The Best Part About Mondays: they only happen Once a Week!

I feel like I'm apologizing more about not writing posts than actually writing posts these days. Life gets busy--you all know what that's like--and you make decisions, which may or may not be good ones. Sometimes the decisions you make are to take the free tickets to the Foo Fighters concert in Oakland and run with it. There's very few times in my life I would consider that a bad decision.

Funny thing is, I've had more concert tickets than albums for the Foo Fighters (3 vs 2). That's not a knock on their albums--I've always been a fan. Dave Grohl is a great songwriter. Great musician. Really catchy songs, and that means a lot in my book (not my actual book, the one i'm writing, but my metaphorical one, the one about me, that biography written in a car, or something). But for all that he is on tape, he's all that, a bag of chips, and a snickerdoodle live. By far one of the best live shows I've ever seen. Like Garth Brooks good. He knows how to work a crowd. He always goes out and gives 100%. It's almost like he's having fun! go figure! And when he's having fun, he doesn't see any reason to stop. 3 hours later...hoo. Also, any concert that involves dueling guitar solos is all right in my book (that's the same book we already talked about).

What else have I done since we last talked:

• Gym (less sore than last time. Excellent.)
• Krav Maga
• 6.5 mile run. It's not supposed to be in the 80's, hot and sunny in late october! Also, alternate route taken home included a lot more hills than expected.
  
• Caught up on Eureka. Good thing too: I hardly have enough time to watch all the shows I want now, and the Walking Dead just came back on...
  
• Got lost in ridiculous bumper-to-bumper traffic in Oakland...on a saturday afternoon
• Got pulled over by a cop; apparently i have a tail light out. Ticket. Suck.
  
• Played two church services deep in the hood of Oakland for the 54th anniversary of the American Indian Baptist Church of Oakland (one service--saturday--was all bad; the other--sunday--all good)
• Managed to not get shot wearing my bright red Chiefs jersey deep in the heart (hood) of the Raider Nation ("...beyond doubt the sleaziest and rudest and most sinister mob of thugs and wackos ever assembled..." not my quote) on gameday. You laugh, because this is sort of a joke. But it sort of isn't. Ok, kinda really isn't. Across the street was a candlelight memorial for someone who wasn't as lucky as I was the other day.
• Enjoyed one of the best 3 1/2 hours of football in a long time (Go Chiefs!)
• Researched recipes on how to prepare crow. Not for me. For thee of little faith.
  
• Interior decoration
• one book (The Perfect Mile) from Half Price books, and two (Unbroken and In The Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin) from Amazon
• three cds (Jazz of the 20's Greatest Hits, Louis Armstrong Greatest hits, and Swinging the Blues 1930-1939 from Count Basie) from Half Price Books.
  
• and, finally, today, decided to write a few words in my novel. This chapter isn't hard, but I'm having a hard time motivating myself. I've lost momentum, and I've gotta get back go writing regularly

Music of the Day:

• Skin and Bones by the Foo Fighters

Joke of the Day:

• A woman had two sons. One ran away to join the circus; the other became vice president. Neither was heard from again.

That's all i've got. Don't knock it. Something>nothing

The Unbelievable Soreness of Scones

It's been a few days since we visited, now hasn't it? I feel like last wednesday was so long ago, so many days. like it was all the way last week. Crazy that. Did you miss me? You should practice more; your aim is off.

in the meantime, i have been busy. and lazy. In alternating altercations. Which is sort of how I like to live my life.

I went to the gym on thursday after work and started my new(ish) routine. I figure I'll follow this pattern until the end of november, and then I'll go back to more full time distance running for december and january (in case i decide to run the SF half marathon again in the beginning of Feb). So i figure this is what I'll do: Mondays & Wednesdays I'll do Krav Maga, as I have been. Thursdays I'll go into the gym. i'll start with running a fast mile (for me fast) on the treadmill, and slowly increase the distance on that until i hit the 5k distance at the end of November. the idea behind this is not necessarily to improve my distance pace (although I can't imagine it hurting), but to be able to run a sub 24 minute 5k. Right now on my average everyday runs, I run a 27, 28 minute 5k. But anyways, after the (fast) mile, I'll go in the back and work on some weights and exercises specifically aimed to supplement my Krav classes--I want to go into the 1st level test in december and rock the two-ish hour warm up routine. Last Thursday i did pullups (3 sets of 8), decline situps with a 25 pound weight (3x8), power cleans (3x5 but that will increase), and then more decline situps (3 times to failure) with jabs. I'll probably be adding or switching pushups & pushups with jabs, and maybe some planking. But after all that, i finished up with another mile on the treadmill to cool down. Slow this time. I say slow, but what i really mean is at my current average ideal distance pace (9-9:15 minute miles).

All that for thursdays? Depending on what's going on, I'll add workouts on one or both saturday & sunday. I'll do a distance run (6-8 miles) on one of the days, and if i decide to add the second workout i'll make my way back to the gym for a similar routine to thursday. I ran 6+ miles saturday. For reasons listed below, I didn't do anything sunday...

it's been a long time since I did any weights or such. I'm pretty sure i couldn't move my arms or lift them above my shoulders on friday. or saturday. sunday was better, and it took until today to be just fine. i'll be honest. it was on the intense side of sore; it hurt like ache ee double-hockey-stick.

I took saturday & sunday to relax, play some guitar, and cook some breakfasts. My two favorie things about saturdays: being able to put on a second pot of coffee if i feel like it, and taking the time to cook breakfast. i have this recipe (ok, it's a mix, in a box, that you add water to) I mix up (by adding some vanilla and peanut butter) for these cakes. These cakes are incredible. you wouldn't believe it...you can make them in a PAN. I call them pancakes. it's brilliant. it'll revolutionize breakfasts everywhere. And some days I make them with sausage, or bacon. let's be honest. I could be making paper mache and adding bacon would make it a wonderful breakfast.

I went to Krav today, made some soup (try #2 liz, I'll let you know how it comes out!), and worked on chapter 5. The detective's story is easy. I love it. I mean, it's probably my favorite and it's the core story that the other two were built around. well, that's sort of misleading; the two other stories are completely independent, but they were cooked up in my brain long after the detective's story. I've had that one percolating for on two years now.

But other things of importance: it has been brought to my attention that october may or may not be Velociraptor Attack Awareness Month. Which seems sort of surprising to me, on account of halloween (or more ominously, la Día de los Muertos). I'd figure we should be planning for a zombie apocalypse. Don't kid yourself--it could happen, but then again, maybe not. Maybe velociraptors are the viable threat. either way, you outta know your exits. It's just good sense.

This all from a man who keeps a wooden stake in his bedroom. Just in case. I'd rather have one and not need it then need one and not have it. I'm just sayin.

I saw eggnog at the grocery store the other day. Clearly some higher power is looking out for me. Apple cider season at the same time as egg nog season? This must be what heaven is like, beveragely. Or, it is yet another sign of the apocalypse.

Without further delay...

Soundtrack for Today:

• Back to the Alley, the Best of the Stray Cats
  

Activities for the Day:

• Avoid being choked from the side--extended arm and close range
• Begin Chapter 5
• Soupy experiments (details tomorrow, hopefully!)
• Read some of Going to Kansas City
• Read some of the Drowning Pool
• Read the first chapter of Raymond Chandler's The Little Sister (as research/refresher for the Detective's Story)
  

Picture of the Day:

• The Bryant Building in downtown Kansas City, where my detective has his office. Most all of the locations in my novel are historically accurate (except for the main night club, which is historically based but a few details have been changed to suit the story)
  

King Kong Lives!

I think I finished chapter 4! 1000 words came out tonight. Where did that come from? I don't know, it just sort of worked it's way out. Finally found it's footing and settled into a nice little groove. I'm sure, someday many moons from now, I'll revise and expand it, but in the meantime I'll take it and run with it! The first full (real) chapter of the Detective's Story is next! It's the one i've been waiting for now.

I've made it sort of a habit to put a short excerpt from the chapter up upon completion...so here you go...

"Some days was harder than other days, 'specially after Meryl started singin with the boys too. When I was at the DeLuxe, I could just spend my days at the club. I wasn't much, and I wasn't expected much so it was easy enough to be around, be learnin, listenin, singin. But at the Study, it was more big time. These were the boys who would be playin' on the radio shows, drawin' crowds when they was sittin in somewhere else. Gal like me wasn't expected to be nobody, was supposed to be takin care of herself. Or at least have a sweetheart; I guess I was too young to know it wasn't enough of a life to just sit around and wait for the next gig. Wouldn't be till after I got out to New York, playin at Minton's I sort of figured that out. Sometimes you get all caught up in dreamin and tryin' to live in that dream that you sorta forget, kinda miss all what's goin on."

Self defense advise from Krav Maga today: "What's the best defense against a knife? A gun!"

So I kinda figured that today I'd step out and do something a little different. An artist is nothing more than the sum of their influences, and I figured I'd talk briefly about a number of movies that i love. But not just any movies, movies that are little-known (either due to lack of success or just being indie movies or whatnot) that I believe are excellent.

And so, without adieu...

Once (view the trailer here)

Mikey recently posted that he thinks this was the perfect movie. i have to agree. Seriously, there is not a single person out there that i think should skip this movie. All of you, go out and rent it, buy it, stream it, netflix it, carrier pigeon, whatever it takes. It's a quiet movie, a love-ish story about two relatively isolated people in Dublin who are estranged from their previous long-term relationships. He's a "hoover-sucker-fixer-guy" who works in a shop and lives with his dad, and she's a maid living with her mother and siblings. Their relationship grows around his music--they first meet when she sees him playing for tips on the street corner, and she begins to encourage him and his music, adding her own beautiful voice to it. Both are quirky, awkward people, and their relationship is anything but hollywood. The ending is beautiful, and not what you expect. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova are perfect in the part--neither of them are actors by profession (musicians, instead). The directors use some wonderful techniques to turn their inexperience into strengths, and their tentative performances actually enhance the characters. Outside of the movie, Hansard and Irglova are both romanticly involved, and play in a band together, which only enhances their chemistry (on screen, and on the music). It's a musical, though not in the broadway sense. The songs are woven into the story flawlessly, and simultaneously drive the plot and the Oscar-nominated soundtrack. Seriously, you should all go see it. Random fun factoid: the two characters are never given names in the entire movie, and are listed in the credits as "Guy" and "Girl."

Stardust (view the trailer here)

This one's not quite as deep as Once, but lovely just the same. I saw this one in the movie theatres, and since I've got it on DVD i've grown to love it more and more. I'd even go out as far as to say it's the best fantasy/fairy tale movie made since The Princess Bride (my favorite movie of all time) (not counting the Lord of the Rings trilogy, of course. They're on pedestal all their own). it's a fairy tale (literally), pure and simple. There's noble heros, beautiful girls, wicked witches and evil kings, ghosts, fairies, unicorns, pirates, fallen stars, true love, and it's all woven together very simple, but very well. if you're looking for plot twists or variations on a formula, this is not your movie. But if you're looking for an excellently told story with characters you actually like. The cast is excellent: Michelle Pfeiffer, Claire Danes, Robert DeNiro, Sienna Miller, Henry Cavill. Also, in a very rare twist on things, this movie (based on the novel Stardust by Neil Gaiman) is one of the exceptions, a movie which is actually much much better than the book it was based upon. Also, on one of the many flights i've taken in the past year, one of the pilots introduced himself as Captain Shakespeare. I may have been the only person on the plane who understood, but he was my favorite captain ever.

The Big Hit (you guessed it, trailer here)

I love Mark Wahlberg. Don't hate: Markie Mark is actually an excellent actor with equally good talent at picking quality movies to be involved with. This is one of his early ones, an action comedy in the John Woo/asian kung-fu style (although the american influence is apparent: there are more guns than kung fu). Melvin Smiley is a successful hitman who can't stand the thought of anyone not liking him. His fiance, his girlfriend, and his fellow hitman friends are all well aware of this, and use it to manipulate him. And the video clerk at Big Top Video won't stop harrasing him about returning his overdue copy of King Kong Lives. And then he gets involved in a kidnapping gone wrong with pretty young China Chow who actually begins to understand him and treat him like with respect. Romance, hijinks, gunfights, explosions, and witty banter ensue as Melvin confronts his so-called friends and tries to escape from the hole dug for him. The action is great. The writing is excellent (although a little dated at times with jokes like, "Who are you guys? The Spice Boys?"). The jokes are excellent, and the humor is balanced perfectly with the action and pace, keeping it out of the realm of farce or ridiculousness. And Markie Mark plays Melvin Smiley spot-on, and you can't help but love him. Or, if you're me, completely relate to him.

There's a few for you, a couple for every tastes. I'm sure to revisit the topic later, there's plenty more where that came from.

I think that's enough stuff for today, don't you?

And Then There are Days you Open the Case, and Realise you Left your Guitar at Home

True story.

My mother likes to send me packages. That's just the sort of mom she is. Let's not lie, I love it. It always makes my heart smile a little bit when I come home and there's an oversized bubble-wrap envelope stuffed into my little mailbox.

I work in the shipping industry, as many of you already know, shipping out FedEx boxes all day long. I work retail--I deal with a constant stream of new customers most of the day. Part of good customer service is engaging with the customers, so i've got a few talk tracks that I use. Since we've got new people coming through the door all the time, I can recycle them pretty much ad naseum. But i've got one for those moms who come in shipping off packages to their sons and daughters in college. we've had quite a few lately, as plenty of parents packed off their kids to school for the first time a month or two ago. But i always talk about how that's the best thing ever, when you're in school, to get those care packages. It's like Christmas; best. day. ever. I've even got one customer, a regular, who ships stuff off to her two granddaughters in Utah every couple of weeks. She send them cookies, candy, makeup, whatever. She's super friendly and we talk whenever she comes in. one of the things that she always sends to them: buffalo wing flavored pretzel bites. She bought a big ol' case of them, cause you can't get them in Utah apparently, and she ships a couple of bags out to them every time. And they really taste buffalo wing-y. Why do I know? Because i mentioned one day that they sounded really good. The next day, guess who shows up with a bag of buffalo wing pretzel bites for yours truely? If you guessed the tooth fairy, you would be wrong.

Anyways, I have a point to all of this. One day I get one of these care packages, and inside of it is a bag of licorice. I like licorice just fine, though I'd hardly say I'm a connoisseur. I had the unfortunate experience recently of a Jager Bomb recently, and that's sort of like drinking a high explosive glass of licorice. I may not mention that it was in a dive bar, nay, dive pool hall, in Dallas, TX. it is entirely possible that there is a ceiling tile with my name written on it in an undisclosed location in Dallas, Tey-has. Oh, nate.

See, look at that. I already got sidetracked again. Bag of licorice. Care package. Well, the story goes that I also received a phone call from my father. Kim Are is long known in our family to be a horder of candy items, and on the unfortunate time that he may pass from this world, i expect to find in the place of a will a treasure map with the location of his candy stash marked with a big ol' fat X. He tells me, on the phone that is, to beware! Be careful nate! I sent you a bag of licorice, he says, but you must tread with extreme caution! You may try the licorice, if you dare, but do so at your own risk! It is extremely habit forming! Addicting, I believe was the exact term he used.

Oh, I dared. I opened that bag, and I even tried the licorice. It was good, i will not lie, as far as licorice goes. But there is only room in my heart for one addiction, and that is caffeine.

I don't exactly remember that brand of licorice (though I'm sure my father does), but here's one that I got the other day i loved a little bit. In honor of that story, and of the good ol' father-figure-dude-man-sir, I present to you the:

Kim Are Award for Excellence In Licorice-Addicting Candies:

• Trader Joe's Allsorts-a-Licorice

For Today, then:

• Worked on the novel! Slow progress, but more progress than the last few times. Couple more nights like this and I'll be done with this infernal chapter! I take it back, the chapter before this was actually infernal, on account of introducing a character who is the devil. Literally.
• State of the Business address with my manager at work. Our conclusion? My store needs to make more money. I'm trying to figure out what part of this revelation was...relevatory.
• Dinner, involving a pork chop, vidalla onion, jalapeno pepper, cottage cheese, and mashed potatoes. Po-tay-toh.

Beer of the Dinner for the Day:

• Two X Amber

Cerveza de la dia por la cena:

• Dos Equis Amber

Music of the day:

• Barton Hallow by the Civil Wars

Sad Moment for Today:

• US Mens National Soccer team loses to Ecuador

Plans for Tomorrow:

• Novel. Little more. Closer, closer, closer to finishing this difficult chapter
• Krav Maga
• Coffee<--I will definately enjoy this part of the day
• Continue to catch up on Warehouse 13 & Eureka. i'm almost caught up!

Molasses

Slowest. Chapter. E v e r .

I crawled through a couple of paragraphs tonight, at least. ugh. I feel like i've got to work out another page and a half or two before I can move on to the next part. This singer's tale is proving to be harder to detail out than I expected. I think i'm going to end up short arming a lot of it, and coming back later on the rewrite to expand and improve it. might take two or three.

I finally made it back to Krav Maga tonight. it's been near a month since I went to class, what with business trips, colds, and half marathons interrupting life. Felt good, worked up a good sweat, punched the heavy bag a lot (and got whacked in the nose by a pretty asian girl). We did choke from the front with push; i've done it several times before but my technique was way rusty. On the other hand, it has been established that I kick like a mule. That is to say, I kick hard. Mule hard.

I'm still trying to figure out what my new workout routines are going to look like. I'm thinking about making my way back to the gym to add weights into the mix again. Then again, I'm also thinking about taking a few months to concentrate on the 5-10k distance running. Work on getting my speed up for those shorter distances. i went out for my first post-race run last saturday (i ended up taking longer off than i expected. I felt like enjoying a long rest week, and I decided not to feel guilty about it), and I ran a fast 2 miles. Well, fast for me at 8 minute miles. I started off too fast, and burned out after the first mile. I soldiered on through the next mile, well at least until I enhaled a bug and the coughing and gagging commenced.

Of course, the Kaiser Half in San Francisco is in early February again, and the 3 month training cycle would start up again in November if I wanna do that again. Coming off of San jose, I could slide right back into the training cycle and really get a lot of miles in. whenever my next half is, I'm gonna have to knock 8 more minutes off of my time to reach my 2 hour goal. Part of me wants to take that post-race high (it's easy to enjoy a half marathon after all the hard work of running it is actually finished).

I don't understand why I enjoy running, have I mentioned that? Because I certainly don't feel like i actually enjoy it. mostly it's something I do and then feel good about finishing. Truth, crossing that finish line is one of the most satisfying and accomplishing things I've ever experienced in my life. But the race itself isn't an overly profound experience. I mean it has it's moments, but they don't feel like they'd be enough to carry the experience. I mean, apparently i'm wrong because Chris and I are already looking for the next race to run.

Maybe it's purely chemical. Some sort of adrenaline or endorphin addiction. I'm voting against the adrenaline theory, at least for me. I mean, i jumped out of an airplane once and that's a pretty intense adrenaline rush. I enjoyed it just fine, and I could probably be talked into doing it again, but I'd be just as happy in my life if I never did it again.

I guess if you pushed me, I'd say, for me, it's the thrill, accomplishment of actually finishing something. I've spent so much of my life starting things and wanting to start things and never following through; but this is something I've found that I can start and finish.

Anyways, on to other subjects. Liz, I took up your challenge for the quinoa & zucchini soup. I put together a recipe yesterday, but I'm not satisfied with the outcome. It wasn't bad--it was just pretty bland. So I'm going back to the drawing board for try number two. As soon as I've got something good, I'll be sure to post the recipe and results up here!

Also, I would love more challenges. Looking for 1-3 ingredients to use to fashion a soup recipe from scratch.

I started experimenting with the webcam on my laptop. it is entirely possible that I will put up a video post sometime soon.

Is it time for randomness today? Well, then, let's get to it!

Catching up on...

• wrote in the novel. Only a little bit, but if I didn't have quantity, I feel like the quality was okay
• back to ASD
• other stuff, which probably wasn't interesting enough to list

Vintage Vixen Bombshell of the Day...

• Jean Harlow

Album of the Day (aka Album I Listened to While Writing Tonight)

• Swoon by the Silversun Pickups

The "Yup, He Just Did That" Catch of the Weekend (or your "I'm Happy the Chiefs Won Again" moment)

• Dwayne Bowe is a beast!

Picture of the Day...

• Jean Harlow

Hello Operator

Desmond, the mouse declared my arch enemy for the week, did not make any appearances today. Perhaps he has scampered away at the thought of tilting against such a worthy adversary as myself, or perhaps he is simply in hiding, scheming, waiting to launch his wicked plans upon me.

Actually, what I'm most worried about is that he crawled deep under my cabinets--where he would be most difficult to retrieve--and passed away, and we won't discover him until the atmosphere becomes unpleasant. Foul, even.

It's been rainy and cool the past few days. i love it. I've been waiting, oh so unpatiently, for the evil hot summer to break and the wonderful fall weather to descend upon us. it has.

Things I love about fall:

• Apple Cider (Louisburg Cider Mill is my favorite)
• Sleeping with open windows
• Hot Coffee on cool mornings
• Soup weather
• Football!
• Bullet points
  

Soup. I love me some soup. And, on account of that, i bring you the first potentially annual Nate Are Fall Soup Challenge!

What is a Nate Are Fall Soup Challenge, you may ask? Well, I'm glad you did, because I would be delighted to explain it to you.

I challenge you, all of you, whomever you may be, to challenge me to make soup! You will assign me one or two ingredients (maybe three), and I will make a soup based on them (from scratch). Come now, let's be reasonable, though. I'm not going to make a soup out of bird's nest. Also, as I'm only making these soups so that I can eat them (and share any successful recipes here, on this wonderful insubstantial web log), the ingredients must be those I would endeavor to consume myself. That means no seafood, fellas and fellettes. Also, I may not be dirt poor, but truffles are right out of my price range; consider that my shopping is done nearly entirely at Safeway & Trader Joes.

The challenge is issued! Allez Cuisine!

I wrote a few words on my novel tonight. This chapter is slow. Must. Continue. Working. On. It.

Music of the Day:

• DeStijl by the White Stripes

Vintage Movie of the Day:

• Gypsy (complete with vintage beauty Natalie Wood)
  

Obscure Literary Term of the Day:

• Consonance

Geeky Reference for the Day:

• MST3K (or also known to people who like to say long phrases instead of short ones, Mystery Science Theatre 3000)
  

You may have noticed a change or two. It's been a long time coming, well, the aspect of change has, but the specifics were a bit more recently decided. As recent as earlier today. I hope you like it, because if you don't, chances are I'm not going to change just for you. Unless you're a very pretty single girl who's free Saturday night. Then we can talk about it over dinner. Hey, peanut gallery, shut yer hole. The one you put pie in.

This and That; Tit & Tat

You may have heard about it; I ran a race yesterday. You might even say--though I wasn't the first to coin the phrase--that I rocked 13.1 miles yesterday. Ladies and Germs, that's a whole half. And it only took me two hours, eight minutes, and forty-four seconds to finish. I once told roommate Michael that the worst part about running your second half marathon was that you had to do better than the first one! Which, I guess means, that if you drop 13-ish minutes off your first time (that's one whole minute per mile) you've accomplished that goal. That's nearly a 10% increase in efficiency folks...I'll take that any day.

There were quite a few improvements, overall, in my performance. My feet still hurt a bit after mile 8, but road conditions by-and-large were vastly better than San Francisco so it didn't cripple me. Plus Injini socks and a different set of Five-Finger shoes with slightly thicker soles. I appreciate significantly less foot agony.

Absolutely zero hydration issues--I went into the event pretty well prepped and imbibed at each of the water stations (except for the first one). I did take the strategy of walking briefly while I got my water--have you ever tried to drink out of a paper cup while running? Difficult, unless you're the sort who likes spillage. I actually avoided sports drinks for the race (more or less). I sucked down a gatorade prime 15 minutes before the race, and drank down a Gatorade G2 an hour or so afterwards, but otherwise it was all water.

I used a Clif Energy Gel at mile 6, and I felt it kick in around mile 7.5-8. I had intended to use a second one around mile 9-10, but I was still riding the high, and skipped it. It was a decision I regretted--I could've used that kick at miles 11 & 12. I hit a wall about mile 10.5, but I soldiered through it.

Best part of all, perhaps? As I was on the home stretch after mile marker 12, I said to myself, "Self, I can't imagine running a whole marathon and this only being the halfway point, but self, I could see myself running another one of these things." In San Francisco, I felt like death over-easy on that last mile and could barely bring myself to cross the finish line. When I crossed the finish line this time, I wasn't totally spent. I certainly didn't feel like running another 13 miles, but I didn't feel like collapsing. You can see it in the pictures: in San Francisco my 12 mile picture is one evil grimace of determination. In San Jose, I'm actually smiling!

After that wonderful, wonderful finish line, we (being Chris Focht and I) wandered around a bit, listening to Big Head Todd & the Monsters and eating oranges (Chris may or may not have enjoyed the free beer offered to age eligible runners) before heading home. We may or may not have stopped off for a Starbucks coffee before leaving. The walk back to the car was less fun--my feet definitely were tender at that point (the adrenaline and pain-killing endorphins having worn off). I was a little stiff after the drive home, but otherwise I haven't really felt the muscle soreness. My left foot hurts a bit, but that's not uncommon for me after a long run. It goes away after a day or so.

I really enjoyed this race a lot more than the last one. I'm sure the second one is always easier than the first--you know what to expect. In addition, this was much better organized than the Kaiser run in SF. There were live bands about every mile, which was cool for the first half of the race before the novelty wore off. You were really only in earshot of each band for about one song-ish, so it wasn't really much to take in and enjoy. They also had cheerleading groups all along the course cheering everyone on. I have to say I found that really encouraging. I like giving high 5's as encouragement, sort of my thing. It was good to run down a line of high 5's. Silly, maybe. Like running 13 miles isn't.

Plus they gave us a medal at the end of this one. You best believe I wore that at work today.

I guess this means I'm going to have to do another race. I'll worry about that at a time that's not this week. Probably.

I haven't worked on my book for awhile. I'll start again tomorrow night. Without the pressing need to train for the half, the schedule should be a little bit easier to slide back into. Also, no more interruptions planned for awhile.

I decided to postpone finishing The Savage Detectives. It's well written, but it's an excruciatingly slow read for me and I need to be reading more, and faster pace. So I picked up The Drowning Pool by Ross MacDonald. More up my alley, anyways.

So, in an unusual turn of events, this blog post is a double-day coverage. We had a bit of Monday, a bit of Tuesday. I worked on the book a little tonight. A very little. But i'm starting somewhere. I'll be back.

Things I Did Today-ish:

• Had a staring contest with a Praying Mantis
• Declared war on Desmond, the mouse who has invaded my store
• Framed my Completion Certificate & Medal of the Half (with my bib & timing chip)
• Wrote a few small words on the novel
• Happy Birthday Stephanie! I ate a piece of pie on your behalf today.
  

Music of the Day:

• Count Basie (Exposure)

New Recreational Reading for the Time Being:

• The Drowning Pool by Ross MacDonald

Weekend Haul from Half Price Books (the only bookstore in Fremont):

• Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
• Trouble is My Business by Raymond Chandler
• Count Basie (Exposure)
• Castle Season 3 (ok, that was actually from Target)

Real Life Everyday Quote from the Life of Nate Which May or May Not Prove He Lives in an Odd Fantasy World:

• "His name is Desmond and he is our enemy. He will rue the day he invaded my store! RUE!"