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):

Rites of Passage

This is something that my boy may be embarrassed about me sharing publicly sometime in the future, but hey - I figure I'm setting him up for therapy in myriad ways, so this will be just a drop in the bucket.

After a great baseball season, he's now playing for a few more weeks on the all-star team. As the tournaments they're competing in play with hard balls rather than the softcore ones he's used up until now, the coaches recommend that the boys wear "protection" in their nether regions to deflect balls that might take unfortunate bounces.

So yesterday, Stephen took boy to the sporting goods store and got him his first ever cup, or as Nathan calls it "the weenie shield." Good times!

I Am Lame

Why? Because life ain't so very bad and here I am not writing about it! In fact, life is really pretty good today, as Justin Verlander threw a no-no (the 1st Tiger no-hitter since Jack Morris in 1984). It was a thing of beauty; Sophie and I were home watching the last two innings and I got all verklempt and shaky after the final out was recorded.

Other things are good too, like sleep. It's late and I'm tired. But I'll be back.

Today...

... has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

Now, off to yoga to hopefully breathe and let some of it go.

(Hi.)

Opening Day

For, lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of the singing of birds is come,
And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.

Ah, I love this day. So much hope, all possibilities open. I'm listening to the Tigers pre-game show right now and am trying not to bounce out of my seat with the excitement of it all. Okay, so part of that might be the caffeine high, as I've only had coffee and dark yummy chocolate this morning thus far. I feel a little like Persephone, coming up from the underworld after a long 6 months and finally getting to see the sun and eat something other than pomegranate seeds.

This afternoon, we'll get the kids out of school early and make our way to Safeco to see the Mariners play, and hopefully put the Oakland curse of last year behind them.

Play ball, y'all!