megolomaniac

Well, it’s been almost two months since I started my running routine.  I’ve tried to run at least three times a week, but have been occasionally thrown off course by a cold, a busy social schedule and Galen introducing me to LOST.  Did you know there were 25 episodes in just the first season?  And there are SIX SEASONS?!?!

But I digress.  The 8k race I’ve been planning to run is on April 18th.  I decided I needed a warm up race between now and then, so I signed up for a 5k on this coming Sunday.     My ONLY goal for Sunday is to run the whole time.  It may take me an hour, but I’m going to try my hardest never to walk, even though my “tired run” is slower than my walking pace.

So I thought this would be a good time to update you, Internet, on the things that I’ve learned.  In case anyone else is thinking about taking up running because they hate it and they want to be overly prepared before embarking on such an adventure.  (A.K.A. The list I Wish I’d Had Two Months Ago):

Gear:

• Shoes.  I’ve learned these are very important.  I spent $100 on my running shoes, which is about $80 more than I wanted to spend, but it was totally worth it.  I went to Portland Running Company, where the sales guy watched me run up and down the block in various shoes until we were both comfortable and happy with the result.  (I actually left the place horribly embarrassed not only by the size of my feet, as usual, but by the way he said, “Oh interesting.  Usually people with flat feet pronate, but since you’re also pigeon-toed, it looks like you actually supinate.”  It may be interesting to you, sir.  To me, it just makes my feet more freakish.)  Anyway, I’m very, very happy with my shoes and the sales people were super nice and helpful.  It’s not their fault I have a foot complex.
• Long sleeved Nike Dri-Fit under shirt.  I know there are millions of brands that make these moisture-wicking shirts, but I happen to live closer to a Nike outlet than a grocery store, so it’s the easiest place for me to shop.  I love running outside even when it’s chilly and/or raining, so this is a must.  Although, if you’re like me and do laundry rather infrequently due to inconvenient laundromat hours, I might recommend buying a few of these shirts.  The smell after a use or two is downright foul.
• iPod shuffle.  Perfect little thing for listening to those Couch to 5k podcasts I was telling you about.  I have a big iPod, too, but bought a shuffle for running.  You can get them pretty cheap on the refurbished Apple website.  They’re so light and easy to run with and mine even clips to my clothes.
• Nike running watch.  Galen got me this for my birthday and it’s great.  It has tons of features I haven’t even figured out yet.  Plus it’s so sleek and cute.

Tools:

• In addition to the Couch to 5k Podcasts, I’d highly recommend checking out MapMyRun.com and FavoriteRun.com.  They’re both websites created to help people find good running routes in their areas.  In my opinion, MapMyRun is easier to use when you want to figure out how long your run was or if you want to make up your own route.  FavoriteRun is easier to navigate, however, if you’re looking for run routes that someone else suggested.  Either way, they’re good tools.

So, armed with this gear and these tools, I head into the world of 5k races.  Wish me luck.  And if you see a tall, awkward girl running like Phoebe from Friends in downtown Portland on Sunday morning (or afternoon, for that matter), please don’t tell her how unnaturally large her feet are.

Seems natural, right?

No seriously, I hate running. Not just like I don’t enjoy it, but while I’m running, I just hate everything. I can’t say the word “hate” enough.

But after watching all my friends run races and triathlons, I decided I should give running another try. So I looked up races in the Portland area and found one that sounded fun (a run over the Fremont Bridge with free beer at the end for all participants – right up my alley). The only problem was that it’s 8k instead of 5, which is what I had planned to do. But it’s in April, so hopefully I have enough time to gear up.

Anyway, the reason I’m telling you all this, Internet, is because I found this really cool program that I’m sure everyone knew about except me… It’s called Couch to 5k. The best way I can describe it is using the metaphor of lifting weights. If I wanted to bench press 100 pounds by April, it would be stupid for me to just go to the gym every day and max out on the bench. I would probably hurt myself, first of all, and if I didn’t I would most certainly not look forward to the ritual. The best way to do it would be to do 10-20 reps of a lighter weight (say… the bar?) and increase the weight gradually over time. That way I would get stronger every day and in the end bench pressing 100 pounds wouldn’t make me feel like I want to die. And maybe along the way I would start to enjoy the feeling I got from the weight lifting, since it was challenging but not impossibly difficult.

Same thing here. I run 3 times a week for a half hour. Each run is broken up into running and walking intervals. In the beginning, It was one minute running, one walking, one running, etc. Then each week the running periods get longer and the walking intervals get shorter. Pretty soon (from what I’m told), I’ll be running 5k without even realizing it. Okay, that might be a stretch.

But it’s great. And there’s a bunch of different podcasts you can download to make it super easy. I’m into Podrunner Intervals, because they include music with BPMs that speed up when you’re supposed to be running and because they have a training system for an 8k, too. But there’s a whole bunch of Couch to 5k podcasts available if you want something different.

Anyway, after 4 weeks, I’m still enthusiastic. I would highly recommend it. And that means a lot coming from someone who hates running.

Hippo Hardware: Check.

Blazers Game: Check.

Bad family photo: Double check.

This has gone well.

Once upon a time, there was a tall girl with curls who worked downtown. She went to lunch with a coworker-friend to their favorite place and got a burger, sweet potato fries and a milkshake to go. As they were walking back to the office, a man with a microphone stopped the tall girl with curls and her coworker-friend and asked them if they wanted to be on TV. The coworker-friend, being slightly older and much wiser, immediately said no thanks and started walking away, drinking her milkshake. The tall girl with curls, being a not-so-secret fan of attention, looked at the man with the microphone and asked “For what?” The coworker-friend hesitated, then stopped to listen.

“Do you know who LeGarrette Blount is?” the man with the microphone said, as a woman with a video camera on her shoulder appeared behind him.

The tall girl with curls, knowing full well who Mr. Blount was, pretended to punch the man with the microphone.

“Yes!” the man with the microphone said as his face lit up. “We need a woman’s opinion on him. What are your thoughts?”

The tall girl with curls was confused. Her thoughts? He was old news. Those were her thoughts.

The man with the microphone recognized her confusion and said, “It was just announced an hour ago that he will be playing for Oregon this weekend. Originally he was suspended for the full year, but they changed their mind and have reinstated him.” Then the woman with the video camera put her eye behind the viewfinder and pointed the lens at the tall girl with curls.

It was at that minute that the tall girl with curls put her finger horizontally in between her lips and moved it up and down repeatedly for a few minutes, making a funny noise.

After the tall girl with curls and the coworker-friend had talked to the man with the microphone for a few minutes, they turned and started back for their office. On the way back, they discussed LeGarrette Blount in detail. They both had fairly strong opinions, mostly agreeing with each other. The tall girl with curls said that her problem wasn’t with the suspension or the length of it, but the fact that the University of Oregon changed their mind. It wasn’t fair, she said, to give him a harsh penalty when everyone’s emotions were high and the public was calling for punishment… and then reduce it when everyone had forgotten about the incident and moved on with their football-watching lives. The tall girl with curls believed that if the penalty warranted was two months’ suspension, then that’s what should have been imposed from the beginning. If you ground your kid for a week and then let them go out the next day, she said, all they (and their little brothers and sisters) learn is that whatever you say is not necessarily for sure.

The coworker-friend agreed. She was also pretty sure the University of Oregon probably had a change of heart after they lost to Stanford last weekend. Also, everyone seemed to think that if Blount was suspended for his entire senior season, that would be the end of his career. The coworker-friend, however, thought that lots of NFL teams wouldn’t have any qualms about drafting him, regardless of the punch heard ’round the world.

Then the tall girl with the curls and her coworker-friend looked at each other and said, “Why couldn’t the man with the microphone and the woman with the video camera have followed us and filmed THAT intelligent conversation?!?!”

The Tall Girl with the Curls and the Coworker-Friend Express Their Opinions

It’s true. Four of my girl friends and I are headed to Las Vegas on Thursday for a girls’ weekend (Spring Break ‘09!). The funny part? I’m the only one that’s been there before, and it was for work. (The engineers I was there with couldn’t have cared less that they were in Vegas. It might as well have been Milpitas, California.) This is very convenient, since the whole trip will be an adventure for everyone and almost everything will be new and exciting.

But, that means that none of us really know what to see and do… So I’m asking for your help, Internet. Have you ever been to Vegas? What did you love? What was overrated? What would you recommend we do with our 3 days and 3 nights? So far I’ve heard about dealers in costume at the Imperial Palace, drinks at the Paris to watch the Bellagio fountains, and comedians at Second City in the Flamingo (which is where we’ll be staying). I also found this gem on one website:

As long as the cocktail waitress thinks you are gambling, you can get free drinks. Cocktail waitresses prowl the floors of all the major casinos, giving out free drinks. Place your order and the next time the waitress makes her round she will bring you the drink of your choice. If you leave a tip they’ll come back again to take another order.

Although this is technically free, you really are expected to be actively gambling and leave tips to take advantage of it. It is easy enough, however, to hang out on a slot machine chair or in a sports book and still be able to recieve the drinks. People usually leave about a dollar tip per drink unless they are doing well at the tables or getting drunk.

Thanks for the insight, vegasfreebie.com!

I’m also looking for good sports bar suggestions, as I’m VERY interested in watching some March Madness basketball while I’m down there (the other girls most likely do not share this enthusiasm).

So bring it on! And thanks in advance. :)

When I was choosing where to go to college, I had narrowed it down to Lewis & Clark or Macalester. My brother (who tried to convince my cousin Kristin to go to UNC instead of Colgate because Michael Jordan was a Tar Heel) told me he’d like me to go to Macalester because he’d much rather go to a TimberWolves game when he came to visit me than a Trail Blazers game. Of course, I chose to move to Portland.

About the time I was sending in my housing deposit, Rasheed Wallace (also a North Carolina graduate) had just earned his 41st technical foul in one season, breaking his own record from the previous year. My freshman year, I went to three Blazers games. I was in the stadium when Scottie Pippen was ejected for launching a ball into the stands like a discus. I had a subscription to The Oregonian when they reported that Bonzi Wells had flipped off a fan during a game, then responded to questions about the incident by saying, “I black out sometimes…” and then winking. He was quoted in Sports Illustrated saying that fans, “…Really don’t matter to us. They can boo us every day, but they’re still going to ask for our autographs if they see us on the street. That’s why they’re fans and we’re NBA players.” I was in college when Damon Stoudamire, Rasheed Wallace and Qyntel Woods were busted for Marijuana possession. Multiple times. I heard on the radio that Qyntel was dogfighting and Zach Randolph sucker punched his own teammate in the face. I was in Portland during the Jail Blazers years and they were rough. If Clyde Drexler had decided to come out of retirement for one last game in a Blazers jersey, you still would have been hard pressed to get me to pay $30 for a ticket.

But somehow, not long after I graduated college, things changed. The franchise realized that they’d lost the fans and it wasn’t because of their record; it was because of their players. Most of the ones with legal troubles were traded, and the ones who couldn’t be traded were benched. Nate McMillan was hired as coach and Brandon Roy was drafted out of the University of Washington. In 2007, Brandon Roy became Rookie of the Year (thus becoming Brandon R.O.Y.). Since then, things have continued taking off at the Rose Garden, and I’m now proud to say I can name all but 3 players on the team (and I may or may not have crushes on a few). I’ve already been to more Blazers games this season than I have the rest of my life combined and I’ve even begun watching them on TV; a first for me.

But the moment I really knew things had turned around came on Tuesday morning.

Monday evening, the Blazers played the Lakers, one of the few teams I really don’t like. Not for any particular reason other than I hate Kobe Bryant, but aren’t all team allegiances and rivalries based on flimsy circumstances and opinions? Anyway, the Blazers won. I’ll give that a moment to sink in. The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Lakers. In basketball.

In the game, Rudy Fernandez, one of our two adorable, flamboyant Spaniards, was fouled. It looked absolutely horrible. Nothing like Joe Theisman breaking his leg, but definitely a replay that made you cringe and grab your side in empathy.

I’m not going to waste even more of your time debating over whether Trevor Ariza deserved the Flagrant 2 foul he received, although I did think Dave at Blazer’s Edge had an interesting argument:

“This was the NBA equivalent of the helmet-to-helmet contact in the NFL. Is the helmet-to-helmet intentional every time? No. Does it cause injury every time? Of course not. But it’s dangerous and that’s why it’s been outlawed and why it’s punished every time. “

Anyway, back to my boys. The real moment came the next day when the team reacted on camera to what happened and the announcement that Ariza would not be punished further.

Did you see that? Those players didn’t talk any shit. They didn’t threaten Ariza or “black out” and get belligerent. They calmly stated they weren’t going to stand idly by and watch the Lakers take advantage of them. But they acknowledged that it was a tough call and they didn’t think anyone would want to hurt Rudy. Both Sergio Rodriguez and Brandon Roy even ended on a positive note.

Nate McMillan was the only person whose reaction was even slightly… unedited. When was the last time the coach was the most candid member of our team? And when I say “most candid”, I mean, “he shook his head and said, ‘I’m not going to say any more’ because he didn’t want to be too critical or negative.”

Ladies and gentlemen, I am a Portland Trail Blazers fan.

How to Have a Great Valentine’s Day (Even if You’re Single):

Step 1: Make cupcakes. Add red food coloring to make them pink and festive.
Step 2: Get coffee with friends in the morning. (Couples are okay.)
Step 3: Walk around NW Portland and enjoy the sun. Take photos.
Step 4: Do some shopping. Buy yourself a few things. You’re a fantastic date.
Step 5: Watch the NBA Slam Dunk Competition. Continue crushing on Rudy Fernandez.
Step 6: Rent a funny movie, have a cupcake (or 3) and work on the bottle of white wine you opened last night.
Step 7: Enjoy.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

My cousin Kevin was on MSNBC. Like, the national TV channel.

He’s kind of a big deal.

Instead of listing the things for which I’m thankful this year, I’ve decided to show them to you. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I just saw this commercial on TV and loved it.

That’s right. That’s A-Rod, Tony Hawk, Michael Phelps and Kobe Bryant.