new career choice

private equity or hedge fund manager.

average salary: $657,000,000

nevermind that i don't even know what those jobs would entail.
probably a lot of golf.
after thoughtful consideration, i've determined that i'm down with that.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/28/news/economy/ceo_pay_workers/index.htm?eref=rss_topstories

camping trip

last weekend heath and i went camping in michigan at warren dunes state
park again. this time, heath's brother, luke, and his girlfriend,
rebecca met us there for the weekend. this trip started off absolutely
horribly.
1) we got a later start than anticipated, so we didn't get to the
campground until 10:30 pm, which meant setting up the tent and
everything in the dark.
2) when we got to our reserved site, we found that it was now a lake.
there were 3-5 inches of standing water on the entire site. so we had to
go get a new one from the booth, which, thankfully, was open.
3) we realized that when we left in such a hurry, we failed to bring
flashlights. yeah. whoops.
4) luke and rebecca were coming via a slightly different route than us,
and ended up getting stuck on 80/94, which was completely closed in both
directions due to flooding. they ended up being on the road for an
ungodly amount of time, and arriving at the campground at 3:30 in the
morning.
5) while at the campsite and trying to figure out luke and rebecca's
progress, heath could not have had a harder time getting a cell phone
signal, so calls kept dropping, adding to the frustration.
6) it rained overnight that night so everything we had left sitting out
was soaking wet by morning.

so that was the bad part. by late morning on saturday, things started to
turn around. poor rebecca, who had never been camping, was (rightly so)
not loving the whole wet/tired/crappy experience so far. once the sun
started to come out, things improved. we had lunch on the campfire,
managed to get some of our stuff to start drying out, and everybody's
mood improved. we hiked around a bit, and climbed the big dune near the
campground. after that, we decided to drive over to the beach and hang
out there (since we were all still sort of tired and worn out from the
challening 12 hours previous). we got to the beach and the waves were
HUGE! huge as in they would literally knock us down, great for
bodysurfing and inadvertently removing swimsuit tops and bottoms if one
failed to be diligent. it was a lot of fun, even though we got knocked
around a bit too much from time to time. after the beach, we went back
to shower and eat. unfortunately, heath had to be on his phone and
laptop for several hours dealing with a work issue. once that was over,
we sat by the fire a bit longer and hung out before going to bed. sunday
was pleasant, too, we slept in and got to picking up the site to get
ready to go home.

overall, it ended up being a really nice time. we had a lot of fun with
luke and rebecca and laughed a ton despite the horrendous beginning of
the trip. we're hoping to go camping again before winter comes, possibly
in two weeks out near where heath grew up. hopefully it won't be
immediately following torrential downpours!

2nd worst ever

2nd worst commute of my life tonight. ridiculous storms ripped through northern illinois today, from the far south suburbs of chicago up to the wisconsin border. trees were ripped from the ground all over the area, there was high standing water in areas that were already flooded from earlier this week, downed powerlines, part of a roof on lake shore drive (pictured below. more pictures here). as i drove home, the tornado sirens went off, and i was rerouted way off my normal route several times, and my usual 35-40 minute commute took close to 2 hrs. scary hours. it was a huge downpour for most of the time and i couldn't wait to get home.

poor heath is making his way back from champaign, where he has been for the last few days for work. he's stopped of south of the city to wait out the next wave or so of the storm to see if driving conditions/roads/etc improve enough to make the rest of the drive. i'm hoping he can make it home because i miss him, but if it's too dangerous to drive, and he has to get a hotel for the night, i'd rather have him do that than drive in unsafe conditions.

hopefully the weather is good enough for our camping trip this weekend. i'm mainly hoping it stops in time that we don't have to set tents and stuff up in the rain!

still single?

i found this list posted on a website and thought it was fairly humorous. all you married's out there are already safe, but those of us who are still single should take heed....

http://radaronline.com/from-the-magazine/2007/08/100_reasons_youre_single_1.php

Why are you still single? Possibly because you...

1. Call Grey's Anatomy simply "Grey's"
2. Have entertained the notion that "the Axe Effect" is real
3. Own tie-dyed gym clothes
4. Purchased your dining room set with Marlboro Miles
5. Are only gay when you're drunk
6. Have written poetry inside a Starbucks
7. Wink in a rakish manner each time you tell a joke
8. Have a ferret on your shoulder
9. Call sex "the squishy squish"
10. Are Courtney Love

11. Hug amusement park mascots
12. Address acquaintances as "guy"
13. Use emoticons in handwritten letters
14. Own a "It's Not Going to Suck Itself" T-shirt
15. Initiate line dances
16. Have only one pickup line: "Why the long face?"
17. Posed shirtless for your MySpace page
18. Can't stop missing Anna Nicole
19. Scream out Wheel of Fortune answers
20. Call your therapist from work on speakerphone

21. Won't travel anywhere out of "blading distance"
22. Sleep on WWF sheets
23. Begin stories with, "I'm not a stalker, but ..."
24. Snack on Bac-Os
25. Know someone who knows someone who knows the Geico caveman
26. Flash devil horns in wedding photos
27. Eat with one arm guarding your plate
28. Refer to your PDA as a "Crackberry"
29. Have a dartboard in your kitchen
30. Own a calendar featuring babies dressed as cowboys

31. Call October "Rocktober"
32. Keep a dream journal
33. Own slot-machine gloves
34. Are the president of a fan club
35. Weave and distribute friendship bracelets
36. Have a "lucky" garter hanging from your rearview mirror
37. Prefer the "fist bump" when meeting strangers and always insist they "lock it in"
38. Refuse to remove your Bluetooth earpiece during sex
39. Take off work each year to celebrate Cinco de Mayo; are Irish
40. Have a disturbingly high thetan count

41. Display your framed degree from bartending school
42. Have been edited out of several Girls Gone Wild videos
43. Converse with angels
44. Refer to Target as "Tar-Jay"
45. Have ever said: "That's sooo Sagittarius"
46. Feel most comfortable in Tevas and jorts
47. Have a five o'clock shadow, on your ass
48. Wear a "No Spin Zone" windbreaker
49. Cry when you listen to Belle and Sebastian, then, still tearful, blog about it
50. Use an electronic device to smoke pot

51. Call underwear "panties"
52. Have more than zero stuffed animals on your bed
53. Live by two sartorial rules: pleated, stonewashed
54. Display samurai swords in your office
55. Think the energy crisis can be solved with crystals
56. Have ever dressed up as a penis or tampon for Halloween
57. Own a 60-inch flat-screen plasma television but sleep on a broken futon
58. Have taken more than one cell phone picture of your genitals
59. Close all correspondence with "Prayerfully Yours"
60. Consider Maroon 5 sort of "your group"

61. TiVo'd the entire run of Criss Angel Mindfreak
62. Use the word "scrumptious"
63. Have a Tasmanian Devil "tramp stamp"
64. List "Dungeon Master" on your business card
65. Carry an All Things Considered tote bag
66. Wouldn't be the person you are today without Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie
67. Subscribe to any massive multiplayer online gaming experience
68. Take advantage of the eight-at-a-time Netflix option
69. Have a rhyming nickname
70. Sold your forehead to goldenpalace.com

71. Have a "LaRouche '08" bumper sticker
72. Have taken a course on improving your oral sex technique
73. Will do anything for "shits and giggles"
74. Collect throwing stars
75. Have a bedside stack of Sudoku books
76. Can only make love to the Mighty Mighty Bosstones
77. Are infamous among your coworkers for your dead-on Baba Booey impression
78. Own all 24 volumes of Now That's What I Call Music!
79. Are O.J. Simpson
80. Have a screensaver of you posing with your Frisbee golf bros

81. Refuse to drink any beer that hasn't been "beechwood aged"
82. Have cellulite on your face
83.  Refer to yourself as a "vagitarian"
84. Have a Web shrine devoted to a long-deceased pet
85. Consider riddles a great way to break the ice
86. Purchase meals solely for their tie-in products
87. Get visibly angry during Apple vs. PC debates
88. Are known among your girlfriends as "Heavy Flow"
89. Feel you've found the deeper meaning behind Meatloaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light"
90. Own all the Matrix novelizations

91. Raise iguanas
92. Posted your profile on Sean Hannity's "Hannidate"; are black
93. Have a "Peeing Calvin" decal on your hatchback
94. Work at Radar
95. Are learning to play the bagpipes
96. Don't like Insane Clown Posse's music per se, but think their philosophy is sound
97. Phone in long-distance radio dedications
98. Posted a Craigslist "Missed Connections" ad to find the kid who groped you on the subway
99. Believe the mouth is self-cleaning
100. Have had something on your face since the late '90s

testing... testing... some new things

evidently, there is this cutesy feature by which you can post to your blog via email, so i'm giving it a try. this will be handy if i feel the need to blog something while away from a computer, since i can email from my cell phone. such a nerdy girl i am.

on an unrelated note, but one i wanted to blog about nonetheless. i received some sad news about a family member earlier today. sometimes things like this happen, but i think it hit a lot of us extra hard because of what a happy time everybody had last weekend at my cousin, Jason's wedding. it's hard to live this far away from the rest of my family at times like this. i feel like i want to be there to give support, despite not really knowing what i would do to be supportive in this situation. i hope that everybody in my family knows that even though i don't live right there, i am thinking about them, and am (usually) kept in the loop with any big news. thank goodness for the internet. it certainly has the ability to shorten the miles. i know that if we didn't have blogs and picture sites, i'd be missing out on a lot of what happens with my sister, ron, and lucy. i know that mindy and i are a lot better about emailing each other and keeping in touch now that we have the blogs.

new feature: i'm going to try to be good about sticking to this, and it should be easier if this mobile blogging thing works. i'm going to try to post a positive thing every day. something i'm thankful for or that made me smile. i find that sometimes i focus too much on the negative and forget to appreciate the positive as much as i should. i'm sure we've all been there, and know that when we take time to consciously acknowledge goodness and happiness around us, things improve across the board. so, going back to my last paragraph, today's happy thing is that the internet allows me to keep in closer contact with my friends and family who live far away. my hope is that my parents get some high speed internet someday so that they can be more in the loop with our blogging etc.

update: it worked!

chicago traffic

since heath and i will be venturing to michigan this weekend for my cousin's wedding, i thought i'd take a look at the chicago traffic situation, since the city itself lies immediately between us and the road to michigan. beautiful, no? don'tcha just love all the red and little caution signs everywhere?! i think we'll be waiting a few hours before getting on the road tonight.

frivolous lawsuits rule

this has to be the best one. ever.

link

be sure to read all the way through to the end to see the list of defendants for previous lawsuits filed by this fella. for the record, michael vick was already crossed out for my fantasy football draft, but now i think i'll have to DOUBLE cross him out. at least somebody is finally calling vick out on a personal level. enjoy.

thank you

i wanted to set this out as a separate post from the race report, particularly since that post grew to be so long.

i am so lucky to have the people that are in my life. they were unbelievably supportive leading up to and during the race.

heath was there pretty much daily, especially in the last two months. at times, i struggled with self-doubt and worry about being able to do this race, and i can be pretty bull-headed, so putting up with me in those funks was no small task. i appreciate his patience as i worked to handle what i was facing. he was definitely the tough-love guy when i needed it, and yeah, i needed it at times. he was there for everything i needed (which included a lot of carrying things around) and never complained about any of it.

my parents and sister and ron were saved from having to deal with that as much, and were able to just be amazing supporters. i know how proud they are of me for this, and it meant so much to me that they got up so early to drive down for the race. all of them (and lucy), along with heath did a lot of sitting around that day. i was out on the course for long stretches, and it must've been fairly boring for them at times, but they didn't seem to mind at all. it meant the world to me to have them all at the finish line and after the race with me.

my extended family also sent words of encouragement. my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents wrote little notes to me (along with a few sketches) to wish me luck in my race. knowing that they were thinking of me from afar was really something amazing. i got a couple of congratulatory cards from grandparents after the race, too.

i had so many friends and family donate money to the leukemia and lymphoma society on my behalf. their donations are going to a great cause, and i'm so grateful that i was able to make my goal so quickly with their support!

i write this thank you in specific reference to the triathlon, but in actuality, this support is always there, and always has been. whatever i've faced or accomplished, my family and loved ones have been there to support and congratulate me. of course they are proud of me for this big accomplishment, but they have always been proud of me, for anything i've done, small or big. it gives one tremendous strength to know that they have that love and support.

so, thanks for everything, always. i know i tend to take it for granted because it's always been there, but when i step back and look at what an interested, involved, supportive family i have, i realize that it is quite rare, and that i'm really truly lucky.

whirlpool steelhead 70.3 race report (finally!)

Okay, I think keeping everybody waiting for over a week is long enough. Just a warning, this is going to be a long post…extremely long…

Overall, this race went better than I could’ve ever imagined. I’d be lying if I said I was anywhere near 100% compliant with my training regimen, but I still managed to make it through the race without too much difficulty. Yes, I walked good portions of the run, but I’m okay with that, since the most important thing to me was just to finish the race, and I did that with plenty of time to spare.

The week leading up to the race, I tried to really focus on telling myself that I could cover the distance. The bike ride, was, after all, only a ten mile bike ride done 5 and a half times or so, right? And the run? That was merely doing a 10K run twice, plus some change. The swim, just swim till you get to the end. Easy. So, I basically convinced myself that 70.3 miles, was, in fact, not really all that far to go. It was good because it helped me get through the race, but now, after more than a week, it is just sinking in just how far that really was, and it sort of freaks me out a little that I was able to do it.

The 1.2 Mile Swim:

I was running a little late getting to the swim start (whoops!), but managed to line up and get my wetsuit on and zipped up with a few minutes to spare before they called my wave: Wave #5, red swimcaps, leaving at 7:15. It was probably best that I didn’t have a ton of time to stand there and stew and get nervous. I walked up to the edge of the water and waited for the horn. We all splashed our way in, some girls diving in when it was still too shallow, then getting up and running some more before re-diving in. Once it got to about thigh deep, I started doing the dolphin dives, where you dive in to go forward, then stand up and dive in again. Once it got deep enough, I started to actually swim. This was the ONLY time during the race that I felt like quitting. I don’t know if it was the wetsuit, or my nerves finally catching up with me, but I felt like I couldn’t breathe. No matter how much I tried to calm myself down, I felt like I was gasping for air. I unzipped the top of my wetsuit a couple inches, and did the breast stroke for a bit. I looked for a kayak or sea-doo or somebody to rescue me. It’s probably good there were none around, or I might have quit. Instead I just kept going. I abandoned the dual-sided breathing technique I had worked so hard for, and breathed every other stroke, always breathing to the right, where I could sight the buoys and the shoreline (which seemed forever away). The swim went South to North, with the sun in our eyes as it rose above the treeline. I got into a rhythm and noticed I started passing some of the people in my wave (red caps). I was being passed, too, but that was okay, since I knew stronger groups were behind me and that was inevitable. I ended up losing track of time in the water. I just went buoy to buoy until I got to the end. It could’ve been 10 minutes or 2 hours, I had no idea how long I’d been swimming. I figured though, that due to my problems at the beginning, I was probably way off my pace. I was okay with that, and just wanted to get through the swim. After massaging out a calf cramp after the last buoy on the last stretch into shore (ouch!), I made my way onto the beach, walking up toward transition. I glanced at my watch, and it was somewhere around 50 minutes, which is not as far off my pace as I feared. It gave me a boost for getting on the bike. I didn’t let myself think about how much I had yet to go ahead of me.

Transition 1

I got into transition, and managed to yank my wetsuit off. I took my time to make sure I had everything. Put on my cycling shoes (after rinsing my feet a bit), put on my helmet and sunglasses, changed my mind and decided to proceed sans gloves. They didn’t want to go on over my wet hand anyhow. I made sure I had enough food and unracked my bike. I failed to notice that I had my cleat covers still on my shoes (doh!), so that made clipping in a bit of a challenge, but I yanked them off and was on my way.

The 56 Mile Bike Ride:

It was shady and smooth for the first portion of the bike section. I settled in right away and felt good. I was in my small chainring (= harder, faster gears) for most of the race (save for some of the hills), and felt great. I got to the 10 mile marker before I knew it and still felt really strong. I lost my chain on a hill between 10 and 15, but got it back on and kept going. At the mile 15 marker, it hit me that I was really going to be able to finish the race. I kind of got a little emotional, and was really excited. Even though I had been telling myself, especially in the week leading up to the race, that I was going to be able to finish, there was that lingering doubt in my mind and it disappeared right then. I felt like I was flying along. I managed to eat enough and hydrate enough, though Gatorade did not taste good at all to me. I was getting passed by lots and lots of guys, who had made up the time gap from their later swim starts. So many people were so friendly as they passed, having brief conversations, telling me I was doing great. That type of support and sportsmanship does wonders. You don’t feel so alone out there, despite it being an individual sport. I tried to remember to take in the scenery. Through the rolling hills, there were lots of fruit farms, and it was such a pleasant day. There were stretches of rougher pavement, which were painful, but then there were stretches that felt like I was just flying on. I was cruising over 20mph without even feeling it. Before I knew it, I was at the halfway point, and still felt great. By the time I got to mile 40, though, my legs started burning. My thighs were getting tired. I ate some more to get some more fast carbs in me, and dealt with the headwind I was suddenly facing. Ugh! And more hills. I got a little discouraged for a stretch. Then I reminded myself: “You are biking 56 miles. It’s SUPPOSED to hurt.” I changed my perspective and realized I should be grateful that I didn’t start hurting until the 40s, when I could have been hurting at mile 20! At this point in the race, I was so close to being done, that I just had to push through. Some of the hills at the end were toughies, but nothing I couldn’t handle. I just kept pedaling. I saw my family cheering for me as I made my way to the bike dismount in front of transition. I had made it through the longest portion in under my goal time of 3 and a half hours.

Transition 2

I took my time in transition 2 so that my legs would feel good on the run. I had stretched on the bike from time to time, keeping the hamstrings and calves as loose as I could. I racked my bike, yanked off the helmet and shades, changed into my running shoes, grabbed some food, and my visor and started the brisk walk to the run exit. I saw my family again as I left for the run.

The 13.1 Mile Run:

I still felt as if I had a ton of energy as I took off on the run. I think part of that is due to not allowing myself to think ahead to how much was left. I just wanted to take one mile at a time. I started out at an easy pace and quickly came to the bottom of a large-ish hill that was quite steep. Knowing that my calves would probably seize up if I tried to run it (which happened in my last triathlon and was horrible!), I decided to walk up it as a warm up. When I got to the top, we were already almost at one mile. I started to jog again and got a sip of water and Gatorade at the first aid station. I just kept going along, trying to enjoy the experience. I would now say that running is my weakest sport of the three. I walked a lot more than I wanted to. The one nice thing about walking was getting to chat with other people that were also walking. I met a number of people out there and everyone I talked to was very friendly. The course winded up some roads and into the Whirlpool corporation campus. The paved path turned through the woods and around and through a marshland type area. It was really pretty and pleasant. I still felt pretty good as I got to the 6.5 mile mark (halfway!) and began my 2^nd loop. I liked that it was looped since then it meant that I knew exactly what to expect for the second half and how much was left. I wound through the paths again. The ice cold sponges at the aid stations were wonderful. The day was slightly overcast, which was great, since I could feel myself really heat up when the sun would come out. My stomach started to give me a little bit of an issue around mile 8, but I had some banana, which seemed to help, and felt a 2^nd (3^rd? 4^th?) wind around mile 9.5. There were some kids with water guns out on the course, which was a lot of fun. They loved squirting us and we appreciated the cool down. By the end of the race, my tri top was soaked, but I think it was as much water as it was sweat. The last couple miles were long. Around mile 11, my legs came to a stop without my permission. It was a weird sensation. I literally felt like they just disobeyed me, “I didn’t tell you you could stop!” It just became a bit more effortful to keep them moving. But I was so close, and I knew we got to run DOWN that big hill (the one I walked up at the beginning). As I turned the corner at the bottom of the hill, I could hear the music and the announcer and it felt so amazing to know how close to the end I was!

The Finish:

One last left turn, and there it all was. Kind of a dune valley, lined on both sides with people cheering, waiting for their friends and loved ones to finally turn that corner. I saw my family as I approached the finish line. 7 hours, 10 minutes, and 32 seconds. It was such a great feeling to get to the end. I had actually finished this race that had been looming since February. This race that a month ago I was terrified of. I got my finisher’s medal, and my towel. They had a bucket of ice cold Berry flavored Gatorade rain, which is my favorite. The guy dunked my towel in the ice bucket for me and I got a cookie and plum from the finisher tent. I saw Sarah (Heath’s friend’s wife, who stayed with the night before) wave to me from the medical tent, where she was working. She later said that I looked a lot better than a lot of people that cross the finish line. She also told us of a few people that had to discontinue due to injury, dehydration, or other reasons. I’m so thankful that I made it through without any of those difficulties. It would be so hard to train for so long only to have something like that derail your race.

After the race:

I found my family after I left that tent, and they all gave me hugs, despite me being so gross and wet. I was still flying high on my adrenaline and endorphins, so I felt really good. We sat in the pavilion and waited for my turn at a massage, which took too long so didn’t happen. I stretched a bit and talked with my family, who had sat there all day waiting for me and being there to see me at every opportunity they could. I got some food, but wasn’t very hungry. Then I started to get tired. You can see in some of the pictures Mindy took how tired my eyes look. I also started to get cold. After a little while, we gathered up, and went back to transition so I could pick up my bike and gear. We walked the mile or so back to the cars, and said our goodbyes. Heath and I headed back to Dan and Sarah’s so I could shower and we could get back on the road to head to Elgin for Heath and Dan to race the extra muddy version of the Muddy Buddy.

In the end I raised $2360 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Being part of Team in Training is really special, and I recommend it to anybody who is thinking about it. There are a wide variety of races that you can train and raise money for. Wearing that uniform made me feel really good about the cause I was doing this for. You are definitely part of a larger community as part of Team, and you have that much more support and fans on the course and cheering from the sidelines. It was great!

Oh, but I had the WORST tan lines EVER!

soon

soon, i will have another post. i know it's been about a week since the Big Race, but between travel, being exhausted, and other general business things, i've not had time to blog. i also want to make sure i do it justice, and not throw a post together without putting some thought into it. i do have notes jotted down. for a brief rundown, check my sis's account of it and check out her pics.

we have a houseguest coming tonight (eek! the place is a semi-mess), but i should be able to find some time this weekend to put together something for y'all.

t-minus

three days until the big race. i'm pretty nervous, but getting excited, too. i'm going to be packing up my tri-bag tonight and trying to get everything organized and ready to go.

i'm trying not to think about the numbers for the distance i'll be covering, but it's a challenge not to. i keep trying to focus on crossing the finish line and thinking about the kind of mindset i'll have to have to get there. at a certain point, it becomes as much or more of a mental challenge than a physical one. trying to keep myself going for 7 or so hours is going to be tough. i'll likely do what i normally do, which is break it down into segments. the swim will be to get from buoy to buoy. then i'll break the 56 mile bike ride down into distance segments, maybe 10 mile chunks. the run will be broken down by water stations, which are going to be approximately every mile. i tend to divide the total distance by some number and then figure out what proportion of the race i have gone and what i have remaining. it's sometimes discouraging, but doing the math in my head is a good distraction. i'm also going to focus on enjoying the scenery and singing in my head. the main thing i have to do is shut my brain up when i feel like quitting, which i certainly will feel at some point.

i've got some new songs that i'm going to be putting on a cd. for every tri i've done, i've made a cd that includes songs that are motivating to listen to in the car on the way to the race and in the days around the race. the song of the moment is paralyzer by finger eleven. i'd heard it on the radio a few times, but had sort of forgotten about it when heath pointed it out to me last night on his myspace project playlist, so now i know who it's by and can add it to the others i have lined up.

my family sent me some very pretty flowers at work yesterday to show their support, which was really nice. also, my grandparents sent me an email to let me know that something is coming in the mail from my extended family on my mom's side (i guess they were too excited about it and couldn't wait to let me know!), with little notes from everybody wishing me luck. i'm looking forward to getting that. hopefully it arrives today. it's so great how supportive people are being.

i'm definitely trying to keep my mindset more on excited and less on nervous. when i think about what i'm going to be doing, it is really a great feeling. i can't wait to cross the finish line. it's for a great cause and it also represents a lot of things personally for me. without going into the personal details, just stepping up to the starting line is an indication of how much i've grown and changed, especially in the last year, and have taken tremendous strides toward really living the life i want to live. the only way i won't finish the race is if i miss a time cutoff or if i get carted off in an ambulance. let's hope and pray that i cross the finish line upright with a HUGE smile on my face!

my left foot

yesterday, heath was planning on going fishing with a friend of his. due to some last minute switching, i ended up going along with them. i haven't been fishing in awhile, so it was a lot of fun to go out there. i borrowed heath's 2nd rod and reel and his other fishing stuff, but i want to definitely get some of my own for future ventures. we got a much later start than anticipated, so it was too late to rent a boat. as a result, we did some shore fishing, but the lake was really busy where we were at (near a main launch). mark and heath had a couple of bites, but i had nothing. even though we had no luck, it was still a good time to just get outside and have a break from the usual stuff.

the highlight of the afternoon was when i miscast (whoops) and my line went over a giant log sticking out of the water up the shoreline by where heath and mark were standing. being the smart girl that i am, i walked up the shore that way rather than reeling it up into the log. being not that smart of a girl, i failed to see the big mucky hole between me and them. in went my left foot.

up. to. my. knee. ew.

so i yanked my leg back up out of it, but my adorable mary jane croc was no longer on my foot. crap. since i was only able to deal with one disaster at a time, i gave my pole to heath, who, rightly, found this very amusing. then, i had to work up the nerve to reach down into the shoe-eating muckhole (up to my elbow! ew!) to try to fish my croc out. to add to the fun, heath kept reminding me that whatever was in there was probably gone by now. thanks.

i managed to feel around and find the back strap of the croc and yank it out. it was completely coated with and filled with sludge. thankfully they are all rubbery and stuff, so i was able to just rinse it off in the lake water. but, overall, ew.

oh, and the line didn't end up getting tangled. heath had it all reeled in by the time i retrieved my muck shoe.

we'll probably go fishing again soon, maybe out by heath's parents' where his boat is (yeah, you read that right, my boyfriend has a boat. jealous? :P), or back up to where we were yesterday and just rent a boat. next time, i'll be more careful where i step.

tour de drama

so as i've gotten into cycling a bit, i've gained an appreciation for the sport and for the importance of the tour de france. i've also gotten a stronger sense of how prevalent doping is in the sport. all year people have been implicated left and right. the floyd landis case is pretty well known to most people at this point (outcome still pending).

never, though, has doping been more out there than in this year's tour. so far several riders have tested positive, two entire teams have withdrawn due to doping related issues, and just today, the leader of the tour, danish rider michael rasmussen, was fired by his team and kicked out of the race. there is no positive test for him, but he failed to adhere to team rules regarding reporting for testing prior to the race which definitely is suspicious. there are rumors that he wasn't where he said he was.

doping in cycling is a huge problem. so many riders do it. the ones that don't are at a physical disadvantage. it's definitely a culture of doping. lately it seems that anybody who is winning is a suspect. who knows how justified some allegations are, but with more and more top riders coming forward and admitting to drug use, and several more testing positive, it's clearly going on. hopefully the sport can clean up its act. i'd like to think that lance and floyd didn't dope and that the current top riders (contador, the best young rider and new tour leader after rasmussen got booted, and leipheimer, teammate of contador, top american, and currently 3rd place overall) are riding clean.
update: interesting post on the freakonomics blog about tour doping. they suggest that maybe cyclist be allowed to dope since they all are anyhow. they also point out that cycling was the sport that introduced doping to the sports world. what a claim to fame!

exhausted, but in

well, we survived. we got everything of mine and most of heath's stuff moved in to the new place. we did three trips with the rental trailer behind heath's jeep, and ended up working on it on saturday from 8am to about 6pm, then priming the office, arranging the bedroom, and otherwise trying to make the place livable for basic needs until about 10pm. up at 8 again on sunday and back to it with another jeep load, car load, and painting the office (yeah, took 2 coats, grr). worked again from 8 to about 6, then a little more when we got home. we both suffered a few wounds in the process, and there is still a ton to do, but it's nice to be pretty much in the new place.

to add to the "excitement" on saturday, 2 other people were moving in/out at the same time as we were, and we all had to use the same stairway/doorway/alley. it ended up not being too bad, and we even paid the one girl's movers to move some of our heavy stuff in for us since we were already tired and kept having issues running into them on the stairs anyhow. it was worth the $ to not have to move the heavy stuff when we were already so tired. heath's friend had also come by in the morning to help with some of our other heavy stuff, so that helped a lot. overall, though, for just the two of us for the majority of stuff, we did pretty well, though we were really achy yesterday and really tired today. i'm getting too old for this stuff. movers are the way to go.

today, i'm back at work, but heath is at home today (lucky guy with summer hours). he's waiting for the cable guy to come and connect us with the rest of the world this morning. then, he plans on spending most of today unpacking things and getting some of the stuff that is still at his old apartment. the only big thing left is the aquarium, which will have to wait until the dining room (a.k.a. box and other crap holding room) is cleared out a bit so it has a place to sit.

i'm trying to work, but i've got that low grade anxiety/stress of knowing how much there is yet to do. that, coupled, with how exhausted i am, is making it hard to concentrate. i considered grabbing a latte or something, but can't decide if the caffeine would ramp up the stress/anxiety too much or will get me over the tiredness so i have more energy and focus... aaargh!

i'm heading over to bed bath and beyond at lunch with 4 coupons in hand (the only ones we could find this morning) to get some stuff we need (shower caddy, bedskirt, other randoms). the place is going to be really cute once we get settled and unpacked. i'll definitely post pictures once we get it presentable.

housing insanity

okay so several people i know are either buying, selling, or looking to buy a place (or all three). so, on my way to work today, i noticed a home for sale. they had a website listed, so i just had to check it out. bear in mind that this is by no means the nicest place i drive past.

www.40devonshire.com

feel free to browse the website. the point of most interest is going to be listing detail page here and the brochure (with pictures) here. yes, that's right, asking $14.9 million. eeks! granted, it is 2.2 acres right on lake michigan, with an indoor pool, 8.5 bathrooms (8.5, seriously..) and so on. but the property taxes in 2005 were over $88,000. after looking at all the pictures, the place isn't really my style, so i think i'll keep looking. oh, and the property taxes are more than i make in a year, so that would be a problem, too.

some other less expensive (but still ones a wee bit out of my price range) homes i passed (i love that they put the website on the sign!):

www.909sheridan.com
www.1064sheridan.com
www.940sheridan.com (this one isn't working for me, but feel free to give it a try)

moving again

the next and (hopefully) final move is coming up this weekend.

we've had access to our new place since last saturday, but haven't had the time or motivation to move much in there during the week, particularly considering the rain and/or threat of rain the past couple of days. heath was awesome and moved some stuff in by himself last weekend while i was out of town. there is still a ton to do, and the goal is to get the vast majority of it done this weekend. i just can't wait for it to be over. hopefully we can get things physically moved to the new place saturday and spend a lot of sunday getting things organized/settled.

i'm really excited about this new place. it's older so it has its problems (no lights in most of the closets, some cracks in the ceiling plaster, a wobbly living room ceiling fan), but it has a lot of charm, too with the built in glass door cabinets, old wooden doors, hardwood floors, molding, etc. the kitchen cabinet space is insane and we'll have lots more room than we are sharing in heath's place now. plus, i'll have more real furniture for my stuff. oh, and actually have my stuff.

things have been a bit stressy lately with so much going on: trying to manage triathlon training and my new job and feeling like i'm just crashing at his current place since so little of my stuff is there, dealing with these moves and all the associated headaches. but, a lot of that is resolving itself now, and despite the stressful last few weeks, it's very comforting to know that when i go home at the end of the day, i have a great guy that will be there to talk to and laugh with. i'm really looking forward to settling into "our" place with him. :)

zafu does bras

i recently posted about the success i had with zafu's jean fit guide. i got an email notification today that they now do the same thing for bra fit. (yes, they ask about the pencil test.)

bra shopping is nearly as painful as jean shopping, so this is a welcome addition and i'm looking forward to trying it out. that is a segment of my wardrobe that needs updating for sure.

well i'll be darned

so, as i posted fairly recently, i moved out of lisle, il and into evanston, il. this is definitely a step up, right? hah! not according to money magazine. they came out with their top 100 places to live in the united states, and the top city in illinois is... you guessed it lisle! at number 20 on the list! the next illinois town isn't until #51 - libertyville. also on the list is woodridge, at #61, where i lived a few years ago.

ahh the irony! at any rate, lisle is a great place to live, and if i had a family of my own and would be looking to buy a place, it would definitely be in the running for places around the chicago area that i'd like to live.

evanston is great for me right now, though. very accessible to the lake and the city, lots to do, tons of restaurants, decent commute, and so on. it's a bit pricey, which makes prospects for buying there any time soon quite challenging. i'm definitely happier in evanston than lisle, but i feel better now for all those times i'd been asked where i lived and said "lisle" and subsequently got that look of "uhh, where?" seee!!! it is a nice place to live!

baltimore trip

just got back today from my trip to baltimore. this is the third year that my sister, my mom, and some of my aunts get together for a long weekend somewhere. last year was golfing and beach time in ludington, and the year before was white water rafting in west virginia. this year, the four of us that live in the midwest flew from o'hare to baltimore to stay with pam and teri. we went horseback riding and visited the town of frederick, md on friday. saturday included a run in the morning, followed by hiking at great falls national park in virginia and a little shopping. we went to washington, dc to see a performance of phantom of the opera at the kennedy center. it's a musical i've always wanted to see and very much enjoyed it. this morning, we went for breakfast and then walked around the inner harbor in baltimore before flying home. every evening was filled with fun casual conversation at pam and teri's house. a slideshow is embedded below, and the album can be seen on my picasa site (link in the left margin).

hope college alumni hate

all i wanted was a reprint of my college diploma with my maiden name on it. i was married when i graduated, but am now divorced. my diploma has my married name on it. i want to feel proud of my degree and of attending hope college, but when i see my married name on the diploma, many difficult memories come back. that isn't me anymore, and i'd prefer if my name were on my diploma.

hope will not provide me with a new diploma. i'd be willing to pay, wait, send documentation, do anything they want, but they will not even consider it.

they are failing to assist me with the one and only thing i've asked for since graduating. it doesn't seem unreasonable to me. other universities allow you to get a reprinted diploma with a new name by paying a fee, turning in your old one, providing documentation, etc, but hope refuses.