Lunch Date

The Schnoogs and I had a good tradition for the first 3 semesters of her college career - we met for dinner mid-week to have a nice meal and stay current on the happenings of our lives. We started to Yelp! our way through the greater LA Valley area, finding some fun, unique restaurants and staying connected.

This semester, Schnoogums is taking an impressive 19 units and as such, her schedule is not very open or flexible for dinner. In fact, the only opening she has is Tue or Wed between 1 and 5...not optimal hours for me to leave work and drive the 20 miles or so (the hard way, I might add) from Beverly Hills to Northridge. We skipped the first 2 weeks, but decided that we missed our tradition and each other, so Schnoogs offered herself up to come meet me for lunch.

With a little bit of directions from Mom, MapQuest and the GPS tracker, young Schnoogums made it right on time to enjoy a tour of the office then a quick walk up to one of the neighborhood restaurants (we had sushi). It was very nice to get back into our routine, and of course that kid cracks me up with her energy and exuberance.

We came back into the office to find things a little crazy and in deadline looming mode as we were fulfilling a bunch of orders from our Valentine's Day promotion. Poor kid, she never had a chance, I had her taping and labeling boxes like there was no tomorrow until she finally told me that her car was in a 2-hour parking space and she had to go. I tried to get her to just move it and come back, but there weren't any open places (so she said!).

With a quick hug, we said goodbye and she left me in the throes of the packing and shipping frenzy. I wonder if Holly thinks that sushi was worth it?

Undecillion

I learned about a new number this week, it is called an undecillion. It represents a trillion, trillion, trillion, or 36 zeros. I was going to write that out, but have decided that while a cute pictorial reference, it really will just take up a lot of space, space that I can fill with interesting, thought provoking comments.

Perhaps not. At any rate, this is a short blog today because I have an undecillion things to do.

It's a lot, I am telling you!

Passing on the Right

Mondays tend to be pretty full for me, and often I find myself running from activity to activity without a lot of free time in between. Yesterday was no exception and although I planned carefully for it, I had a hard time leaving at the 4 pm target I had to hit if I had any hopes of making my Emmaus Accountability group meeting near home at 5:30 pm.

Prior to my departure, I texted the ladies to tell them that I would be about 20-minutes late and then I set off for the big commute. It was predictably rough, but things were pretty much as expected until I looped around to the 23...traditionally the shortest and easiest stretch of my drive home. The restaurant we were meeting in is only about 4 exits away from home, so I thought that I had it all sewn up.

Not so much. I forgot (mostly because I am rarely in my own neighborhood at 5:45 pm) how backed up things get on this freeway, so this last stretch of traffic was killing me. I was in the right lane, creeping slowly along and just feeling over the whole commute.

The first exit past my house is a nice long on-ramp and no one was on it. It seemed like such a waste of open road, so I opted to utilize it. You know, doing my part to help ease the traffic burden in the exit lane (it is true, Ebe, I know better than this!). As I merged back in and claimed my 15 or so car advantage, there it was, the most dreaded thing in the rear view mirror...THE LIGHTS.

The answer was easy when the officer (who was apparently 4 or 5 cars behind me but I didn't see in the dusk of sunset) asked me if I had any idea why I was pulled over...YEP! I wanted to tell her that I wasn't actually clear on what the EXACT violation might be, but I decided that being a smart-alec was not in my best interest. I took my ticket like the polite little lawbreaker that I am.

For those of you playing along at home, the official violation is "unsafe passing on the right". Pricey, not priceless, is what I predict that one to be!

Surfin'

Yesterday was the Surf City 1/2, an event held every Superbowl Sunday and one that I have participated in for either the 1/2 marathon or 5K for the last 6 years or so. I was on my own for this event, as my troop of peeps were not feeling it for another 13.1 miles after the Carlsbad event two weeks ago (and a Safari Park 1/2 planned for mid-March too), so off I went for a solo run with 20,000 of my closest running friends.

It was not too long before I met Cyndi and Sue, two ladies from Utah who make me look like a very quiet and shy person when it comes to talking abilities. These two could TALK and talk they did, from the moment we met when they asked me to take a picture until we said goodbye and parted ways at the end of the run. Within the first 5 miles Cyndi had declared me her new BFF for Facebook and invited me to stay with her to run the Ogden 1/2 in October.

I learned something interesting about interval running - there is something to it and I like it! We had been talking for so long that once we finally got across the starting line, it seemed rude to run off without them, so I followed along on their 2 minutes run, 1 minute walk plan. At first I was pretty skeptical about finishing in a reasonable time, but lo and behold, we crossed the finish line in 2:44...not a world record by any stretch, but given that 1/3 of the time was spent walking (albeit quickly), I say cool!

It would appear that this method allows for just enough rest time to keep the energy level higher and sustainable across the duration of the race. You admittedly are a slave to the beeper/timer that regulates the whole thing, but once you get into the zone, it is all good. My best time on a 1/2 is 2:31, and given we had to walk through a couple of run cycles in the last mile because Sue was having some issues with her calf, I can see where this is going to help me shave some time off my future events.

Suddenly, I feel very fast. I might actually be able to finish at the same time as the winner of the full marathon instead of 10 minutes later!

Cheesy

Eric and I met for lunch last week to celebrate Little Britty (she is 22 and her name is Brittany, but much like Holly always being referred to as Schnoogs, you just can't step away from a good childhood nickname) and her looming departure. She has been accepted to the Peace Corps and will be leaving for Kazakhstan on March 9th (look for future blogs and education around this country!)

Little Britty shares my eating style of no animals with knees, so I knew that she would enjoy one of my local faves, Cube Cafe and Marketplace. I was first introduced by a real LA local a couple of years ago and have used it as the go-to restaurant just about any time someone is in the vicinity of my office and wants a good meal.

The cheese is always amazing, and the menu changes to enjoy the fresh and in-season items at the local Farmer's Market. I have not yet been there where anyone in my party was anything less than enthused about their order and the portions are just about right so that you can enjoy a sampler of cheese before your meal. Little Britty of course loved it and we had a great visit talking about all of the things that she will be doing while in Kazakhstan.

27 months is a long time to be gone from home, I wonder how well a care package of cheese would travel!

Local Living

I had a rare opportunity to live like a local. Tomorrow is the Surf City 1/2 Marathon, which will take me to Huntington Beach and points south for the day, but in a fine bit of scheduling magic, I was able to pick my packet up on Friday (while on my way to Mission Viejo), leaving today free to putter around and not have to trek all the way to Huntington just to get my race bib, shirt and timing chip. I will also get to have dinner tonight with David and Holly and sleep in my own bed, all in exchange for waking up tomorrow at 4 am to be on my way.

The early wake-up isn't such a big deal and I must confess that I have rather enjoyed my day thus far just doing errands. A tough trail run with the MIMs this morning, social time at home with David and Holly before they left for work, a visit to Future Track to get some new insoles for my shoes (an awkward bit of rubbing is occurring with the new shoes on the bottom of my left foot, a nightmare for any thought of running distance), then over to Sharkey's for lunch and a nice spell of time outside by the fountain.

I even walked across the street to the bank and the fancy yogurt place for a little treat and I STILL have plenty of time to to the other errands today, like food shop and other exciting things.

It is amazing how much free time I have when I am not driving all across the greater part of Southern California!

Streaker!

I was introduced to the concept of streak running a couple of years ago, after hearing on the radio a woman describe the process that she and her son followed for 2 years. It is a fascinating concept to me and admittedly, I can get obsessed enough about something to sign up for this kind of a deal.

Streak running is "to run at least one continuous mile each calendar day under one's own body power." This definition comes directly from the United States Running Streak Association, Inc. (yep, they even have their own website!), which a person can't even think about joining until the certify that they have run every day for at least one year! Incidentally, the longest streak on the registry is a whopping 42.5 years and there are 91 people on the list who have been running continuously for 20 years or more. That is some serious mileage!

I intended to do this streak running thing when I first heard about it back in 2009...on the 2nd day I got some crazy flu (a rarity) and that was the end of that. I talked to someone at Future Track who was on her 32nd day of streaking and LOVING it. She (Kelly, a newly signed-up MIM, hooray!) told me that the 1-mile option is what you use when you are tight on time, and she found that once she committed to this, she only ran 1-mile 2 or 3 times.

I do have the new shoes and I have been incorporating runs into more creative times in my schedule. I've got a 4-day trend going as of today...I might be admitting right now that I am a streaker!

Review Time - Significant or Successful?

It's review time at the swirly place, and as I went through the process of both my self and then supervisor review, I started to think about the discipline of assessing what we do each year, which then made me think about the whole significant vs. successful posting that I did last month.

As far as reviews go, things are fine, what's not to love? Actually, I will admit that by taking the whole successful filter off and putting on the significant lens instead, I got some great perspective around what I do, how I do it and most importantly, how I can do it better at work AND in life.

Character Counts is a phrase that my friend Eric used with me when we were talking about how we strive to be significant and that really resonated...character IS significant and is something that can't be manipulated to make someone seem successful.

These little reflections and reviews are a good thing, I wonder if I should have David & Schnoogs fill out a performance evaluation on me!

Speedy's Got Some New Shoes

A firm rule of runners in the running world is...don't mess with the shoes. Find a brand/style/pair you like and stick with them. Don't wear them to lounge around or do your errands in; they are the pristine tool of the trade and should be taken seriously.

It is no secret that I am not a fast or serious runner, but over the years I have evolved into a committed and consistent runner. I have also always worn the same brand of shoes - Nike - because my foot is fairly narrow and I have found that they fit me well, plus of course they pair nicely with the BEST technology invention in the world...the Nike+ system. I remember wearing Nike all the way back when I ran with my Dad (circa 1980) and have just always stuck with them, despite mocking from my fellow MIMs and running enthusiasts, all of whom have told me that there are better running shoes out there.

I was at Future Track (an awesome local shop if you are in the Ventura/Western End of the SF Valley area) last night for a meeting of the Ragnar Relay hopefuls. My current shoes are coming up on 2 years, and I am ready for a new pair, so I told Gloria (our coach extraordinaire and Future Track Manager) that it was time to set me up. She has all of my purchasing history in their system, so I didn't pay much attention to the process while I waited for the shoes to materialize.

Tricky Gloria brought the shoes to me out of the box, so as I grabbed the first one to try on, I didn't notice it...at first. This was a Saucony...hey! Gloria gave me her sly smile and said, "I really think you should try these, they will fit your foot well and I think that you will like them." She is the coach and runs something like a 7:30 mile (long distance, not just sprints), as well as she has been watching me lope around for the last 3 years, so clearly she knows what she is talking about.

I will admit, the new shoes are comfortable. But wait...my Nike+ battery! Already covered with a shoe sensor pocket that can be Velcroed to the top of the shoe. Change.....is....so....hard, BUT...I did it. I switched it up.

The turtle has got some new shoes. Let's see what kind of stats I post after tonight's run!

Hope

Hope has long been a part of my vernacular, but in the past 4 months, it has become at nearly the center of most things. I am working on an upcoming Walk to Emmaus with the word HOPE serving as an integral part of the message.

As I interact with more and more people around the word HOPE, I realize that it is truly an important word and attitude in our society, as it resonates for many on a variety of different levels. I have started paying attention to how often I hear the word, how people use it and how people respond to it. It is interesting (in my humble opinion) to see how some people react to the word; in some cases it is almost negative, as it seems to imply for some that there is not a lot of oomph in terms of action behind the belief.

There are a couple of people that I interact with at work that have an almost adverse reaction when the word HOPE is used. I like to watch the reaction when this happens, because it gives me some insight to what makes different people tick and how they handle adversity or anything outside of the "normal" range of expectations. For the most part, the anti-hope people are pretty clinical, live a little more in the black and white and are easy to slide over to the negative side of things. The HOPE peeps tend to be more in the cup is half full camp and can see through adversity with more options or alternatives.

I have not devoted any period of time to really analyzing this and all of my observations are anecdotal, but there does seem common threads in the HOPE vs. no HOPE individuals.

I hope that we can all get to a place where we believe that there is always a positive outcome!