Not a Running Blog

It would be so easy to turn this blog into something about running, but that would kill my soul.

And even though it would be seasonally appropriate, being Halloween and all, I prefer to keep my soul for now.

All I will say is that our team is still running - and I ran a total of 11 times in the month of October.  Not too shabby - especially since I never could've dreamed of that before.

But a LOT of other things have happened since my post on July 11th other than running.  Not only that, but they are things that are at LEAST 1000 times more interesting.  I'm going to employ a technique I've used before, which I like to call "Here Are the Things I Would Blog About If I Had More Time."

• I held a Christmas in July party - also referred to as Christmas Lite.  It was definitely a success...this may become a tradition.
• I served on Jury Duty for the first time, was assigned to a trial, and was the head Juror.
• My parents bought a brand new house! It's beautiful, single level, and only 3 miles from their old house.
• I went to PAX again this year - this time with my brother - and I was one of the Pajaggle champions of the weekend.  I actually won something.  At Pax!  
• I got an amazing new bed - and then promptly began traveling nonstop so I barely had a chance to use it.
• Byron and Christine got married in a weekend extravaganza on Whidbey Island.
• I learned my Myers-Briggs type: INTJ. I love it and it explains SO MUCH!
• I went to North Dakota with my dad and grandma - I haven't been to ND since I was probably 4 years old.
• (For the sake of chronological-ness, running began 2 days after I came back from ND)
• Jared and I went to LA during which the following things happened:
• Staying with Beth + Trivia Night
• 1 Day (17 hours) at Disneyland
• San Diego Zoo (OMG Pandas!!)
• We took a dance class from SYTYCD's Donyelle
• WE SAW A LIVE TAPING OF THE BIG BANG THEORY!!!!
• I had my dresser repaired and have completely moved back into my bedroom for the first time since MARCH!!!!  (Did I write about that? Probably not.  Surprise, surprise, there was a leak in my shower wall that destroyed part of my bedroom dresser last March.)
• Lindsay, Jared and I went to NYC where we...
• Saw 8 different shows (5 shows each)
• Saw 12 friends and family members
• Purchased 30+ Schmackary's cookies

I sincerely hope I have the time and energy to write about all of these adventures some day. I really think if I had the time I would enjoy writing about them!  I decided recently that what I NEED is an iPad with a keyboard.  Then I could take that anywhere and easily blog all the time.  Right? Right?  #RightToolsRightTime

To say I like to stay busy is an understatement.  When I look over the past few months all I feel is gratitude.  I'm a ridiculously lucky girl.

Team "Let's Run Tomorrow"

I went running yesterday.

And I didn't die.

I didn't even hate it, but don't tell anyone that yet.

Here's the thing - I've always HATED running.

• I think it's boring
• I think it's a waste of time
• There are at least 50 other ways I would rather work out

I don't say "never" often, but I firmly believe that I will never want to run a marathon. I won't bore you with my usual rant, but I cannot imagine spending that much time training, plus doing the running on the actual day - I just see it as time I'll never get back (and did I mention the boredom factor?)

That said - I've always acknowledged that this is ME. Obviously there are people who love running. That's fine.  There are things I love that other people don't like. Whatevs.

So why did I go running?

Jared, along with his brother and sister, have decided that they want to start running regularly at a track by their apartment, and I was invited to join them.

My initial reaction was to throw up.  In fact, Jared may regret ever bringing it up in the first place (he said I looked like when he invited me to go camping). We sort of had a pretend fight (much to Sara's amusement - as it happened in front of her).  Ok, kind of like a real fight, but not one where either of us was really angry.  But I was frustrated.  There were some other factors at play that I won't bore you with here.  On top of that, just talking about running stresses me out.

Beth told me once that she loves running because she just has to grab her shoes, her phone, and go.  To me - running isn't that simple.  It's extremely complicated and anxiety ridden:

• Do I have the right shoes? (Obviously I need the right tool for the task)
• Do I have the right clothes?
• Do I wear layers?
• What if it rains?
• Do I listen to music?
• Do I have an appropriate running playlist?
• Do my headphones stay in or do I need different ones?
• How am I carrying my music?
• What else am I carrying? Do I have my phone? keys? if not - where are they?
• Do I take water?
• Will I have a place to set things down?

I also can't workout without a plan.  This is why I'm almost completely hopeless left to my own devices in a gym, and why I almost always work out by taking a class or working with a trainer.  I'm unable to efficiently guide myself, and I can't stand working out inefficiently.

Jared: You know can always just....not go running with us.

Yeah, right.

So I went.

I don't really plan on running WITH Jared or his siblings at this point - it's more like "going running at the same time."  I needed my own plan, which is sort of following the c25k plan.  At least a little bit - to start - to provide me with a little more structure.  I'm definitely starting with a timed interval approach, and they're going more with distance.

It even turns out that my iPod Nano (6th generation) has an awesome fitness app - it tracks my time, distance, gives me updates while I'm running and plays my music over the top of it.  Um, perfect!

I could probably fill a book with the other side rants about running, my search for "signs" that I should run, the things I witnessed that were "definitely not signs," how talking about running still makes me want to throw up a little, how I still roll my eyes at the thought of running - but trying to do that would be how this blog never gets posted.

Katrina I just thought of our team name!!!!!!!  

Jared Our running team?  

Katrina......Obviously....  

Jared just checking 

#TeamSports  

so???  

Katrina Team name:"Let’s Run Tomorrow”:-D !!!  

Jared haha 

Katrina You're in charge of apparel

I've made some peace with the "waste of time" issue.  As long as any running endeavor is under an hour - that falls into an acceptable range.  Realistically that's how long I would spend in a dance class or with a trainer, so it falls into reasonable "working out" time frame.  That would also mean I could reasonably run a 5k at some point and feel ok with the time commitment.

So there you go. I had to document the start of my running journey, because someday I may love slightly enjoy running and it will be nice to come back here and read about how it all started while Jared laughs at me.

Accidental Cleverness

This is me really trying to blog.

Did you know that a lot of people in my life ask me to blog?  It's not just Valerie anymore.  It's lots of people. (If "lots of people" is any amount over 3.)

That's a lot of pressure on this pretend blogger!

What pressure you ask?  The pressure of a well rounded post, the pressure of always having a photo, because I read once that "a post is always better with a photo."  Not groundbreaking information...and an obvious statement besides.

A photo.  This post is about the jewelry I wore today, so the smart and RELEVANT thing to do would be to photograph the jewelry.  Or photograph me wearing it...but it's dark now, and the lighting in my apartment is weird, and it means I would have to stage a photo and edit it.

Even as I say that a part of my brain says "you can do it!" while the other side says "if you stop to take a photo you will NEVER finish this blog!"  Hmmmm....right vs left much?  My left is winning, even though my right is imagining what that photo would look like.

Instead you'll get this other photo that's already on my phone and edited....it's from July 5th right after I got my hair cut:

It's still relevant because I'm wearing another new[ish] and favorite jewelry item.  A small, persimmon colored House of Harlow suburst pendant.  I love it because it's small (the signature HoH sunbursts are bigger and on a longer chain) and it's "trendy" enough that I've actually received an "I love your House of Harlow necklace" comment from someone.  That's as trendy as I'll ever be, so I'll take it!

Oh, right...the jewelry I wore today.

A few months ago I found this website that had custom hashtag necklaces.  I fell in love with the idea.  I NEEDED one!  I LOVE hashtags.  Not in an annoying way, because I maintain that I'm always an appropriately enthusiastic fan [of things] - never a crazy, over the top fan.  I don't go out of my way to use them in a ridiculous way, but I think they're amazing because they actually gave us a new way to express a thought, feeling, or theme.  It's an actual advancement in language.  That may be romanticizing it a bit, but I really find it fascinating.  And useful.  (At the time that I'm writing this, the current name of the blog uses a hashtag "#KatBlog".  This is the second name of the blog.  The first name was "I remind myself of someone named Alice")

Back to the necklace...what should it be?!  I polled my friends....none of the hashtags I use for myself made sense on a necklace.  #Katriculous (haha) #RawrKat (love this #, but...a little strange to wear around my neck).  I realized that what would make the MOST sense would just be #Kat, but....no one very few people call me Kat in real life.

There went the custom necklace.  Then a couple weeks ago I found new inspiration in an instagram post.  Someone I followed was wearing hashtag earrings - GENIOUS!!!  WANT!!!  MUST HAVE!!!

.....

They were harder to find than you think.  I wanted silver, but I took the first decent looking pair I found, which were gold.  That's fine - I equally wear gold and silver.  No one (as in...none of my friends) knew that I was looking for hashtag earrings.  I wanted to debut them and hear a chorus of "oh my gosh - hashtag earrings!!  How PERFECT!!!"  This plan led to disappointment.  No one seems to notice them. To be fair, they're studs, and I have long hair that probably blocks my earrings most of the time, but...they're so amazing - how can people not see that?!

I caved and pointed them out to Jared.  I wish I hadn't done that - it made it less fun.  I won't do that with anyone else.  That was exceptionally hard today for two reasons.  (Oh hey...this is the ACTUAL story I logged in to write about.)  One: I had lunch with Byron.  Byron would totally appreciate my hashtag earrings, having been along for the whole hashtag ride.  Two: Without thinking, I also wore my gold Marc by MJ necklace that has his little signature bird on it.  At a glance....I'm wearing a bird necklace and hashtag earrings.  It's like Twitter, but not, and better, because it was an accident.

Byron didn't notice...no one noticed.  #SighStorm

Which is why I wrote this today...because I can't tell anyone about my awesome new earrings.  Except you.

Happy 4th of July!

Seattle Fireworks Display ~ 7/4/10

Did I ever tell you about the time I worked for the 4th of July Committee in Vancouver, WA?

The committee was responsible for the fireworks show which used to be the largest 4th of July fireworks display west of the Mississippi River.  I don't think it's actually the biggest anymore, but it's nice to have that history.

Vancouver, WA (USA!) has a historic district near downtown and a Fort (Fort Vancouver of course!) so take my word for it, the town feels very patriotic, and it's a great place for a big fireworks display.

Working for the 4th of July Committee was one of my first paying jobs as a teenager, and one of my most favorite jobs of all time.  We sold fireworks to fund the display, and when I say we sold fireworks....I mean we worked in a huge fireworks tent!  Now, take whatever you're thinking when I say "fireworks tent" and triple it in size...and then add at least 12 registers...and shopping carts. 

I worked there for...I want to say 5 years.  Without boring you with all the details, it was a great lesson in leadership, overtime, controversy, retail, fireworks law, teamwork, and above all it was a blast.  Customers buying fireworks are [usually] happy, and I've never personally seen so much cash in my LIFE.

I grew up going to the fireworks show with my parents.  I can remember sitting on blanket in the grass, sitting in my mom's lap and her leaning back and saying "woooaaah!!!" with the big explosions, and then leaving the park with THOUSANDS of other people!  How on earth did we even get there....or get home with so many people!?!  Other years we watched from my dad's office building - they had a lounge on the top floor with a great view.

Once I started working with the 4th of July Committee, going to the show was less important.  I was exhausted by that night, plus I was older and more interested in setting off my own fireworks than going to the show.  Although one year we were given VIP passes and allowed to drive down near the airfield where they set them off.  That was pretty sweet. :-)

Being me, as much as I love fireworks, I also have a healthy respect for the danger that surrounds the holiday.  If you're setting off fireworks tonight, please be safe! Keep water near by, never relight, don't hold fireworks in your hands, and take care of your pets!

In the midst of all of your celebrating, take a moment to remember the reason for the holiday.  I often think about how I could've born anywhere in the world, and I'm incredibly grateful to have been born in the United States.

Happy Birthday America!

Gatsby - 14 Years Later

New York - High Line Park

Hello Lemon Ricotta Cookie Bakers!

I hope your cookies are turning out well - has anyone discovered a way to make them not quite as flat?

This year blogging got off on the wrong foot. I didn't even post my annual Kat Recap. I still intend to post it, but every time I think about doing it - something gets in the way.  I think it's something that has to do with pictures, but I can't remember.

Anyway, the year is off to a pretty good start, but since I never posted the recap, I felt like I couldn't write about other things.  So that means that our AJP trip to LA, Dare to Dance, San Francisco, my Birthday, the Glee Flash Mob, Sock Puppets, Easter, and New York (oh, New York) will just have to wait.

But tonight I will write about Gatsby, because I read it and now I feel like writing.  Actually, I feel like writing most days, but I feel like I can't because I don't have the time, and if I have the time to write, certainly I have time to clean my apartment or do any of the million things on my To Do List.

I started Gatsby over the weekend and then read the majority of it between Sunday and Monday.  Why?  "Book Club" is tomorrow and we're going to see the new movie.  Technically I didn't have to read the book for book club...because that's the kind of book club we are, but since I have always sucked at book clubbing, I thought it would be nice to pretend like I CAN be a person who reads the book and then...possibly contributes to a discussion about it.

I fail at book clubbing because I don't have opinions that I care to defend regarding the "issues" that "matter" in a book.  I don't care to discuss themes or intention - or perhaps I'll discuss them but I'm not going to argue with you about it.  I also can't always articulate why I liked or disliked something. It does not make for lively discussion.  Plus I get bored of people just sharing "interesting" points or guessing at what certain things mean.  See?  This is why I don't usually book club.

But I really do enjoy reading!  While it seems like my reading pattern comes down to poor planning, I think I subconsciously enjoy burying myself for hours in a book rather than reading a few chapters a day.  I like the feeling to emerging from a story and having to remember where I am.  Then it can take hours or days for me to fully recover; it's like I walk around in the fog of the story - it surrounds me until it slowly dissipates over time.

Of course it worked to my favor this time that The Great Gatsby is a short novel.  I have to say, it was refreshing to read something that jumps to the point - "...and then THIS happened.  Now let me tell you about this other day - in the middle of the page.  Oh, you thought I had more to say about that first night?  You would be wrong.  Moving on."  I can appreciate the concise.

One thing I always notice in books is when authors use the similar phrases to describe things.  Fitzgerald uses a lot of color in his descriptions ..but leans heavily toward the white, grey, and silver.  I don't want to discuss what that means - I just notice it.  The author is always either making a point or was stuck on ways to describe things.

14 Years Later..? This book was of course on our high school reading list.  Supposedly I read it my senior year.  I'm not certain that actually happened.  I remember having the book; I even remember taking it on an airplane to read over spring break....but honestly it was like reading it for the first time this weekend.  I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't actually read it senior year...I was really busy that spring! :-)

The Movie.  There are mixed reviews.  I don't care - it will be beautiful.  Leo will be perfect for the role. (I basically feel that he can do no wrong.  I can't wait until some day when my kids make fun of him and I'm all "you don't understand!!!!")  It's so hard for me to actually imagine the opulent 20's - did they really exist?  Of course the movie will add an element of fantasy, and that afterward I'll still never fully comprehend that the roaring 20's were real and not fiction.

...someone told me once that I was their Daisy.  Not an very flattering comment.  I can assure you that it had nothing to do with wealth or my driving abilities and that it had more to do with being sought after from afar and my inability to meet [unrealistic] expectations.  Not much I can do about that one, is there?  I wonder if that will come up at book club.

*Cheers to tomorrow - [and since I don't believe in running] Here's to stretching out your arms farther!*

Dreams 2013 Edition - Part 1

I like posting about dreams because

1. My dreams are weird
2. I would probably forget about them if i didn't post them
3. I usually email the details to friends the next morning, so for the most part I'm just copying and pasting to post them here - with a few extra special details for my imaginary readers.

Here are the dreams I've remembered so far this year...

• Car accident. I pulled onto the freeway but there was an unexpected cloverleaf turn and my car spun around and hit the side railing backwards.  Apparently I was fine and luckily this was not a nightmare or otherwise "scary" dream.

• Someone came over to see me at my parents house (where I was staying in my old room - that still looked like my room) from work with a work issue (items not being priced correctly).  They just showed up uninvited and started dumping out bags of merchandise onto the floor.  I fell asleep while they were talking and they left in a huff.  I found out later that they were really upset, but it didn't bother so much because they had barged into my/my parents' home.

• I was on a college campus, it's raining, I'm trying to find my class.  I don't know why I assumed it would be in a certain building, but it wasn't.  Then I couldn't find the right building on the map.  Then I ran into a friend who wanted to meet up later (for New Year's?) and was trying to arrange where we should meet, but I was trying to rush because I was late for class.  Also, I was barefoot. 

• I was the only person who could kill some sort of monster in some sort of body of water that was only accessible during the lowest possible tide - even though I think it was a lake and appeared to be in my parent's back yard. All I could use to kill it were matches (matches on a long stick).  Killing it involved lighting a match and sticking it in his mouth. I didn't know this ahead of time, but was apparently what I figured out when I faced him. I kept having trouble keeping a match lit long enough.  Luckily the monster was patient and waited for me to get one to stay lit long enough to kill him.  Once I stuck a lit match in his mouth he turned to dust.

• I have a boyfriend with a young son (as in - the child was his, not mine - older than 5, less than 10) and we went to some...place.  It was kind of like a science center but more artsy.  For example, at one station you could use colored wax and different shaped molds to make your own crayons. I was wearing a t-shirt, from some..convention I had attended?  No clue what kind, but why was I wearing this t-shirt in public?!  That is definitely unlike me.  This was clearly some sort of alternate universe.  (In telling this dream to some of my friends, their first comment was also "that doesn't sound like you" in regards to wearing the t-shirt.)

• In another I had a panda bear that I had rescued (although I kept accidentally calling it a koala and confusing people).  I rescued it from somewhere snowy, and was in the process of bringing it home.  Someone had secured a crate for me to use to bring him on the plane, and we were getting ready to go at my parents' house. I went to check on him and he was out of the crate!!!  He was just hanging out in the family room, and then he started talking to me.  I don't remember what he said, but I think he wasn't trying to escape - he just didn't want to wait in the crate.  There was also a bird cage in the room, and I think he asked if they were coming too and I said no - that the birds belonged to my brother and that I was scared of birds.  Then a talking chicken showed up and I spoke with him too, but I can't remember that conversation was about.  I guess I'm not scared of chickens?  At some point in this dream I told someone else that all the animals can understand and speak English - they just chose not to most of the time.

You Had Me @ Season 6

Here is a great example of why I'm not a great blogger:

I just (within the last month or so) started watching The Big Bang Theory.  I LOVE IT!

(Oh, happy new year by the way.  See?  Worst blogger ever.)

I'm doing my thing on the internet - catching up on people and reading 15 different things at once - when I start constructing a blog entry in my head (aka talking to an imaginary friend)...

But Imaginary Friend!!! I can't tell you about my love of the Big Bang Theory without telling you how half hour sitcoms have only recently re entered my life (within the past two years - see my 2011 recap where I blame Jared and Sara for my spike in television viewing).

And how can I tell you that I maybe haven't felt this way about a show since Friends?! (gasp!!)

I haven't even told you HOW MUCH I love Friends!! (I almost typed "loved" #ShameSpiral)

And I can't tell you about Friends without prefacing that I didn't start watching it until I was in college, because I didn't really watch TV in high school.  (Not for any weird reason.  I was just REALLY busy in high school and didn't have time to get into any shows.  The last shows I remember watching on a regular basis when I was living with my parents were Growing Pains and Who's the Boss.)

So you see...I can't tell you about The Big Bang Theory without telling you my whole life story, which I would never have time to write but at the same time is one of the reasons I attempt to blog...and one of the roadblocks that often prevents me from posting.

*Sigh, Deep Breath*

Let's give this a try...

Friends

The first episode of Friends that I really watched was the finale of Season 6.  Spoiler Alert: It was the year that Chandler proposed to Monica.  Why was I even watching it?  I am a sucker for finales, even if I don't regularly watch the show.  I taped the series finale of Dawson's Creek, having never watched a single episode of the show.  The first episode I ever watched of 90210 was their high school graduation.  I just tivo'd the series finale of 30 Rock.  You can see this is an established pattern.

I know Friends better than any other show in the history of my life.  I'm practically at a loss for how to describe how integrated into my life that show has been.  There is always a Friends quote to support what is happening around me, and I'm lucky to have several [real] friends who can quote with me and understand my references.

If you added up the number of times I've watched Friends episodes, it is EASILY in the thousands.  My old TV was one of the TV/VCR combo deals that I sat on top of a DVD player.  Most DVDs wouldn't play on my tv because they could tell they were being attached to a VCR that had the power to make illegal copies.  Oddly enough, seasons two through ten of Friends played just fine, so for YEARS, Friends episodes were the only DVDs I watched in my dorm room (and then later my bedroom when I moved off campus).  After the first few hundred viewings, Friends episodes are the perfect background filler.  Reliable, funny, and they help you keep track of the time! (What can I accomplish in 22 minutes?)

I could go on and on about Friends, but that's a story for another time.  We're here to talk about The Big Bang Theory today.

The Big Bang Theory

Much like with Friends, I'm late to the game.  Unlike Friends, I didn't fall hard and fast in love.

I had seen an episode here or there.  Wasn't super impressed; plus the opening reminds me about things that happened a million years ago - that's always daunting.  But times change (in even shorter spans than millions of years).  Winter Hiatus - a television phenomenon that I have often toyed with as a blog subject (you know, in chats with my imaginary friend).  Winter hiatus arrived and after a fast and dirty Netflix revival (I knew there was a reason why I was still paying them) I turned to reruns of TBBT.

Then an episode made me laugh at loud, and so did another, and another - until enough of them made me laugh to make me think that I might actually be a fan.  And now I know I'm in love.

But why am I writing about TBBT this way and not How I Met Your Mother.  HIMYM, which I've been faithfully watching for over a year, and is sometimes so in tune with things I say or do in my own life that I swear Neil Patrick Harris is spying on me.  (Come say hi, NPH; I'll be cool - I swear!)  HIMYM takes place in New York, has characters that are closer to me in age and place-in-life, and, did I mention they have Neil Patrick Harris?  It sounds like an obvious win.  I've been thinking about this while writing tonight and I realized that as much as I adore NPH, I probably wouldn't be friends with Barney in real life, and I definitely wouldn't be friends with Ted or Robin.  While the chances of me befriending a group of hard core geniuses is also pretty slim...as people, I feel more in tune with the characters of TBBT.  Physics doesn't hold my attention for long (omg - high school honors physics - that's a story for another time), but the quest for answers, reason and logic, combined with a little OCD hits close to home and heart.  My inner geek is brought out by musicals rather than comic books, but I can still connect to that type of enthusiasm.

So here I am, with a new set of Friends, complete with present day cell phones and computers.  I told Jared the other night that I feel like TBBT came into my life at just the right time.  It sounded ridiculously corny of course, but I meant it sincerely.  Interestingly, The Big Bang Theory is in its 6th season. Does that mean anything?  Probably not, but just like a good TV show - it feels like it does.

Thankful

When Facebook becomes a frenzy of "Things I'm Thankful For" in the month of November, I pull back.  Not because I'm against posting those things on Facebook - I've often posted about things I'm thankful for on FB, but for some reason the posts during November feel forced and insincere.

For me personally, posting like that in November almost diminishes the level of true gratitude I feel for the blessings in my life.

In every publication of the magazine Real Simple, there is a Thoughts page at the front with a quote for the month.  The December 2012 quote was

It is a miracle if you can find true friends, and it is a miracle if you have enough food to eat, and it is a miracle if you get to spend your days and evenings doing whatever it is you like to do, and the holiday season - like all other seasons - is a good time not only to tell stories of miracles, but to think about the miracles in your own life, and to be grateful for them.
~Lemony Snicket "The Lump of Coal"

I can rarely make it through that quote without crying.  One thing that really stuck out to me about the quote was it's focus on friendship.  I've been blessed beyond measure with some of the most wonderful friends. I also feel the quote sums up so beautifully that all of the blessings in life truly are miracles.  Every happiness, comfort and companion in my life could just as easily not be a reality.  How could a Facebook post, or even this blog, do justice in conveying my gratitude?  I cut the quote out of the magazine and framed it with the picture above.  It's a picture taken at my 30th birthday dinner.  While it doesn't include all of my dearest friends, it does include all of my friends that went with me to see Spring Awakening on stage in January 2011.  I think the combination of friendship, celebration, eating at one of my favorite restaurants (Dragonfish!) and the theatre connection make it a great match for the quote.  The frame will probably stay out all year, but I'll feature it prominently in my holiday decorations.

It's basically taking what others might post on Facebook and displaying it in my home as a visual, every day reminder of the miracles in my life.