Tuesday, November 25, 2008
I'll give you something for which to be thankful!
Does that title make sense? I originally had "I'll give you something to be thankful for" but in an attempt to not end sentences with a preposition, I changed it to that. Here is what Doc Durden has to say about it.
Writing is coming along but another student just gave his final seminar so it's now a race to see who gets done first. This sucks and I'm gonna have to kick it into overdrive if I want to finish before him and in a reasonable amount of time. Thank goodness it's a holiday and I stay at home and write.
J and I will be going to the Westin in Greenville for their Turkey Day buffet so we don't have to wash dishes or cook. I like to cook but the dishes blow, so we're giving this a shot. Of course I'll have a review and maybe some pictures. No promises on the pictures.
I might have a post tomorrow. I'll be carpooling to work with J and then going to Barnes and Noble or somewhere to write and use their wi-fi.
Safe travels and have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Writing is coming along but another student just gave his final seminar so it's now a race to see who gets done first. This sucks and I'm gonna have to kick it into overdrive if I want to finish before him and in a reasonable amount of time. Thank goodness it's a holiday and I stay at home and write.
J and I will be going to the Westin in Greenville for their Turkey Day buffet so we don't have to wash dishes or cook. I like to cook but the dishes blow, so we're giving this a shot. Of course I'll have a review and maybe some pictures. No promises on the pictures.
I might have a post tomorrow. I'll be carpooling to work with J and then going to Barnes and Noble or somewhere to write and use their wi-fi.
Safe travels and have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Labels: Greenville, J, Thanksgiving, writing
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in.
- Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, apparently from Kenny's "hippie" days from Wikipedia:
Have you still not seen Futurama? Seriously? Fine, I get that you saw a couple episodes and they weren't that funny. Not all of them are non-stop laughs. If you enjoy laughing then please set your Tivo to record the "Roswell that Ends Well" episode. I, and the Emmy folks, love it! It won the Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program (less than one hour). Plus the episode lays ground work for future (yes I know, past) Futurama episodes. I know I've talked about Futurama and this episode before, but it's great.
J and I went to go see the 2004 Tony award winning musical Avenue Q at the Peace Center on Saturday. Thanks to Craigslist and the nice lady for selling us her tickets and that they were real. Really great seats too, orchestra level, row O (15th row) and right smack dab in the middle. It's a tale of an English major trying to make it in NYC, finding a job, a place to live, love and its trials, and the whole cast of characters too. Gary Coleman as the superintendent was particularly funny. Gary receiving a motorboat from a slutty puppet was one of my personal highlights from the show. The touring cast did a great job although they were hard to hear at times. My personal favorite was Seth Rettberg and yes that's just because his name is Seth. Here are photos for the cast. Kelli Sawyer also impressed when she had a dialog by herself using two voices and two puppets. Since it was a 2004 production, the references were a hair outdated but still funny and they even got in a Dubya jab right there at the end which was received very well in this bastion of die hard republicans (although with a 26% approval rating, I can see why). We even ran into some friends before the show and then went out for drinks afterward. They live in Greenville (where the Peace Center is) so it isn't really strange but we always run into them during events, like the Art is Fear (okay, it's really Artisphere but I like my way better) show. I'm not sure if I ever gave them car nicknames but we'll see.
Off to write, analyze, process and work!
Feeling that the Minstrels were not offering the success they wanted, Rogers and fellow members Mike Settle, Terry Williams and Thelma Camacho left the group. They formed The First Edition in 1967 (later renamed "Kenny Rogers and The First Edition"). They chalked up a string of hits on both the pop and country charts, including "Somethings Burnin", "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town", "Reuben James" and "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)." In his First Edition days, Rogers had something of a hippie image, with long brown hair, an earring, and pink sunglasses. Known affectionately in retrospect as "Hippie Kenny", Rogers had a much smoother vocal style than in his later career.I've never tried his chicken but I hear he makes a mean bird. Youtube of the song from a Smothers Brothers appearance.
Have you still not seen Futurama? Seriously? Fine, I get that you saw a couple episodes and they weren't that funny. Not all of them are non-stop laughs. If you enjoy laughing then please set your Tivo to record the "Roswell that Ends Well" episode. I, and the Emmy folks, love it! It won the Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program (less than one hour). Plus the episode lays ground work for future (yes I know, past) Futurama episodes. I know I've talked about Futurama and this episode before, but it's great.
J and I went to go see the 2004 Tony award winning musical Avenue Q at the Peace Center on Saturday. Thanks to Craigslist and the nice lady for selling us her tickets and that they were real. Really great seats too, orchestra level, row O (15th row) and right smack dab in the middle. It's a tale of an English major trying to make it in NYC, finding a job, a place to live, love and its trials, and the whole cast of characters too. Gary Coleman as the superintendent was particularly funny. Gary receiving a motorboat from a slutty puppet was one of my personal highlights from the show. The touring cast did a great job although they were hard to hear at times. My personal favorite was Seth Rettberg and yes that's just because his name is Seth. Here are photos for the cast. Kelli Sawyer also impressed when she had a dialog by herself using two voices and two puppets. Since it was a 2004 production, the references were a hair outdated but still funny and they even got in a Dubya jab right there at the end which was received very well in this bastion of die hard republicans (although with a 26% approval rating, I can see why). We even ran into some friends before the show and then went out for drinks afterward. They live in Greenville (where the Peace Center is) so it isn't really strange but we always run into them during events, like the Art is Fear (okay, it's really Artisphere but I like my way better) show. I'm not sure if I ever gave them car nicknames but we'll see.
Off to write, analyze, process and work!
Labels: Futurama, Greenville, music, Seth blogs, The Big Lebowski
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Free beer?!?!?!?!
J and I were discussing what she actually said this week. Turns out she said that I should take the week off and recuperate but still race, so I did.
I'll get to the chicken mole recipe a bit later. Edit: there is no recipe. Enjoy the post! But first:
I crashed around midnight and J finally joined me around 1 or so. Alarm goes off at 6:30. Snooze. I'm fairly certain that she wanted to get up around 6:45 so she hits snooze twice for an actual wake-up of 6:46. I'm still torn on how I feel about snooze. I used to be a chronic snoozer but now... Hop outta bed, and assemble my carefully planned running ensemble. Start with underwear because the blue thermal doesn't keep the mouse in the house very well. Cover that up with some lovely black athletic shorts. Thermal shirt with my Sandblast Rally 2006 shirt on the outside for warmth. I was Runner 1027 and J was Runner 1026. I also wore my incredibly comfortable Adidasish pants and my trusty hoodie. We picked up one of my wife's co-workers and carpooled over to Greenville.
Parking deck, walking, "FINISH". No big start sign which I found strange. But we stroll up and there are two huge inflatable Yuengling bottles. I kept hoping for samples or coupons or door prizes but alas, all for naught. I guess drinking and jogging don't mix. So what if it was 10 am? It's okay on a gameday but not for a 5K? They did have water provided by Pepsi, muffins (blueberry, banana nut, and choco chip [WTF?]), bananas, halved oranges, apples, Nutri-Grain bar (blueberry, apple cinnamon, and um, red.....strawberry?) and Kashi bars of which I tried the honey almond flax and brought home a peanut butter and trail mix. They also had some highly inefficient propane heaters. You could literally see the wasted heat rising away, but stand in the right spot and it made your face feel wonderful and your hands if you held them up high. We arrived way too early; around 8:05 for a race that started at 9. So we stood around, had a granola bar, drank some water, chatted and then it was 8:45, time to warm-up! We go out into the road which I find quite liberating, running in the street, it's been a taboo since childhood, and stretch and bend and jump around, getting loose and ready to go.
The starting line is actually the plaza in between a hotel and some other building. I jump up and try and judge the size of the crowd. The Irish announcer said they were expecting around 1800 people. Lots of heads was all I could get from the plaza. Airhorn! Hey, that means go! So we all start jogging, people dodging in and out. J was telling me beforehand that runner's etiquette is if you're slow, get in the back and if you're fast, go towards the front. Co-worker said that some people in front were actually walking from the start. Yikes, that's how people get trampled, not at a 5K but concerts and riots. It's mostly downhill for a bit, the crowd thinning out. There were a couple jogging strollers even a dog. But as I calmed down and found a spot in the chaos, I started to look around. They're really trying to spruce it up and make it pretty. But the people. So many people. I never turned around, didn't want to know how far back I was, but there was a solid column of humanity filling the road in front of us.
Downhill, up a tad, flattens out, turn right, turn right, downhill, across a bridge, oh no! an uphill! Phew, tough, but not bad, and I haven't stopped jogging yet where as last one I started walking a half mile in. Flattens out again. There are cops everywhere. Every street on at least one side blocking the streets so that we can safely pass and not play "dodge the traffic", so thank you to the Greenville Police Department for all the blockades! A peak and it's downhill! In the distance you can see where it goes back up so the relief is temporary. Rest while you can and J taught me to "open my stride" on the downhill so you cover more ground and do about the same work. We hit the uphill and my philosophy on hills is, the faster you go up them, the quicker they're over, within reason of course, so I don't slow down and just power through it. Must stop. I slow to a walk and move to the side. Just then I pass the 2 mile mark. Huh? It's more than halfway over?!? Apparently I missed the 1 mile mark if it in fact exists. See, it's a 5K and they still mark it in miles. I guess a 3.2mil. doesn't sound as cool. Encouraged by my making it over halfway through without stopping and the fact that J passed me when I was taking a stroll, I hit the next corner and pull out my secret weapon: ipod! I had been carrying it in my pocket up to this point, just taking in the city and the sounds. And I figured fiddling with my headphones and pod would distract me from that fact that I was jogging in the cold at too early o'clock on a Saturday.
Headphones on and I just reached the hill that was looming in the distance but I know this is the last hill and that it's a gentle downward slope for the rest of the race. Offspring kicks in and I use the auditory burst to decimate that hill. But it hurt and I have to walk towards the top. J catches back up with me when I walk and we walk for a bit recovering from the ascent. J takes off and I follow a few steps behind. We pass 221 North, where we drank the other weekend, Island Jerk, the Caribbean restaurant that J won't eat at cuz she's a jerk, and lots of shops and coffee shops and all the other boutiquey places that is downtown Greenville. Maybe a butcher or bakery is the next step. And then, there in the distance, you see it. The need to get there as fast as possible kicks in but you must fight it! There is no way you can sprint that far and you've come too far to spaz out in front of all the people at the finish line, which is basically friends of runners and all the runners who have just kicked your jogging ass, but at least are nice about it. So you maintain the jog, knowing that a mad dash is coming. J kicks, there she goes, but wait! She not sprinting, she's just jogging faster, so I wait a few more strides and then take off! Full stride but controlled cuz there are kids around and pass at least 8-9 people. I even leapt through the finish line. It took a while to recover from that full sprint but I thought it was a nice finish and I beat my wife J! Burn! She said it's just cuz I was a boy but that's just an excuse.
We wait around and snag some take-home Kashi bars and an apple and hear some times. Fastest guy was 15:mid-30ish and the fastest lady, his wife, was 17:mid-30s. J and I were in at 32:something which was a slower time than last time but a far greater performance. And J did great too!
No recipe tonight, we're about to go to the store for nachos for dinner. I'll edit the promise of a recipe at the top so you won't feel like I suckered you into this marathon post.
I'll get to the chicken mole recipe a bit later. Edit: there is no recipe. Enjoy the post! But first:
I crashed around midnight and J finally joined me around 1 or so. Alarm goes off at 6:30. Snooze. I'm fairly certain that she wanted to get up around 6:45 so she hits snooze twice for an actual wake-up of 6:46. I'm still torn on how I feel about snooze. I used to be a chronic snoozer but now... Hop outta bed, and assemble my carefully planned running ensemble. Start with underwear because the blue thermal doesn't keep the mouse in the house very well. Cover that up with some lovely black athletic shorts. Thermal shirt with my Sandblast Rally 2006 shirt on the outside for warmth. I was Runner 1027 and J was Runner 1026. I also wore my incredibly comfortable Adidasish pants and my trusty hoodie. We picked up one of my wife's co-workers and carpooled over to Greenville.
Parking deck, walking, "FINISH". No big start sign which I found strange. But we stroll up and there are two huge inflatable Yuengling bottles. I kept hoping for samples or coupons or door prizes but alas, all for naught. I guess drinking and jogging don't mix. So what if it was 10 am? It's okay on a gameday but not for a 5K? They did have water provided by Pepsi, muffins (blueberry, banana nut, and choco chip [WTF?]), bananas, halved oranges, apples, Nutri-Grain bar (blueberry, apple cinnamon, and um, red.....strawberry?) and Kashi bars of which I tried the honey almond flax and brought home a peanut butter and trail mix. They also had some highly inefficient propane heaters. You could literally see the wasted heat rising away, but stand in the right spot and it made your face feel wonderful and your hands if you held them up high. We arrived way too early; around 8:05 for a race that started at 9. So we stood around, had a granola bar, drank some water, chatted and then it was 8:45, time to warm-up! We go out into the road which I find quite liberating, running in the street, it's been a taboo since childhood, and stretch and bend and jump around, getting loose and ready to go.
The starting line is actually the plaza in between a hotel and some other building. I jump up and try and judge the size of the crowd. The Irish announcer said they were expecting around 1800 people. Lots of heads was all I could get from the plaza. Airhorn! Hey, that means go! So we all start jogging, people dodging in and out. J was telling me beforehand that runner's etiquette is if you're slow, get in the back and if you're fast, go towards the front. Co-worker said that some people in front were actually walking from the start. Yikes, that's how people get trampled, not at a 5K but concerts and riots. It's mostly downhill for a bit, the crowd thinning out. There were a couple jogging strollers even a dog. But as I calmed down and found a spot in the chaos, I started to look around. They're really trying to spruce it up and make it pretty. But the people. So many people. I never turned around, didn't want to know how far back I was, but there was a solid column of humanity filling the road in front of us.
Downhill, up a tad, flattens out, turn right, turn right, downhill, across a bridge, oh no! an uphill! Phew, tough, but not bad, and I haven't stopped jogging yet where as last one I started walking a half mile in. Flattens out again. There are cops everywhere. Every street on at least one side blocking the streets so that we can safely pass and not play "dodge the traffic", so thank you to the Greenville Police Department for all the blockades! A peak and it's downhill! In the distance you can see where it goes back up so the relief is temporary. Rest while you can and J taught me to "open my stride" on the downhill so you cover more ground and do about the same work. We hit the uphill and my philosophy on hills is, the faster you go up them, the quicker they're over, within reason of course, so I don't slow down and just power through it. Must stop. I slow to a walk and move to the side. Just then I pass the 2 mile mark. Huh? It's more than halfway over?!? Apparently I missed the 1 mile mark if it in fact exists. See, it's a 5K and they still mark it in miles. I guess a 3.2mil. doesn't sound as cool. Encouraged by my making it over halfway through without stopping and the fact that J passed me when I was taking a stroll, I hit the next corner and pull out my secret weapon: ipod! I had been carrying it in my pocket up to this point, just taking in the city and the sounds. And I figured fiddling with my headphones and pod would distract me from that fact that I was jogging in the cold at too early o'clock on a Saturday.
Headphones on and I just reached the hill that was looming in the distance but I know this is the last hill and that it's a gentle downward slope for the rest of the race. Offspring kicks in and I use the auditory burst to decimate that hill. But it hurt and I have to walk towards the top. J catches back up with me when I walk and we walk for a bit recovering from the ascent. J takes off and I follow a few steps behind. We pass 221 North, where we drank the other weekend, Island Jerk, the Caribbean restaurant that J won't eat at cuz she's a jerk, and lots of shops and coffee shops and all the other boutiquey places that is downtown Greenville. Maybe a butcher or bakery is the next step. And then, there in the distance, you see it. The need to get there as fast as possible kicks in but you must fight it! There is no way you can sprint that far and you've come too far to spaz out in front of all the people at the finish line, which is basically friends of runners and all the runners who have just kicked your jogging ass, but at least are nice about it. So you maintain the jog, knowing that a mad dash is coming. J kicks, there she goes, but wait! She not sprinting, she's just jogging faster, so I wait a few more strides and then take off! Full stride but controlled cuz there are kids around and pass at least 8-9 people. I even leapt through the finish line. It took a while to recover from that full sprint but I thought it was a nice finish and I beat my wife J! Burn! She said it's just cuz I was a boy but that's just an excuse.
We wait around and snag some take-home Kashi bars and an apple and hear some times. Fastest guy was 15:mid-30ish and the fastest lady, his wife, was 17:mid-30s. J and I were in at 32:something which was a slower time than last time but a far greater performance. And J did great too!
No recipe tonight, we're about to go to the store for nachos for dinner. I'll edit the promise of a recipe at the top so you won't feel like I suckered you into this marathon post.
Labels: 5K, Greenville, Kashi
Who Links Here
