What It Takes...February 2011
Starting where this one leaves off...
@Nemo- Congrats! Very exciting!
Glad to hear everyone is busy and happy at work (well except you Becky 
fingers crossed you get some stuff to do!).
We are preparing for the apocalypse here in Chicago. I can't ever remember a storm being described as life-threatening here before so it should be interesting. But of course, because we are Midwesterners there are very few places that are preempively shutting down. I wonder if it's a little bit of pride, like "Oh the east coast would have to shut down for this, but we are tougher and better prepared." It's annoying me. My office is scheduling an "informative" meeting about our procedures. In my head I want to scream that I'm not walking a mile through 18"+ snow drifts and dealing with crazy drivers just so I can come to work. And I can't imagine the danger for people trying to commute. Just a little frustrated with work
On a happier note, I've joined OKCupid to see where that takes me. I'm enjoying it so far (much better than Match IMO). I have been talking to a few guys, so who knows where that's gonna take me. Plus I'm getting a kick out of reading some of the things people post. TMI, but they make for a good laugh at least.
Comments
I registered today for the Chicago Marathon. It's a 10 year anniversary reunion tour with my original group of running buddies. My calf is still not right and for all I know I'll be walking the whole race, but it will be fun to be in Chicago with old friends (and to see some ENers too!).
I did some new exercises on TRX bands. In my mind, I thought I would sail thru these moves w/ ease and grace. In reality, my boys laughed their asses off and threatened to video tape me and put it on youtube. The video of how not to do TRX. (THey're 8 & 10!). Even my husband found it comical. I am now so sore for the past 2 days I feel like I've been hit by a mac truck, can't move let alone train hard. UGH! I may have overdone it. Apparently I'm not that fit or strong. The graceful elephant is wimpy. (I am a athena size)
So, I'm a firm believer of vacationing in Feb b/c it sucks. Now, this is by b-day month. I should like this month. The weather sucks, it's grey, cold, dreary. I say. . . get out of doge. Go to the SUN! So, share your vacationing . .. . let us live thru you fun stuff. We are not going to the sun
Snow apocalypse is interesting so far. Starbuck's has a closing plan, but President Bob is in India, so I'm thinking I'll be commuting home in a blizzard. I hope the Brown Line doesn't break before then.
@Nemo - Hooray for marathon registration! My cowbell is ready for you!
Thanks to all for the caring safety warnings. I am at work and patients are coming in, but it is just snow today, and a lot of it. Supposedly we are pre-emptively closing tomorrow because it is predicted to be ice/ snow mix. I am still waiting to see that in writing. Otherwise I plan to be here. I do wish they would close us early today. It is easier to drive in snow when it is light, rather than after dark. I only live 7 miles from work and drive a Subaru, so I'm not worried. I just would like to be in my warm fuzzy clothes and lounging on the couch with hot chocolate in between bouts of shoveling.
For those of you venturing through the world of dating, please just be safe and smart. I do hope you have fun and find the love of your life who can put up with a triathlon addiction.
@Kelly- I think you should have lots of sun in UT, otherwise you have lots of snow. Either way, it can't be beat for a vacation. My trip is for late March, scuba diving in Palau. I am considering starting a count down because otherwise I might hurt someone, I need to get out of here.
I want stories too Jennifer!!! I love hearing everyone's dating stories.
NEMO!!! Maybe we could organize a mini Chica/sherpa reunion in Chicago??? That would be a blast! What do you all think? My inlaws live in Illinois, quite a ways out but I would have a place to bunk at night. Hmmmm thinking thinking....Kathy? You up for a little road trip and free lodging??
@Sheryl - I've been thinking about you... glad the new job isgoing well. How's the Biggest Loser challenge going?
@Jennifer - I'm on okCupid, too. Only one date out of it (well, 2 dates wth the same guy, and we're getting together is week, too) and another has just recently emailed me... we shall see. I"m back on match, too. Been maybe a week now. so far nada. Very much like my past match experiences. Scarily, I see a lot of the same faces - with the same pictures and I wonder if these guys are just playing the field (and are emotionally vacant) - I don't know. it just seems strange to me. I've been off and on a few times in the past few years, but update my picture at least. Maybe these guys have gone dark for periods o time, too. I just don't know.
@Nemo - yay chicago! What a fun marathon!
@Kelly - hang in there! And don't let them laugh - say that if they're going to mock you they need to get off their duffs and do the work, too! You ARE graceful and strong! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Oh, and when is your b-day? I"m a February baby, too! Monday, in fact... although 37 is nothing to look forward to.
I have to laugh at your stories of horrible weather and bad commutes. Growing up in the midwest I learned how to deal with snow but DC doesn't ahve a clue. We were given unsceduled leave or telework today (notfied yesterday around 2) and nothing happened. little bit of overnight precipitation. We got the same deal for tomorrow.. we shall see. It's really unusual for the fed govt to be like this (last year getting days off during the snowpocolypse as pretty amazing) but this year it's a totally different story. I'm sure the nightmare of the never ending evening commute last week didn't help. So, I spent today at home working from my kitchen table... I'll be here again tomorrw and Thursday (which is my regular telework day). Not too shabby.
Hope everyone is looking forward to their weekend!
@Jennifer, I love WTF! So clever!!!
I hope everyone is healthy and warm... the crazy storm pretty much missed DC. It's so bizarre that we're surrounded by areas that got pummelled. There must be a bubble over DC. But the super sweet thing was that Ts and Wd we had unscheduled leave or telework option, and Th is my regular telework day - so I've been in yoga pants and a sweatshirt all week... I think all the random permitted telework days totally helped me out with the cleanse as far as keeping to the schedule.
Speaking of cleanse, it's done! I had wine last night... more than I should have, but it was so good. Mike (the okcupid guy) came over and we had a glass or two then went to dinner - where I had another 2 glasses... crazy. I'm amazed I don't feel like total crap today - but I did drink a lot of water and some coconut water when I got up. I suspect the adrenaline will fade at some point and I will get a killer headache but it's my own fault. So, that was the 4th date with Mike... the first 3 involved tea/coffee... He's nice. And, from what I can tell, very interested. I need to decide if I am, too. I don't have any other leads as it were... and I don't want to rush into anything. Not that I enjoy being single but I want to be sure my head is on straight.
I'm going to see Dan tonight. Hmm... probably not a good idea but I'm not always the brightest light. I guess I emailed him something this past weekend (perhaps a groupon deal or something) and he asked about the cleanse and when it was done... I mentioned how good the food was, particularly one lamb dish and offered to make it for him for his birthday (which is today). Yes, I'm an idiot and a glutton for punishment. Anyway his response was maybe, let's touch base this week.. So on Wed I get an email asking if we're still on for dinner tonight... so, that's that. My guess is his friends (the 3 he has) probably have other plans and I'm his fall back. Who knows maybe we'll talk and I'll finally get closure. I doubt it. I'm a dummy.
@Becky relationships can be tough. Saying good-by . . . meeting someone new. . . Non of it's easy. Something to think about isn't just the qualities that you ARE looking for in a guy-that can be very obvious. But, what are your deal-breakers (at least 5). If he has any of those 5 deal breakers, then he's a no go. Period. No relationship. So give serious thought to what your deal breakers are for you. They're different for each one of us. Just a different way to look at relationships. Good luck.
So what is everyone doing for the Super Bowl? Joe and I have plans to make a huge Dim Sum meal. Pot Stickers and Steamed Dumplings galore. This is soooooo non- paleo!
Oh man, dating stories... You asked for it, Sheryl. I dated a guy for a bit this summer. Very good looking (I called him Pretty Boy), PhD, very wholesome, has about 3000 Facebook friends because he genuinely wants to connect with that many people, etc. A really, really good man. But he drove me crazy. One - he ate soooooooo slow. Stupid, yes, but annoying given that I inhale my food. We'd get dinner and - no joke - he wouldn't touch his food for 20 minutes. I couldn't pay attention to the conversation because part of my brain was imagining strangling him, Simpson-style, "EAT DAMMIT!"
But the biggie was #Two - I got the sense that he wanted to hang out rather than date me. When I make plans with someone - say, we'll go out to dinner on Tuesday - I consider that to be pretty set in stone. He did not - I'd get a text Tuesday around dinner time ("Hey, did you want to hang out tonight?" Uh, aren't we already?). Then he'd say, "I have a meeting until 7. Want to come over to my place after?" Then at 8, "I'm running a little late." I'd finally get to his house all dolled up for dinner and he'd answer in his boxers, straight out of the shower. "Hey, I have to use up this salmon in the fridge. Let's just eat in." This happened every. time. I can live with the fact that his cooking was terrible. I can live with a buff man answering the door in his boxers. But I cannot date this casually.
Time helps you forget why you aren't dating someone. I haven't seen him in months and is *is* such a nice guy. This week I was attending a conference where he works, so I asked him if he wanted to grab lunch Thursday or Friday. He texts back (note: only texts!) "Thursday is great!" I responded, "I have a break from 1-2." Silence. A few hours later, he writes, "I have a meeting tomorrow. Let's do Friday." Friday morning I text him the times of my lunch break. True to form, he says, "I have a meeting at 1:30. Drinks after work?" Are you not looking at your calendar when you make plans with me? Did they skip this concept in grad school? I. Don't. Get. It.
He wants to go to trivia night a local bar next week. Let's put money on how likely that is to happen...
Oh, Becky. So bad idea. Although I am pro harmless rebound flirting. And, with dating, PLAY THE FIELD. Have fun. Flirt a lot. Only grant second dates to men who make you feel awesome and pretty.
Superbowl - It is either visiting Chinatown for Chinese New Year fun or Superbowl watching. Or both. Living six years in Wisconsin, I am cheering for the Pack.
I had a bad bike accident yesterday. i can only type
left handed but an " a-hole" honked and then got real close to me no bike lane, i kind of jerked, bike got caught between narrow gutter and curb and hurled me over front. landed on right shoulder right on it, heard it crack or snap. ER xrays show complete break of clavicle no other injuries, hit head hard but had helmet laid there stunned and coulndnt move for several minutes. he never came back. i got help and a ride home hubby took me to ER. now in a very uncomfortable S sling but done for awhile. no bike camp with son, no more flying lessons, no training and of couse i am lucky it wasnt worse but thrashed my bike, shoulder and my spirit a bit and that guy has some nasty karma coming his way!!!!
just cant seem to catch a break!!!
I can't comment on the dating but the cleanse??? - Good for you Becky! I think about trying it but have ZERO discipline! Kudos to you for sticking with it!
Being a life long resident of Wisconsin I'm a life long Packer fan - had a Bart Starr jersey when I was a kid. I have to fly out to Rochester, NY Sunday afternoon for work. I tried to get it changed to Monday but my boss said no and the travel dept said - "it's not a national holiday you know" to which I responded "it is in Wisconsin!". The guys at the post office were even wearing Packer shirts today! Anyway - if my flights are both on time I'll arrive in Rochester 1 1/2 hours before kick off and know of 2 good sports bars for watching. Please send positive mojo for ON TIME FLIGHTS!!!!!
Nemo - I'll never say anything to Kirk but he is a really good guy and I'm sure a good boss.
I lurk a lot on this forum but don't always have time to comment (plus my life is really boring). You're an amazing group of women and I can't wait to meet more of you in 2011!
Sheryl,
I am rarely in this forum, but saw this today. You mean a Chicago Marathon road trip? So that would be mid Oct? Always sounds fun, but not sure. Still dreaming about doing MCM Oct 30
I'll call ya.
With all of the snow on the roof of the very old rental home I live in. I have been nervous. Many roof collapses across Massachusetts, mostly flat roofs, but not all were flat. I have been paranoid and walking around looking at all ceiling- wall seams and listening for new or unusual creaking.
At 5 am I was startled awake by the heating system cranking up, I was too adrenaline rushed to fall back asleep. So I called the landlord at 9am. She was very reassuring but being a Yankee, also does not like to spend money. She is not cleaning off the roof. Deep breath- OK.
So I get on the trainer in the basement. A few minutes into the 2nd FTP interval, I hear a loud "pop". My watts don't drop, so I don't think it was the tire. Now I am totally freaking out that the sky is falling. Nothing more happens, so I calm down. Finished the workout and look for the source. Good news!!!
The roof remains intact and I have a flat tire. Phew!! Come on spring!! (breezes to melt the snow, not rain to weigh it down)
Time to eat.
Gi Gi- sending you positive thoughts for on-time flights too! I'll be cheering for GreenBay as well- mostly 'cause I hate Pittsburgh! HA!
Michele- OK, that was hysterical!!! I'm sure it didn't seem very funny at the time, but that story will have me chuckling all night long (along with the image I have of Max climbing up on the roof to clean it off (for some reason I'm imagining him doing this in the pink speedo! HA HA HA)
@ Linda I'm sooooo sorry. That's so scary and painful. I'm not sure which is worse, the fear of almost being hit and crashing or the pain of the injury. It's hard to stay positive during such a hard ordeal. I hope you have a speedy recovery and are healthy soon. Sending you a mighty hug. Good luck with your recovery!!
Kelly
Today is gorgeous weather. I am planning to go for a snowshoe run/walk. I can not face the TM again.
For all you folks with a team in the big game today... I hope your team wins!!
Just a Happy Super Bowl Sunday to all and thanks to all my chicas's! wish I could say "oh today is better" ugh, hate this, take the meds and then can't stay awake...hurts like a moo phoo! BUT, it is sunny and warm here and everyone is going to have a fun Super Bowl day I hope. No beers for me but wishing you lots of fun and hope all of your teams do well. We always make a little grid for "family gambling", only $5.00 a square but makes the game more fun for me! So just saying thanks and thinking positively when I can get over myself
Someone wrote me in the medical forum that Lance Amstrong was back on his bike in a week after his collarbone fracture,
NOT!!!
@Maybe it was his trainer?? Thank God we have trainers!!! Good luck! I have no idea how long the recovery is for this injury. I hate pain meds. They suck. I haven't had alcohol for 2 years b/c of meds that I'm on! Sucks. Saying prayers for you. Enjoy the Super Bowl. Love the ads.
Checking in (I still don't get email updates so I can't lurk and keep up... which really stinks).
@Linda -- oh no! that's so horrible. I'm so glad you're okay and weren't more badly injured. And I'm sending that jerl bad karma, too! And after everything you've already been through... just stinky. Hang in there and get better. We're all praying for your triumphant return.... and I still look forward to the day when you get your pilot's license and are flying the friendly skies (which, I hope are much friendlier than the roads in your town). Grr...
Friday was strange. No closure. Shocker. I get there and we're chatting like normal... and mid-dinner prep he asks if he can have a birthday hug. Umm... okay. So we eat and he loves the dish... and all conversation is very friendly and very much like nothing has changed. Hmm... So, after dinner we watch some tv (after checking on demand), he's got a couple Fringe's on tivo. Every so often I'd get the impression he was getting a little flirty. I tried to deflect. Then after tv there was kissing. I honestly have no idea how that got started. Seriously. It was getting a bit intense... and I took a breath and asked "what does this mean?" His response, I kid you not, was that "we gave into the passion. Relationships are tricky, especially broken ones." Well, that pretty much killed it for me. I told him I couldn't do this if it didn't mean anything. Seriously. WTF?! Does he respect me at all? Did he ever? Does he really think I have so little respect for myself? Does he really think he's that irresistible? OMG. So I went home.
Mike has his kids all weekend every weekend. When he found out it was my b-day he offered to take me out Sunday night, but I had a superbowl party to go to.... he's taking vaca this week (and starting a new job next Mon)... so I won't see him. Your advice in that regard has been good. He's nice and he's fun... but I'm not ready. And I don't know him that well and there are a few things that just don't sit quite right with me yet... I want to give him a chance but I think he's about 10 steps ahead of me and that's a bit freaky.
No other leads from match or cupid... and that's fine. Just finished the cleanse, went a bit crazy this past weekend... but ready to really start kicking it with training (about to do 6 weeks of half marathon prep per the wiki guide). Catching up with some girlfriends this Friday which will be great. Having dinner next Sat with some friends for a be-lated birthday... so I'm happy I have my next weekend covered! Weekends are still a bit hard for me to handle alone... but they're getting easier and it's been kinda nice to just do what I want to do... and catch up with friends.
I definitely need to make my ABC list per Linda's advice...
Just a quick check in. I was wondering why I wasn't getting the email updates for my lurking then I realized it was a new month!
Speaking of the ice/snow storm - here is a great video about how Houston deals with winter weather:
Things here are picking up. Teaching is good; first exam Wednesday. New job is fabulous! Dealing with all the big company stuff is pretty funny. I'm able, for the most part, sit and laugh about all the things. I hope my laptop will be in this week (3 weeks is the "rush" job). The group has signed an agreement with Chris Lieto to be our spokesperson!!!! He's coming to do a race in early April (Gateway). He is supposed to let us test him and he will work with us on our services, etc. So exciting!
I think I'm settling in to not being in grad school. It is weird to not have school/dissertation hanging over my head all of the time. I've started knitting again. Working on a hat for now.
I've come to realize that a HIM is not in the plans for this year. I won't be ready running or riding-wise. I'm going to foucs on doing a few sprints and really focus on the NYC marathon in November. Then, I can do a HIM or two next year. Being in the south, we have a l-o-n-g racing season - it starts the first weekend in April or late March and goes through November.
I need to go back and see what the ABC list is. . .
Take care everyone!
@ Becky sorry about the date. . . hang in there. Valentine's day is a perfect girlfriends night out-dinner w/ friends is perfect. No one really believes in the hallmark card day anyway. Celebrate w/ friends.
@ My running sucks right now. Struggling. Doesn't help that we have Cheeto's left over from Super Bowl and some chocolate. UGH. Not a good combo! Deadly.
@ Becky- Ooof. Obviously not many thought your date was a good idea, but if anything I'll say that when I read your post I was like actually there was closure, right? I mean you learned that Dan likely does not see you the way you deserve to be seen by a SO. To me that sounds like getting confirmation that you made the right choice.
@ Penny- It took me forever to get over the not being in grad school thing, where I could easily sit down and sew or cook without thinking, oh I have to do some school work. It's quite the liberating feeling!
I have a few funny OKCupid moments for you...starting with this email I got today from a 24 year old guy who is still in college and thinking about switching majors- "damn ur hot, now i know i am a little younger but i also know that im still in my prime, and i also know that as a woman ur finally entering yours, wutsup?" I seriously laughed for at least 15 mintues with that one. On a more realistic note, I've been talking to a nice guy for a couple of weeks, and he asked me out for drinks tonight. I'm looking forward to it, he definitely has a couple of my A requirements (sarcastic sense of humor, desire to travel, likes the outdoors). Not sure what to make of it, as the emails have been flirty but his profile clearly states as of mid-January he was "taking a break from dating, but still interesting in chatting." Though the way he asked me out definitely made it sound like a date to me. Will have to see how it goes, but fingers-crossed for a normal guy!
Everyone have a great day
And the 23 year old- HYSTERICAL!!!!! Oh my, that's gotta be the worst "pick up line" ever! HA HA HA!
Penny- good for you picking up the knitting again. I used to do cross-stitch before I started marathoning and went to grad school for my MBA. I never did pick it back up again. One of these days I should really find that box!
@Becky- Stop looking at that closed door. You are not a door mat.
@Jennifer- if at 24 he is in college and still thinking about changing his major, he is immature, and deserves nothing but a good laugh. "Drinks guy" sounds like a good start. Enjoy.
@Linda- patience. Healing takes time.
I broke my computer screen, right after buying my tickets for TOC. It was a very expensive day. I now have a new laptop that I am going through the headache of moving everything onto. Ugh! I hate this process.
Amazingly, we only had about 2 inches of snow last night. Shoveling that was nothing compared to what has gone on!
Got a bit shaky between breakfast and lunch. Had a weird rapid blood sugar drop, but worked out hard this morning before work and had breakfast. All fine now, but I hate that feeling.
Back to work.