Tomorrow

This commercial makes me laugh. But my smile quickly disappears.  Then there's a sudden onset of guilt as I realize I'm currently working on enlarging the imprint of my buttocks on the couch.  Too many treats this weekend and this commercial is likely going to haunt me in my sleep tonight.

This girl will be at kickboxing bright and early in the morning.  I don't want to face the wrath of Miss Hannigan!

Blur

Life feels like a blur these days.  I'm a passenger on a train and no matter how hard I try to focus; my view is still just a blur.

This train is speedy towards a snow covered place where the winter days are short of light and filled with chilly temps.  Its in a rush towards holidays with family and friends and warmth by the fireplace.  And then the start of a whole new year.

This train is speedy away from the all the items recently crossed off those to do lists.  A spooktacular Halloween event at the office complete with costumes.  My 3rd MBA class.  A bridal shower for my cousin Dan's fiance.  A slow recovery from my attempt at that triathlon back in July.  Runs and walks around Cascade Lake while Tucker pulls anxiously on the leash.  So many thoughts and details that are stuck in my head.

I think I'm O.K. with being a passenger for a while, but it might be time for me to step into the shoes of the conductor and control the speed and direction of this locomotive.  First order of business is getting those thoughts and details out in the open, along with a few photos that go along with them.  That way I can look back on them in clear focus.

Rewind. Do Over.

The arm twisting and triathlon back in July didn't end well.  It was an accomplishment.  The weeks that followed were not all that fun.  As a result I missed out some perfect August evenings and runs around Cascade Lake.  For weeks on end in July I trained for that triathlon in 90 degree temperatures.  With sweat dripping into my eyes, I zoned out pretending the temps were in the 70s or even low 80s.  While I fought through the early weeks of recovery and tried out a few pain killers before being prescribed Michael Jackson's death drug,the temperatures dialed back and the weather gods offered up my ideal running weather.  At this point I couldn't even bend over to tie my running shoes.  I was frustrated with the doctors and annoyed that I was immobile.  I was jealous of all the runners on the trail each night as I could barely let the dog out for a potty break.

10 weeks later I have managed to increase my walking mileage up to 3 miles.  This week we've been given a little gift.  One last rendezvous with summer, specifically those August nights that I spent in bed instead of on the running trail.  Tonight I decided to take that leap and turn the walk into a run.  I was anxious.  A web of worry - that I wouldn't remember how to run and that I'd be in pain.  After a minute or so I found my groove and fell into a rhythm.  The warm temperature allowed me to break a sweat without having to worry about my eyes stinging.  The pain free strides allowed me to clear my head.  The worry was trumped by relief.

Rarely we are allowed a do over.  I got lucky tonight.  And it felt great.  If my lucky streak continues (or rather the weatherman is right) I'll get a chance to repeat tonight a few more times this week.  Fingers crossed.

10-4 Ten Code

I remember the first set of walkie talkies in our neighbor.  I was super jealous.  The thought of being able to chat with your friends after being sent to bed each night was intriguing.  I'm not sure what there was to talk about considering the neighbor kids had played together all day long.  (Running around without shoes and only rarely checking in with my mom - not a care in the world!).  What more was there to say at the end of the day?   Never mind what we'd talk about.  If I had owned a set of walkie talkies I imagined using code and responding back with a standard 10-4.  I had no idea what it meant, but I knew that the truck drivers used it to end respond to other drives or to end a conversation.

My Grandpa Lenny was quite advanced in social media.  Nope not Facebook or Twitter.  He didn't even have an email account.  What he did own was a scanner to listen in to the police activity.  As a kid I was in awe of the fact that he knew all of the important town gossip before most other people.  If we were lucky enough to hear anything come across the scanner I anxiously awaited a "10-4".

A few days ago I sent an email to a sales guy reminding him of a very important corporate policy (said policy was likely put in place to save lives!).  I received a reply that simply said.... 10-4.  First I was in disbelief.  Almost a bit irritated.  Until I remembered there was a point in my life where finding the right point to use 10-4 was a highlight of the day.  Maybe even the week.

When the moon and stars align you might even find a way to utilize 10-4 on 10/4.

10-24.

Looking to brush up on the code?  Check out this complete listing of Ten Code

Note: After G-chatting for about an hour or so yesterday with a friend I still found a reason to send approximately 13 emails and 3 text messages to a friend who will remain nameless.  Perhaps I hadn't talked to her in weeks or months.  Or perhaps I spoke to her several times the day before.  There is always something to talk about.  AT&T is thankful that I'm not short on words!

What a Week

This week has pushed my buttons, and tested my patience like unwelcome turbulence when all you really want is an uneventful flight to the weekend.

Morning temperatures in the 30s offered a harsh chill on my bare arms as I squinted and brushed the sleep out of my eyes while the dog did his business in the darkness this morning.

I've spent too much time on the phone with the bank, preservation company and their contractor.  I've learned about the legal foreclosure process and lockout/trash out lawsuits against banks who have illegal foreclosure processes.

I started class again at the beginning of the week and was disappointed in the overview of the course.  If I'm going to invest my time (and my company's money) I sure wish the course material was focused and applicable.  And it would be nice if we could get out of there by 9pm instead of listening to countless quotations and a few bad jokes.

Then today I was forced to have a difficult discussion with an employee at work.  I found out the work wasn't done, nor was there any communication to bring this to my attention.  So I had to address the situation.

And just when the negativity had reached toxic levels I walk in the door tonight and am greeted by a crazy dog who doesn't care about foreclosure or MBA classes or difficult discussions at work.  He's only worried about marking his spot in each and every yard as we make our way to the mailbox.   I'm about to scold him for not walking appropriately on a leash when I realize that its really not important tonight.  That's when I empty the contents of the mailbox and realize that the timing of the US Weekly magazine couldn't be better.  I occupy myself on the walk back to my front door by flipping the pages.  All the while I don't even notice that the dog is dawdling and marking new spots on the return trip.

Kim and Kris have once again earned the cover.  A bit surprised that Bachelor Pad doesn't earn the spot, but at least it's not Teen Mom again.  By the time I land on the couch I've already determined that Kim wore the outfit better than her sisters and I can get the outfit from Sears for $195.  A bit pricey for Sears, but perhaps I'll have to check it out.  Ali Lohan looks freakishly skinny.  Seriously freakish.  Her dad is worried about her and some random doctor they interviewed suspects a chin implant and cheek augmentation.  I'm reminded to set the DVR to record PanAm.  I always wanted to be a flight attendant until I really thought about.  So this show should be perfect.  I can live a former fantasy life starting on Sunday September 25th at 10/9 central.  25 Things You Don't Know About Olivia Munn.  I don't even know who Olivia Munn is.  But her 25 things are kinda funny.

Where are those Junior Mints I bought at the grocery store?

In loose talk I learn that Jennifer Garner has "breast pumped on every soundstage and airplane and senator's office" and she says she can do it again.  Honestly how many senator's offices has really been in while pumping?  Did you know that Adele pukes before going on stage?  I finally got an up close glimpse of Beyonce's bump.  Why are all the stars drinking coconut water?  I need to put coconut water on the grocery list.

The boxes of Junior Mints are small so I can probably have another one.  I'm just having my dessert first!

Reese was wearing a cute orange dress with ruffles.  It's hard to hate Reese - she's always smiling and wearing something cute.  Or she's out for a run or leaving the yoga studio.  Why do I know so much about Reese's whereabouts? Kim's marriage to Kris is causing stress with her sisters.  Wait... that photo was taken on a boat on Lake Minnetonka on Sept. 4.  Where was I?  oh yeah, in Seattle.  Dang, I missed her in the twin cities again!  Of course the mothers of the daughters on Toddlers and Tiaras have gone too far.  The one with the blonde wig really does like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, except for the fact that she's FOUR years old!  Not impressed with the fashion finds, but do need some new fall nail polish trends.  Now I'm nearing the end of the magazine and I realize that I went too fast.  Maybe I can flip back and start over.  Or maybe I should get my butt of the couch and make some dinner, do some laundry and homework and get to bed!  There's always next week.  A guarantee that the dog can dawdle and pee 42 times on the short walk back from the mailbox... all while I escape in the latest US Weekly and maybe have more of those Junior Mints before the Halloween candy disappears from stores.

A special thanks to Olivia Munn who noted that she loves "day drinks" - special drinks to make hard days better and good days awesome.  It's been quite the week, but at least it didn't require any "day drinks" just 96 pages of US Weekly.

Making a comeback

When Britney made a comeback in 2009 I joined the crowd at the Target Center along with 20 of my friends.  We danced, sucked down every last drop of alcohol in the suite and sang along to old songs and new songs.  Most of us were there looking for the old Brit.  A few of us were there on the chance that she'd have another meltdown.  I think we all walked away realizing that she would never be the old Brit again.

15 months ago I was looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  Little did I know that I find so much more more.  I guess those "gold guys" aren't kidding when they say the value of gold is higher than ever before.  

Today marks my one year anniversary working at McNeilus.  It's been 365 days since I moved to Rochester and started this little adventure.  I'm thankful I didn't have a Brit like meltdown and shave my head.  But I do regret the fact that I didn't capture the every day details as they happened.  Just like Brit I've decided to make a comeback.  I'm committed to capturing the small things in my ordinary life and I even plan to go back and recount the adventures of the past year. I owe it to the new Kristi and the old Kristi.

My photos from the concert aren't all that great so I borrowed the photo above.