5k the Day Away

I ran a 5k this morning. Last February I ran my first 5k. Last time my time was 52:27. I beat my time today by 3 minutes. Hooray!
Here are my stats.

And this is how sweaty and gross I am after I finished. Thank you to the stranger standing in line behind me for taking this picture and not running off with my phone. I'm not sure I could have outrun you to get it back.

Thank you to everyone who supported me and all of your encouraging words. It really means a lot to me and keeps me going.
Look for me at my next organized run which will be in September 18 at Lake Merced. And of course you'll be able to find me running along my usual routes in the morning before work.

The Sandwich Line - don't do it wrong, Michael Keaton

Hubby tells me that when he fishes in a spot he's never been to before or or hasn't been to in quite some time he always takes a few minutes to evaluate the motions of the waves physical properties of the landscape upon which the waves are crashing. Is there an undercurrent? How big are the waves? Are there rocks protruding (or not) that affect the way the waves hit the coastline. Is the tide waxing or waning? That sort of stuff. Doing all that keeps him safe, keeps him alive, and prepares him for his fishing adventure.

I think it's a good rule to follow and should be carried out in other activities in one's life, for example, ordering a sandwich at a deli you've never been to before.

Let's say you are a tourist from The Netherlands and you're walking through San Francisco with your family. You just finished climbing up to Coit Tower and back down again and you think to yourself that lunch sounds good. You walk into the nearest deli and proceed to order yourself a sandwich.

Seems simple enough, but what you don't realize is that you're standing in the 'pick up' section to order your lunch, and not the 'order' section, then after you place your order you proceed to stand in the 'order' side, thus making everyone think you are waiting to order. The line piles up behind you. Everyone wonders why you're not moving ahead, and why your family keeps (seemingly) taking cuts in line.

Now let's say you're doing this on a weekday, during the lunch rush when people like me have to get in and get out because her boss made her go out and get him a sandwich because he had tons of meetings and couldn't get out, and yeah, it's a pain but hey, I'm paid by the hour and I get the same amount of money if I type up notes from an important meeting or leaving the building to go get a sandwich.

Just like the waves crashing onto one beach is different from waves crashing onto another beach, the sandwich ordering process varies from deli to deli. Some delis have a number system. Some have a clustering-honor system, and some, like the deli I get my boss' lunch at have a clear line, and (just as important) that winds around a specific way so that different parts of the store aren't bottle-necked.

What you should have done to ensure a flawless execution in obtaining lunch is take a step back and observe how the line works, and what people normally do when they order from this particular deli. 

It's like that scene in Mr. Mom when Michael Keaton drops his kids off for school. He drives into the driveway that the rest of the cars are exiting. His kids start screaming at him "you're doing it wrong." He tells them they're crazy, then the crossing guard (emphasis on cross) pounds on his windshield and screams at him "you're doing it wrong."

If you don't know how the sandwich line works, you should step back and observe for a moment or people will get mad.
If you don't know how the ocean waves work you should step back and observe or you can get seriously injured or die.

I Love You : An Open Letter to Brian Wilson

Dear Brian Wilson,

I love you. Not in a romantic sort of way. You're an OK guy and all but you're not my husband. You're not even Cody Ross, who I'm super crushing on. My son is too. Whenever my Cody is at bat I say "oh, there's my boyfriend," and then my 3 year old son says "he's my boyfriend, too," but not my 12 year old daughter. She crushes on Pablo Sandoval, but not really because she complains every time there's a game on.

So why do I love you? Because of this...

I love that you wear your spandex tuxedo to the ESPY Awards with such confidence and style. While I can't figure out if you are White Face or Red Nose I love the journey in trying to solving that puzzle.

Have a good night.
Andrea

4.03 miles! Take *THAT* Miles Davis!

This is what I did this evening. I ran 4.03 miles. It's the farthest I've ever run without stopping. OK, I did stop at the half way point to brag on Facebook how I made it halfway, but it took less time than one whole song on my walkman, so I didn't really stop for a long enough time to loose my groove.
Running from Sloat to Lincoln was pretty easy. The music coming through my headphones ranged from Raymond Scott to King Crimson. Coming back wasn't as easy. I talked myself through it, telling myself that if I could make it to Noriega I could certainly make it to Pacheco and if I could make it to Pacheco I could certainly make it to Rivera, and so on and so on. But then the walkman's random playlist seemed to take a turn for the mellow. Robert Cazimero playing piano and singing does not make for a fast paced beat. I was grateful when the song ended but then Miles Davis' Kind of Blue? Are you kidding me? I needed to slow down, reach for my walkman and change the song. Good thing I did because The Pogues sang me through the last few blocks with the Pachinko song. Thank you Shane McGowan.
In the end, my little pep-talk to myself and hitting the shuffle button on my walkman worked. I made it the whole way and I didn't die.
As I sit here, on my comfy couch with a comfy blankie, a comfy sweatshirt, a nice glass of wine, Chopped on the TV and IcyHot on my back, I think I'm very proud of myself that I finished the run I had planned. I know that there are lots and lots of people who run faster and greater distances than me, so 4.03 miles may not seem like such a big deal, but to me it is. So there!

David - One of the Good Ones.

A friend from my elementary / junior high school died over the holiday weekend. Although I have mixed feelings about the school itself, and the time I spent there, there were a few people who stood out as "the good ones." David was one of them.

Here's his obituary. It was originally published in the Austin American Statesman. 

David Alan Eddington

David Alan Eddington Dave was born in Inglewood, CA January 10, 1969 and died July 3, 2011 near Port O'Connor, TX. He is survived by his mother Diane (Dee) Eddington, brother Ragan Eddington of Lake Havasu City, AZ, brother Mike Eddington of San Jose, CA, his fiancé Carmen Valera of Austin, TX, close cousin Suz Blaue of Huntington Beach CA, and family and dear friends everywhere. Dave never met a stranger, even when he traveled throughout the world, from Ireland to Thailand, and countless other places. You couldn't help but like him, he had an announcer's voice, an easy smile and a genuinely caring personality. If it was important to you, it was important to Dave. Dave was baptized at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Inglewood and attended Bethany Lutheran School in Long Beach, CA where he was confirmed. He achieved the highest honor of Boy Scouts of America, Eagle Scout. After graduating in 1987 from J.F. Kennedy High School in Long Beach, he attended Long Beach City College, then graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with an Associate Degree in Professional Aeronautics. Dave was most recently employed as Director of Maintenance for Azlonair Service in Austin, TX, where he has lived for the past 11 years. He was also a licensed private pilot, working towards a commercial license with jet rating. In addition to flying, Dave loved scuba diving, boating, fishing, cooking and cars. Dave will always be dearly loved by his family, fondly remembered by his friends, and deeply missed by all who knew him. He was predeceased by his father, Ron Eddington, and younger infant brother, Jonathan. A memorial service will be held in Austin, TX on Sunday July 10, 2011, at 2:00 p.m. at Risen Savior Lutheran, 2811 Aftonshire Way, Austin, TX 78748. Following services a reception will be held at Carmen's family home at 1707 E. 6th Street Austin, TX 78702. A second memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, July 16, 2011, at Our Savior Lutheran Church, 3163 Maricopa Ave., Lake Havasu City, Arizona 86406. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Mercy Medical Airlift.
Published in Austin American-Statesman on July 8, 2011

This is my favorite David story.
I was in the 9th or 10th grade. David was in the class one year older. We went to youth group called "ROCK" (Recreation of Christian kids). One night we all went on a progressive dinner; one course being served at a different house, from appetizer to dessert. At the first house there was a TV on. It was showing some monster movie, something about piranha or alligators eating people - standard monster-movie formula of pretty girls getting eaten by stuff, scientists that had everything wrong, cranky old weird guy who saved the day, etc. There were probably about 20 of us there. All 20 of us started watching the movie, much to the chagrin of our counselors. The next house we went to someone promptly found a TV so we could continue watching the monster movie. The counselors were getting mad that we weren't mingling. At each house we would search for the nearest TV and crowd around to see who was going to get attacked and eaten next. By the time we got to the house that had dessert, the counselors had given up trying to stop us and decided to join in the fun. It wasn't the evening that everyone had planned for us, but it was fun, nonetheless. The best part was that for part of the night David held my hand and at the end of the evening, stole a kiss goodnight.

Rest in Peace, David.