to look after Curly while he recovers from surgery. He's going to need careful monitoring to make sure there isn't any fluid collecting in his abdomen again.

-:- Happy thoughts for Curly. Positive, happy thoughts. -:-

A voice from the end of a leaf.

Hey. Whaddya know? I’m alive. I haven’t run in I don’t even want to know how long, but I haven’t given up. I’m still a runner, I just haven’t had time to hit the track for a while. A lot has been going on, some of it (a very tiny amount) good.

Tank and Curly Joe have finally settled into a nice friendship, though I’ll be damned if I can figure out which one is dominant over the other. Seems like they take turns. Curly has gotten a little bit bigger, though he has lost a couple of pounds recently. As you know, I had lab work done on him and his liver values came back funky. My vet suggested I take him for an ultrasound, so I took him to VDIC last week. Turns out Curly Joe has a problem with his liver shunt. Intrahepatic are harder to fix, and that is what he has. I took him to see a soft tissue specialist at the Northwest Veterinary Specialists this past Friday and we had an incredibly long talk about Curly Joe and how we can go about fixing his liver. All this time, we thought he had seizures and brain damage from being poisoned when he was three months old, but it turns out those are all symptoms of shunt problems. Quiet demeanor, head pressing, staring off into space. Those are all signs and symptoms. It even stunted his growth; he’ll never grow to full size because of this.

This will eventually kill him, so there is no choice but to operate. I will be setting that up sometime this week. For now, I’ve got him on special food (low protein) for his liver. He loves it, though he has been having diarrhea for the past couple of days (another symptom). Aside from a bad patch a week or so ago, Curly has been doing really well. He’s got such an amazing spirit, nothing gets him down. He reminds me of Luke so much. A couple of weeks ago, we were walking down the kitchen stairs when Curly spotted a cotton ball. He dove off the stairs and landed head-first on it. He’s a crazy puppy. (Holy crap is it raining right now.)

So that’s what’s going on with the puppy.

Now for the good news: I’ve got a lead on a job. My friend, R, told me about a position opening up at her work and said she would pass my resume on to her manager. I got a call from said manager a couple of days ago and have an interview with her tomorrow afternoon. The only downside to this job is that it’s in NE Portland and it’s the night shift. Stephen King night shift, yo. But I don’t really care about that. Traffic won’t suck at those hours, plus I’d get a $1.50 shift differential. I would also get benefits (medical, dental, life insurance, 401k, free lab work for my pets, etc.). So right now the pros are outweighing the cons. The biggest pro being MONEY. Steady paycheck. Paying off bills. Getting out of debt. All good things. I really hope I get the job. It’s going to do wonders for my crazy brain. I need routine and stability and working very, very part time (from home) for a transcription company wasn’t good for me at all. It was and it wasn’t. I would still do it part time as needed, but I can’t live on eight cents a line.

Exciting! My sister even bought me a little bento lunchbox (just in case). Aw.

Hawkeytown
Originally uploaded by orclimber

Finally, and this made me so incredibly happy, I dragged my sister to the Winter Hawks’ season opener last night at the Memorial Coliseum. Cheap seats were six bucks; how could we not go? I got the tickets yesterday morning and spent a few minutes going over the seating chart with the guy at Fred Meyer. (They sell Ticketmaster stuff in the electronics section.) At first he offered me some seats right behind the goal, but I passed because then that big damn net would get in the way. I aimed for seats to the left of center, in the nosebleeds. If you look at the picture up there, all the way up at the top left, that’s basically where we were sitting except at the opposite end of the rink. Pretty good seats (as I mentioned in the voice post).

The whole place is so much smaller than the Ice Palace; even from where we were sitting, we got a great view of the entire game. It wasn’t even close to being full capacity, so when I sat down and a pole was blocking the goal, I moved a couple of seats down. No biggie. Sis was a little concerned about the Hawks’ mascot, Tom-A-Hawk. He was wandering around below us, and she was convinced he was going to come over and she would have to push him over the railing. I told her he wouldn’t leave the main floor, but a few minutes later, he walked up the stairs and started mingling in the nosebleeds. At that point, Sis jumped out of her seat and moved to the other side of me. ”If he comes this way, you deal with him.” Lucky for me, he stayed away, but she and I argued for a while over whether or not he was a chicken or a hawk.

The game itself was fun. Nothing exciting, but I’m a bit spoiled. I’ve seen the bulk of my hockey games during the Cup playoffs, so I’m used to a completely different type of play. There were a couple of scuffles each period. Nothing major, but one or two ended with a guy from each team spending two minutes in the box. The Hawks beat the Chiefs (ooooownnzuh!) for shots on goal, yet they didn’t get a single goal.

Midway through the game, the Jumbotron (or, as I like to call it, the Minitron) fritzed out and then went dark. Oh, and there was the blimp that flew around and dropped paper (coupons?) on people. The one at the Ice Palace doesn’t go very far, but this one went allllll over the place. At one point it was floating in the air, pointed directly at us. Felt like Close Encounters. And then there were the two guys in the Hanson/Chiefs jerseys. So awesome.

The Chiefs won 3-0 (the third goal was scored during a five-on-three power play) and with 3:12 left in the third period, one of the Chiefs hit a Hawk. The Hawk took exception to this and shoved the Chief. The Chief shoved back. The Hawk hauled off and popped him right in the face. Then there were helmets and gloves all over the ice and the crowd was roaring. It was beautiful. It went on for quite a while. Not a bench-clearing brawl, but there were three fights going on at once. The goalies stayed out of it. At one point I looked at my sister and she said, ”Ok. Fights ARE fun!” They put two guys from each team in the penalty box (one of them practically had to be dragged) and then the captains spent a few minutes talking to the ref. Eventually, three guys from each team were led off the ice, and there was much cheering. I tell ya, when those players walked by without their helmets, I was struck by how young they are. BABIES! The lot of them! The oldest on both teams was 20 and the youngest was 16. Oy.

Anyway, the rest of the game played out and everybody went home.

All in all, a very good night. Even though “my” team lost, I still really enjoyed my first WHL game. There’s a person in this internet hockey community that mentioned enjoying the high school and beer league games more than the Hawk games, so I’m hoping to find out when and where those local beer leaguers are. So I can go to the games. She called them old-timers. I hope that means there’ll be lots of fights.

The Hawks play the Vancouver Giants next Saturday. I reeeally want to go.

So that’s what I’ve been up to. Hope you are all doing well. If I get this job, the first thing I’m doing (after paying off some bills, of course) is going to get my feet evaluated for good running shoes. I miss running. A lot.

Almost.

I've been back from Colorado for a week now, and I have yet to work out or run. I guess I underestimated how much a puppy would change my life. I assumed Tank would jump right in and be a big brother, thereby taking a lot of pressure off of me to keep the little squint amused, but nooooo.

Just kidding. I know it'll take a while for Tank to get used to having another dog around, especially after all this time alone, and especially after spending these last few years with elderly dogs who weren't in the best shape for rough housing. In the meantime, Curly Joe is terrorizing the cats. I don't think he's figured it out yet that they're cats and not actually puppies like himself. All it'll take is one or two smackchops and he'll learn his lesson, but so far none of the cats have gotten to that point.

I took Joe to the vet yesterday for lab work. I was worried about his kidneys because he seems to drink and pee a lot more than the average dog. Turns out his kidneys are fine. It's his liver that's messed up.

Now, I adopted this dog because he had health issues from being poisoned when he was three months old. He's been doing so well, I guess I fooled myself into thinking all of his issues had resolved themselves. No such luck. The vet thinks it could be one of three things:

1. Toxins from being poisoned.
2. Hepatitis infection.
3. Some sort of shunt problem.
   

She recommends that we do a clotting profile, and also take him in for an ultrasound/biopsy. I'm going to find out how much both of those will cost me and then do some planning. Right now, Joe appears to be in good health. He doesn't have heart worm and everything else came back normal. I need to call around and find a good puppy class to enroll him in. He's a smart little bugger. I already taught him how to sit, and he's pretty well potty trained. He hasn't figured out that if he has to pee, he should go to the front door, but when I take him outside, he does his business and waits for me to give him a treat. He's been really good about chewing, too. Sometimes he'll try to eat a catnip toy or a sock, but he hasn't eaten any wires or furniture or anything, preferring to chew on some of Tank and Luke's old Nylabones. He hasn't figured out "come" and "stay" yet, but that's fine. That's what classes are for.

As for running, I'm going to start on the elliptical and do strength training the rest of this week and hopefully get back on the track next week. I still need new shoes, but I've got the Yoga for Every Body DVD from the library, and it looks pretty doable. I think it will help. Also, my sister is looking at used pilates machines, so I can start doing that as well.

I just have to keep sending out the old resume because everything is pretty much at a standstill until I get some money in the bank.

I'm scared that I won't be able to do Week 2 at all next week. Must keep positive about running and Curly Joe. I do, however, hope something nasty happens to the sick fuck who poisoned this puppy. He more than deserves it.

Riding the storm out.

Okay, it's not so much a storm as it is a massive heat wave. We've got a Red Flag Warning going on over here, which basically means you can burst into flames if you're out in the sun too long. Just kidding. But not really.

I got up extra early this morning so I could walk the dogs before it got too hot. It was 80° at 7:30. Oyyyy. Now I'm at my mom's house. I had to get Freddie's thyroid meds. I'm cooling it for a few minutes before I head out again. A few weeks ago, my sister got one of those water coolers for the front hall; I'm going to swing by New Seasons and get a refill. We're going to be drinking a LOT of water this week.

Things should start cooling off by Sunday, which is good because there's no way in hot holy hell I'm going to attempt any sort of exercise in this heat. Call me a wimp, but it ain't gonna happen.

Colorado was a blast. LS&C are wonderful kids, and I really enjoyed meeting them. Curly Joe is quite a little spitfire. He’s coming along pretty well with the house training, and maybe a couple of years from now he’ll get over the excitement every time a cat walks past him.

He’s a good pup, full of spirit and curiosity. He's not old enough for the training yet (they have to be a year old), but I'm going to try and get Curly Joe certified as a therapy dog. When we're out walking, people flock to him. I shit you not. He has a gentle way with people, it's like he was born to be a therapy dog. I really want to do this so I can take him into nursing homes to visit with the elderly. I love old folks, and I miss my Gram. It would make her happy to know I was trying to help some old timers feel a little less lonely.

Tank doesn’t really know what to make of him yet, but sometime soon, he’s going to kick Curly’s ass, and Curly is going to LOVE. IT. Now that I’ve gotten a good look at him, I’m positive Curly Joe is a Corgi/JRT mix. Probably some German Shepherd, too. He’s got a Corgi face, Terrier legs and the GSD Stink Eye:


That right there is the exact same look Luke used to give me right before he had a meltdown. The message conveyed went a little something like this: "I love you and I don’t want to do this, but in a few seconds I’m going to go postal.”

It was one of the many reasons why I loved that dog so much. He was a ton of love stuffed into 95 pounds of scary.

Here is Curly Joe trying to help Tank overcome his carsickness.



Here is yours truly enjoying a (totally vegan) VG Dog from VG Burgers in Boulder, Colorado. It had the works: sauerkraut, onions, relish and mustard. I asked for no ketchup (because ketchup on hot dogs is blasphemy) and got some “cheese” on it instead. Sooooooooooo goooooooooooood.





The bad news is, VG Burgers is the only vegan restaurant in the entire state of Colorado. The good news is, the owner told me they are going to be opening up a couple of stores in the Pacific Northwest. It’s an expensive meal, but I’ll shell out the dough to walk into a joint and enjoy a vegan hot dog and milk shake. Oh, yes. I totally will.

Anyway, Colorado was a blast. Took lots of pictures, but I haven’t finished updating my travel journal yet. I am lazy have ADD.


Look for more running blogs next week, when the temperature goes back to normal. Sheesh.

The road so far.

As you can see, I haven’t run at all this week. Too frazzled, too busy, too overwhelmed. Too full of excuses. I’ll be back next week, though. I promise.

Sis and I are leaving for Colorado tomorrow, so I decided to create a separate travel journal so I don’t clog this thing up with non-running blather. Check it out. We’ll have my sister’s laptop, so I’ll probably be updating pretty frequently. There’s a link in the sidebar if you want to keep checking back.

I finished Hockey in Portland the other day (you know, when I was busy not running) and was delighted to read that Mark Messier’s father, Doug, used to play for the Portland Buckaroos. Know who else used to play for them? The oldest rookie in the NHL: Connie Madigan. Some of us know him from Slap Shot. He played Ross “Mad Dog” Madison of the Syracuse Bulldogs.

In other news, it was 11 years ago today that I was reunited with (most of) my birth family. My sister and I drove up to our uncle's house in Michigan and met (for the second time, I guess you could say) our birth mother, grandparents, and our uncle and his wife and two little boys. Here is a picture from that day: me, my birth grandfather, my birth mother and my twin sister:


I’m just barely five foot one, and I had to lean over to hug her (and my grandmother). Crazy! Also crazy: we have the exact same handwriting, and she used to be a vet tech, just like me. We met the rest of the family (our aunts and all the cousins) in Florida the summer of 2000.

Ok, here’s me signing off. I’ve still got a lot to do. By this time Saturday, I’ll have a puppy! (Here’s a picture his foster mom sent me yesterday):

Week 3, Day 24

I'm so lame, I don't even feel like updating. I ran today. At least there's that. I got up early and took my mom and sister to this street festival and we (hopefully) got into the Guinness Book of World Records for largest group of people playing the kazoo. There were somewhere around 5,300 of us there, all kazooing "Do Re Me." Got to see Portland Taiko, too.

Afterwards, I dropped my sister off at her house and then went to get a hummus wrap at the pub. I went home and bummed around for a couple of hours, did some laundry, pulled some weeds, took some photographs, then finally decided to head down to the track.

I'm still having calf pain, and I have to admit, I'm feeling really discouraged these days. I even did some pre-run yoga poses before I left, but I don’t think they did much to help.

Anyway, it was 68°F and breezy, so I was really comfortable out there. Recovery was good, but my calves are still so stiff after the runs. I'm just really fed up and frustrated.

The tentative good news is, there may be a job opening at my friend's work. Hopefully she can put in a good word for me and I can finally land myself a job. If so, I'm going to the Portland Running Co. for a GOOD pair of running shoes. Custom-fit.

Sis and I are leaving for Colorado this Friday; at least I'll be able to get in two (what I assume will be hellish) runs before we go. We get back Monday night. I plan on running the following Tuesday, but I guess it all depends on how well Curly Joe is settling in.

Reg, my "new" camera is still working nicely. I took it along on one of our walks the other day. Here's Tank tracking something in the neighbor's pasture.

Tired and hungry. See you Tuesday. (It's supposed to be 94° that day, so if I don't run in the morning, it's gym time).

Week 3, Day 23

Hey, tonight
Gonna be tonight
Don’t you know I’m flyin’
Tonight, tonight

Better late than never.

I overslept this morning; a sure sign that I’d gotten my period. Fed the animals, washed down a wildberry waffle with a glass of soymilk and headed up to my mom’s. Dropped her off at her Thursday Thing, came back here and decided it was too hot to run. I waited and waited and waited and finally at around 7:00, it dipped down to 75°F and I decided it was time to hit the track.

This probably would have been my best Week 3 run so far, if it weren’t for my goddamn calf muscles. They’re still killing me. Maybe I need new shoes? Too bad. That’ll have to wait.

So ... that’s pretty much all I have to say about today’s tonight’s run. I’m in a bad mood and don’t feel like writing much. I will say this, though: Since I started the Couch-to-5k program nearly one year ago, I have gone 71 miles. I won’t say I’ve run 71 miles because not all of it was running, but it is still a huge accomplishment. That’s a lot of movement for a fat chick with arthritis.

I forget if I’ve mentioned it and I’m too lazy to go back and check, but my sister and I are leaving for Colorado a week from tomorrow. I have half a mind to buy this album to listen to on the drive because it is some of the weirdest, funniest shit I’ve heard in a long time. The Mustard Battle, Dear Uncle and The Swimming Pool are three of my favorites. I’m no somniloquist, but I did once walk into my parents' room in a dead sleep and try to sell them Girl Scout cookies. My mom said I was quite insistent and became very angry when she said she didn’t want any.

I’ll see you on Saturday. I’ll probably have a late run then, too, because I’m taking my mom to a street fair in the morning. We (and about 5,000 others) are going to try and get in the Guinness Book for the most number of people playing the kazoo.

Week 3, Day 22

This ain’t the garden of eden
There ain’t no angels above
And things ain’t like what they used to be
And this ain’t the summer of love

Good day, and welcome to Day 22. Took Mom swimming this morning. Scarfed down a Clif protein bar on the way to the pool. After swimming, I ran some errands, came home, had a big spinach salad with peppers, radishes and Bragg’s, waited about 20 minutes and then headed down to the track.

There was a gaggle of pre-teens loafing around the fence where I stretch, each of them decked out in a black hoodie (hoods engaged). They left after I’d done my warm up, so ... yay. The weather was good for running: 61°F, overcast and a little windy. As much as people complain about all the rain in the Pacific Northwest, it’s nice to get a break from the summer heat every once in a while. It was pouring while I was swimming, but perfectly dry while I ran.

As for the run, it went pretty well. The second half was murder on my calves again, but at least my lungs are holding out. I didn’t have time to workout yesterday because I had an eye appointment. The good news is, my left eye hasn’t gotten any worse. The better news is, my right eye actually got better. Are you ready for this?

My right eye is -5.50
My left eye is -4.25

I had made an appointment for my sister as well, and she went ahead of me. When it was my turn in the chair and the doctor started the exam, she said, “You’re the twin with the bad eyes.” I laughed and said something about my reputation preceding me, and she told me that my sister had been her best patient all day: her prescription hasn’t changed at all.

Bitch.

You know how they make you stand on the line and put the black thing over your eye and read the eye chart? When I took my glasses off, the tech asked me which line I could read the clearest and I said, ”It’s all a blur. I know the top one is an E, but it’s always an E so that doesn’t count.” She laughed. Thank you, I’ll be here all week. Other than being completely blind, by eyes are totally healthy. I attribute that to my not wearing contact lenses in three years and also from not wearing my glasses 100% of the time. I take them off to exercise/run/swim.

I got a year’s supply of disposable contact lenses. I rarely wear them, but it’s nice to have them just the same. Because my right eye changed, I decided to get new lenses for my old frames. Except when they took them from me, they said they were so worn out that I’d have to sign a waiver. If the glasses broke during the “re-lensing,” I would have to come back in and get another pair. So I picked out a new pair and kept my old ones as a spare. Which kills me because I love my glasses. The new frames suck, but they were the closest I could get to my old ones.

Anyway, the point is, while I swam and ran, I had my contacts in and was amazed at how well I could see.

Not much else has been going on. Oh, except that I’m out of my fucking mind and had no idea what week it was. I thought we were going to Colorado this week, but it’s next week. I’ve had my dates all screwed up, which makes me think I really should call someone about getting this ADD diagnosed.

Sunday my sister and I went to cheer on our friend Rene, who is on a gay softball team. They did a double header, but we only caught the second one, which they won. This Sunday we’re meeting up with Rene again, this time for Sister Bingo. It's the first Sunday of every month. July was 50’s Bingo, which is the one I was really looking forward to. That and Pajama Bingo. August is Beach Bingo, and I won’t be wearing a bathing suit.

I've been walking Tank a lot lately; about two miles every evening. The other night we walked pretty late. It was mostly dark, so I didn't know there was a skunk in the ditch until Tank ran at it. Thankfully, he didn't get sprayed, though it wouldn't have mattered to me if he did. I can't smell a damn thing. Not even skunk.

I have a massive headache and I still have to shower and go to the vet to pick up some fluids for Spooky.

See you Thursday.

Delay of game. Two minutes.

From morning to night I stayed out of sight
Didn’t recognize I’d become
No more than alive, I’d barely survive
In a word...overrun

Hi. I haven’t run since Tuesday. I’m not sick or hurt, I just haven’t had the time. My sister and I took our mom swimming on Thursday (and saw a bald eagle on the way to the pool) and that’s the last time I had any peace. Nothing bad; I’ve just been really busy and kind of stressed. I had time to go to the library today, where I killed an hour waiting for my film to be developed. I’m happy to report that Reg (my “new” Nikkormat FTn) works perfectly. Here are some shots from the test roll (Fujifilm, ISO 100):

Ocho on the prowl


My sister (grubbygirl)


Very, very sad Tank

Needless to say, I’m incredibly happy with the results. The mercury battery it came with still has a bit of life left in it, so I can hold off on buying a(n expensive) replacement. When I picked up the film, I bought a cheap pack of b&w film (ISO 400). My sister and I are leaving for Colorado next week (and this time we may actually get there), so I’ll need to stock up on some color film as well. I just can't even tell you how happy I am with the Nikkormat. I've missed analog photography so much. I feel like I was just reunited with a long lost friend.

Tank is still depressed and lonely, despite the fact that Sis and I walk him at least two miles every evening. I don’t know what else to do for him other than get him a dog, and a week from Monday, I’ll have done just that.

Anyway, I had that hour to kill before my film was ready (someday I’ll have my own darkroom), so I went to the library. I had a couple of things on hold, but I strolled around for a while and snagged a couple other items, too:

• The Division Bell - Pink Floyd (I lost my copy in the move)
  
• Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
  
• The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas (10 whole CDs!!!! That’s eight hours of radio drama, bitches. One of Sis's friends recommended this to me, and I jumped all over it once I found out they had it at the library.)
  
• Who’s On First? - Abbott and Costello (How could I not already have this?)
  

I also checked out The Last Unicorn, by PeterS. Beagle and The Station Agent. Sis hasn’t seen it yet, and we both love Peter Dinklage. We watched Penelope last night and he was great in it. (If you haven’t seen him in Death at a Funeral, go rent it.)

The movie itself was cute, but the “guess which instrument I play” scene was horrendous.

In closing, I’ve got Nikkormat photos up at my Flickr and will definitely see you on Tuesday with a regular run entry.

Week 3, Day 21

No time left for you
On my way to better things
No time left for you
I found myself some wings
No time left for you
Distant roads are calling me

Ah, what a beautiful day for a run: 69°F, cloudy, nice wind coming in from the West. I had high hopes for this run.

All in all, it went pretty well. I was a bit rushed this morning, so I only had time to scarf down half a granola bar before I took my mom swimming. We went to eat at a little cafe in town (coupon, of course) afterwards. I had a hummus sandwich with tomatoes, lettuce and cucumber and a side of potato chips. Except what I actually got was soggy bread with a smidge of hummus smeared on it, a big piece of lettuce and a tomato sliced almost as thick as the bread. No cukes. No chips. Their water cooler ran out of water before I could get any, and by the time they got around to putting in a new jug, I was done with my meal.

Yeah. I won’t be going back.

Anyway, after lunch I took Mom to run some errands, then came back home, threw on my running gear and went to the track. The running/recovery was fine, but my calves were hurting again. Fellow runner, Christie, recommended a video called Yoga for Every Body, so I put in a request for it at the library. I probably won’t get it for another week or two, so in the meantime I’m trying to stretch longer than I usually do after I work out.

I definitely feel stronger now that I’ve gotten back into working out six days a week, but I’m still eating like shit. Blehhhh. At least I’m sleeping normally again. I went to McMenamins to see The Happening with my friend Rene the other night; I’m always amazed at how good I feel after I’ve spent time with her. It makes me realize how much of my life I spend alone. I sometimes go half a day without speaking. Anyway, movies there are only three bucks and you can curl up on a couch or a rocking chair right there in the theater. We usually end up sitting in this little room near the lobby and talking for an hour or so after the movie ends. There’s a fireplace in there and in the winter there’s always a fire going. Very cozy. Sunday night, we went to the bar downstairs. They’ve got four pool tables and a pinball machine down there; two of my favorite things. I’d like to just go shoot some pool sometime. Ah, if only I had friends.

We were sitting there, talking to the bartender about passports (I need to get mine ASAP) and how apparently they’re going to deny Americans crossing over into Vancouver and Whistler during the 2010 Olympics (dammit, I was going to go to those, too) when an old man came in and ordered an absinthe. The U.S. relaxed the ban on it last year, and I’ve always been curious as to how it tastes. It was cool watching the bartender prepare it, but the old guy started talking snooty about being an absinth expert, so we left.

This week I definitely need to get in for an eye appointment.

I had a really awesome dream the other night. It was pretty much the best dream ever. It involved photography and hockey. Wait, it gets better. You see, I was on a hockey team. Not only that, but my friend Indi was one of my teammates. Not only that, but we were skating around the rink during warm up with our bags on our shoulders. Because we had our cameras with us and refused to part with them, even during a game. At one point during the dream, I got boarded, fell to the ice and whipped out my Nikkormat to take a picture of the guy who hit me as he skated away into the neutral zone. Why did I have to wake up? (No penalty was called, by the way.)

Stupid goddamn alarm clock.

See you Thursday.

Week 3, Day 20

All that rain outside my window, it goes on and on, I know
It’s getting better every day
Soon the sun will shine outside my window, when it’s gonna come
No, I really I couldn’t say
It’s getting better every day

Started the morning off with a glass of açai/strawberry juice mixed with a little aloe vera juice. Once I got all the animals fed, I scarfed down two gluten-free wild berry waffles. I was in a good mood because it was nice and cool out, in the low 60s. By the time I got out to the track, it was around 69°F. It felt warmer, but there was a nice, cool breeze blowing the entire time, so I wasn’t too warm.

Today’s run was great. Except for my calves. I had lots of pain in my lateral calves going into the second half of the run. I pushed through it and felt okay towards the end, but damn. It was painful. I should probably start thinking about getting a new pair of running shoes. Though I only wear mine three times a week for a half hour or less, I have had them for almost a year now. This time around, I want to go to Roadrunner Sports and get fitted for the right shoe. Hopefully they’ll let me buy a mixed pair, since my feet are two different sizes. Their shoes are really expensive, so I won’t be able to buy two pair. I might have to go back to Nordstroms.

Anyway, when I was walking back to my car, I noticed there was something spray painted on the back of the church. I didn’t have my glasses on, so I had to get up real close in order to make it out.

It was a giant penis.

Somebody painted a penis on a church. It was then that I realized the church parking lot was completely empty. Normally, the townsfolk have church service practically all day long, but today my car was the only one there. I retrieved my glasses out of the car and saw that they’d tagged the entire east wall and windows as well. (One of the windows was busted out and had a garbage bag taped over it.) The graffiti said things like “fuck peace,” and the anarchy symbol and “love is a crime, hate is a power.” Oddly enough, they’d also painted hearts all over the place.

I’m not religious, but that’s fucked up and wrong. I hope they catch the bastards. It’s weird because this is a really small, religious town. The morons even tagged some of the speed limit signs on the road up to my house.

I don’t necessarily hate graffiti. Some of it is really beautiful and not at all offensive:

This one is my particular favorite. It’s in Tampa, Florida, the pier at Ballast Point Park. My friend Julie (and her dog, Riley) took me there one night to show me this particular bit of graffiti:

Love it.

Have a good weekend. I’ll see you on Tuesday.

Week 3, Day 19

The bad in the world is hard to hear when in your ear a banana cheers.

Hey! I’m alive!

I didn’t get here in time to take my mom swimming, but I was determined to run before it got too warm. Weatherbug says it’s 65°F, but I call shenanigans. It felt like 75 out there. There was a breeze, though, and it wasn’t so warm yet that it felt like I was running around a volcano.

This run was by far the best I’ve had in a while. I definitely think the key (for my lungs) is to run really early or really late because I could actually breathe this time around. It got a little hard toward the end of my last three minute run, but it was regular “I’m fat and I’m running” gasping, rather than the “I’m fat and I have asthma” death gasping.

So, I’m pleased with myself. To be honest, I was actually scared to try and run again after that horrendous asthma attack last week, so I’m glad I (for once) didn’t let the fear stop me. As hard as it’s been, I’m just plain not happy if I don’t run. It’s the one thing in my life I have to look forward to, even though I hate it most of the time. This morning, I felt bored and miserable and didn’t feel like running, but I know that if I don’t drag my ass to the track, nobody else will. I don’t have any running friends (in real life). It’s just me out there. I’m sort of torn between caring for two people in my life right now, and I’ve been neglecting my needs a bit. My motivation for running lately hasn’t been health or weight loss. It’s just been something nice to do, for me alone. It’s a half hour I get to myself with nothing and no one bothering me.

I’m so glad my sister told me about the Couch-to-5k program. It’s been almost a year now that I started it, and I’m still only one Week 3, but that’s ok. I found something I love, and it has helped me immensely, mentally and physically. I can’t even imagine how good I’ll feel once I complete the program. Whenever that may be. I’m not in a hurry. I’ll get there at my own pace.

In hockey news, my friend Julie told me yesterday that the Bolts home opener is October 11th. Will I be able to fly out to Florida and catch the game with her? I hope so. My mom (a snowbird) has been talking about retreating to her condo in November, so I may just fly out with her at that time and catch some games then. They’re playing the Red Wings on November 13th. Gary Roberts and Ryan Malone are playing for Tampa now. The last time the Wings saw those two, they were in Pittsburgh, playing for the Cup.

Now, here’s the thing. Geographically, my nearest hockey team is the Canucks. It’s almost a six hour drive from here to Vancouver, but my sister has promised to go to a game with me. The Canucks’s’s season opener is October 9th, and they play the Calgary Flames. However, they play the Red Wings on November 2nd. If I can’t fly to Florida, I just might have to force my sister to drive up to Canada with me in November. We’d probably need to get passports though, eh? And it’s only 12 more hours to drive over and see my friend in Edmonton. Or ... not.

I’m just really pissed off that I can’t be in Chicago on New Years day. Two of the Original Six playing at Wrigley Field?! Very auspicious. 2009 is going to rock. Thankfully, the game will be televized. (I intend to have a subscription to Center Ice by then. 40 games a week!??! Yes, please.) We (Chicago) are usually on our first or second blizzard by the beginning of the year, so I’m sure there’ll be plenty of ice for the boys to play on.

I slammed a glass of O.J. mixed with aloe vera juice before I ran, so now I’m going to take my strawberry/banana/blueberry/flax seed/soy milk smoothie and The Boys of Winter out onto the front porch. After that, I’ll do aerobic and my lower body workout and think about what to have for lunch. For some reason, I really want to make corn chowder.

See you Saturday.

Week 3, Day 18

I’m still staying with my sister, so I got up extra early this morning so I could head home and pick my mom up for swimming. For all our hurrying, we got there a half hour early because someone printed the wrong time for the arthritis class. So we sat in the lobby and read gossip magazines for 20 minutes.

Happily, the little pool (where the arthritis water aerobics class is held) wasn’t unbearably warm today. Mom was freezing, I was quite comfortable. After the class was finished, we sat in the hot tub and I pedaled my legs under the (unbearably hot) water. By this time, I was pretty hungry (I inhaled a granola bar for breakfast), so we cut the hot tub short, got dressed and left. When we got home, I slathered on the sunscreen and then sat down to eat some Rainier cherries cheeries. If I haven’t mentioned it before, I am addicted to these things. I wait all year for them to come into season and then gorge myself on them. Well, I would if they weren’t so expensive. Lucky for me, the little girl who lives down the hill was selling them the other day. One pound for a dollar, as opposed to $4.99 a pound at the Safeway. I bought two pounds. How could I not? She had signs up saying “YUM! YUM! CHEERIES!” “CHEERIES 1 lb FOR $1!”


Cheeries. I’m not a sap, but that was damn cute. I could eat nothing but Rainier cherries all summer long and die happy. Oh, and my sister’s neighbor has a Rainier cherry tree in his yard. Last year I stood under that tree and ate those delicious little things for 20 minutes straight. And then went back and did it again the next day.


Anyway, cherries consumed, I headed down to the track.

I sweated my ass off the whole drive down, so I was a little nervous about how I would fare on the blacktop. Turns out I did pretty well for the first half (run 90 seconds/walk 90 seconds, run 3 minutes/walk 3 minutes). My calves held out pretty well, too, and I wasn’t out of breathe. Then the second 90 second interval showed up and I did okay there, too. The last three minute run was doable. I finished, but it wasn’t pretty.

Turns out it’s 92° out there. If I had bothered to check that little bit of information before I left the house, I would have held off my run until this evening. As it is, once I got out there, I refused to leave until I was finished. The pigfucker weatherman on the news last night was all, “Ohhh, don’t worry about it! It’ll be in the upper 70’s for the next few days!”

WRONG.

At any rate, from now on (in the summer, at least), if I can’t run in the morning, I’m going to hold off until evening. It just seems like the heat sucks the air out of my lungs. Not a good feeling.

Speaking of bad eyesight (like how I pulled that segue out of my ass?), I’m going in for an eye exam on Friday. Hopefully. I should probably call and make the appointment first. I’ll have to have my sister drive me. Why? Because I love my glasses and don’t want to get different frames; I’ll have to leave them behind so the eyeglass people can put new lenses in them. Because my eyes are so bad, they usually don’t have my contact lens prescription in-house. If I have to wait for the contacts as well, I’ll be blind for several days and therefore won’t be able to drive myself home. I won’t even be able to find the front door. Or my sister. When it comes time to read the eye chart, I have to walk all the way up to it in order to read the big giant E. Yeah, my lenses just keep getting thicker and thicker. Eventually, the doctor said, ”Why don’t we start giving you plastic lenses? Glass might be a little too heavy for you at this point.”

In hockey news, Dallas Drake retired. Sad, but at least he went out on a high note, eh? And is it hockey season yet?! They’re releasing the 2008-2009 schedule on Thursday, so there’s that to look forward to. Not that it means anything to me, living out here in sad, lonely, hockeyless Oregon. Speaking of which, I got this book from the library the other day: Hockey in Portland, by Jim Mancuso and Scott Petterson. It’s mostly images, which is kind of disappointing, but still interesting. Portland was the first city in the U.S. to have a pro hockey team. Did you know that? Neither did I. They were also the first U.S. team to compete for the Stanley Cup. Not bad for a bunch of people who can’t drive. So what I’m wondering is, why the fuck don’t we STILL HAVE A PRO HOCKEY TEAM? I’m not taking this lying down. Must find evil plan way to get Portland into the NHL.

In happy news, I got a new camera! Except it's not new (seven years older than me) and I don't actually have it yet. For the past week, I've had recurring dreams in which I'm shooting all sorts of amazing photographs with a Nikkormat. I was introduced (by my friend Julie, who also got me addicted to hockey) to the Nikkormat FTn when I was in Florida earlier this year, and I fell in love. Depth of field lever. Shutter speeds visible in the finder. Sturdy enough to be used as a weapon. <3 <3 <3 So the other day I finally snapped. I saw one up for bid on eBay and went for it. I snagged it for $63 (shipping included), which is a lot for me but still a steal. Now all I have to do is get a replacement for the now extinct mercury battery that used to fuel the Nik's light meter. Hopefully the camera will arrive in the next week or two. Digital is convenient, but it's sucking the soul out of old-time photography.

See you Thursday. Don’t forget to watch Wipeout tonight. I fucking love that show. Somebody got horked on last week. Heehee. Ninja Warrior for the U.S. Finally.

Big Balls.

Week 3, Day 17

Sealed with a curse as sharp as a knife.
Doomed is your soul and damned is your life.

Today was a first for me. First time I couldn’t finish a run. I’m trying not to be disappointed in myself, especially since it was either stop running or stop breathing.

Got a late start today; lots of errands to run. Picked Meathead’s remains up from Dignified Pets and then went to REI where I bought me, my mom and my sister each a BPA-free water bottle.

Got out to the track (new water bottles in hand) at around 4:30 p.m. It was warm, but there was a good, strong wind blowing. I was okay for the first half of the run, but during the second 90 second run, I started struggling to breathe. I took a hit of albuterol during the 90 second walk, but two minutes into my (last) three minute run, I had to stop. I just couldn’t get enough air and I was panting like Chicken Lips...something that pants a lot.

I walked until my sister was done running, then we stretched and came back here. Sis thinks it might be the smoke from the California wildfires that’s fucking up my lungs. She might have something there, since I can’t think of a good reason why it’s been so hard for me to breathe lately.

It’s going to be pretty warm on Saturday, so I think I’m going to bite the bullet and run at the gym. It might be easier on my lungs?

Mehhh. Disappointed.

Speaking of which, that Hemp Shake stuff tasted like spiced asshole. I had such high hopes, too. I think if I’d added it to a smoothie it would have been good, but I was at my sister’s house without a blender or smoothie stuff, so I just mixed it in some soy milk. It was all clumpy and gritty and tasted awful, so I dumped it. I’ll give it a second chance sometime.

More fantastic news: last night my sister’s friends told us that they had to take Curly Joe back to the vet because he was having some swelling issues. Turns out he had an incisional hernia. I assisted quite a few hernia operations in my day as a vet tech. Hell, I was born with two inguinal hernias. So I knew it was no big deal, but I was still freaked out. Seems like our animals can’t catch a break these days. I’m happy to report that he’s doing fine today. Here’s a picture of him from a couple of days ago. I can't wait to snuggle the hell out of this dog:

Also, my sweet peas are blooming! Ovechkin the chipmunk ate two of the petals, but I consider that deadheading, so thanks for that! (Fecking chipmunk is the bane of my existence.)

Time to make my sister watch The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai Across the 8th Dimension. See you Saturday, Bigboote.

Week 3, Day 16

Well now, I get low and I get high
and if I can’t get either, I really try
Got the wings of heaven on my shoes
I’m a dancin’ man and I just can’t lose
You know it’s all right, it’s okay
I’ll live to see another day

I’m back. Did you miss me? Don’t feel bad; neither did I.

I got up early today, determined to run despite the heat. Weatherbug told me it would be in the 80’s by 11 a.m., so I knew I had to make some big-time haste. I inhaled some soy yogurt (with ground flax seed) for breakfast, fed everyone else, threw on my workout gear and sped to the track. It was only 80°F, but out on the blacktop, it felt like 90°. Thank gad for the wind.

Yesterday, I did 20 minutes on the eliptical and my upper body/ab workout. I was at my sister’s, and I couldn’t find her 3 lb weights, so I used her fours. This morning I woke up to sore abs, but my upper body feels pretty good. So maybe I should increase my weights? I dunno. Anyway.

The warm up was good, the first 90 second run was good, though my calves hurt a bit afterwards. The first 3 minute run was okay, but my calves were in agony during the three minute walk. I was, once again, doubtful of my ability to finish the second half. I kicked my ass, though, and pushed through. The second 3 minute run was a killer, but I had been taking it easy since the beginning, not doing much more than a fast walk. I haven’t run in exactly two weeks, so I didn’t want to overdo it. I started out thinking it’d be fine if I couldn’t finish, but I’m really, really, really glad I was able to. It would have killed me to think I’d hit another setback.

I wasn’t thinking I’d do the entire five minute cool down, but I did. The wind had picked up again and I was still pretty revved up, so I took the time to cool down properly and then stretched in the shade by the church.

I’m home now, doing laundry and having a snack, and in a few minutes I’ll do my lower body workout. I’m definitely keeping up with the aerobic/strength training; I’ll never move forward without them.

In the past couple of weeks, I have learned a few things about myself:

1. Life without exercise/stretching isn’t worth the pain.
   
2. I am physically incapable of drinking.
   
3. When it comes to our animals, my sister is the good cop.
   
4. I think maybe I can go up to 4 lb weights now.
   
5. I have ADD.

Due to a bit of a life upheaval (someone else’s personal shit I won’t get into here), I haven’t worked out regularly in a month. So I guess being able to push through Week 3 again today was pretty amazing? Regardless, I’ve been in a lot of pain lately, and I know it’s from not working out or stretching. Once again, I can see that it’s NOT. WORTH. IT. to slack off. There’s no excuse.

I drank a bottle of blackberry wine while I was housesitting for my sister a few weeks ago, and aside from having some pretty funny drunken IMs (where I said things like ”I put foam hats on my rubbr duckies” and ”I feel fine, I”m jst having roulbe spelling a ltitle bit. IT’s ridiculous” and “fuckk hat guy. he ocudlnt’ senve stand up his own father an dsay, hey, man, I dont want to get naild by anything ecept that mary chick over there with the red hair.”), it isn’t something I’ll be repeating anytime soon. I woke up the next morning in excrutiating pain. A week later, my sister picked up some Jamaican lager and I had a bottle (they’re very small). Next morning, again, woke up in excrutiating pain. Needless to say, I’m just going to go with my original plan of not drinking at all.

Last year, a good friend of mine was diagnosed with ADD. Which I guess is just referred to as ADHD, even if you don’t have the hyperactivity bit? Anyway, we’ve been friends for going on ten years now, so I trust her judgement. When she told me that I more than likely have ADD, I chalked it up to “I’ve got it, so everyone else must have it, too.” Eventually, I started listening to what she had to say and realized that a lot of it sounded familiar. And I guess that, a lot of times with women, ADD is misdiagnosed as anxiety disorder.

Obviously, I’m not going to say for sure that I have ADD. Only a professional can work all that crap out. Unfortunately, I can’t get help (for anxiety or ADD or arthritis or anything) until I get health insurance. I’m in the OHP “lottery,” and will hopefully “win” a spot on the plan. I think they let you know after 45 days, so I’m pretty sure I’m not one of the lucky 10,000. My next option is to keep looking for a job offering good benefits. The chances of that happening? Not good. I really, really, really, really, really, really need to see a doctor. For so many reasons.

Anyway. I got a sample packet of this Hemp Shake stuff the other day. I figured I should add some protein powder to my breakfast smoothies (couldn’t hurt, right?) so I got the Amazon Açaí flavor. I loooove açaí. Flavor, I mean. I’ve never had the actual berry, though I’d love to try some. So I’ll be having that for breakfast tomorrow. If I like it, I might buy a big container, though it’s really expensive and I’m poor (and a Scrooge).

I’ve also started drinking aloe vera juice. I hate aloe vera juice almost as much as I hate carrot juice. And, like carrot juice, the only way I can drink it is if I mix it with something else. Orange juice. Apple Juice. Grape juice. Whatever. I just can’t drink the shit straight. For the past month or so, I’ve been having some, shall we say, awful belly stuff going on. I think it’s IBS. I take acidophilus before breakfast, but I’m still not doing very well, so my sister got me some aloe vera juice. So far, so good.

Wow. Longest entry ever? I’m shutting up now.

Thanks again for all the kind words regarding Meathead. My sister is ok, but Tank is still depressed, anxious and confused. Next month we're going to attempt the Colorado Road Trip again to meet up with Curly Joe, so he won't be lonely after that.

I'll definitely see you Thursday.