Updates of a sorted variety

I am currently suffering from too many thoughts for posts and not enough time to post them.  So I will resort to the bulleted list:

• I've been thinking about switching over to tumblr.com.  I've known about them for years but didn't really see any advantage until Wifey started using it.  Of course that would require time and dedicated effort (neither of which I really have right now).
• I have a Twitter handle: what _runnery.  But don't get excited, I've had it for about a month and just posted my first tweet today, a tweet that has nothing to do with running.
• Might adopt a dog today--there are a couple adoption events in the city today and we're visiting two of them.
• I donated blood on Wednesday.  Unexpected side effect to giving blood: running becomes really hard!  It's bad enough that I'm pushing myself hard for this training cycle, but now I'm fatiguing like no one's business.
• Summer is so freaking close...meaning that it's almost BBQ season!  I can't wait!  Not only will the sRod household BBQ be firing up weekly(ish) but we've already purchased VIP passes to the Big Apple BBQ Block Party.
• I'm eyeing up the Mount Desert Island Marathon in Maine for October.  Registration is filling up fast so I might be registering in the week or so.
• The Historic Half is 2.5 weeks away and I'm...not prepared.  I've been trying to run faster, but I think I found my ceiling.  It doesn't help that I've been traveling like crazy during training (Miami, Philadelphia, and Hong Kong, just in the past six weeks).  It's also allergy season now, so my sinuses are about as useful as a cement-filled drain pipe.  The blood donation above doesn't help the situation.  This race will be interesting indeed.

If everyone else did it...

...then yes I would jump off a bridge.


Thia ABCs of Me meme is making it's round around the blogosphere.  So I'm throwing in my 26 cents:


Age: 27--although I that really seems a lot older than I feel.

Bed size: Queen

Chore you hate: loading the dishwasher.  I'm awesome at everything else (laundry, cooking, cleaning) but I can't seem to bring myself to load the dishwasher or empty it.

Dogs: I love dogs and really, really want one.  However, we're trying to do the good thing and adopt one which is really hard when you're constantly traveling and live in a small apartment (and therefore need a small dog).  And the paperwork for some of these rescues!  It's like applying for a mortgage.

Essential start your day item: a bowl of frosted mini-wheats with a banana

Favorite color: blue, any and all shades

Gold or silver: er, white gold? 

Height: as an adult I thought I was 5'11", but my co-workers didn't believe me and measured me at 5'9"--which I don't believe

Instruments: I dabbled in piano for probably six months as a kid...man was that piano teacher crazy.  Always wanted to play a string instrument like the violin, but I quickly realized that I don't really have any musical talent

Job title: Strategy Supervisor

Kids: not yet

Live: New York City, specifically in Astoria

Mom's name: Aurea

Nicknames: eh, I've never been a big person for nicknames, but sRod is the only one that has really had traction after childhood

Overnight hospital stay: never, but as a kid I did want to stay a hospital so that I could eat the food.  I know that's weird.  there was just something about the neat organized tray that I wanted to experience.

Pet peeve: lately it has been bad subway etiquette, but there are plenty of others

Quote from a movie: lately I've been quoting "you don't eat no meat?" a lot

Right or left handed: correct handed

Siblings: one older sister

Time you wake up: if I'm running it's 530, if I'm not then 650, Sat/Sun usually 715

Underwear: often

Vegetable you dislike: cucumbers (yes, I know they are a fruit, but  really hate them and they are often served with veggies)

What makes you late: my wife-- :) love you!!!

X-rays you've had done: once when I thought I busted my knee by running too much (turned out my IT band was too tight from never having been stretched)

Yummy food you make: banana cake and basically any form of omelette

Zoo animal favorite: tiger

Random thoughts

Some things I'm thinking about while waiting for my boss to show up for this 2pm meeting he called (yes, it's Sunday, and yes, it's 3pm right now):

• FML
• I should have planned to go to the beach yesterday. Mr. Weatherman you lied about the rain on Saturday--it was perfect summer weather. I need to place less trust in your forecasts.
• I really, really, really want a dog. Particularly this one. Or this one. Stupid landlord and his no pets rule.
• I would prefer a job that rewarded me for the amount of work I put in.
• I really need to sell that table from our kitchen and those shelves we don't use and donate some random stuff lying around the apartment.
• I'm very curious about how life would be if I wasn't in New York
• My in-laws' bakery seems to be having a good summer, I hope they can keep the business going through the winter.

That's it for now.

A funny joke

Flipping through this week’s issue of New York magazine, I caught this joke by comedienne Claudia Cogan:

“Until the financial crisis, I thought a 401(k) was an unusually long marathon. I couldn’t understand why my co-workers kept signing up. To me, it was just a way to mess up a Sunday.”

I started laughing to myself and realized I had just become that crazy guy on subway who laughs to himself a little too loudly.

I've got nothing

The running blog muse has neglected me this week. Normally, I have a ton of ideas to write up or experiences to share or gym carnies to tear apart--so many that I never have enough time to write them all up. But this week, nothing. I have some half ideas, but nothing fully baked. Even though I keep a reserve of topics for just such a situation, none of those topics (you know, the posts that you're always meaning to write but never do) are particularly attractive today.

Would this be blogger's block? And the cure would be a little meta-blogging? Eh.

I have 16 miles on schedule for tomorrow. It should be an interesting snowy/rainy 16 miles. Actually, I'm not looking forward to it. The excitement of winter running--i.e., how freakishly cold will it be today and what feats of daring-do will it produce?--has lost it token intrigue. I really just wantto have a run in decent temperatures. 50 degrees is all I'm asking for. Of course, maybe if I didn't go out of town on the weekends that it's nice around here I wouldn't have this problem.

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Update: After being behind on my Google Reader for months (since October?) I have finally caught up on all of your posts! No more delayed comments or missed giveaways for me!

General update

This was supposed to post yesterday. But due to my neighbor's wi-fi freaking out when I hit publish, I didn't make it. So enjoy the slightly delayed post.


No theme to today's post, just want to get a couple of thoughts out.

First, yesterday was a rather amazing day. I felt tingles listening to the speeches and seeing the truly massive crowds gathered for the Inaugural. (Just to put things in perspective 1.5 million people is roughly the population of Manhattan. Wow.) But perhaps what will stick in my memory the most is this segment from The Colbert Report where he points out that the question of the day to African-Americans was "did you ever think you'd live to see this day?" At which point the African-American reporter (a goatee bearing Tim Meadows) says that he's selling t-shirts that say "Yes, I did think I'd live to see this day." Genius. Now where can I get one of those t-shirts?

On the running front, I'm thinking of volunteering at the NYRR Half-Marathon Grand Prix Manhattan this Sunday. The only thing holding me back is that it will be about 15 degrees when the race starts. If I was running it, I'd be fine, but I froze my butt off when Wifey and I volunteered at the NYCM--and that was in the 40s. There's also the 6:30 call for volunteers (ouch!).

Also, I'm feeling a gym carnies post coming up, but I'm trying something different this time around. You'll see soon enough. Heh heh heh.

One last thing: I think I'm settling on the DC, New Hampshire, Flying Pig combo for the spring. Now I have to make travel arrangements and update the blog labels.