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.