Joys of After Market - or light at the end of the tunnel

And here's to the Joys of Craigslist as well. I am unable to access eBay from work, but craigslist.org is available. I have a new AirPort wireless card I'll be picking up tomorrow. I feel rather dead in the water without internet access at home. Truth be told, I have finished two books since Sunday when my internet wireless card bit the dust.

Once I pick up the AirPort wifi card I get to be a computer geek for a little bit until it is installed. I am told (there's a scary phrase), I am told that Mac's are notoriously intuitive and self-explanatory to fix. I'm crossing my fingers anyway.

Someone remind me to uncross my fingers once I actually begin the installation process. It should be easier to install if my fingers are all in proper placement.

Internet woes

It seems my internet access is down for a bit. My wireless internet card is fried as far as I can tell. I don't have a hard wire connection at home to test this theory with. I'm still actively lurking from work, mind you. But, posting from home repleate with photos is going to be put off until I get a replacement wireless internet card.

Wouldn't you know work internet access denies access to eBay. Go figure.

At the Brewery

Every week the team runs from a new location. I am getting my sightseeing in at the same time as training for this marathon. This week we met at the Redhook Brewery. I find it interesting it is right next door to the St Michel Winery. Why couldn't we meet there?

Have I mentioned I like my coaches? I love my coaches. Here's some of our coaches reminding us this is an endurance run, not a speed event. They are probably taking about hydration or nutrition here. I appreciate the reminders. It's still cool out and I do forget to drink more water. If it were hot I would be hydrating without being reminded (I hope).

This week my legs have been feeling like Jello during the day. The runs have been great. I warm up slow, the second half is strong - and a little faster. But, during the day when I stand up it takes a moment for my legs to warm up under me. I mentioned this to Coach yesterday and she asked me if I am doing any strength training. My initial reaction was, "Well, yes. I'm running." But, nooooo. According to my coach I'm supposed to be doing strength training on top of all this running. When I'm done exercising I should be getting in some exercising. I'm still mulling on that one. Maybe I'll take that beer after all.

Here I was doing so good too. I ran 5 miles in 60 minutes. This is very good. This is grand. I'm working up to a 10 minute mile. This half marathon is still going to take me 2 hours. And the sight-seeing has been lovely.

Leg Bone's connected to the...

Yes, it's marathon madness again. Not so much the bones that are keeping me from doing the mile in under 6 minutes (dream on!) but the muscles.

According to the above picture and my coach - have I mentioned how much I love my coach? - the bicep femoris and semimembranosus as well as the vestus lateralis are extremely tight and need a deep tissue massage. Coach says to roll around on some frozen tennis balls to get the deep tissue massage I need. We're basically talking about my butt muscles becoming tight - but not in a good way - because of the workout the side and rear muscles are getting.

I don't know about the frozen tennis balls yet. They are still in the freezer. I've been stretching yoga style - the pidgeon pose among others. I find it interesting that I found my coach to ask about the stiffness in the muscles surrounding my knee and instead she says it's the muscles that reach up the side of my leg and are part of my hip and gluteus maximus. The more I stretch those muscles this evening the less my knee bothers me. Who am I to question?

Songs going through my head...Hip bone connected to the leg bone. The leg bone connected to the shin bone. Or better yet, let's get out some spoons and do the hambone.

Cleaning up

To continue the thought from my last post, the thought of "getting ready" for the next era, age whatever you wish to call it, I have a feeling my life vaguely resembles the wonderful Disney/Pixar character, Wall-e. Wall-e is a little droid that cleans up the earth after the departure of people. It's a cute little movie. (These are the crazy ramblings my brain takes on when I'm running...welcome to my brain on endorphins.)

Wall-e is rather a happy little dude, doing what it is he does. He collects treasures throughout his days and takes them home to surround himself with all these interesting momentoes. While I have a more minimalist lifestyle, I certainly feel I have collected my share of momentoes - mental and otherwise. And I certainly feel I am doing a minimalist work for a greater good. Other than that...Wall-e just downright adorable. I'm working on that part.

Futurist

Here's an interesting moment from yesterday that has knocked my socks off in terms of "why" I am doing this incredibly mundane chore at work. I know, lately work related posts have started creeping into my blog here. My apologies, but in the meantime...the reasons why I work, what works and how to make my work meaningful consume my thoughts lately. Especially as the work I'm doing is so un-enticing, so un-interesting, so boring (my butt hurts often, I have to get up and walk around for no apparent reason.). The contracted job currently is to go through old files, remove staples, thumb through pages and pages of notes and throw away reams and reams of paper that is no longer necessary. I organize the remaining few pages left so that they may be scanned into the computer (and then these pieces of paper too will be thrown out). There is no analysis. There is no reason to read any of these pages. If it has a signature, keep it. If it doesn't, throw it out.

I read so many blogs these days. I found one by David Houle. The concept discussed is the "Transformation Decade" of the "Shift Age". Houle, a futurist (a job I've never heard of before), explains that everything is changing. Everything. We went from the Industrial Age to the iInformation Age. Houle states the 70's was the time in between. The 70's were the upheaval that "prepared" us for the new age. Houle proposes that we are in the upheaval for the next age, the "Shift Age". I'm only sorry he has given it an innocuous name. I believe things never really stopped shifting from the 70's. The shifts are simply more like earthquakes these days, but I've been learning how to live this way.

All this brings me back to the contract position I currently hold. I am tossing the old era (paper), regrouping the necessary and passing it over to be put into the new era. Entire floors of large buildings are becoming unnecessary as I plow through this. The idea of shifting into a new era has given me purpose in this position. Otherwise, I know I am working myself out of this job. I find myself, with each piece of paper that glides through my hands, wondering what project is next to clean up our lives as I (we) move into this next era.

In The News

Remember the Saturday Morning Segment put on my CBS between cartoons (back when they still showed Road Runner & Tom & Jerry?) called "In the News". It was CBS's way of taking care of my Social Studies requirements. It was a nice try. Mostly I remember the voice of the narrator when he would finish the segment saying, "In the news." I wonder that this has added to the news junkie's of a whole generation. CBS might've known what they were doing.

I was a news junkie from my mid-20's up through my mid-40's. I am experiencing an extreme backlash. I avoid television news in a vast myriad of ways. Foremost, I don't turn on the television.

Best thing is that if it truly is important someone somewhere has let me know. I have relearned that news can be wonderful as easily as it can be not so wonderful.

Today, so far, I have heard news of a friend's possible new job (a year in the making). I have heard of a man downtown that had duct taped a pipe on himself. And I have heard the weekend weather forecast. All this without so much as glancing at the news.

Medieval Helpdesk

I love foreign films!

On the work front

There is a man several cubicles over that types very hard and loud on his computer keyboard. When he types the linoleum floor of the office space reverberates the staccato popping of his typing to bounce these noises like billiard balls into each of our cubicles. I wonder that he finishes with the eight ball still on the table. Regardless, his typing came up as a subject today between my next door cubby neighbor and I. She was pondering why anyone would pound so hard on their keyboard.

I can only come up with one answer. His keyboard, it appears, is lined with gold and the only way to get the gold out is to type very very hard and the gold will tap out onto his desk so he can sweep it up each night into his palm and feel wealthy.

Everyone...check your keyboards.

Never, never, never too late

I have been reading a blog for the last month or so by a man that has published his first book. He turns 70 this week.

Helen Hooven Santmeyer published her most famous book when she was eighty eight.

I got time left...plenty o' time.

Lincoln Park

Running Lincoln Park this Saturday morning. I little chillier than last weekend. I little windier too. No, that's not me in the photo...I'm the one taking the photo. We must be getting better, this route had hills...long ever loving hills. I'm ready for a nap. ":)

No horse

I want to just go galloping along. I've got the trail, the sunshine, the picnic basket, the time, the laughter...I just don't have the horse.

photo found at - http://www.majorlycool.com/

First Anniversary

I've been here a year. I arrived in Seattle a year ago today. Going over Snoqualmie Pass was stunningly beautiful a year ago today. As I walk around outside this afternoon I am struck that it is the same stunningly beautiful weather again this year. The first Friday in March is officially my anniversary to Seattle - regardless of the date. I have a bottle of wine to open this evening when I get home. I have a huge sigh of fulfillment to heave as well.

Breaking News

It appears I will again be able to spend precious time with my blog in the near future. I love blogging but, ya' know it takes time to do that. So for my day job, the contract I am currently working may yet come to an end. In fact, yes the end is in sight. This is a good news, bad news day. I'm not sure I wanted this position to continue, but I hate to see any gig end. It looks like I will have another four weeks of work anyway, but I have yet to get official word.

In other news, my April daughter will be moving in with me in April. And my May baby is moving to San Diego (or maybe Orange County) in May. Funny how those things work. Both my girls will be in my time-zone again. This is wonderful, good, forward-moving news.

So I suppose life isn't all about running (as my blog seems to have been taken over by my jogging escapades). While I've been careful to be running toward things, and not away from them, there have been several runs that I have just made running the number one thing I am doing and let the every other thought wait until I get back. Some things I just don't want to feel.

There's the news for today then. I'll return you to your regularly scheduled program.