Wow it has been awhile since I attempted to take some time for this. I haven't written in what feels like an eternity. I feel fine. I feel confused with myself. Recently I've been hearing so many bad things that are happening to people that I care about or have cared about in the past. Someone went missing (like back of a milk carton missing), someone died, someone is thinking about suicide, someone still hasn't found a job, someone is miserably finding themself, someone has lost their true companion, someone is still fighting...
With all these someones, I feel guilty not being completely down, or even mostly down. I'm really worried about some folks, but I'm also in a good place. My job has started to let me travel and take ownership again. I've got some interesting and somewhat challenging decisions ahead of me and I am looking forward to them. I am also getting stressed out - really stressed out for the first time in awhile. I mean stressed because of being busy, not because i'm bored out of my mind.
I've verbally committed to playing soccer this summer, I've found a Ultimate Frisbee League i'm thinking of joining near my home, my girlfriend just gave me a bicycle and i've started riding to and from work, and I'm still running. In fact, I'm really thinking about that marathon this year. I've already done one half marathon (not very well) this year without training and think that if I just buckle down a bit, I should be able to run all 26.2 miles. I really love being active and wish that I could convince myself to get out more. It the hermit in me that keeps me by myself at times; that and my pride of not wanting to look like a complete fool. But then I think, "so what?" If there is anything my friend Jason taught me it is that it is okay to just laugh at myself and realize that it doesn't really matter. I need the humility to remember that I'm happiest when I'm happy and not thinking about what other people think of me.
So what if I can't speak German? so what if I suck at soccer? so what if i'm finally realizing that I don't really like to be alone and want to be a part of something more than just me?
My friend Dave is in Toyko right now. I'm upset and jealous and happy all at the same time. This is the guy who got to go to Russia in 2006 on our backpacking trip and I was (by choice - though not a very big choice) relegated to remaining in Europe. NOW he is hitting yet another country, but this time with friends that I have as well and would love to see! His blogs, photos, and videos are wonderfully inspiring me to want to be jobless and just go do what I really love = travel and experience new things. Which is better? Having a job, saving some money (hopefully), and planning for a future; or getting out there and experiencing things that are beyond my concept of understanding. Seeing the world in person for what it is.
I find that I read a lot of non-fiction which centers around travel experiences: Mountains to Mountains; Red Dust; The Art of Life; I Wonder As I Wander; The Most Handsome Man in Cuba... the titles keep going. I also am drawn to shows and movies which bring out the travel design in me: The Long Way Round; The Amazing Race... it is all just one big adventure in my head.
I think back to 2000, '02, '04, and '06 and realize that I do travel a lot. Heck, I even made it to Ireland in 2008, barely, but I made it. I may be going to London with work in early June and I'm excited about it, but its not traveling like I want to travel. I want to get lost in a culture and a language that i'm not completely familiar with. Where I can do stupid things and learn lessons from them. Where I can get lost and found several times in one day as my friend Dave recently told me.
The greatest thing about travel and the weather is that you can experience it anywhere. I just went on a camping trip in Arkansas with my friend Justin. In many ways I wish I was Justin. I wish I had his heart, his optimism, and his god-given natural athletic abilities. He makes me so jealous with what he can so easily do. Hell, I crawled through I hole I had no business crawling through just to prove I could. I got stuck and unstuck again, but I did it. The great thing about Justin is that he pushes me. He always pushes me, sometime literally, to try things and do things that just don't always make sense. I've learned that its great to be second best at times because it really gives you something to go for. It is all about inspiration.
Jeez, its already 11:50pm and I'm still up at this. I've got work for upcoming projects in Worcester, MA; Chicago, IL; Huntington, WV; and Oakland, ME. There are so many thoughts floating in my head, like my reaction to the show Californication, and my experience carving my own spoon out of a Cedar branch, and my recent thoughts on drinking and jigsaw puzzles...
All things in good time. I don't know who is able or capable of reading this, but I've decided to post it for all... I mean, heck, why not. I've recently unplugged from Facebook, and this is as good as a place as any to just let me be me.
So until next time, whenever that might be, I'll end this with something I just sent to Dave in Toyko that has stuck with me since I typed it to him... Make more movies, take more photos, and tell more stories.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Vacation
I've got some time off work. Almost 3 weeks to be specific. The transition from corps member to staff member allowed me to step back and take some time. Basically, they weren't ready for me to start just yet. Its okay though. Its giving me time to catch up on some movies, find a new apartment, play some soccer, and get completely bored!
Truthfully, I haven't watched many movies, or found an apartment, and only today did I really mess around with my soccer ball a bit. I'm lazy, and for awhile I'm okay with that. I've got about a week and a half before I start working again, so I've still got time to do the little things. Hey at least I did some laundry, so that's something.
Truthfully, I haven't watched many movies, or found an apartment, and only today did I really mess around with my soccer ball a bit. I'm lazy, and for awhile I'm okay with that. I've got about a week and a half before I start working again, so I've still got time to do the little things. Hey at least I did some laundry, so that's something.
Monday, July 7, 2008
It is never quite what you imagined...
Its that time again. Time to write. As the title of this post suggests, change is in the air. Things never really turn out how you expect them to, do they? I finished my 2nd AmeriCorps year with City Year and have been looking forward to whatever comes next for months now. So what's next? Peace Corps, moving back to Chicago, going backpacking for a few months... nope. I accepted a staff position with City Year and will be staying with Care Force as a project manager. What does this mean? Well, nothing really. I'm going to be doing the same job I've done for the past 10 months, only with more paperwork, responsibility, and pay. Why? Because I'm chicken shit and just accept what's given to me, that's why.
I will enjoy the job. It lets me travel, the pay is decent (more than i've made in the past couple of years), and will get me back on my feet in several ways. I'll have a better apartment here in Boston, some money in the bank, a way to pay back my credit card and student loans, and time to grow up a bit. So what's the problem? I don't want to grow up! I know I want some stability, but I feel as though I'm selling out. I've accepted a job I don't really get behind. Yeah I can do it, and even rationalize why I'm doing it, but really, there are so many better ways to help people. I got sucked into a comfortable life. While I'll definitely have some challenges this year (mostly financial and managerial), its going to be another year to coast and just let parts of life pass me by. I'm sure I'll find a way to make the most of it though.
This past holiday (4th of July) I went hiking in New Hampshire up Mt. Chocora (I think that's how it is spelled). It is a bit over 3000 feet with several trails going up. The trail we took was 4.5 miles and was pretty spectacular from the top. I love being outdoors and in nature. It makes me wonder if I should become a park ranger or camp counselor. Maybe some day. What's my life if not filled with some sort of drama.
Past flings don't always work out so well. Sometimes girls just like girls better than me. Well that's not fair, really only one girl She was sort of seeing her before I came into the picture, so it is only natural that they should be together again after we broke up right? It is really okay. I was wondering how long it would take me to find a new girl. Sometimes I feel like Jerry Maguire in that I can never be alone. Why is it so easy for me to find girls that I connect with. But new things are awesome. I'm really having the best sex I've ever had! In fact, on the little hike up the mountain we had sex at the top. Really I was wearing only hiking boots and a condom at the summit. And then once again on the trail heading down. The sex is amazing and plentiful! Is it a rebound? I'm not so sure. Maybe at first, but its lasted longer than a rebound should. I'm just letting it be what it is.
I got to meet her family over the holiday and let me tell you, I can still exhaust 6 kids and be ready to party with the adults all night long. Its great being in my 20s and having the energy that I have. I went swimming in a lake, relaxed in a hot tub, had bbq, and just got lost in a large close family that seemed to like me. It was a really nice weekend.
Now its just time to settle into Boston and this job...
I will enjoy the job. It lets me travel, the pay is decent (more than i've made in the past couple of years), and will get me back on my feet in several ways. I'll have a better apartment here in Boston, some money in the bank, a way to pay back my credit card and student loans, and time to grow up a bit. So what's the problem? I don't want to grow up! I know I want some stability, but I feel as though I'm selling out. I've accepted a job I don't really get behind. Yeah I can do it, and even rationalize why I'm doing it, but really, there are so many better ways to help people. I got sucked into a comfortable life. While I'll definitely have some challenges this year (mostly financial and managerial), its going to be another year to coast and just let parts of life pass me by. I'm sure I'll find a way to make the most of it though.
This past holiday (4th of July) I went hiking in New Hampshire up Mt. Chocora (I think that's how it is spelled). It is a bit over 3000 feet with several trails going up. The trail we took was 4.5 miles and was pretty spectacular from the top. I love being outdoors and in nature. It makes me wonder if I should become a park ranger or camp counselor. Maybe some day. What's my life if not filled with some sort of drama.
Past flings don't always work out so well. Sometimes girls just like girls better than me. Well that's not fair, really only one girl She was sort of seeing her before I came into the picture, so it is only natural that they should be together again after we broke up right? It is really okay. I was wondering how long it would take me to find a new girl. Sometimes I feel like Jerry Maguire in that I can never be alone. Why is it so easy for me to find girls that I connect with. But new things are awesome. I'm really having the best sex I've ever had! In fact, on the little hike up the mountain we had sex at the top. Really I was wearing only hiking boots and a condom at the summit. And then once again on the trail heading down. The sex is amazing and plentiful! Is it a rebound? I'm not so sure. Maybe at first, but its lasted longer than a rebound should. I'm just letting it be what it is.
I got to meet her family over the holiday and let me tell you, I can still exhaust 6 kids and be ready to party with the adults all night long. Its great being in my 20s and having the energy that I have. I went swimming in a lake, relaxed in a hot tub, had bbq, and just got lost in a large close family that seemed to like me. It was a really nice weekend.
Now its just time to settle into Boston and this job...
Thursday, April 17, 2008
26 point what?
Boston is mad with Marathon fever. The weather is getting nicer, more people are going outside and being more active. Almost everywhere you look people are running with their iPods, weaving in and out of the foot traffic. It’s rather inspiring, especially when you feel like a potato that only stays indoors. But all that is going to change for me this weekend. Not only am I going outside, I’m getting out of town. That’s right, to the woods with me. It will be the first camping trip of the year and I am so excited. Time to pull out that bow drill set and take the pack of the wall.
Last year I had a job with the Chicago Parks District taking middle school students to a state park to camp for a week. I realized it was pretty much paradise, sitting in a canoe on a lake at 7am, drinking coffee and watching the mist lift off the water, and getting paid $20 an hour. Yup, pure heaven! Unfortunately due to monetary restraints, that job is unavailable to me again this year as they have moved up the schedule and it overlaps with the end of my second City Year.
So weekend camping will have to suffice until I can find another outlet to get outside and enjoy nature. Where does that leave me for employment after this June… I don’t know. I’ll be done with City Year on June 30th and need to find a job and a place to live from there. I need to start saving up some money for a security deposit and find a job that I will really enjoy. What’s the change for me? Well I was planning on applying for the Peace Corps and hoping to go abroad as of August, but… I'm looking at things locally and realizing that sometimes things change.
In the meantime, I've got a fling. She lives in NYC and will be done with her Americorps program on June 19th. While I’m not naïve enough to think that this is “the one”, it is a lot of fun and I enjoy her company. I don't think it will really go anywhere, mostly because I don't think that long distance relationships really work. Tried it and failed, but Dan and Lindsay have shown me that sometimes they do. With our on again, off again status, and the lack of a definition for so long, it has become a "it is what it is". We both are honest and open with that and its fun.
Sometimes, I’m afraid that I suffer from the same depression that my dad gets in the winter. I just get unmotivated and into a funk. But with the arrival of spring and warmer weather, my mood is increasingly brighter and my productivity has increased as well. I’m really excited to get outdoors and to take off the gut that I’ve been forming over the past 4 months. Yay for being happy!
Last year I had a job with the Chicago Parks District taking middle school students to a state park to camp for a week. I realized it was pretty much paradise, sitting in a canoe on a lake at 7am, drinking coffee and watching the mist lift off the water, and getting paid $20 an hour. Yup, pure heaven! Unfortunately due to monetary restraints, that job is unavailable to me again this year as they have moved up the schedule and it overlaps with the end of my second City Year.
So weekend camping will have to suffice until I can find another outlet to get outside and enjoy nature. Where does that leave me for employment after this June… I don’t know. I’ll be done with City Year on June 30th and need to find a job and a place to live from there. I need to start saving up some money for a security deposit and find a job that I will really enjoy. What’s the change for me? Well I was planning on applying for the Peace Corps and hoping to go abroad as of August, but… I'm looking at things locally and realizing that sometimes things change.
In the meantime, I've got a fling. She lives in NYC and will be done with her Americorps program on June 19th. While I’m not naïve enough to think that this is “the one”, it is a lot of fun and I enjoy her company. I don't think it will really go anywhere, mostly because I don't think that long distance relationships really work. Tried it and failed, but Dan and Lindsay have shown me that sometimes they do. With our on again, off again status, and the lack of a definition for so long, it has become a "it is what it is". We both are honest and open with that and its fun.
Sometimes, I’m afraid that I suffer from the same depression that my dad gets in the winter. I just get unmotivated and into a funk. But with the arrival of spring and warmer weather, my mood is increasingly brighter and my productivity has increased as well. I’m really excited to get outdoors and to take off the gut that I’ve been forming over the past 4 months. Yay for being happy!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
What next?
This is an attempt at freeing some of what's bottled up inside. I've recently come to realize that I hold onto things without release much more than I thought I did. So much has happened lately that I'm not sure where to start with things...
Jason is dead. He committed suicide. My oldest and one of my closest friends is gone by his own conviction. I'm sad and still mourning over this loss. We weren't always the closest at times. We would go months without a word, and then one of us would make that call that would put us right back to where we were. I know that he must have been in serious pain to do what he did, and must have been suffering for a long time. I'm sorry he was hurting so much and there was nothing I could do about it... I'll miss him.
Things have been mostly numb for a long time since this happened. I even realized that the entire week after I went back to Rapid for the funeral has become rather fuzzy. I don't really remember doing anything or talking to anyone. Its really weird. I've gotten through most of the numbness and have moved into frustration. I'm frustrated! That pretty much says it all. I'm tired of my work and the lack of anything inspiring that comes out of it. I'm ready to be done with this "job" and to move on to what ever is next. So what's next? Like I really have a clue... The good thing is that we are going to be traveling again. This Saturday I fly to Springfield for an event and then I'll be back in Chicago at the end of the month again. The sad thing is I don't care why I'm traveling, I'm just excited to see people when I go. I could really give a rat's ass about the events we are planning and running.
I've been so aggressively riled up lately that I'm finding it hard to release my tension. Sometimes I feel like breaking things, sometimes I just want to find the most secluded spot as high up as I can and just ignore the world. I'm really very curious as to what the immediate future will hold for me. I can't seem to get behind this Peace Corps idea right now, no matter what I tell people. I haven't even completely submitted my application yet. Do I want to do it or not. If I wasn't thinking about responsibility, I don't think there would be any doubt in my mind, I would go for two years if I could. But part of me wants to make a little money and pay back my debt... Oh debt! I feel as though there is this unbearable pressure of debt that is weighing down on me without any future in site without it. I've got some medical bills from this year, my credit card debt from a couple of summers ago, and my student loans still to payoff. Money sucks so badly!
I realize that more than anything I'm just in a funk right now. I don't want to do anything and I can't motivate myself to do anything. I try to run and then never make it out. I want to eat healthy again, but find myself eating crap all the time. I don't like how my body looks, however vain that might be, but I'm unable to get off my ever growing fat ass and do something about it. Maybe the change in the weather will help me out. I just feel like I'm always behind recently. I'm just not motivated to do anything. Its something about being in Boston, without any close friends, not enjoying my job, and making crap for pay. I know it takes time to reverse things, but where does the time come from.
I'm looking at this blog and I'm even unmotivated by my own words and my own writing. Blah. Maybe I'll try again later.
Jason is dead. He committed suicide. My oldest and one of my closest friends is gone by his own conviction. I'm sad and still mourning over this loss. We weren't always the closest at times. We would go months without a word, and then one of us would make that call that would put us right back to where we were. I know that he must have been in serious pain to do what he did, and must have been suffering for a long time. I'm sorry he was hurting so much and there was nothing I could do about it... I'll miss him.
Things have been mostly numb for a long time since this happened. I even realized that the entire week after I went back to Rapid for the funeral has become rather fuzzy. I don't really remember doing anything or talking to anyone. Its really weird. I've gotten through most of the numbness and have moved into frustration. I'm frustrated! That pretty much says it all. I'm tired of my work and the lack of anything inspiring that comes out of it. I'm ready to be done with this "job" and to move on to what ever is next. So what's next? Like I really have a clue... The good thing is that we are going to be traveling again. This Saturday I fly to Springfield for an event and then I'll be back in Chicago at the end of the month again. The sad thing is I don't care why I'm traveling, I'm just excited to see people when I go. I could really give a rat's ass about the events we are planning and running.
I've been so aggressively riled up lately that I'm finding it hard to release my tension. Sometimes I feel like breaking things, sometimes I just want to find the most secluded spot as high up as I can and just ignore the world. I'm really very curious as to what the immediate future will hold for me. I can't seem to get behind this Peace Corps idea right now, no matter what I tell people. I haven't even completely submitted my application yet. Do I want to do it or not. If I wasn't thinking about responsibility, I don't think there would be any doubt in my mind, I would go for two years if I could. But part of me wants to make a little money and pay back my debt... Oh debt! I feel as though there is this unbearable pressure of debt that is weighing down on me without any future in site without it. I've got some medical bills from this year, my credit card debt from a couple of summers ago, and my student loans still to payoff. Money sucks so badly!
I realize that more than anything I'm just in a funk right now. I don't want to do anything and I can't motivate myself to do anything. I try to run and then never make it out. I want to eat healthy again, but find myself eating crap all the time. I don't like how my body looks, however vain that might be, but I'm unable to get off my ever growing fat ass and do something about it. Maybe the change in the weather will help me out. I just feel like I'm always behind recently. I'm just not motivated to do anything. Its something about being in Boston, without any close friends, not enjoying my job, and making crap for pay. I know it takes time to reverse things, but where does the time come from.
I'm looking at this blog and I'm even unmotivated by my own words and my own writing. Blah. Maybe I'll try again later.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Frustrated
You know how you have those days that are up and those that are down... well I'm in a valley right now, with no sunlight, and its raining... Nothing seems to be going right internally for me over the past week. I know that I'm going to look back on this post and think that I was just being a baby, and maybe I am, but waaaaah.
I can't keep track on my finanaces. This is the first time in a long time that I am so far behind that it is going to take me a month to get caught up again. And I know that I have very little financial strain, but I have to avoid writing my rent check until next week just because there isn't enough money in my account to cover it. I'm sick of overdraft fees and non sufficient fund fees, and not remembering all the stupid little purchases that I've made that are going to creep up and put me on the red side of the line again. Not only is rent an issue, but I have a credit card debt that has been nagging me for a year. I've made one payment on it and that was over a year ago. Its almost $3000 in the negative and I've recently been contacted by third party collecting agencies. I don't have the money to pay for this, or even to start payments on this, and I won't until the end of March at the earliest.
How do you suck up the courage to say, "yeah I screwed up and need help"? I don't know how to do that. Or even who to ask. Who do I have??? I'm on my own on this one. We had a pretty in depth feedback session at work today and I found out what I already knew, but having it vocalized really brings it to the front of your brain. I don't know when to shut my mouth. My confidence on certain things borders on arrogance, and without always realizing it I come off as demeaning to people. Yet when I don't talk, I get the feedback that I'm distance and reserved. How do I balance it out?
My frustration is boiling over to places that it has no reason being. I'm so frustrated with my boss. Both of them. One avoids confrontation at all costs to the point that he writes emails and text to people instead of talking to them when they are less than 20 feet away from him. The other one is an asshole. I've learned a lot working under him just in how I don't want to act and treat people. He has a doctorate in "tough love" I guess. Usually it doesn't really bother me, but lately I can't really stand to be around him, or hear his over-confident, wrong opinion on things.
I don't know if I am just antsy because I've been sitting in a cubicle "working" (there isn't enough work) for the past 5 weeks with no break beyond weekend trips to NYC. I'm glad that we are flying out to New Orleans on Friday, but really I have no interest in my work or in the work my organization says it does. Its a lot of BS that covers up the true profit seeking side of my "non profit". Service for the result of a good feeling of those who take 4 hours out of their day to serve as opposed to service for the result of actually helping people. But you can spin it in so many ways.
I'm tired of questioning my heart too. Do I love too easily, do I really love at all or do I just let things get comfortable? I never really open up to anyone fully for quite some time. I'm also thinking ahead. What am I going to do in 6 months? And how does a relationship fit into that? I'm bordering on the brink of emotional shutout. I can feel it and I need to stop it. I really need to find my happiness mojo again.
I guess in a way I'm just bored. I want to travel, on my own terms, and enjoy what I'm doing day to day. I just need to stop thinking about things so much, and go back to enjoying the little things.
I can't keep track on my finanaces. This is the first time in a long time that I am so far behind that it is going to take me a month to get caught up again. And I know that I have very little financial strain, but I have to avoid writing my rent check until next week just because there isn't enough money in my account to cover it. I'm sick of overdraft fees and non sufficient fund fees, and not remembering all the stupid little purchases that I've made that are going to creep up and put me on the red side of the line again. Not only is rent an issue, but I have a credit card debt that has been nagging me for a year. I've made one payment on it and that was over a year ago. Its almost $3000 in the negative and I've recently been contacted by third party collecting agencies. I don't have the money to pay for this, or even to start payments on this, and I won't until the end of March at the earliest.
How do you suck up the courage to say, "yeah I screwed up and need help"? I don't know how to do that. Or even who to ask. Who do I have??? I'm on my own on this one. We had a pretty in depth feedback session at work today and I found out what I already knew, but having it vocalized really brings it to the front of your brain. I don't know when to shut my mouth. My confidence on certain things borders on arrogance, and without always realizing it I come off as demeaning to people. Yet when I don't talk, I get the feedback that I'm distance and reserved. How do I balance it out?
My frustration is boiling over to places that it has no reason being. I'm so frustrated with my boss. Both of them. One avoids confrontation at all costs to the point that he writes emails and text to people instead of talking to them when they are less than 20 feet away from him. The other one is an asshole. I've learned a lot working under him just in how I don't want to act and treat people. He has a doctorate in "tough love" I guess. Usually it doesn't really bother me, but lately I can't really stand to be around him, or hear his over-confident, wrong opinion on things.
I don't know if I am just antsy because I've been sitting in a cubicle "working" (there isn't enough work) for the past 5 weeks with no break beyond weekend trips to NYC. I'm glad that we are flying out to New Orleans on Friday, but really I have no interest in my work or in the work my organization says it does. Its a lot of BS that covers up the true profit seeking side of my "non profit". Service for the result of a good feeling of those who take 4 hours out of their day to serve as opposed to service for the result of actually helping people. But you can spin it in so many ways.
I'm tired of questioning my heart too. Do I love too easily, do I really love at all or do I just let things get comfortable? I never really open up to anyone fully for quite some time. I'm also thinking ahead. What am I going to do in 6 months? And how does a relationship fit into that? I'm bordering on the brink of emotional shutout. I can feel it and I need to stop it. I really need to find my happiness mojo again.
I guess in a way I'm just bored. I want to travel, on my own terms, and enjoy what I'm doing day to day. I just need to stop thinking about things so much, and go back to enjoying the little things.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Running... to or from what?
I realize that it has been a long time (since Oct 3rd) since I last wrote something. So in order to get those self realizing juices flowing and attempt to start writing again, I figured I would highlight my running experience in Phoenix and see what happens. So here goes: Version 13.1
Phoenix is a different place, located in a state which, wisely, doesn't recognize or participate in daylight savings. There are a lot of anomalies here. First off, because of the daylight savings you never quite know if you are in mountain or pacific time. When Dave and I got here we got lost in an airport that doesn't have escalators that go up, or down on some levels. This makes things quite redundant when you have to go up a floor to get down to the ground floor. Maybe it's just easier to take the elevator. We asked at information if there was a shuttle going to the Days Inn in Phoenix, and after pulling out this massive book of hotel listings we were told that it didn't. This was really okay as we were just going to take a cab instead, but then the guy informed us that shuttles were available at door 3. The conversation went something like this, {Dave - "Hi we were wondering if there was a shuttle going to the Days Inn in Phoenix." Guy - "I'll check" (He checks his book) Guy - "Oh here it is, um no there is no shuttle." Dave - "Okay, thanks." Guy - "But you can get shuttles at door 3"} WHAT?!? 2 seconds ago he told us (definitively with his large binder of hotels) that there was no shuttle to the hotel and then adds that there are shuttles at door 3. Which do we believe? We took a cab.
The Days Inn that we stayed at was located at Thomas blvd and I-10. We went to check in and were assisted by an employee in training, who did a great job. The security and maintenance guy showed us to our room while highlighting the best strip clubs in the neighborhood for our entertainment. Our room was nice, complete with a fridge and microwave from
the 1980s, and a bathroom where the toilet lid had to be up for you to be able to shut the door. After getting settled in, hunger hit us and we went to the Denny's across the street to take in burgers and the local surroundings before returning to our hotel for the night.
On Saturday we woke up and watch Shaun of the Dead while checking out info on packet pick-up at the expo center downtown. Randomly our smoke detector went off in our room and out of pure frustration, I dismantled it from the wall before it would stop. We called down to the front desk to ask about printing my confirmation page and to let them know about the detector. The worker said they'd ask about the printing and send maintenance upstairs to fix the detector. 45 minutes later, we went down to the empty front desk and found the worker hadn't done either. Oh well, we were still able to print my confirmation and they did send someone to fix the detector while we went out. Unfortunately we didn't exactly know where the expo center was and after walking an hour and a half to the downtown area we wandered around downtown Phoenix admiring the architecture and finding other racers in our exact predicament. We finally got directions from a local and made it to the expo center. After walking in we realized that yet again we were wrong and no expo center had we found. We almost accidentally went to a Harlem Globetrotters game instead. A few blocks later we did indeed find the Expo Center and realized that we were no longer in our respective "big cities" as people were actually waiting for crossing lights instead of just walking when it was clear.
The Expo center was a hive of activity as we checked into the hall getting out racing bibs, timing chips, race goodie bags, and then heading into the congregated mass of souvenirs, selling booths, and product promotion stands (a.k.a. freebie heaven). It was like any other convention in a exposition center. We stood in line after line of free samples of various food and drinks which consisted of our lunch. We also stood in a line reminiscent of the communist era either Russia or post-war depressed Germany, for loaves of bread being given by Orowheat. So lunch, 2 loaves of bread, 2 pairs of sunglasses, our race packets, and 2 hours later we were out of the expo center and out to explore downtown Phoenix.
Downtown Phoenix consists of about 4 square city blocks with sports arenas, art and convention centers, parking garages and several other tall anonymous building. There
were also several nude sculptures of females dancing that Dave took photos of {sidebar: Dave purchased a new Nikon camera to replace the one he lost on New Year's Eve.}. We found a shopping pavilion and walked through, deciding to stop in a Hooters for a beer and some food. I had never been to a Hooters before, and like a typical male, the eye candy appealed to me. Don't really understand why its called a family restaurant though. The Packers-Seahawks playoff game was on, so we spent a relaxing hour and a half eating boneless wings, fries, drinking a pitcher of beer and watching the game plus the waitresses. The Hooters slogan is absolutely true: Delightfully Tacky, Yet Unrefined. It was such a distractingly good time that I left my new digital camera on the table when we left. It wasn't until I wanted to take a sunset photo that I realized my err and hurried back to reclaim it. Needless to say we missed the sunset and walked the hour and a half back to our hotel.
We needed to run for our scheduled training and went for a quick 2 mile run before ordering pizza and cheesy bread for an attempted "carbo-load". We managed to catch the end of the Patriots-Jaguars playoff game and watched the end of the 1975 "Death Race" with Sly Stalone before calling it a night at midnight.
Waking up Sunday morning at 5am, we got ready for our race and started walking to the start village. Unfortunately we made a wrong turn on McDowell St. and walked 15 Avenue blocks in the wrong direction. Dave walks fast too, I mean I have long legs and I still feel as though I'm power walking at times to keep up with him. It was a workout in and of itself before the race, one might say our warm-up. We did however see some additional local culture though as 2 prostitutes were soliciting on McDowell and 30 Ave. Dave was tempted to cheer as one apparently negotiated a sale and hopped in a white SUV, license plate # (just kidding), but he refrained in the long run. We finally realized our directional error, recorrected, and made it to the start village by 7:30am.
Bands were playing, people were standing in huge lines for the Port-o-Potties, food & drink were being given out. We headed to the UPS bag checks (UPS sponsored the race by transporting personal items in our race bags from Start to Finish lines) and dropped off our layers and cameras. Dave was in corral 22 and I was in corral 10, so we parted and warmed up and prepped on our own. I made use of the portable toilets again as my training taught me that I always had to go while running, so I should go before I run. I realized that for the next race, I really want to run with friends as it seems to be more fun and a completely different experience.
There were team groups and packs of friends, 3 Scottish - dressed guys from Braveheart complete with face paint and swords, and a myriad of other runners. My corral started and I ran... and ran... and ran... too fast at first averaging about 7 min miles for the first two miles. I slowed down though and was pacing at a 8.5 min miles at the 5k and 10k marks. I hit a wall at mile 8 and struggled all the way until mile 11, where I found a comfortable pace again. But by that time I was feeling sort of dead, and the last 2.5 miles had so many versions of "almost there" that I was sprinting and cursing alternately until the end of the race. The worst was around mile 13 where they had a man-made arch above the road with photographers taking photos of runners who thought they were crossing the finish line, only to see the 13 mile marker just beyond as their raised arms dropped in defeat that they weren't yet done. I know because I was one of those dejected runners. By the time I mustered the last of my strength to sprint the actual finish line, I felt like crying.
Taking on water, recovering, and stretching I waited for Dave to cross the line and was elated to see him 25 minutes later. I offered a high five as he crossed and walked off the run. We then went to the medical tent and got ice bags strapped to our knees, returned our timing chips, and got photos taken. Then the food lines were hit and making it out of the "secure" area we stretched, got out bags from UPS and checked out the finish village. Not much happening there except selling of merchandise, like at the expo center. So we jumped a shuttle back to our hotel and I laid down for a second only to pass out for 10 minutes. Yeah, I was exhausted.
We showered, made phone calls, sent text messages, and checked our final official times on the Internet. Dave came in at 2:09:13 and I finished at 1:57:00. We both beat our goal times! Dave called a cab to head into Tempe where the close out concert was. When our cab pulled up, we met Bruce, our driver, who was eccentric and nice. He was so great that we got his cell number so we could call him the next day when we needed to go to the airport.
Downtown Tempe is much more trendy than Phoenix as it accommodate the college crowd. We settled on Hooter's again for burgers, wings, fries, and 2 pitchers of beer
to relax for about an hour before heading to Tempe River Park where Kool and The Gang closed out the Marathon activities. Lame at first, it turned out to be an awesome night with us ending in the front "pit" rocking out to some funk. We caught a cab back to our hotel and had another exceptional cab driver who filled us in on the "underworld" activities of Phoenix. He amazingly knew exactly where we were when we described our lost, prostitute-seeing adventures of the early morning. We joked about "drippy dick" and the price and quality of Phoenix's ladies of the night. He explained to us that, "Phoenix is a large orgy where one third of the people didn't know they were involved." All in all the cabs in Phoenix were a great experience even if the city was a bit lacking for being the 4th or 5th largest in the country.
We planned on the hot tub, but exhaustion prevented that as sleep was most welcome after the long day. Monday morning I woke at 9 and puttered around showering and packing leisurely. We called Bruce again and checked out of our hotel and I got on a plane at the airport heading to Boston, leaving Dave at a Starbucks in the airport to read and write as he waited for his flight 6 hours later. My flight connected in Baltimore and the first leg found me stuck among a Jewish family in the back of the plane. I felt like the visitor at a family dinner who constantly has to pass the various dinner dishes back and forth as I was seated in between the two young teenage boys, because really who wants the middle seat? Minor chaos over missing books and the consumption of food kept the flight interesting and me involved. The other flight perk of this leg was the three infants in front and beside my seats. I love kids, but sleep was an impossibility as they screamed periodically. Lets just say the landing in Baltimore was somewhat of a relief.
The flight into Manchester was uneventful as I arrived at 11pm. Unfortunately though the shuttle to Boston didn't leave until midnight and didn't arrive in Boston until just after 1. With no public transportation running and a lack of cabs around, I walked from the South Station to Back Bay where I slept in an alley until 6am, when I could get into my office building to sleep for another two hours before starting work.
It was quite an adventure all around and I'm excited to run another race sometime in the near future. I think I want to run either the NYC or Boston Marathon at the end of the year if I can get in to either of those races. We'll see what happens. Cheers.
Phoenix is a different place, located in a state which, wisely, doesn't recognize or participate in daylight savings. There are a lot of anomalies here. First off, because of the daylight savings you never quite know if you are in mountain or pacific time. When Dave and I got here we got lost in an airport that doesn't have escalators that go up, or down on some levels. This makes things quite redundant when you have to go up a floor to get down to the ground floor. Maybe it's just easier to take the elevator. We asked at information if there was a shuttle going to the Days Inn in Phoenix, and after pulling out this massive book of hotel listings we were told that it didn't. This was really okay as we were just going to take a cab instead, but then the guy informed us that shuttles were available at door 3. The conversation went something like this, {Dave - "Hi we were wondering if there was a shuttle going to the Days Inn in Phoenix." Guy - "I'll check" (He checks his book) Guy - "Oh here it is, um no there is no shuttle." Dave - "Okay, thanks." Guy - "But you can get shuttles at door 3"} WHAT?!? 2 seconds ago he told us (definitively with his large binder of hotels) that there was no shuttle to the hotel and then adds that there are shuttles at door 3. Which do we believe? We took a cab.
The Days Inn that we stayed at was located at Thomas blvd and I-10. We went to check in and were assisted by an employee in training, who did a great job. The security and maintenance guy showed us to our room while highlighting the best strip clubs in the neighborhood for our entertainment. Our room was nice, complete with a fridge and microwave from
the 1980s, and a bathroom where the toilet lid had to be up for you to be able to shut the door. After getting settled in, hunger hit us and we went to the Denny's across the street to take in burgers and the local surroundings before returning to our hotel for the night.On Saturday we woke up and watch Shaun of the Dead while checking out info on packet pick-up at the expo center downtown. Randomly our smoke detector went off in our room and out of pure frustration, I dismantled it from the wall before it would stop. We called down to the front desk to ask about printing my confirmation page and to let them know about the detector. The worker said they'd ask about the printing and send maintenance upstairs to fix the detector. 45 minutes later, we went down to the empty front desk and found the worker hadn't done either. Oh well, we were still able to print my confirmation and they did send someone to fix the detector while we went out. Unfortunately we didn't exactly know where the expo center was and after walking an hour and a half to the downtown area we wandered around downtown Phoenix admiring the architecture and finding other racers in our exact predicament. We finally got directions from a local and made it to the expo center. After walking in we realized that yet again we were wrong and no expo center had we found. We almost accidentally went to a Harlem Globetrotters game instead. A few blocks later we did indeed find the Expo Center and realized that we were no longer in our respective "big cities" as people were actually waiting for crossing lights instead of just walking when it was clear.
The Expo center was a hive of activity as we checked into the hall getting out racing bibs, timing chips, race goodie bags, and then heading into the congregated mass of souvenirs, selling booths, and product promotion stands (a.k.a. freebie heaven). It was like any other convention in a exposition center. We stood in line after line of free samples of various food and drinks which consisted of our lunch. We also stood in a line reminiscent of the communist era either Russia or post-war depressed Germany, for loaves of bread being given by Orowheat. So lunch, 2 loaves of bread, 2 pairs of sunglasses, our race packets, and 2 hours later we were out of the expo center and out to explore downtown Phoenix.
Downtown Phoenix consists of about 4 square city blocks with sports arenas, art and convention centers, parking garages and several other tall anonymous building. There
were also several nude sculptures of females dancing that Dave took photos of {sidebar: Dave purchased a new Nikon camera to replace the one he lost on New Year's Eve.}. We found a shopping pavilion and walked through, deciding to stop in a Hooters for a beer and some food. I had never been to a Hooters before, and like a typical male, the eye candy appealed to me. Don't really understand why its called a family restaurant though. The Packers-Seahawks playoff game was on, so we spent a relaxing hour and a half eating boneless wings, fries, drinking a pitcher of beer and watching the game plus the waitresses. The Hooters slogan is absolutely true: Delightfully Tacky, Yet Unrefined. It was such a distractingly good time that I left my new digital camera on the table when we left. It wasn't until I wanted to take a sunset photo that I realized my err and hurried back to reclaim it. Needless to say we missed the sunset and walked the hour and a half back to our hotel.We needed to run for our scheduled training and went for a quick 2 mile run before ordering pizza and cheesy bread for an attempted "carbo-load". We managed to catch the end of the Patriots-Jaguars playoff game and watched the end of the 1975 "Death Race" with Sly Stalone before calling it a night at midnight.
Waking up Sunday morning at 5am, we got ready for our race and started walking to the start village. Unfortunately we made a wrong turn on McDowell St. and walked 15 Avenue blocks in the wrong direction. Dave walks fast too, I mean I have long legs and I still feel as though I'm power walking at times to keep up with him. It was a workout in and of itself before the race, one might say our warm-up. We did however see some additional local culture though as 2 prostitutes were soliciting on McDowell and 30 Ave. Dave was tempted to cheer as one apparently negotiated a sale and hopped in a white SUV, license plate # (just kidding), but he refrained in the long run. We finally realized our directional error, recorrected, and made it to the start village by 7:30am.
Bands were playing, people were standing in huge lines for the Port-o-Potties, food & drink were being given out. We headed to the UPS bag checks (UPS sponsored the race by transporting personal items in our race bags from Start to Finish lines) and dropped off our layers and cameras. Dave was in corral 22 and I was in corral 10, so we parted and warmed up and prepped on our own. I made use of the portable toilets again as my training taught me that I always had to go while running, so I should go before I run. I realized that for the next race, I really want to run with friends as it seems to be more fun and a completely different experience.
There were team groups and packs of friends, 3 Scottish - dressed guys from Braveheart complete with face paint and swords, and a myriad of other runners. My corral started and I ran... and ran... and ran... too fast at first averaging about 7 min miles for the first two miles. I slowed down though and was pacing at a 8.5 min miles at the 5k and 10k marks. I hit a wall at mile 8 and struggled all the way until mile 11, where I found a comfortable pace again. But by that time I was feeling sort of dead, and the last 2.5 miles had so many versions of "almost there" that I was sprinting and cursing alternately until the end of the race. The worst was around mile 13 where they had a man-made arch above the road with photographers taking photos of runners who thought they were crossing the finish line, only to see the 13 mile marker just beyond as their raised arms dropped in defeat that they weren't yet done. I know because I was one of those dejected runners. By the time I mustered the last of my strength to sprint the actual finish line, I felt like crying.Taking on water, recovering, and stretching I waited for Dave to cross the line and was elated to see him 25 minutes later. I offered a high five as he crossed and walked off the run. We then went to the medical tent and got ice bags strapped to our knees, returned our timing chips, and got photos taken. Then the food lines were hit and making it out of the "secure" area we stretched, got out bags from UPS and checked out the finish village. Not much happening there except selling of merchandise, like at the expo center. So we jumped a shuttle back to our hotel and I laid down for a second only to pass out for 10 minutes. Yeah, I was exhausted.
We showered, made phone calls, sent text messages, and checked our final official times on the Internet. Dave came in at 2:09:13 and I finished at 1:57:00. We both beat our goal times! Dave called a cab to head into Tempe where the close out concert was. When our cab pulled up, we met Bruce, our driver, who was eccentric and nice. He was so great that we got his cell number so we could call him the next day when we needed to go to the airport.
Downtown Tempe is much more trendy than Phoenix as it accommodate the college crowd. We settled on Hooter's again for burgers, wings, fries, and 2 pitchers of beer
to relax for about an hour before heading to Tempe River Park where Kool and The Gang closed out the Marathon activities. Lame at first, it turned out to be an awesome night with us ending in the front "pit" rocking out to some funk. We caught a cab back to our hotel and had another exceptional cab driver who filled us in on the "underworld" activities of Phoenix. He amazingly knew exactly where we were when we described our lost, prostitute-seeing adventures of the early morning. We joked about "drippy dick" and the price and quality of Phoenix's ladies of the night. He explained to us that, "Phoenix is a large orgy where one third of the people didn't know they were involved." All in all the cabs in Phoenix were a great experience even if the city was a bit lacking for being the 4th or 5th largest in the country.We planned on the hot tub, but exhaustion prevented that as sleep was most welcome after the long day. Monday morning I woke at 9 and puttered around showering and packing leisurely. We called Bruce again and checked out of our hotel and I got on a plane at the airport heading to Boston, leaving Dave at a Starbucks in the airport to read and write as he waited for his flight 6 hours later. My flight connected in Baltimore and the first leg found me stuck among a Jewish family in the back of the plane. I felt like the visitor at a family dinner who constantly has to pass the various dinner dishes back and forth as I was seated in between the two young teenage boys, because really who wants the middle seat? Minor chaos over missing books and the consumption of food kept the flight interesting and me involved. The other flight perk of this leg was the three infants in front and beside my seats. I love kids, but sleep was an impossibility as they screamed periodically. Lets just say the landing in Baltimore was somewhat of a relief.
The flight into Manchester was uneventful as I arrived at 11pm. Unfortunately though the shuttle to Boston didn't leave until midnight and didn't arrive in Boston until just after 1. With no public transportation running and a lack of cabs around, I walked from the South Station to Back Bay where I slept in an alley until 6am, when I could get into my office building to sleep for another two hours before starting work.
It was quite an adventure all around and I'm excited to run another race sometime in the near future. I think I want to run either the NYC or Boston Marathon at the end of the year if I can get in to either of those races. We'll see what happens. Cheers.
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