The story of how I sidestepped yet another landmine

Today I am at home, taking a sick day, which means I'm typing this on my home computer that I don't like to use because I'm afraid it will self destruct at any moment. It was a gift from my mom and stepdad for my college graduation. That makes it...uhh...seven years old. (Excuse me while I go sob for a while).

Anyhow, yesterday a couple of you inquired about "Rage", and I feel that it would make for yet another epic 'crappy boyfriend' story.

To bring you up to speed, this is the guy that I worked with. We had a pretty great relationship (or so I thought), and then, as Summer was approaching, one evening after work he walked me to my dorm and told me that he was moving away for the Summer and so we had to break up. It was totally out of the blue. I was extremely upset (even called my mom really late at night, which I've NEVER done before or since), and he had the most stoic look on his face the whole time, like it didn't matter to him at all.

I found out later that he never actually moved away (let me remind you, we worked at the same place!) Not too bright, that one. Coincidentally, he's currently the only one of my exes who is married.

You know how, when two people get married who shouldn't
be getting married, everyone bets on how long it will take until
the divorce is final?

So anyhow, Rage was an ex-marine. He didn't have a father figure growing up. Yes, he did go by Rage. (No, I did not call him that). He was an RA of the dorm he lived in (which means he had his own room). He was heavy into sky-diving. His favorite color was red, because it was "angry". On Valentine's Day, after dating for only a couple of weeks, he got me a necklace with a heart charm that had diamonds in it. I liked him A LOT (not because of the necklace).

I'm pretty sure this is
the one. I no longer
am a "heart jewelry"
person.

Rage LOVED the Rocky movies. I had never seen one until I was with him, and I still haven't really seen one because I pretty much spaced out all the way through. Not really my idea of a fun movie date. He believed that if guys cry, it's a sign of weakness (I assume this meant he had "daddy issues" or it was a military thing. Who knows, but it's ridiculous).

I'll never forget one night we were staying at his dorm and he got up in the middle of the night. I assumed he had to use the restroom, but no. Apparently there were some guys rough-housing in the hallway. He opened the bedroom door and yelled so loud and with so much anger (or "Rage") that I was actually afraid to be in that room with him the rest of the night.

OH, and also, "Rage" shaved his entire body. I'm not even kidding. I don't know about you, but I think guys are supposed to have some hair. I felt like a beast compared to him, with my hairy parts. He slept with no shirt on and we were forced to sleep in twin beds. Cuddling up to a spiky chest (because he didn't shave every day, so there was always stubble) was far less than awesome.

I was able to look past all that, because in every other way, we got along great. He was sweet (we had a "nap schedule", where we'd meet at my dorm between classes and take a nap together), athletic (he'd even get in the pool and swim with me, even though he wasn't good at it), we went off-campus to go on "dates" a couple times a week, did things together on the weekends. It was actually fun. We hardly ever argued. But, as I learned the hard way, Rage changed his mind easily and, it seems, if he got too close to someone, it was time to move on (or "move away").

So, there it is, the story of Rage. I hope it did not disappoint :)

Exciting things on the horizon

After my post yesterday, I decided I was jazzed about signing up for a race. Since I'm not really excited to sign up alone, I inquired on Facebook to see if anyone was interested in signing up for one with me...a 5k, 8k, or 10k. Who was the only one to answer my pleading? Why, Kara!

I'm not gonna lie, I'm totally intimidated by her running skillz. I'm pretty sure the longest distance I've ever "ran/walked" at one time is maybe five miles. What race did she suggest? The Hot Chocolate 15k in DC at the national harbor.

It scares me a little that we're running so close to I-95. If you've
ever been to DC or northern VA, you know what I mean.

I know that she can do this in her sleep, but for me it will no doubt be a challenge. A challenge that I'm ready to take on. I think I actually may have even registered before she did. I was blinded by the free chocolate at the finish, and the sweet wind-resistant race jacket.

I'm currently considering two races before then; a 5k and a 10k. I'm working on getting Amanda to sign up for the 5k with me. The 10k will be more of a begging/pleading effort. I've added a "races" tab at the top of my page, to strengthen my motivation and hold myself accountable.

After some thought, today I even made a purchase. Since I currently have enough money in my checking account to keep my gas tank full and to maybe eat until payday next Friday, I used the 0% interest card that I recently got to help move around a bit of debt and pay for some etsy supplies, to buy myself

A sweet Garmin Forerunner 305. Now I can hang with the cool kids!
(I had to assure Pinky that I will still use her for gym workouts.) Pinky
is good people.

I was a little bummed to find out that this is the only color it comes in. I'm not a big fan of red. It reminds me of anger, and of this dude I dated once who referred to himself as "Rage" and loved the color red. I may be coloring mine with nail polish. (By the way, I'm totally serious about this dude. I have the most awful taste in guys, apparently).

Now, since I've only ever ran and trained for races in semi-warm weather and this race is in December (ten days before my 30th birthday! YIKES!), I need some serious help figuring out what types of clothing/supplies I will need to run in cold weather. What types of shirts, pants, ear warmers, gloves, socks...help me! Also, will I need a Camelback to run nine miles? I feel that I will, since I get thirsty on 3-mile runs. What about Gu or another electrolyte or hydration item?

Speaking of Gu, remember last week when I posted about poop and mentioned that I was challenged to do so? Well, Kari and I started discussing people posting gross things about their baby's poop on Facebook and the conversation went like this
(it reads bottom to top)

I did end up posting about it, but I really just did it because I'm all for a fun (or funny...or possibly gross) challenge. I didn't really expect a *prize*, but yesterday I got home to this in my mailbox!

Kari, you rule! Thanks so much! I've never tried Gu, but now that I'm going to be training for a few races...further than a 5k (it feels good to say that), I have an awesome excuse to try these! To you all who use Gu, what's your favorite flavor?

Remember, I need your suggestions for cold weather running gear. Aaaand GO!

Much-deserved gratitude

I'd like to start this week off by saying a big ol' THANK YOU to my blog "friends". (Yes, I've taken our relationship status to the next level). I'm seriously beginning to think starting this blog has been an inspiration in itself ...due to you all. (I live in "the south", but I will never ever use the term "y'all" <cringe>).

I know there are a lot of people out there who think that blogs and Twitter and social networking in general, is crap. To them, I say



I have plenty of days where I seriously feel like I have talked to no one all day...when we're busy at work, and then I put my headphones on and work out in my own little world at the gym, and then I get home and the only person who acknowledges my presence is the dog...and you all. You all keep me going. Also, in doing all that thinking this weekend, I've become inspired.

I will never make you feel un-appreciated, mom!

I had sort of given up on signing up for any races lately, mainly because I have no one around who is remotely interested in signing up for a race, or training with me. I can't even get anyone to take workout classes with me consistently, or to actually USE their gym membership and go to the gym with me. I've become accustomed to feeling like the weirdo. This doesn't really bother me, but it does get a little lonely.

I get weird looks when I want to go for a run on vacation or get up at 6am to go to the gym on a Saturday morning. I even get strange looks from strangers when I go to the grocery store or Subway in sweaty workout clothes. I'm either really strange looking or people in this place never work out hard enough to know what sweat looks like. I'm pretty sure I don't smell, but maybe I need to test that hypothesis.

Anyway, back to my point. It seems like everyone (meaning you all) is signing up for, and partaking in races, and being the competitive person that I am, I'm jealous!

Ever since I've been having the strange 'getting dizzy while working out' issue, I've really had very little inspiration to run or even to really push myself. Since my MRI was normal (meaning I'm not going to die of a ruptured aneurism or broken brain), I've decided to push myself a little more. I've been getting on the treadmill and doing circuits of running:walking, since the dizziness seems to kick in from amount of time running and not intensity. (Kim, I totally got this idea from you, and it's worked amazingly well for me. Thanks for telling us all about it! :)

So, I'm thinking now that I'd like to run another 5k and then possibly an 8k or 10k before the weather starts getting cold again, and then seeing how that goes, maybe train for something even bigger for next Spring/Summer. I am in need of a goal, you guys. I live for goals! Of course, this all depends on what the doctor says about my "condition" (which I hope goes away because it's ridiculous and annoying and I want it to die!) I have another doctor appointment tomorrow afternoon, for further investigation.

Thanks again for all your encouraging words, and for wondering if my MRI showed an unformed person in my brain, and for humoring me by putting up with my talk of poop and other boyish humor...and all that other important stuff. You are totally awesome :)


And now, a little glimpse of my weekend.

ALL....FLIPPIN....WEEKEND!

..until Pippi laid down with me yesterday afternoon when I got home from the gym, for a nap. Ahh..the moments that make it all worth it.

She crawled up on the couch and landed here on her own. I think that means
I'm her favorite :)

The one where I prove I'm using my college degree

Mom, i need a new rope to destroy. Isn't today payday?

Happy freakin Friday!

So, remember that big project at work that I talked about yesterday? We finally got it all complete and out the door around 2:45 yesterday afternoon. It is a contest entry for a campaign we worked on last year (by "we", I mean my department, the Marketing and Communications Dept), to aid in convincing cities and jurisdictions in North Carolina to pay their dues. (I won't go into the whole explanation of what the dues are and all that. Just go with it).

Many pieces went into the campaign: a brochure, postcards, web stories, letters, etc. My coworker (Robby) and I designed the brochure and postcards. He designed the postcards, and I mirrored the design from the postcards to design the brochure. 

The company holding the contest only wanted electronic files this year. This is a huge bummer because the brochure, specifically, was designed and created to be held, opened, and used. Because of this, we not only created electronic files to send, we had a professional photographer come and take shots of the pieces so that we could include those, hoping it would give a better understanding of how it all fit together.

And, without further ado, here's the brochure! (This picture doesn't do the color justice. It's much nicer than this). The bottom left of the cover has a die-cut that mirrors the arch in the design at the top, so that when it's folded shut, you see a bit of the blue and the logo at the bottom.

8.75" x 9" folded size. Green cover is die-cut to reveal blue tear-off bookmark

Inside (It's purple :) Shocking? Nope!). Blue panel is a tear-off bookmark
(The back of the brochure says "we're here", with address and contact info.)

The background on the inside has a list of the state government jobs that we support through publications, mentoring, classes, etc. The slightly transparent boxes have quotes from some of those people about our organization. (Yeah I know, blah blah blah...)

I thought I was going to have to defend the purple, but I didn't! My boss was all for it :)

The brochure along with the postcards, which make up the designed pieces
of the campaign. Postcards are 8.5" x 5.5".

We also sent electronic files to the judges, but those are a bit more boring than these, so I won't torture you with them.

At the last minute, I had to design the opening page of the project. This is the first page the judges will see when they open the file, with the electronic files of the other pieces immediately following. I went back and forth on the design of this one, because I didn't want to give too much insight into what the printed pieces look like just yet, but I was convinced by my coworkers (and we had no time for monkeying around), so *ta da*.

In other news: Last night Pippi peed on my bed AGAIN! She barked at me, and I didn't know why. And then she got up on the bed and started "digging" at the comforter. Does anyone else's dog do this? A few minutes later I noticed it was warm and wet. Now I know that when she barks she needs to go outside, and when she starts digging like crazy at the covers, she's trying to cover up her mistake. Ugh! Sometimes "live and learn" is a painful lesson. She definitely knew she messed up, so I take that as a good thing.

Good luck to everyone running races this weekend. (I'm looking at you, Kara and Alyssa :) Enjoy your carbs!