RR: Hog Hustle 5K

Six days late and probably about $20 short ;)
==============================================
Dunedin, FL, May 16, 2009, 8 AM

I wanted 30-ish. I got 30:32.

This is a fun little race that runs through Dunedin. I can't remember exactly the story of how it got its name; something about rounding up thewild hogs that lived on Caladesi Island, which used to be called Hog Island. Anyway, the race starts and finishes at the ballpark where the Blue Jays do their spring training, goes through the downtown area, through a couple of the nice little neighborhoods, and along the water. There were over 300 people this year. The shirt usually has some kind of tacky, colorful pig cartoon on it, and this year's was no exception. It had a pig dressed as a pirate. How friggin' awesome is that?? ;)

Met up with "Slow Twin" Bill, who isn't slow at all, but is marginally slower than his brother. After hanging out and BS'ing a bit, Bill went to warm up before heading to the race start. I had briefly thought of finding him and drafting the first half of the race off of him, but it was kind of hot and I didn't feel up to running at puke speed, so I just settled into a nice, even pace. Hung off the right shoulder of this big dude for about half a mile, but he slowed down, so I reeled in this other guy, who had some pretty bad-a$$ tats on his arms. Spent the next mile or so trying to figure out what some of them were, but then I got ahead of him, too. Just kind of zoned out after that. Walked the second waterstop. It was hot and I was tired, and I wasn't going for a PR anyway. Right before mile 3, this lady pushing a jog stroller came up on my left. She was barely sweating. I'm distrustful of her. Oh HELL no. You are NOT passing me!So I pushed a little more and finished about 10 seconds ahead of her.

All in all, I'm not disappointed with my time. I was only here for the tshirt and the socialization, anyway, and we're a few months past prime running PR weather here. Plus, I got what I wanted, time-wise, so it was a good day.

Next race: Mad Dog Sprint tri, May 31, my first of the season. Bring it!!

Need a Break

Life'll make sure that you got your troubles
Life'll make sure that you work too hard
There ain't nobody that don't get tired
Of watchin' troubles pile up big in your own backyard
Everybody gotta get away sometimes
Forget about yourself for a while
If you live your whole life up there on that shelf
You got no one to blame but your own damn self
It's okay, it's all right, heaven only knows what's gonna happen tonight
I'm okay, I'm all right, carry on...

--Pat Green, Carry On

Happy Anniversary!

Happy 26th Anniversary to my parents, Carol and Steve. Who'd have thought they'd make it this far? True, if Dad had a regular 9-to-5 job, we probably would be looking at a homicide situation, but still, way to go, y'all!

Road Trip!!

Big Blue the Trusty Racemobile is ready to ride again. She's washed, vacuumed, and gassed up to go to Jackson, Mississippi. (What you can't see in this photo are the Polish flag hanging from the rear view mirror and the obnoxious pink Hello Kitty car seat covers, which several people have been begging me to get rid of :-D )

Rather than a race, this time Big Blue is transporting Linae and me to Holly's wedding. Pics later!

What I'd Give

Wow. There are no words to express how much I adore Jennifer Nettles. Amazing.

Nothing exciting happening in my life right now: school, work, practice, train, repeat. Will probably have some roadtrip/wedding photos next weekend. Hopefully something fun and mildly embarrassing ;)

Ten Second Book Review: The Mercy of Thin Air

The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue

Part passionate love story, part ghost story. This novel, set in and around New Orleans, is told from the perspective of a young lady who died in 1929 and stayed "in between," which is explained as where you hang out after you die and before you go...wherever. Beyond. But not like the "Beyond" that I'm used to (hahaha. Yeah, that wasn't funny.) Anyway, in the mid-2000s, she finds this bookshelf that belonged to the love of her life and is drawn to the young couple that purchases it. She follows them and their marital troubles, finding more ties to her lover along the way.

Very well-written, the author manages to suck you into the lives of all these people, past and present, and keeps you turning the pages. I know *I* stayed up way too late reading this. And the sex scenes--wow. Tasteful, but hot. If you're into that kind of thing ;) Also, the narrative going back and forth between past and present storylines was seamless. Beautifully done all around.

One thing I found very interesting was the concept of scent. Whenever a character had a strong thought about a lost loved one, their scent would come into the room. For several years, I have gotten a whiff of a very male essence at times. Sometimes it's very faint, but other times it's strong, almost like a cologne someone sprayed into the air. My dad is very rarely home, and it's not like anything I've ever smelled around him anyway. With this new theory, I wonder if it's not someone attached to me in some other realm. My first crush, who gave me my first kiss at age 14, died in a car accident in 1989. Maybe it's him?

It's probably just my imagination, but I'm intrigued anyway.

4.75 stars out of 5.

Obligatory Country Music Post

This one's for you, guys.

Don't be afraid to be a dude :)

Ten-Second Book Review - Sister Mine

Sister Mine by Tawni O'Dell

Okay, I loved this book. I didn't want it to end. The main character is a hard-drinking, cussing, bad-ass former cop with a propensity for getting into bar fights in her small Pennsylvania coal-mining town. Yes, HER town; she's a chick. The sister she thought had been dead for 18 years shows up, nine months pregnant and being followed by a New York attorney, a Connecticut socialite (who basically bought the baby,) and a Russian thug. Makes my family seem normal :) There's an interesting and well-written cast of secondary characters that round out this novel beautifully. Sharply-written, wickedly funny, and an extremely likable heroine.

4.5 stars out of 5

Ten-Second Book Review - The Pirate's Daughter

The Pirate's Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson

Meh. It was okay; I thought it'd be better. I was looking for some light chick-lit, which it was, but I also got a dose of politics of Jamaica past, the struggles the country and its citizens went through while gaining independence. And the whole Errol Flynn thing was interesting.

Three stars out of five.

Pat F'in Green!! Concert

**Before I start, could someone PLEASE remind me to use my mom's WAY more ginormous, but infinitely better-quality camera next time I go to a concert?? Thank you :)**

Anyway, in keeping with my fine tradition of stalking hot country singers, Wendy, her (now-fiance) Louis, and I headed to the Dallas Bull in Tampa to see Pat Green last Friday (3/13) He's not exactly a common feature on standard country radio stations, even though he should be. Check out "Carry On," "Wave on Wave," and "Three Days." The audience was probably half Texans, including our two new friends, Daphne and Bill, from Austin. They follow Pat around, which is pretty cool. They were very friendly and kept buying us drinks, including a shot of Jaeger, which is vile, but I did it anyway. Didn't want to be rude ;)

Wendy and me. And Louis' finger up in the corner

Jaegermeister banner. Not that you can see it with my inferior camera :-P

Cowboy Troy opened the show. "Hick Chick" and "I Play Chicken with the Train." He's a 6'4" black country rapper. What else can I say??

The MC was Rick Monroe. I don't know who he is, but he did a friggin' AWESOME cover of Cross Canadian Ragweed's "Boys From Oklahoma." While I don't personally indulge, that doesn't mean I don't enjoy hearing about it from others ;)

Randy Houser was the second act on the tour. He was really good. Louis liked him best, so there ya go.

The man of the hour, Pat F*ckin' Green! That's how he's greeted by his fans when he comes out on stage. I explained this to Wendy before he came on, but I don't think she believed me. So we got Daphne and Bill in on it, and they confirmed that I was NOT making this shit up.

He put on an excellent show, *almost* as good as Gary Allan. I will be stalking him in the future :)

Disney Princess Weekend - Sunday, Post-Race

Nancy had to leave soon after the race to catch her flight back home, leaving Holly, Linae, and me to wander around Downtown Disney and Epcot.

Me and the world's biggest dalmatian. Go Pongo!!

Penguins and Tri-Deads in Downtown Disney. Front, Linae. Back row, Karen, Kay, me, Holly, Daria

Yes, another margarita.


Holly in front of the Lego dragon

Apparently, I was fascinated by this dragon

Me in "Italy"

"France"

"Germany"

Multiculturism at work. Drinking a margarita in "Norway." (Yes, yet ANOTHER margarita. What are you implying, exactly??)

Holly and Linae in "China."

Illuminations at Epcot

We also hit MGM and rode the Rock n Roller coaster twice. And we managed to get Linae on Tower of Terror, which was friggin' AWESOME!! While I *love* roller coasters, I'm not usually a fan of drop-rides; but ToT was very well-done.

Disney Princess Half Marathon - Sunday

Judging by how I was dressed for the race, I did not intend to actually "race" this event. But I took off fairly fast (for me,) and was on PR pace until about mile 10. Despite the tutu, tiara, and stopping to take pictures of characters every 50 feet ;) Finished in 2:27:03, which is about 5 minutes off my current half PR.

Nancy and me waiting for the shuttle to the start

That tiara has some miles on it...

In the corral. Don't judge ;)

Cinderella's castle. We ran through it

Chip and Dale

Malefacent from Sleeping Beauty

Prince Philip and Sleeping Beauty (aka Aurora.) I was caught in mid-blink :( I apologized to Aurora for looking like I did at that point.

Aladdin and Jasmine

Fairies. I almost didn't want to stand between them, they were so beautiful

Muu-Shuu and Mulan

You gotta love a dude who is *this* secure in his masculinity

Linae and Holly, Princesses Supporting Princesses

In front of Epcot, about 1.5 miles from the finish

The characters were awesome. They were always gracious and smiling despite the fact that they had to put their arms around smelly, sweaty runners all day while wearing those heavy costumes and spackled-on makeup. And I'm still bummed that I missed Stitch, who is my favorite Disney guy. Gotta love the bad boys ;)

Disney Princess Weekend, Part Un - Saturday

Yes, I'm a slacker. I'll get parts deux and trois tomorrow. They all also need to go up on Facebook and/or Flickr, so I'll be busy computin' tomorrow. I apologize to both of you who read this blog ;)

Anyway, these are pictures from Saturday, March 7, mostly at Epcot.

"Mine! Mine!"

Dory!

Nemo X 2 (Nemoes? Nemi?)

The train at the Magic Kingdom was on Parade Delay

Nancy and Linae

Me and Holly

Margarita in "Mexico"

Bangers and mash, a most delightful pre-race meal, at Raglan Road Irish Pub

I dunno. Could be trouble brewin'....

Does this tutu make my butt look big??

Subtitle: Random Friday Night BS

But before we get to the randomness, here are some pretty pictures I've been remiss in posting:

Ooooh!

Ahhhhh!

Okay, now that that's out of the way, it's time to focus on the topic at hand, namely Sunday's Disney Princess Half Marathon. Which I will be running wearing a tutu, which *does*, in fact, make my ass look three feet wide. Similar to this:

I didn't count on the tulle being quite so itchy and annoying against my legs. I had originally bet that it would last six miles; now I'm thinking three. But I'll make sure to get some photos before it comes off, because it's too ridiculous to NOT have pictures.

So I should be finishing up packing right now, yet I'm sitting here eating Swedish Fish and downloading pictures of dancing hippos :) I'm leaving early tomorrow morning to make the drive into Orlando. It *should* take me 2 hours. I'm guessing more like 1.5, since I'm a known lead foot. Just ask the Alabama State Patrol. Anyway, I'm mostly packed, I've got Pat Green and Gary Allan CDs for the drive, I'll be hitting the expo (which I'm sure will be a zoo,) meeting Linae when she rolls into the Happiest Place on Earth, then we'll hook up with Holly and Nancy in one of the parks. Fun! I haven't seen Nancy since IMFL 2006, and it was MCM 2007 for Holly. And I haven't seen Linae since...uh, last weekend.

I seem to have regained my Mountain Dew addiction. What is it about sugar pop that is so irresistible to me? I think they lace it with crack or something. Whatever; all I know is if I don't quit drinking so much of it, I'm going to give myself diabetes :-P

School is still frustrating the hell out of me. They insist on forcing us to use this program that basically grades us in realtime writing, and since we all suck at it without the benefit of editing, we've all been knocked down 20 wpm. This is NOT helping us get any faster. So we're planning a mutiny next week.

Work: blah. I don't call it the Hellhole for no reason. Sometimes the Shithole. The Rathole would be appropriate too, since we have several of the little buggers running around eating the candy in the front store room. Anyway, I found out my favorite assistant manager, Wendy, is leaving next month. I am completely bummed about that. Now who am I going to go drinking with at Chili's after a Saturday night shift??

Okay, that's enough BS for now. Look for pics and a race report early next week.

Later, y'all!