old friends

nothing better. 2 of the best guys drove over 2 hours in LA traffic to have dinner with me. it made me soo happy. i've known them since college and I know they know more things about me than i care to mention and have seen things that even i have erased from my memory. just the mere mention of the beam boys conjurs up memories of ... well. lets just keep that a little secret. just cause its halloween no need to tell scary stories. CHEERS guys and thanks for making one girl's long trip out west a great one.

impressions of LA

so flying into LA yesterday was quite an eye opener for me. i know that LA is big, but how big i wasnt prepared for. once the plane went over the last ridge of mtns, the city started, and didnt stop. for miles and miles all you could see were blocks and blocks of houses. we must have gone another 20 minutes over this vast city before landing, and the whole time, as far as i could see there were just houses. where do all of these people go during the day?
LA is not the LA you see on TV. the people are NOT gorgeous, the streets are not decked in diamonds and even the palm trees look a little sad. granted we are in the garment district, but there is no cashmere, at least that ive seen! lots of purple suits though, "Italian!". for only 39.99. oh and a store full of Jean Benet Ramsey dresses. quite the scene i tell you.
i've been here less than 24 hours and here is what i have seen:

two asian girls dressed as country milk maids along with a skinny white guy with HUGE spiky hair in a very tight silver jump suit, apparently on their way to a photo shoot
the most interesting pairs of shoes, nto interesting in a jimmy choo way but interesting as in should be on a drag queen way
the fact that our presentation was asked to be delayed this morning because people were stuck in traffic due to a suicide attempt on the 110.

anyway, 4 fun filled days in glorious LA! (read that line sarcastically and end with a sigh*) though i do think that 2 friends from san diego might drive up this week to spice things up a bit. and when i say spice, i should say spike, as in lets just hope that i am able to make my flight the next day. they arent the Beam Brothers for nothing...
on a happy note, my step sister had her second baby this weeeknd! her name is Grace:) cant wait to see her in a few months during the holidays. now my dad has 4 grandkids so the pressure is OFF me!! yippie!! ha ha

guess what time it is.....

FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE.

we head to knoxville this weekend to see the vols (yes completely unranked) take on (humph.. i use that word with some reservation..) the #2 ranked crimson tide. oh man. its going to be ugly..

hooray for seconds

not the kind you get on thanksgiving or the one on the podium, though both are quite good. i'm talking the ones on the clock, and today it was all about 3 seconds. in the pool.

allow me to give some insight into my previous swimming experience. ********chirp*** chirp**** that would be NONE. (though i was a swim instructor for one summer in HS at the Y. no, they didnt require us to know ANYTHING! so perhaps think twice about sending your kids to camp there. people like ME might be teaching them! or just letting them float around and play for 30 minutes.)

so when i took to the pool last year, it most closely resembled your best friend's cat being thrown into the bathtub. utter chaos, unbridled anger and a mad dash for the edge. no joke, it was ugly. ask bobby. he will chuckle as he remembers..

so needless to say the pool and i have not been the best of friends over the past 18 months. i have had bad days and worse days. some ok days and even a good day here and there. (note this is all as measured on the drowned feline scale, not necessarily a real swimmer scale).

so today when i was in the middle of my workout, having a tough time making the stoke counts i needed to, i was really frustrated. ready to declare my self a full time duathlete. but i'm not a quitter --- and i went on to finish my workout.

the last segment was 3 x 100m descending times. the first one was 1.29 . huh? now for all of you regular triathletes that is no big deal but for this pile of cement it was huge. it was my PR. but today it was my starting point.. the next two were TOUGH but i managed to end the day with 1.27 and 1.26 - a huge huge breakthrough for me.
so its a reminder that chiseling away does get you places and even in the worst of times, you never know -- it might just turn around..

yes i'm one of those..

weird crazy overzealous dog owners that probably has done more harm than good in creating 2 little monsters who do not know the words No, stop, get down or stay.(ok they do know these but not nearly as well as they could..or SHOULD..) but will come running from another room upstairs if i mention the word chip. and also expect to get a piece of chicken from bobby every time he cooks, even if its hamburger. they know chicken. one funny thing they do know is LATER. like when we talk about doing something and they get all excited and i say no girls not till later and they get it. OK yes I'm crazy. i talk to them like children, but sometimes i delude myself into thinking they understand!
anyway here they are this past weekend with their new toys. they had to sit patiently before tearing into them while i took the picture. you can see smokey giving me the evil eye - hurry up already! bobby was no help as he was muttering to himself on the couch - incoherent words that roughly translated into "dont freakin throw the ball on second down" - at least i'm talking to a live object!

you're so lucky

i hear these words alot, from friends and family and coworkers, probaly people on the street would say it to me if they were so informed. i dont feel lucky. i havent won the lottery, i dont get the last chocolate iced in the krispy kreme box brought into work, things i ship that need to, have to, MUST arrive the next day never do.. but i do travel. alot. to some places that in the guide book look oh so amazing and adventuresome and fantastic. the ones that people hear about and say "oh you are so lucky. you get to see all these cool places." the problem is when i travel i work. and that drains all the fun and any extra fun that might pop up, well that is swept away or suffocated by the stress. BUT, yes BUT, i do beleive in karma, and that all good deeds dont go un-noticed so ladies and gentleman, its my time to shine. my time to cash in all the hours spent in buildings with cold artifical air blowing in, buildings where my world is confined to a 20 foot space, where the scenery does not change, and you would not beleive how slow time can go.

so back to karma... i'm in orlando this week, yes for work. so i cannot help but let out the *sigh* before i go, as i pack for yet another trip. packing on a sunday when there are so many other interesting things i could be doing, than spending time wiht Delta.. but, theres that BUT again... to my ever growing amazement, this trip is shaping up to be not so bad. good in fact. so good that i feel like i'm finally on one of the business trips that others think i go on all the time. that I AM the lucky one.

so yes, back to sunday, yes even us lucky ones get to give up half of our weekend to get on a plane) but on that plane i did get upgraded to first class, which granted for an hour flight is not much different, but still it was nice to have all the snacks my grubby little hands could grab! i got into orlando with out issues and was able to enjoy the evening- walked around the resort, checked out the monster pool, enjoyed the full moon, then sat down and had a nice dinner. its important to note here what i didnt do: I did NOT worry about show staff, i did NOT have to spend hours setting up, i did NOT dread the next 5 days!

and the pleasentness continues - today, i was able to saunter (yes i said saunter) down to the start of the show and check in and wait for the key note to begin. i was able to peruse the exhibits that OTHERS had worked hard to put up. I was able to take a full hour for lunch and eat out by the pool. the fact that i got to go outside when the sun was still out is a HUGE victory! and i loved every minute of it. that i'm done at 5 pm and can make it to the gym at a reasonable hour,or at all! i'm telling you, i feel like a queen this week.

anyway i'm definately enjoying all the good karma that i've built up with traveling over the past few months, or heck years. i definately would consider a new job that has nothing to do with marketing or shows! but for now i sit in my king size bed, with internet that is fast! and a full tummy and a day of just listening and learning tomorrow. and when the day is done, i just walk away. get on a plane and go home. thats it. no loose ends, no clean up, no last minute surprises. and i'm going to enjoy every minute of it!

state of the union

i caught some of the presidential debates that were on Tuesday night and frankly it was pretty boring. i thought maybe i would count the number of times John McCain said "my friends" but unless it was turned into some sort of drinking game it didnt seem that fun. it was a bit frustrating to have these citizens asking the candidates some very pointed questions and then have the guys in ties stand there and grab a pre-meditated answer from their available speeches. they seemed like robots to me. afraid to deviate from what they have practiced and unwilling to say to someone, ok this is how your life will be affected, you personally, by the way tell me about yourself so i can be accurate in my answer. that would have been good.. anyway..

so i thought i might address the state of MY union, ME. its my strictly enforced week off from any and all training. i have been given the marching orders to under no circumstances put on trainers, jump in a pool (unless via waterslide) or ride a 2 wheeled mode of transportation (for once i can rule out bobby's motorcycle for good reason ha!).. so that leaves quite a chunk of time on my hands. what's a girl to do?? hee hee....but hit the stores and find friends on facebook, and actually fulfill some duties to the local clubs i belong to.. oh and READ. have read some amazing books lately, like My sisters keeper. and a new james patterson about the family on the boat. and magazines! now i can read SI cover to cover. glorious!

its actually given me some time to rest this weary body, and let this cold run its course with out any added stress or strain. but, like after a massage, when all the toxins are running loose, and you realize how much has built up, this week has been a slow release of aches and fatigue and general gunk thats been sloshing around in me for a while now. (ok thats a little gross and not intended to be). but its like Einstein says - a body in motion tends to stay in motion, so in this case the stopping is hurting more than the going.. but it too shall pass and i hope to be more refreshed and focused for the offseason.
i've been doing some random design work at my job and came across this image. for some reason i just love it..

happy birthday to me

so yes i celebrated another year. and while most girls would be giddy over diamonds, or jimmy choos or dinner at chez something with candles and expensive wine.... i was thrilled to find these in my card from bobby!
so yes, christmas weekend we will be sitting in frigid temperatures drinking $8 beers and yelling our hearts out with 70,000 other maniacs! it will be good to be home :)

freakin fourth

last race of the year this morning at pinehurst. the day didnt start well as i forgot my ID and we had to turn around to get it. i'm also battling a cold and knew i was going to have to fight thru it today. but still the competitive spirit got the best of me and i could not say no to a race :)
anyway we arrive at the race site a mere 45 minute before it starts. this of course after almost running out of gas on the way.. but i'm somehow not even the last one in the packet pick up line and i'm able to get my stuff and start to set up in transition. my friend sean was there watching some of his athletes compete so he stopped by to say hi. while i normally love seeing a friendly face, i felt so frazzled trying to get my area set up i couldnt get my mind to focus on a conversation and a organization task at the same time. sad! so no time for warm up as i brave the longest port o john line ever and am actually still in line when the first wave goes off. note to self for future - do not wear wetsuit into port o john..
so i got in a quick 5 minute swim and then went to wait for my wave to start. i struggled a bit at the beginning of the swim trying to breathe just out of my mouth (due to clogged nose) and it took me a few minutes to get my self going. also- this time i started way in the front. i was bound and determined to swim this one fast and try to get out and stay out. so that meant playing with the big dogs (including some men as the relays went out with us too). so i got kicked and swam over which in a way was kind of a christening and a welcome to the big league, er well kind of. anyway i had my best swim ever, by over 3 minutes. which for me coming out of the water was really exciting to not see a 3X:XX on my watch. yes it was wetsuit legal but trust me, i've swam bad and worse in a wetsuit, so i'm not counting that as an advantage!!!
it was pretty foggy so tough to site buoy's until you were on top of them..

the bike leg was decent for me. i felt pretty fast and was able to actually wipe the snot from my face with a free hand (something i could not do in the water!). i passed a bunch of people on the ride and generally felt pretty good. i finding i'm a pretty good climber but need to work on the down hills as i always get passed.. towards the end i could feel a bit of the steam running out, which i guess is due to being sick, and i admit i think i gave into it more than i should have. i didnt even drink full bottle on the bike because it was so cold. i think i was just feeling numb so it was hard to tell what my actual status was...
need to really work on the mount/dismount process. i fumble around a bit and literally come to a standstill

first half of the run was pretty ...umm... well it wasnt pretty. my feet and legs were numb from the ride and i was shuffling. i got my head back in the game and actually started to feel clear (ie no congestion or buggers) around mile three. so i did my best to speed up. i got passed by 2 girls on the run, which normally doesnt happen, so i knew i was not totally up to par. but i gave to day my best shot and wanted to end the season on a good note.

so once again, and actually for the 3rd race in a row, i end up 4th in my AG and respectable over all (10th today). i think i'm going to have to strategically place bobby about 2 miles from the end so he can tell me how far back i am, and when i'm less than 30 seconds behind (like ALL of these finishes gosh darn it!) he can tell me to pick up the pace. frustrating!
one highlight today was my number 665, ok well not my number but the next guy #666 - here he is taking full advantage of his race ID..! love it!

ita a numbers game in north cakalacky

its october so that can only mean one thing.. state fair time here in north carolina! now i'm not sure if every one of our 50 states has their own fair, but no doubt each one would be unique. NC always offers: fried oreos-pickles-coke!-peanut butter sandwiches (how these foods survive the oil bath or somehow find the need to be fried i will never know..), monster sized turkey legs, performances by washed up american idols, rickety rides you could not bribe me to get on, abmormally large vegetable contest winners, tractor pulls and THE BEST people watching you could ever encounter. i mean seriously, these people come out of their huts and head to the fair.. anyway my plan for the fair this year, besides eating my way thru a few funnel cakes, will be to play the "guess my age" game.

at the pool this week i was chatting with someone and he asked how old i was. he gasped after hearing the real number and i asked how old he thought i was . 24 he said. ok granted my maturity has leveled off around that point, but for sure i look a bit more worldly than that? I've been lowballed before at 26 or 27 but never like that.. anyway i guess i should be happy about it, but nonetheless i plan to put that to my advantage in winning an obnoxiously large stuffed rhino at the fair this year.

i'm still looking for my spark for tomorrow's race. last one of the year. gotta make it a good one. gotta make it a GREAT one.


this pumpkin weighs over 1100 pounds!

hanging with snow white.....

yep so i've been grumpy lately. er, ok so since i landed in Paris almost two weeks ago the sun has not come out tomorrow. moments of laughter have been few and far between and usually the result of an unfortunate incident - "man down" as we lose someone on the crowded city trains, "take cover" - as the coffee pot shoots sparks 2 feet into the air - probably due to our DIY electric rig up, "he's open" - as not one, but both of my team QBs (tennessee's crompton and Big Ben) fail to see open receivers down the field and instead find them selves making barely even pop warner caliber passes to no one in particular, "smokey!" as little black dog yet again grabs the hall pass and goes for a little jaunt around the neighborhood.

i did have a mojo finding experience during my brick last night that instilled just the tiniest bit of hope that this saturday will not be a total disaster. Despite the fact that i will be swimming in a size large wet suit - quite possibly all that extra neoprene will add to my buoyancy and allow me to glide thru the water.

but truly my life has been held to gether the last few days by strawberry yogurt. with pumpkin granola. its the one food i can have any time and its something i look forward to when i am away. silly to think something so simple can make me so happy.