1. I've never understood why FedEx and UPS trucks get tickets for double parking in NYC (and maybe other places, too). I mean, seriously??? There's no parking for normal vehicular traffic, so does anyone really expect FedEx/UPS to find a 'real' spot...especially when they're just going to be there for a handful of minutes?! I just scratch my head whenever I see a traffic cop ticketing a delivery vehicle...
2. I know it's rude to mention, but there are certain people whose mommas definitely did NOT raise 'em right. And there are some people you see just perpetuating the circle of unhealthy eating leading to a superbly unhealthy physical condition. For instance (you thought I wouldn't have an example??), the fat man - and I do mean F-A-T, not just pleasantly plump, I saw the other day who was slurping - SLUUUUUUUUUUURPING - every morsel possible off his double order of wings. I've never heard anyone make that noise before and it was, perhaps, one of the unsexiest things ever. Ever. So, how exactly is this an example of poor upbringing? Maybe it's the British in me, but we were not allowed to make noises like that at the dinner table...much less in public.
3. I hate meetings that don't start on time. Particularly meetings where the leaders are operating on the assumption people will be late, so you're told that the start time is 15 minutes before the actual start time. Not starting for a full half an hour after the REAL start time is just rude. Rude. Especially when I have a meeting with a McGinley to have an adult beverage. I mean, come on!
4. I'm gonna try and run 100 miles in the month of July. Why? Why not? I need to gather a bunch of base miles while I'm figuring out what my next half marathon will be, for starters. I also need a challenge to keep me motivated. But I might sweat to death. It is July. In New York. Am I an idiot?
5. I have a crush. And I'm not tellin' who he is!
6. Half2run.com. Check it out. Join Gaff, A-dawg, and me on our quest. I've got one down; 24 to go!!!
7. I'm moving. Not sure when. Or where. Or what I'll be doing. But I'm moving.
8. I slept with all 3 of our household canine companions last night. What started out as an adorable pile o'puppies, with a nicely carved spot pour moi, did NOT end up the same this morning. This time, it wasn't my 'kids' taking up all the room; Hershel-icious is a big ol' bed hog!!!! Luckily he's cute and a super snuggler...
9. Thunderstorms are sexy. SO sexy. And we've had a lot of 'em lately! My mind is perma-in-the-gutter. It's so tough being a woman in your 30s. ;)
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Times they are a changing...
I can always tell when I'm leaving a more dormant, insular period of my life and heading into a whole lotta new. How? Well, it's kinda like watching a puppy grow...they start to sleep a whole lot, eat a TON, and their joints get super swollen and huge. Then - WHOOOSH - you've got a whole lot more dog than you did a week ago.
No, I'm not eating myself outta house and home. Nor am I sleeping too much (just sleeping well). My joints do hurt a bit, but that's because of all the running. What IS happening is that I want to write.
Most of y'all know that I like to write and have probably been the recipient of one - or too many! - of my 'newsletters.' Well, when I'm feeling more cocoon-y than butterfly, I tend to not write. I hibernate. And now? Notsomuch the hibernating...I've had all kinds of things that I want to say at my fingertips. Yes, some of what I want to say is more blog-appropriate soundbites, but there has been some truly creative writing as well. Delicious!
Alaska? Being in the middle of nowhere? Doing some traveling? Feeling better about the Winter Squish starting to disappear? Energized because I'm (literally) creating movement in my life? Let's go with all of the above...
No, I'm not eating myself outta house and home. Nor am I sleeping too much (just sleeping well). My joints do hurt a bit, but that's because of all the running. What IS happening is that I want to write.
Most of y'all know that I like to write and have probably been the recipient of one - or too many! - of my 'newsletters.' Well, when I'm feeling more cocoon-y than butterfly, I tend to not write. I hibernate. And now? Notsomuch the hibernating...I've had all kinds of things that I want to say at my fingertips. Yes, some of what I want to say is more blog-appropriate soundbites, but there has been some truly creative writing as well. Delicious!
Alaska? Being in the middle of nowhere? Doing some traveling? Feeling better about the Winter Squish starting to disappear? Energized because I'm (literally) creating movement in my life? Let's go with all of the above...
Cool company, cooler behind-the-scenes...
So, from time to time, I stumble upon something I really think is cool. Browsing through some (seriously) old mail this weekend, I got to the Horny Toad - it's clothing, pervs!, catalog. Horny Toad and Patagonia catalogs are like novellas to me...I thoroughly enjoy reading them as much as I love the clothing. I'm a gear dork, I know.
Horny Toad has taken an interesting, offbeat, and not nearly common enough approach to warehousing and shipping. According to the catalog:
"Years ago, Horny Toad partnered with Search Developmental Center, a non-profit life-skills training group in Chicago that helps to change the lives of adults who have developmental disabilities. The partnership first gave rise to Planet Access Company (PAC), which provides training and work opportunities to this overlooked and underestimated population. Millions of Horny Toad items have been picked, packed, and shipped with unmatched reliability and enthusiasm by the PAC work crew - cool huh?"
Cool is an understatement. In a world where so much of our daily lives is imported from third world countries, it's fanTAStic to learn of U.S. companies who are more than simply conscientious, but taking a BIG (and more costly, presumably) step towards keeping their operations national if not local. Rock the eff on Horny Toad!!!
And - AND!! - Horny Toad + grant $$ + Search for Adventure = a reward vacation for the PAC Crew...with lucky Horny Toaders (employees, duh) getting to tag along. Win, win, win.
Read more here. And don't forget to buy Horny Toad!!!
PS Outside magazine calls the Horny Toad one of its best places to work in 2008!
Horny Toad has taken an interesting, offbeat, and not nearly common enough approach to warehousing and shipping. According to the catalog:
"Years ago, Horny Toad partnered with Search Developmental Center, a non-profit life-skills training group in Chicago that helps to change the lives of adults who have developmental disabilities. The partnership first gave rise to Planet Access Company (PAC), which provides training and work opportunities to this overlooked and underestimated population. Millions of Horny Toad items have been picked, packed, and shipped with unmatched reliability and enthusiasm by the PAC work crew - cool huh?"
Cool is an understatement. In a world where so much of our daily lives is imported from third world countries, it's fanTAStic to learn of U.S. companies who are more than simply conscientious, but taking a BIG (and more costly, presumably) step towards keeping their operations national if not local. Rock the eff on Horny Toad!!!
And - AND!! - Horny Toad + grant $$ + Search for Adventure = a reward vacation for the PAC Crew...with lucky Horny Toaders (employees, duh) getting to tag along. Win, win, win.
Read more here. And don't forget to buy Horny Toad!!!
PS Outside magazine calls the Horny Toad one of its best places to work in 2008!
Friday, June 27, 2008
I'm an auntie!
'Tis true! My sis (finally) had her lil' boy. 2:22 on a Friday afternoon, at 6 lbs 12 oz and 21 inches, Mr. Callum Long made his grand entrance. Coinky-dink that he was born at the same time of day on a Friday like I was? Hmmm...
NOTE: Of course there's back story...ask if you're interested. Maybe I'll spill the veddy, veddy interesting details. ;)
NOTE: Of course there's back story...ask if you're interested. Maybe I'll spill the veddy, veddy interesting details. ;)
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Daniel. And Mount McKinley.
The tone for my Alaska experience was set yesterday. If I can just keep this feeling ever-present for the entire trip, then I will have a wonderful, opening, life-changing experience.
I was working out at the Telectroscope yesterday as I have been on/off for the last month or so. It was another beastly hot day and our crap tanlines (think farmer's tan, but worse) just kept getting worse. 'Twas the end of my shift and, I can't lie, I was counting down the minutes. I was also trying - and failing - not to melt in the heat because I had to get to our pre-Alaska Team in Training meeting.
Across from the Telectrscope, on Pier 1 in Brooklyn Heights, there was a production crew setting up a stage and sound system to shoot a pre-recorded July 4th show - go Kenny Chesney! All day, the guys had been taking turns to wander over, trying to figure out what this Victorian-looking contraption was. As we're wont to do, we explained the story, blah blah blah - we're all people-persons, but, DUDE, we'd been there a month and there are only so many times you can schpiel it up!!
*pause.
Back story - so, I'd just finished telling a couple of the girls that I worked with about my preference for tall, strapping, good-lookin', broad-shouldered men who ooze charisma. Throw in a shaved head, a big nose, and some tattoos (all optional, never required)...well, this kitten purrs.
*unpause.
So, what walks up? Tall, strapping, charismatic man with deliciously broad shoulders. Sure he had hair (bald is NOT a requirement, Laila! I've dated men with hair!!), but he was definitely a man who commanded attention. Yum! Yes, I started schpieling...and (mildly) flirting. Ok. Fine. There wasn't mild flirting. I was full-on shakin' my tail feathers and batting my eyelashes. I can't help it!
He introduced himself (Daniel) and asked if I'd be around the following week, as the crew would be back for another shoot. I told him the Telectroscope project would be closing before then, but that I'd be in Alaska anywhoooo.
"Alaska? What's taking you there?" asked Mr. Strapping.
I gave my half marathon and Team in Training schpiel...and didn't fail to mention that I love the wildness of the Last Frontier. (Can't you just see the tail feathers shakin'??)
He, too, loves Alaska. And went there years ago for his own Last Frontier adventure and to spread his mother's grave dirt at the top of McKinley. He summited (19 days up, 3 to get down) and took a - small - souvenir home, a silver dollar-sized piece of rock. He finished his story by taking out the rock, saying that he'd been carrying it in his pocket every day for 17 years, and can't imagine not having it. I can imagine it's more like a worry stone now...something tangible and grounding.
Unfortunately, he had to get back to work, so my tail feathers put themselves back in their proper place, we shook hands, and he walked off. I changed out of my staff shirt, grabbed my bag, and was in the middle of saying goodbye to the girls when...
Yep, he came back. He stood there with Tori, Laila, and I, pulled out the rock and said, "I haven't ever done this. I want to give you some of the rock...I want you take me on your journey." And he broke the rock into two pieces, giving me one.
Big, strapping man with heart...and he teared up, too. And he was indeed with me in Alaska.
Defining moment. Will I ever see him again? I don't know. We didn't exchange information and I have no clue how to find him. If we're meant to cross paths again, then we will...the Universe is wonderfully sneaky like that. If not, then I hope he knows that he made a long-, long-lasting impression on this woman. And, no, not just because he was a hunka hunka burnin' man...there was so much more to that moment.
Thank you, Daniel. Thank you for running with me.
I was working out at the Telectroscope yesterday as I have been on/off for the last month or so. It was another beastly hot day and our crap tanlines (think farmer's tan, but worse) just kept getting worse. 'Twas the end of my shift and, I can't lie, I was counting down the minutes. I was also trying - and failing - not to melt in the heat because I had to get to our pre-Alaska Team in Training meeting.
Across from the Telectrscope, on Pier 1 in Brooklyn Heights, there was a production crew setting up a stage and sound system to shoot a pre-recorded July 4th show - go Kenny Chesney! All day, the guys had been taking turns to wander over, trying to figure out what this Victorian-looking contraption was. As we're wont to do, we explained the story, blah blah blah - we're all people-persons, but, DUDE, we'd been there a month and there are only so many times you can schpiel it up!!
*pause.
Back story - so, I'd just finished telling a couple of the girls that I worked with about my preference for tall, strapping, good-lookin', broad-shouldered men who ooze charisma. Throw in a shaved head, a big nose, and some tattoos (all optional, never required)...well, this kitten purrs.
*unpause.
So, what walks up? Tall, strapping, charismatic man with deliciously broad shoulders. Sure he had hair (bald is NOT a requirement, Laila! I've dated men with hair!!), but he was definitely a man who commanded attention. Yum! Yes, I started schpieling...and (mildly) flirting. Ok. Fine. There wasn't mild flirting. I was full-on shakin' my tail feathers and batting my eyelashes. I can't help it!
He introduced himself (Daniel) and asked if I'd be around the following week, as the crew would be back for another shoot. I told him the Telectroscope project would be closing before then, but that I'd be in Alaska anywhoooo.
"Alaska? What's taking you there?" asked Mr. Strapping.
I gave my half marathon and Team in Training schpiel...and didn't fail to mention that I love the wildness of the Last Frontier. (Can't you just see the tail feathers shakin'??)
He, too, loves Alaska. And went there years ago for his own Last Frontier adventure and to spread his mother's grave dirt at the top of McKinley. He summited (19 days up, 3 to get down) and took a - small - souvenir home, a silver dollar-sized piece of rock. He finished his story by taking out the rock, saying that he'd been carrying it in his pocket every day for 17 years, and can't imagine not having it. I can imagine it's more like a worry stone now...something tangible and grounding.
Unfortunately, he had to get back to work, so my tail feathers put themselves back in their proper place, we shook hands, and he walked off. I changed out of my staff shirt, grabbed my bag, and was in the middle of saying goodbye to the girls when...
Yep, he came back. He stood there with Tori, Laila, and I, pulled out the rock and said, "I haven't ever done this. I want to give you some of the rock...I want you take me on your journey." And he broke the rock into two pieces, giving me one.
Big, strapping man with heart...and he teared up, too. And he was indeed with me in Alaska.
Defining moment. Will I ever see him again? I don't know. We didn't exchange information and I have no clue how to find him. If we're meant to cross paths again, then we will...the Universe is wonderfully sneaky like that. If not, then I hope he knows that he made a long-, long-lasting impression on this woman. And, no, not just because he was a hunka hunka burnin' man...there was so much more to that moment.
Thank you, Daniel. Thank you for running with me.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
It's time to move on...what lies ahead I have no way of knowing!
Just like Tom Petty sings, it's time to get goin'! Yep, stay tuned for the deets, but I've realized that it's high time to get myself outta NYC. I know more what I want to be doing than where I want to do it...isn't that just SO typical of me?
The grass is growin'...
And, yes, I realize that has a whole lot to do with an approaching milestone: I've yet to live anywhere - in my entire life - longer than 5 years and 10 months. I start to get itchy at just about the 4 1/2 year mark and REALLY start to plan a move around 5 years. So, while NYC has been a wonderful growth experience on every level, I'm scoping a new adventure!
The grass is growin'...
And, yes, I realize that has a whole lot to do with an approaching milestone: I've yet to live anywhere - in my entire life - longer than 5 years and 10 months. I start to get itchy at just about the 4 1/2 year mark and REALLY start to plan a move around 5 years. So, while NYC has been a wonderful growth experience on every level, I'm scoping a new adventure!
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