Be Very Afraid...

That's what we're hearing from the Hillary camp. As this terrific video points out - we've heard it all before...



(snagged from Betsey at My Whim Is Law.

Oh what a world it seems we live in...

I was wasting some time walking down memory lane tonight, listening to old tv themes one of which was from ABC's Wide World of Sports. Anyone my age remembers the opening montage... "The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat." And we remember the image that played along with the agony, a spectacular ski jumping crash, the guy spinning wildly out of control. It's etched, forever, in the mind's eye.

So I wondered - whatever happened to the agony of defeat guy? Was he seriously injured? Did he go on to jump again? Is he still alive? Now - and this is where the amazing part comes in - it took me less than 10 seconds to find the answers to ALL of those questions, thanks to google and wikipedia. It's a great story - go read it.

But then it struck me how absolutely amazing of a time we live in. When I was a kid, if that question had popped into my head, the answer would have been... "Yeah, hm. I wonder." Short of going to the library and checking the microfiche (do they still have that now?), there would have been no way to find the answer. My kids will never know a time when such a wealth of information is more than a few keystrokes away.

Absolutely amazing.

In Loving Memory

Our sweet girl Aggie died today; I was with her when she breathed her last. She went at home, quietly, and I petted her gently the whole time. Her absence leaves a far larger hole than you might believe, considering she was a cat who really didn't cotton much to being touched, or given much attention at all - she spent a lot of time in the basement (hence her nickname "skulky"), or sleeping on our bed. But she was our family, and we loved her, and we miss her. Goodnight little Agammemnon, rest well.

   

And Much Fun Was Had...

pineapple classic - before the start
Originally uploaded by spencerUW

Well, it didn't rain, we didn't drop our pineapple, and we had a freakin' blast. Our team finished 123rd out of 251 4-person teams overall, and 25th out of 76 female 4-person teams. We all finished at just a sconce over 35minutes. and our combined finish time was 2:20:28.

We wore cute t-shirts decorated by kids in the Comet room (with sewn on comet trails of red and gold) and started the race with silly plastic caps (which sadly came off once the sweat started).

The obstacles were fun - tires to run through, a balance beam, a couple of walls to climb over and nets to climb under. My personal favorite was throwing the pineapple through a tire on top of a wall. I got it through on the first toss, and my teammate Elizabeth caught it expertly.

Thanks tons to everyone who donated (and it's not too late, in case you meant to but didn't get around to it... I can collect 'em through the end of November).

A Pineapple a Day...

So, this whole triathlon thing has led to me becoming slightly insane. It apparently wasn't enough to just do the thing and get it over with and return to my previous inactive life... no, for some strange reason, I've continued to train, and have this idea that I want to sign up for a 5K every month between now and next tri season to keep me moderately motivated to continue running through the winter.

Much thanks for this goes to my friend Shar who shows up at o'dark thirty a couple of mornings each week (if it isn't raining) to take me running at Green Lake, and who - when I say "are you SURE we should sign up?" peer pressures me past my resistance.

Which leads me to the reason for this post. On November 3rd, I am going to participate in a 5K race, along with 3 friends, on a team we're calling "Faster than a speeding Comet roomer" (all of our kids went to the same preschool where the 4-5 year-old room is called the Comet room). It's not your ordinary 5K... there are obstacles that have to be overcome, and we have to do it while carrying - I kid you not - a pineapple. It's called the Pineapple Classic, it's a fund-raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and I am collecting donations on my very own donations page.

Come on - if the thought of me running (probably in the rain), climbing over things, and lugging a pineapple around doesn't motivate you to give some money, I'm not sure what would. I will even post a photo after the event, possibly even of me.

Food For Thought

Rumi - Guest House

This being human is a guest house
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

I'm Not Dead Yet!

Though sadly, this place has been for far too long. That's going to change, and soon... there's just too much that's happened in the last couple of months that I need to document, and more stuff coming down the line. And when you're talking to your mom on the phone and says "so are you ever going to write anything in your blog again?" I think it's a sure sign either of the apocalypse or that it is indeed time to update.

For today, a triumph. In my morning yoga class (a week-long intensive), I started out in prasarita padottanasana (note: the images are NOT me, but use your imagination, 'mkay?):



and using only my stomach muscles, floated my legs out sideways and up into a headstand:



FWOOP. Just like that. Okay, it was slower than "fwoop" seems to indicate, but still. I was so excited I almost fell over, but managed to keep my balance for 20 seconds or so before coming back down in a vaguely graceful manner.

So miracles do happen. Like effortless headstands. And me writing here again.

Updates

Car: Drive shaft failure. Covered by a the sweet 10/100000 VW Powertrain Warranty. Thank GOODNESS.

Movie: Ratatouille was AWESOME. Tomorrow we have tickets in hand for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Work: Last day today. A few possibilities on the horizon. Looking forward to a laid-back August.

Mercury Retrograde: O-ver.

Weather: Predicted to be FECKIN HOT. In the 90's! Hello.... Seattle?

Life is What Happens When You're Busy Making Other Plans

It has been a day of punches, and of me doing my best to roll with them. I mostly succeeded.

It took Brother Bear 2 to completely undo me.

Rewind to this morning, when I was on the receiving end of one of those talks. You know, the ones that start with your manager saying "There's no easy way to say this..." and ends with you beginning to disentangle yourself physically and emotionally from an office that you thought might be one in which you could happily stay for awhile. Into the bag go the lego Harry, Ron, Hermione and Snape, followed by the stuffed peep and Dory ("just keep swimming" indeed!), Kim Possible, and Elastigirl. The family photos and kid artwork will stay up 'til next week, just so it's not COMPLETELY depressing to go in a few more times as I try to be productive and leave some useful words behind.

But, even as a few minor waves of panic rolled through at the thought of having to continue the scratch and troll of the freelance life I thought I was leaving behind, behind it was some calm and relief. This one wasn't the right fit. The people were good people, but not necessarily my people, the work was not what had I thought it would be. It wasn't done with malice, but even so the result is the same: back to the search.

Still (roll), by the time I arrived home, I had reached some equilibrium and felt emotionally lighter... like summer vacation was truly just around the corner. We had promised the kids we'd go see Ratatouille so after dinner off we went, driving across town to the Majestic Bay Theatre... a bit farther than necessary, but worth it (says my movie theater snob husband) for the better experience.

Accelerating from the stop sign we heard and felt the "clunk" and experienced the inability to shift into ANY gear. Traffic was light, we were lucky and got it pulled over and parked on the side of the road without incident... but there was no driving it. It sits, even now, with a note on the dashboard and will sit there until after the holiday passes before we can discover how deeply we'll need to dig to pay for what can't be anything but costly repairs.

And still again (roll)... it was a beautiful evening, sunny and breezy. Despite the disappointment, we all took in stride and enjoyed the walk through a nice neighbourhood to the bus stop. The busses arived in good time and we came home to watch the Netflixed selection that just arrived today: Brother Bear 2.

Before we settled in, I did a final check on baseball scores. The Mariners had managed to have one of their worst games of the season, losing 17-3 to Kansas City (of all teams!). And my Tigers... a 5-4 extra innings loss to Cleveland. It's a game - I know - but it means a lot to me, and I can't help but add these outcomes to the tally of crap. I voted a few more times to help get Jeremy Bonderman on the All-Star team and triend to remember that the season is a marathon, not a sprint (roll).

We started the movie. I was weepy within the first 10 minutes. This isn't actually anything unexpected; it's a rare movie I watch that doesn't, at some point, evoke a welling up of emotion, accompanied by good-natured teasing by my other family members. But by the movie's end, even I had to acknowledge that there was more going on than a reaction to McGrizzly (aka Kenai, voiced this time around by Patrick Dempsey) almost dying but then being reunited with the girl he'd loved since childhood when she decides to become a bear too.

Letting out the frustrations and fears of the day? You bet. Some catharsis? Most definitely. Not Where The Red Fern Grows-level complete-body sobbing catharsis, but enough for now.

And speaking of now it's time for a good night's slep so I can recharge and get ready for whatever tomorrow brings. It's bound to be better, right? I'm hoping that it will necessitate a LOT less rolling.

Morning Giggle

IM ON YUR BLOG
FREEKIN OUT YUR READRS

***

This is what I get for leaving my blog post window open and going to bed before my silly spouse... a reference, of course, to this (for you Sopranos fans):