Barbies and turtles

Happy October! Feels like it snuck up on us. 

October is typically one of my favorite months, weather-wise anyway. It also is the month of Inktober! 31 days, 31 ink drawings.

I've made it to the starting line at least. Today's prompt is "dream"

I always wanted one of these Barbie Dream campers, but alas, it was not to be. Maybe I'll have a real one when I'm an old(er) lady.

Speaking of starting lines and old ladies, this morning was also the first of the season for Tortoise and Hare races. It was a short and sweet 4K (2.5 miles). Big turnout because...

1. it's the first race of the season
2. it's the shortest race of the season
3. the weather was beaut

I managed to make it to the finish without succumbing to injury or death, so it was a win. I noticed another runner refer to the races as "Tortuga y Conejo", and I think I like that better. Maybe I'm getting bored with English.

knee-highs ftw

I don't think I was too much of a tortuga. I was slightly slower than my predicted pace as the algorithm is still adjusting to my post-covid self, but it was a fun time with the other weirdos. 

So a nice end to a decent week and a nice start to the month. See ya, summer.

happy about sad

We've made it to March, congratulations, everyone.

Re-org things have become more prevalent at work - naming of new VPs and Deans. I'm too far removed from that level to pay much attention. 

The managers in my organization, which is disbanding and morphing into something else, had their last staff meeting this past week. Assistant Boss said they closed the meeting with going around the room and asking everyone to share something they're sad about the re-org and something they're excited about. 

Assistant Boss's contribution: "I'm sad that Boss is leaving. I'm excited... that boss is leaving!"

Yup, we all agreed with that sentiment! As I've said, Boss is a good person to work FOR, but annoying to work WITH. He's been told that he will move to his new digs on April 1st. Woe to the fools at his new location.

Speaking of reorganizing, I caught a bit of a tidy bug this week. Actually, I think I have a somewhat chronic condition, but I had a little tidying flare up and did some rearranging and purging of kitchen items. 

This was brought on by this week's mousecapades. We became aware of a mouse raiding a part of the pantry where we keep a few snacks. We'd occasionally hear it scratching around, plus the animals were all honed in on the location.

Magnum set a trap, but the silly mouse didn't get the memo on how to use it. Instead of snapping its neck in the thing and dying instantly, it somehow managed to catch its tail while remaining very much alive and anguished.

We opened the cabinet door while the great hunter Napolion, the cat, was nearby and highly interested. He seemed to take one look at this mouse/ trap hybrid, and say "Whoa, that's just creepy! NO thanks!"  I've since rearranged things to make the snacks, hopefully, less accessible to local rodentia.

Magnum trapped the unhappy combo in a plastic container and put it out back in the brick pile while we contemplated how to end the torture. In the end, our visitor froze to death. I've heard that hypothermia is quite peaceful toward the "end". After the awfulness that comes prior, I suppose. *SIGH*

This morning, I ran this month's Tortoise & Hare race with the running club, a 10k (6.2 miles). 

It was a nice sunny morning for it, temps in the 30s, no icy patches on the course. My NASA shirt didn't give me the rocket boost I'd hoped for as my pace is still notably slower since my bout of dang covid last summer.

I'm not sure if it's my heart rate or my lung capacity that's the issue, or something else entirely. I've never really paid attention to these things in the past, just running for fun. But I stayed alive until the end, strangely smiling in race photos. 

Note: there's a fine line between a smile and a grimace.

something next to nothing but different than the day before

1. Write about a time you participated in a competition.

This one time? At band camp?

No, actually... I did marching band and sports - basketball and track - all through high school. Competitions were a part of daily life. At one track meet during my freshman year, Coach added me to the long jump roster. 

Now, I was a sprinter, and track rules were that each athlete could compete in (I think it was) 5 events or less. No more. Between my individual events and relays, I was maxed out already. But Coach noticed that there were not many girls competing in the long jump at that particular meet, so she added a couple of teammates and I to the event figuring that chances were high we might get some points out of it. 

I jumped as an imposter, code name: Cordova. 

I wasn't really into it, but what the heck. Problem was, a couple of times "my" name Cordova was called to jump, it failed to occur to me that the track official was summoning me. I vividly recall my teammate Debby smacking me on the arm, "you're up CORDOVA *big bug eyes* wink wink nudge nudge*

"OH, yup! That's me! Cordova!", I bellied up to the deck as the official looked at us suspiciously. Then I performed my mediocre-just-became-a-longjumper-an-hour-ago jump.

I somehow managed to sort of make a name for myself in my real events by the end of that season, so most of the other coaches at meets we attended eventually knew my real name. That was the end of my track fraud career.

2. Tell us about a recent favorite purchase.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Magnum and I left the gym we'd been members of and bought city rec passes instead. The rec pass is cheaper than the gym and gives us access to more facilities including several pools, three different weight/ cardio rooms, indoor gymnasiums, etc. So far, I'm happy with the change. I've mainly only been to the the weight /cardio room housed inside the local Senior Center because it's closest to where we live, and it's populated with a good mix of ages. 

Seems there's a water aerobics class going on during the times I've gone to the gym. So several older ladies are in the locker room readying to get their water aerobics on. They're sweet and I can tell this is a social as well as physical event for them. 

I walk through a sitting/coffee area to get to the workout room, and in that area are several retired men sitting around solving the world's problems. 

I'm glad there's such a place for these swimmers and world problem solvers. I'm not quite ready to count myself among them.

3. Share a project you are working on.

I'm tutoring a handful of nice students this semester. They're all struggling, which is the reason they sign up for tutoring in the first place. One of these students is clearly intelligent and articulate, but she processes concepts slower than average. 

I've known her from my job in the testing center since she is one of the students who tests with accommodations. I honestly don't know what her "disability" is - something neurological, I think. There is nothing obvious when speaking with her, and again, she is witty and articulate, already has a bachelor's degree in another area. But math concepts take a toll. We're nearly at the end of unit 2, and she's still struggling with unit 1 skills. She's a project I'm trying to figure out.

4. Write a blog post inspired by the word: trip

Magnum and I are embarking on a getaway to somewhere sunny and warm. We'll be wearing shorts and short sleeves and enjoying clean, fresh air.  Playing and relaxing.

... then I woke up. It was dark and temperatures outside were in the single digits. I feel due for a real trip rather than just the dream kind.

5. Write about something you are looking forward to.

 I will let the cat speak for me when I say I'm ready for spring.

Not even necessarily full-on itchy, sneezy, allergeny spring. But I am looking forward to the prelude to spring:  sunny days consistently getting into the 50's, overnights staying above 30, snow that melts the day after it falls.

It's coming, Kitty!

Linking up this week with Mama Kat. Doing ALL the prompts.

for the moment

And so... the holiday week comes to a close. We woke to grey skies and a fresh dusting of wet snow/slush. Maybe Mother Nature herself is reluctant to rush back to the rat race.

It makes for nice running weather, though, and I enjoyed a quiet morning slog along the creek once again. I thought I'd give some blog homage to the ducks since the geese typically hog the glory, but this pair didn't seem too willing.

A nice week it was, what with Thanksgiving and all. Sadly, Meego missed the festivities here as he is dealing with the annoying-virus-but-not-COVID that is currently worming its way through the community. He decided to keep his contagion to himself, while we four remainders did our thing.

Additionally, Magnum and I had birthdays this week. No fanfare to be had, just acknowledgement that we each survived yet another year.

Speaking of aging, race results eventually came in for that Thanksgiving day run. I learned that the mayor is the same age as me, and we both made decent showings for our old lady age division. Until next year, Mrs. Mayor!

And speaking of birthdays, I must give a shout out to my friend and PEO sis, Maxine, who turned 101 this week! Still going strong! She's been on the earth a long time and has seen some stuff!


Her family appropriately threw a 101 Dalmatians birthday party for her, but know that she is no Cruella!

Personally, I have no real desire to live to be 101. What year is appropriate for Hello Kitty?

I took on the mayor... and won

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow American revelers.  Happy Thursday, everybody else. I'm thankful to not wake up to news of another mass shooting event - knock on wood.

All the sons are planning to come over later, I've got a large breast... simmering in the slow cooker, and I will eventually get to work on my candied sweet potatoes. I pretty much wear all the toques in this kitchen's French brigade, so expectations are not too high. But there will be food for which to give thanks.

This morning, I ran in the local Thanksgiving Day Run - 4 miles of fun near downtown. 

It was a lovely morning for it: temps in upper 30's, slightly overcast, kinda breezy. The snow and ice from last week's storm is mostly all gone, so that was nice. Race results aren't yet available, and I wasn't really "racing" this year, just there to be part of the pack. It was a good fun time.

And a pack it was. We were shoulder to shoulder for the entire first mile it seemed, then the elbow room slowly opened up. I know my pace was pretty slow for those first couple miles of running like one sheep among many, but I managed to pick off a few contenders for the second half.

I'd been running with a content group during a good portion of the back stretch. A woman to my left was running with a guy and acknowledging a few spectators here and there. I don't really know any well-known runners or well-known people in general since we moved here at the onset of the pandemic. But she seemed to be someone people might know.

At one point, we went by a group of people cheering on the side of the road for us random strangers, and the guy running with "Miss Popularity" pointed to her and said, "she's the mayor!"

I glanced over at the woman, decked out in running clothes, a bright fleece beanie, and sunglasses (coulda been anyone). I don't know much about our mayor, but I at least know her name and have seen her picture on some propaganda promoting our bicycle friendly city - her happily commuting via bicycle.

"Oh, so I've been running with the mayor", I pondered to myself. 

Then I sped up. It's likely the only time I will choose to take on the mayor - singlehandedly at least - and win.

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:

1. Happy Thanksgiving! How will you be spending your holiday?

plumage

Another week deeper into Fall. I think I've raked my last pile of leaves. I hope.

I came across this photo from last week's Tortoise and Hare 5k - at the start line with my (#728) wave mates. I didn't remember that young girl in the group - maybe because she's not much shorter than me, and maybe because I was blinded by fluorescent tights guy.

But, speaking of running tights and the color "plum", by George, I'd say plum is the color of my running tights here. They're neither grey nor purple, so "plum" it is, just like the cat! So glad to have come to that conclusion. Finally.

Okay, enough excitement. This week featured some adjustment to the time change. Coming home at 5pm is dark now. I have front and rear lights on my bicycle, but their main function is to allow others to see me. They don't work so great as to helping me see where I'm going. For that, I use a headlight - like a coal miner. 

Who knew I'd need one for 5pm? Not me. Not LAST week anyway. 

I know now.

saving time

Happy November on standard time. I don't know anyone who likes the twice-a-year ritual of changing our clocks ahead or back an hour, but here we are still doing it. I'm more of a morning person, so if I were to choose a preference, I guess I'd go with standard time, but really, I'd be happy to just pick ONE and done.

I did another one of those Tortoise and Hare races this morning - this one a 5k. It was well attended under overcast skies and about 40 degrees F.  Results aren't in yet, so I don't have a final count on attendees, but it was probably the most crowded of these races I've done yet. Granted, I started doing them in 2020, somewhat socially distanced, so it's good to see the numbers continuing to increase.

As far as my performance, I felt pretty good about it. My big push to the finish was a bit hampered by the crowd - the nature of these Tortoise and Hares is that the pack gets thicker closer to the finish - so it was more of a big bob and weave, but much fun was had and that's the point. 

We watched a couple of movies this weekend. Firstly, Athena was an engrossing film, loaded with symbolism and complex cinematography. Thinking back on it now, I don't remember any "slow" parts with any sort of breather. That said, it's also very gritty, violent, and edgy and is not one I would recommend for the masses. It's French with English subtitles, and it was challenging to follow the dialogue while also taking in all the visuals. The ending left us with more questions than answers, and I'm sure if we watched it again, we'd see things we missed the first go around.

Nextly, we watched The Way Way Back which was certainly on the lighter side from Athena, but it had its share of emotion as well. It's about an awkward 14-year-old kid who spends the summer at a beachhouse with his mom, her jerk boyfriend, jerk boyfriend's daughter, and the somewhat lacking-in-morals adult friends of jerk boyfriend. 

It was cute, predictable, had its comedic moments, and I liked it well enough. Steve Carrell plays the jerk boyfriend, and it was interesting to see him as a non-humorous asshole for a change.

I've taken on a couple more tutees, and a common theme is how lacking in skills a lot of these kids are. I call them "lost children of the pandemic". 2020 and 2021 were not good years to be in high school. Ooch.

starting to finish

Greetings on this fine fall day! I'm very much enjoying the cooler temperatures. Leaves are just starting to change around here, and George, - remember George? - looks to be starting to join his colorful older neighborhood cousins. I'll update when he's ready.

This morning, I ran in the run club's first Tortoise and Hare race of the season. It was a short and sweet 4K (about 2.5 miles). Large turnout for the run, so much so, they broke us up into two separate routes. I expected to head east from the start, but was directed west instead. Welp, just point me in the right direction. I followed along and survived it.

While on the course, I noticed a couple of blind runners. They have volunteers who run with them and give gentle guidance. Seems like admirable work. I'd hate to mess up somehow in that job, though.

Speaking of changing routes, I decided to try a different bicycle commute to work this week. Omigosh, SO much better than my old route. I think I've whined here before about the congestion along my commute as it went through an elementary school zone followed by a middle school zone and all the drop-off line/ crossing guard guarding they involve. This along with the high schoolers going by in the opposite direction.

One morning this week, the voices in my head said, "go that other way, doofus!", so I did. Lovely lovely ride to be had away from all the school traffic, and it only adds a little under a mile to the commute. Not to mention, it avoids a couple of left turns off and on to busy roads, riding a busy road east into the morning sun... What was I thinking before?

This was an otherwise pretty busy week with, again, training new hires at work and pulling some extra hours for such, hence my lack of blog presence. Plus, I've been doing inktobers, and surprisingly have yet to miss a day. Here are this week's submissions:

I can feel my streak about to end, however. But I'll keep inking along in my instagram until the end and see how many I get done by Halloween. No pressure!

home stretch

Last weekend, the running club held its December tortoise and hare race.  This one, a 6K so ~ 3.75 miles.  I found myself... among the finish line photos.  Like this one, resembling a partially formed twin growing out of green-shirt-guy's neck.

The morning was breezy, but unseasonably warm and sunny.  T-shirts and shorts in December?  Bare hands and ears?

By the afternoon, the winds had blown some system in, plummeting temperatures into the 20s.  That prompted me to dig our Christmas decorations out of their dormancy and get a few up and out - our house no longer the bah-humbugest on the block.

In other news, I've been looking into consulting a speech therapist.  I don't have a lisp, my r's don't sound like w's, I don't stutter.  But I sometimes have bouts of what I've learned is "vocal cord dysfunction", been dealing with it, infrequently, for years.  I thought it was maybe exercise induced asthma, but nope, all signs point to VCD.  I'm glad of that because it's usually treated without medication, but rather exercises with a speech therapist.

I haven't searched that much, but the ones near me I've found that take our insurance typically just work with children on forming proper speech patterns and such or work with old folks who've had strokes, etc.

What about us middle-of-the-packers?

so many things!

Thanksgiving day has come and gone.  I'm thankful for much, and I'm grateful to have today off from work as well.  No shopping on the agenda!

All the "kids" were here for our simple festivities.  I feel I need to have another term for them than "kids", but it'll have to do for now.  I cooked the traditional foods, but certainly no pressure since it was just the five of us.  

So we ate, walked the dogs.  Wolfgang brought some games over, and we played two of them.  Board gaming has made a thriving comeback as of late, and he's got a nice collection.  These newer games are creative and imaginative, and I'm glad it's a popular pastime.    

Earlier in the day, I did the local turkey trot, aptly named "Fort Collins Thanksgiving Day Run".  Four miles around downtown.  It was my first time doing it, and it was much fun - a popular local race that was cancelled last year for obvious reasons.  

The morning was chilly but sunny and very nice conditions for the event.  I heard there were over 3,000 participants, and the atmosphere was one of buoyant gratitude to be able to do these things safely again.  I personally hadn't been part of a mass start like that since 2019.

Came across this clip later on instagram and thought it looked like right where I'd started from.  Then yep, watching the clip I realized camera-person had been right behind me.

I'm thankful I survived it and am happy with my finish time, ending up 3rd place for my gender/age category.

All in all, a very good day.

And we have leftover pie.  Anyone want leftover pie?

____________________________________________________________________

Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:
1. Write about something(s) you are thankful for.

life is a series of challenges

Anyone want some candy?  We had zero trick-or-treaters  last night.  Last year, we had one group, but it was COVID times, and we weren't sure what was the norm.  This year, COVID isn't as big a deterrent, but it was a cold, wet evening, so maybe?  Anyway, we've got leftovers.

Other than that, it was a good ending to the month.  I did manage to pull out a few more drawings for Inktober '21.  I include the fat raven here because I forgot him in the last update.

In all, I finished with 11 drawings out of 31 prompts, so at least I got into double digits.

So yes, I participated.  Yes, I had a good time with it.  No, I didn't do it under pressure.  The "purpose" of Inktober is to get people into the habit of drawing on a regular basis, so for me, it worked.

In other participation prizes, I ran a 10K yesterday morning.  It was the October Tortoise and Hare race for the local running club.

These are typically run around the start/end of the month, and it wasn't intentionally a Halloween themed event.  Not surprisingly though, there were a few people in costumes.  I was passed by a cow and a Wonder Woman and was able to pass a Chewbacca and a Spider Man.  I saw a few other costumes along the course,

For the most part, actually, we were dressed to deal with the wet, drizzly conditions.  Here, I'm waiting for my start time (I was warming my hand, not picking my nose) behind this mom of undefined pink costume with her bat babies.

I did manage to stay quite dry for the duration.  I was wearing a fleece neck gaiter at the start, but once I warmed up, I pulled the gaiter up around my head.  

So no, I was not trying to appear dressed as a snake charmer. My finishing "turban" is merely the result of wardrobe management.  

In all, I was happy with how I did - came in slightly faster than the algorithm predicted.  These Tortoise and Hares are fun, but it's been a while since I've done a typical mass start race, and I kind of miss those.  First world problems, I know.

Now it's the start November already.  National Novel Writing Month.  

Don't hold me to that one.

it's a start

My thoughts while listening to other runners strategizing before the start:  "Geez people, it's just a fun run.  Chill"

My thoughts while getting bunched up at the turnaround: "Move it or move aside!  Sheesh, this isn't a Sunday stroll!"

My local run club had our first race of the Tortoise and Hare season last Sunday.  Weather was beaut.  It was a short fast race - 4K, so about 2.5 miles.  

Tortoise and Hare races are sort of "backward".  Instead of a mass start with finishers trickling in, T&Hs estimate everyone's finishing times, then we start accordingly.  Slower runners start first, and several waves of runners follow.  We are spaced at 30-second intervals.  If the estimates are accurate, we all finish at nearly the same time.

It usually works out quite well, the club's algorithm for predicting finishing times is based on previous T&H races and has proven to be pretty accurate.  My start time was 20 minutes into the race, and a few speedster waves started after me.  We were pretty bunched up by the halfway point and continued to take on mass toward the finish.  

The club does a T&H each month from September through March, supposedly to keep people running through the winter.  

Here's the start of my wave, all of us looking a little bored?  

It was fun to race again with a good turnout.  Next month is a 10K, just in time for Halloween.  Hopefully it won't snow.

getting carded

In a little while, I'm going to the eyecare place to pick up my new glasses.  They ask that customers either wear a mask or bring their vaccination cards.  I don't actually have a vaccination "card", I have a vaccination "cheesy slip of paper".  I don't know if the shooters ran out of cards and just made paper photocopies to then fill in, but that's what I have.  

We were vaccinated at work, and one of my coworkers left her vaccination cheesy slip of paper in her work scrubs and put them in the laundry.  So much for that "proof of vaccination".  But she requested and received an actual card from the pharmacy that supplied our vaccines.  

At first, I was all, "Oh NO, you WASHED it??".  But when she got her card, I was all, "Aw, I want one".

I never got one.  Maybe I should?  Last time I went to the eye docs, I took a picture of the cheesy slip of paper and showed that when I checked in and was allowed in without a mask, but they'd prefer the card for some reason.  Maybe I should put in the effort.

I'm thinking the COVID vaccine should've been the heftier gun version - like the smallpox.  Your proof of vaccination is the tell-tale scar.  My scar is still obvious, I think I was in the last class of kindergartners to get that badge of courage.  Anyone else have a smallpox vaccine scar?

Meanwhile, watching any of the Olympics?  I haven't watched any yet, just catch a few of the headlines each day whether I want to or not.  Thinking of my vision shortcomings, I could totally relate to this capture:

I may never win Olympic gold, but yes, I can relate.  Scoreboards and everything else are so far away.

Here's the full reaction:

Yeah, she's one of us.

the week that wuz

I'm happy to say that my Wednesday Monday blahs disappeared as mysteriously as they arrived.  I guess Yaz and I will never know what that was about.  Nauseous girl chalked it up to a change in a prescription dosage, and thankfully we're all none the worse for wear.  The remainder of the week unfolded in its own unique way.

Wednesday, during my stupor, I managed to make it possible for our dog, Penny, to get hold of my partial denture.  It's the cheapest form of tooth replacement, and I have it for that bum tooth I had extracted a couple years ago.  I like having the freedom to take it out.

I know better than to leave it laying around willy nilly, but that's what I did when I was potatoing on the futon.  I thought it was out of Penny's reach, and then I forgot about it.  Later, as we were eating dinner, Magnum noticed her chewing on something.

He reached down and, "Oh, it's yer tooth", then placed this pink mangled thing on the table.

"Ah, Fudge!", or something like that.  Couldn't believe I let that happen.  Anyway, I had to make an embarrassing call to the dentist the following day.  

The director of the care facility where I work made the happy announcements regarding loosening of COVID restrictions this week.  Family members can come for inside visits again, complete with hugs.  He also mentioned that dog visits will start again.  These are dogs that are trained for "comfort care", not family pets.  I've only seen their photos.  

And now I'm thinking, "They let those dogs in, I'm not gonna get much work done."

Today was the final Tortoise and Hare race for the season.  This one a 12K, or 7.5 miles. Beautiful morning for it with temps about 40F, sunny and calm.  

My designated start time was 8:57am.  I was at the park with time to spare, but wasn't giving strong attention to the time clock, and was nearly late.

bringing up the rear,
two seconds late, still getting dressed

It was a good time with a good turnout, and I'm happy with how my run went.  Nice way to finish out the series.

almost managed to catch one more "tortoise" 

but she wasn't having it

Such a nice difference to two short weeks ago when we were struggling through two feet of snow.  Much more fun than shovelin'.

lamb days and moolah

I'm a bit late to the party, but happy March!  If there's any truth to this lamb/lion business, we're in for a doozy of a finish because our March has come in like the cutest little lambkin.  

I did another Tortoise & Hare race yesterday, this one a 10K (6.2 miles).  The morning was B.E.A.U-tiful for it.  Sunny, calm, temps in low 40's.

Prior races had been run in 2 separate "heats", but our county just loosened COVID-19 restrictions to the point where we were able to have one large(ish) race.  Rather than a mass start, T & H races are run such that each runner starts based on a predicted finishing time.  In theory, there is a "mass finish".  

GO!

This race accomplished it quite well, I'd say. 


I started the race with only one other person and spent much of the early plodding feeling mostly alone.

By the turnaround point, however, things had gotten noticeably more crowded.  

SURVIVE JUST A LITTLE LONGER!

The homestretch was reminiscent of the olden days, having to jockey for elbow room.  

Honestly, it was fun but felt a bit alien after nearly a year of social distancing and apartness.

Welp, may as well put my vaccine to the test.  For science.

 In other news, I see Mackenzie Scott, Jeff Bezos' ex, is remarried.  Her husband was a science teacher at Mackenzie's kids' private school.  He's going to help give away her billions.  I wonder what it feels like to have THAT much financial freedom.

From what little I know about Mackenzie Scott, she comes across as genuinely wholesome and certainly charitable.  I could see us hanging out, talking about our kids, comparing thrift store finds... oh wait.

What does one discuss with the third richest woman in the world?  Skinny jeans vs. Mom jeans?  Maybe I'll find out some day?

chase the cares away?

I came across this article a few days ago with tips for quickly increasing happiness, particularly in the middle of a pandemic.  Oddly specific, yes, but certainly relevant these days.

In summary, the recommended five quickie activities are:

• Organize your errands (having a plan reduces stress)
• Message someone important (today's "socializing")
• Check your vacation day balance (visualize good times)
• Watch relaxing nature videos (increase in amusement and curiosity)
• Write a journal entry (gain control of your emotions)

Okay, nothing earth shattering.  

I'm pondering how much of this stuff I already do.  For instance, yesterday, I organized my errands, sort of.  I was a bit bored and decided to clean my office. Woopy doo.  But, in doing so, I decided to post my old vacuum cleaner for sale.  The vacuum cleaner had a new owner, and I had some fun money within an hour.  Win!

Message someone important?  Hmmm, well I read some blogs and commented.  Does that count?  I say, "yes", because blog friends are certainly important!  Win!

Check my vacation day balance?  I haven't specifically checked my available paid time off, but I have been pondering a little COVID-safe getaway to Arizona.  I've never been to Arizona, but it sounds so warm right now.

Watch relaxing nature videos?  Well, I do take video-watching breaks, but not necessarily relaxing nature videos.  I actually like to watch action-y videos in natural settings like skiing or snowboarding videos, mountain biking and other extreme things I don't do well.  While not necessarily relaxing, they do increase my amusement and curiosity ala, "how do you even do that?!" and/or "how many bones did THAT break?!"

Lastly, writing a journal entry.  Well... yah.  This counts, right? Win!

SOURCE

Additionally, I did another of those Tortoise and Hare races on Sunday.  This  month's was a 5-miler.  While it was a bit chilly and windy, conditions were much better than last month's slip 'n' slide.

In perusing the event photo gallery and "finding myself" in one photo, I found it ironic that I look so alone. The main reason I do these things is to get out with the other runners while managing the virus spread.  

Photographer dude musta had a zoom lens.  I swear, there were other runners.

I managed to pass more tortoises than hares passed me, thus adding a little to my point count.  All in all a fun time.

I'm thankful these little races are a thing, in this time of so many canceled things.

What are you doing to get/stay happy?  (PG-13 version)

 

slippery sloping

The first week and a little bit of 2021 is in the books.  The world didn't exactly chill out after 2020 ended did it? All part of the adventure.

I was at work yesterday, and a new rehab admit tested positive for COVID.  This was just the third time we've had a positive resident during the COVID times.  In each case, it was determined that the virus was not contracted in our facility, so I'm happy with how successful containment has been.  It's a bit eerie and stressful when it happens, though.  Like that scene from Monster's Inc.?  When the monster comes back with a toddler sock stuck to it?  

Yes, that's totally what it reminds me of.  But in the previous other cases, no other resident contracted the virus after the positive case was contained in Monster's Inc. fashion.  Hopefully, that's once again true in yesterday's mayhem.  But days like that make me feel like, yeah, I should get the vaccine.  A lot of those old folks and invalids have become like friends.

ya think??

In other news, I ran another Tortoise and Hare race this morning.  There's one race per month, October to April, at various distances.  This morning's was a 5K, thankfully not longer.  It was freaking icy! It snowed all day yesterday, leaving about 4 inches on the ground.  

This morning was chilly, and despite the path being plowed, what remained was a sheet of ice.  Really, it would've been better not to have plowed at all, and just let us pack the snow down.  

So, times were slow, but I'm just glad to have remained upright.  I'll count that as a participation prize.  And I learned that my trail shoes are no match for ice.

And speaking of moving on ice.  I think I've decided what I'm gonna do about winter bicycle commuting.  Today, I plan to check out a local bike shop that sells lots of used bicycles and hopefully adopt a suitable one to call my own and dress up in winter tires.  

But nothing crazy.  There's always room for one more?

vehicular thoughts, and staying on course

I've been half-assedly car shopping.  More like car pondering, really.  

We have two cars,  neither of which is driven much.  I commute on my bicycle, Magnum works from home. We drive the cars occasionally but not daily, and I'm not ready to go car free like some other bicycle zealots I know.

So, what to have sitting in the garage?  My current ride is a great little grocery getter. Easy to zip around town in while it takes baby sips of gas.  Most of the time, it suits my needs perfectly.

But then it will snow, and I'm reminded of its limitations.  Then I get all thinking 4x4 something or other.  

Then the snow melts, and I'm all, "Who wants a 4x4?".  Then I'll want to go further into some mountain trails and look dejectedly at the grocery getter... It's a vicious cycle.  In the meantime, the grocery getter stays.

Speaking of moving around, I did another of those Tortoise and Hare races this morning.  This one was a 6K, so a little under 4 miles.  It was fun, and I didn't get lost this time.  We don't have final results yet, but I know I passed more tortoises than hares passed me, so good enough.

It's just nice to have some semblance of The Before Times - before COVID - getting out and racing with other people.  We mask up and don't congregate, try not to breathe on each other while on the course.  Better than nothing.

run for the donut

Magnum and I did a thing today, a charity run.  It's named the Turkey Donut 5K.  "What is a turkey donut?", you ask.  So did I.  Here ya go:

I have no idea the origin of the name, but the local running club hosts it every year the Saturday before Thanksgiving for a fundraiser for the local food bank.  It's a predict run, meaning that the winner is NOT the fastest runner, but rather the runner who can  most accurately predict his/her finishing time.  For obvious reasons, no watches are allowed during the run.

I ended up 25 seconds faster than I predicted, which I thought was pretty darn close, but NO.  I ended up coming in 18th out of 103 with my guess.  The winner was less than 2 seconds off.

Well, at leat I made the top twenty.  Magnum, who doesn't usually do these kinds of things, came in about 4 minutes faster than he predicted.  So while he wasn't anywhere near the winner's circle, he learned he can run faster than he thought he could.  His prediction put him at 91st place

So it was a good time for a good cause.  They kept us pretty well spaced apart and actually had runners take off in two different directions to further separate us.  Gone are the days of mass starts and elbowing for position *SIGH*.  In fact, I felt pretty alone for much of the run and worried I might go off course like I did during that last event, but nope.

We raised over $1,700 for the cause, despite a pandemic, so woohoo for turkey donuts!

I did manage to win a $25 gift card for a local restaurant in the post-run raffle.  Sadly, our county is going to stricter COVID-19 lockdown restrictions next week.  I'm not much for visiting restaurants these days anyway.  

Remember the carefree days of going to a restaurant with a naked face?  Anywhere outside your house with a naked face?  I think covered faces are going to be with us for a while.  In the meantime, I came across this infographic:

Accurate?

Probably true for Colorado. 

New Hampshire?  Care to weigh in?

running lost and thankful it's a UTI?

 I ran a 5K this morning.  A real organized event with other people at the same place at the same time.  The local running club I joined just before COVID shutdown happened has these "tortoise and hare" races once a month from October thru April.  

Other regularly scheduled events over the summer were run "virtually".  Pay a registration fee, go run a certain distance using an app, upload the "race", get a shirt or whatever.  Yeah, no.  The fun for me (and most participants) is the running and racing with others. Today's 5K was the first in a long time.

In short, for tortoise and hare races, runners start at different time intervals based on predicted pace.  Slower runners start ahead of faster ones with the fastest people starting last, trying to catch the people ahead.  

I ended up passing everyone in front of me and leading for the final mile.  This was a blessing and a curse because I was unfamiliar with the course/area and veered off course at the start of the homestretch.  I still finished first, but ran farther than I needed to.  So there I was coming into the finish at right angle to the actual course.  Not embarrassing at all!

Note that I did not run the fastest, I just passed the tortoises in front of me while keeping the hares behind me at bay.  It was actually quite fun despite my fumbled finish.  It was just nice to participate in a group event.  There were rules requiring masks and keeping people from gathering, but it was certainly better than nuthin'.

The park where the race was held wasn't far from home, so I jogged to and from.  As I was returning home, I got a text from a girl at work.  Could I finish out her shift for her?  I was looking forward to a shower and potato time, but I figured she wasn't feeling well or she wouldn't have asked.  Fine, I would only be there for about three hours.

After a shower and food, I went in, hoping she didn't have any COVID symptoms.  Our workplace has put strict rules in place, keeping staff away for even the mildest of symptoms.  We are already short staffed because of a few people with cold symptoms that likely just have colds.

I went in and learned that the girl I was replacing was suffering with a UTI, thank goodness.  No, wait, UTIs suck!  

But hey, it's not COVID. Another small victory.