more running

I registered for my first 10K. The Nike+ Human Race is on August 31, 2008. It is unlike any other race, and boasts that a million people will be running it. There are 25 cities hosting race courses on the same day; additionally, people can race wherever they are via the Nike+ chip that tracks your running. My former roommate, one of my current roommates, and I are all registered and training together. I'm really excited. If this goes well, I might sign up for the Nike+ Women's half-marathon. Every finisher receives an exclusive key chain designed by Tiffany & Co and an official finishers t-shirt in the mail. It is another race where people can run wherever they want as long as they have the Nike+ sport kit.

Since moving in with five of my friends, I've been able to get four of them to start working out with me. Mark is the one who signed up for the 10K; he has run marathons before but hasn't run in a year and a half. Laura agreed to train for her first 5K- the Race for the Cure in September. And Celia and Sharn just join in for the benefits of exercise. With the four of them and my former roommate (who could barely run a mile when she moved in with me and ran 5 today when we went to the gym!), I have constant workout buddies, which is great for me because I love doing things with other people. Turning exercise into social events is getting me to be even more active. Yay!!

Random Thoughts

Today, I decided to write down random thoughts as they came to me. My day started at 4:30am when my alarm went off. I had to be at Gap at 6am to start work today. The first random thought hit me on the subway ride to work. The car was really full for the early hour, but as I looked around, I noticed everyone was male. I looked as far down the car as I could see, and I only saw one other female. I guess it's usually all the men who have to work that crazy early. I wondered what they all did.

Random thought #2: I hate when people mumble too much. A person I work with mumbles everything she says, so I catch less than half of it. It's so annoying!

Random thought #3: I also don't like it when I say "hi" to a customer, and he/she doesn't respond. I understand when they have earphones in or can't hear me, but sometimes people just ignore me. How rude!

Random thought #4: I am oblivious to famous people. I'll never see someone famous in this city unless someone else points them out. A week-ish ago, my friend Rachel pointed out Diddy (aka P. Diddy) just after we walked past him. I practically brushed his shoulder, but all I saw was his back after Rachel said something. Then last night my roommate Sharn told me that we just walked by Michael Showalter, and I didn't notice him either. I don't know if I would have recognized him though, since he's familiar but not that well known. Laura also thinks we saw John Glover (Lionel Luthor in Smallville) at Trader Joe's, but I didn't get close enough to be able to say for 100%.

Random thought #5: How do people not know what size underwear they wear? I am regularly asked by customers what size underwear I think they would wear. How? How do they not know? There are only 5 options! It is probably the same size you are in anything else that comes in small, medium or large! Come on, people.

Random thought #6: Another question I get all the time at work is "Would I wear this for sleeping or for going out?" See, I work in GapBody which sells bras, underwear, sleepwear and loungewear. If you want to walk around the city in pj's, or comfy t-shirts, or tank tops or casual knit shorts, why should it matter whether I think it's okay or not?

Random thought #7: A song that comes on every time I work has the following lyrics: "I'm not unfaithful, but I'll stray." Isn't straying being unfaithful? How does this make any sense? It reminds me of another song by Rihanna. "and i know that he knows i'm unfaithful
and it kills him inside... i don't wanna be the reason why... i don't wanna be...
a murderer." This also doesn't make sense. If you don't want to hurt him, break it off or STOP FREAKING CHEATING!!!! I know these are just songs, but does anyone actually listen to these lyrics? They're crazy!

Random thought #8: Working for 11 hours sucks. I had to stay until 5pm today instead of the 3pm that I was scheduled until because some people from corporate were coming for a visit. We had to make the store look perfect and be on our best behavior. It somehow also meant that my managers needed me until the bigwigs left. I was quite tired, but kept up my happy face :-) So glad I have tomorrow off.

Random thought #9: These thoughts seem more negative than one might expect from me, but oh well.

New House

We moved into our new house on Sunday, and I'm still unpacking! It's so unlike me, but we have so much stuff this time. I'm living with five friends, and two of them aren't even moving in until next week. We're settling in though, and we really like the house. The landlords have put a lot of work into it. Celia and I want to paint, so that will be a project for later this month after everything is in place. I'd like to get it finished before the 4th of July because Michael, his brother Willie and Willie's girlfriend Stefany are coming for a visit. Since being back in New York, working at the Gap has kept me pretty busy. That's another reason things aren't unpacked yet. My friend Tracey is coming this weekend to stay with me. She was in the area for a wedding. I'm hoping to get a shift or two covered so I can spend more time with her. I'm still looking for a full time job. I was supposed to have a second interview with Scholastic this week, but I'm waiting to hear back for confirmation. It's tougher than I thought to get a publishing job.

States I've Been to

create your own visited states map

Kodiak Michael Souto Dec. 13, 1993 - May 15, 2008

In February of 1994, when I was in 7th grade, my family and I drove out to a house in Mesa, AZ to pick out a new dog. My mom, dad, brother and I took a look at the adorable Husky puppies, and one in particular stood out. He had brown eyes, instead of blue, and a beautiful black and white face. When my mom held him like a baby, he didn't mind at all. We took him home in a box, but in his future puppy days he would crawl behind my mom's head and lay across her shoulders whenever she drove.

We named him Kodiak after the Kodiak bears of Alaska- a state that seems much better suited as home to Siberian Huskies than the desert of Arizona. But, Kodi was at home with us. He was a sweet puppy but very strong. We put a dog door in our back door, but he quickly broke through the plastic piece that was supposed to "close" the door. For those times when we wanted him to stay in the backyard, we tried piling bricks in front of the dog door, but he got through those at well. The only thing that worked was pulling the washing machine in front of the door to block him.

Sometimes, we took Kodi up north where he loved playing in the snow. We took him on road trips and camping trips; he was truly part of the family. One time, we had to leave him in the car when we went in to my uncle's house, and he was so upset at being left alone that he chewed up the dashboard. He was always happiest when he was with the "pack."

After more than 14 years together, we had to put Kodi to sleep. It was probably one of the most difficult experiences of my life. I was grateful that my mom was able to wait until I came back to Arizona so that I could say good-bye.

I love you, Kodi, and I'll miss you.

bruised sole

Everyone knows your foot can get hurt. You stub your toe, drop something heavy on it, etc. But, what I never realized is that it is possible to bruise your sole. My soles can handle miles of running, walking all over the city, or dancing in heels, so what could hurt them? Apparently, falling up the subway stairs does the trick.

When I realized the train I was going to take to work today wasn't running, I headed for the stairs to get to another train. That's when I fell- up the stairs. Fortunately no one was around, but I scraped up my hand and bruised the sole of my foot. I'm still not sure how it happened.

So, my first time falling on subway stairs was this morning. My second time falling on subway stairs was also this morning. Coming home from work (short training shift), I was carrying boxes for moving and thinking about how I fell earlier and how much my foot hurt when I fell going up the stairs again! There was one other person there that time, so I was considerably more embarrassed. I hope this ends my career of subway stair falling.

Baby Got Books

Whenever I go back to teaching, I'd like to try to find a way to use this video. Maybe have the students make their own "cover" videos. :-)