Friday, September 29. 2006
Last Wednesday, we saw "Wicked" at the Parmount Theater. The musical is based on the 1995 book by Gregory Maquire. I knew the reviews were great, but I still was pleasantly surprised. They did an excellent job with the set and the music pieces. The whole concept of the book and movie is telling "The Wizard of Oz" movie from the Wicked Witch's perspective. It delves into the concepts of propoganda, the validity of historical stories, and the bottom line of needing to hear more than one perspective to understand the story.
One of the topics was the idea of focusing on a common enemy to unite people. In the play, The Wizard focuses on animals and the Wicked Witch as villians against the citizens of Oz. The targets were people or beings that were different than the majority. There were undertones of peer pressure to be accepted and popular. Also, the concept of good versus evil was interesting.
Sunday, September 24. 2006
Today I discovered a new music site that will take a song or artist you like, then recommend other songs/artists that are similar. This all came about when we were at a friend's house, creating a mix tape (the term mix CD just doesn't sound right). The site is Pandora. It'll expose you to artists that you've probably have never heard of.
Also, I spent most of the afternoon laughing so hard that I was tearing and making snorting sounds. We put together round #2 of the dating bet between our two running friends. This all started a month ago when E. (first name is abreviated) started saying that dating is too scary and that she could never imagine ever asking a guy out on a date. Because of the good supportive friends we are, we had "E" compete with another one of her buddies (Let's call him "S") on seeing who can ask three people out first in the month of September. The prospective dates didn't have to say "yes," they just needed to get the courage to ask them out. "E" easily won over her other buddy, "S."
So, today we wrote a new October challenge where they have to gettwo people each to agree to go out on a date with them. We even wrote down several rules, so they wouldn't try to manipulate the "spirit" of the challenge. Two of us (myself and "W") will act as judges in case the two participants argue on the victory. The loser this time will have to sing, "Living La Vida Loca" in front of our track friends. If neither one completes the October challenge, they'll need to sing a duet of our (the judges) choosing. Also, if they both complete their tasks on the same day, we'll declare a tie, and this bet rolls into the month of November. Oh, it'll be a fun November for us!
Saturday, September 23. 2006
After the bike ride, I was a guest on The Confab Show. To access the link go to www.confabshow.com.
Tuesday, September 19. 2006
I just had an interesting conversation after the track workout today about rumors and reputation. I know we're no longer in high school, but I don't think the rules don't change too much when we get older. Let's look at the running club as an example. First, you have to take into account that marathoners on the most part (especially those who choose to be part of a running club) maintain a certain lifestyle to support their running habit. Of course, there are exceptions, but the common theme is that most of these people are goal oriented, go to bed early, watch the quality of food they eat and don't drink much. We are the most boring group of people on Friday nights because we have long runs early on Saturday. We have such a low key social life (to complement our running commitments) that any slight variation from the training routine is fodder for rumors. People still talk about how Lily and I had a margarita at lunch after a Friday bike ride. Do you get the scale that these marathoners use now? This ride was in the beginning of June and people were still talking about it today. I know, pretty wild, huh? So, let's get back to the talk about reputation. After the mini-soap opera at the track, we opened a whole new discussion on the dating topic and who is datable and undatable. We thought it was strange that women have much stricter rules on who is undatable...we would never date a friend's ex. Beyond that, we can't date more than one person in any social circle, or we become a name that I don't want to mention. But men, on the other hand, have no trouble competing for a girl. Not only that, they'll openly compete in front of each other! They don't think it's unloyal to their friend and I think the drive to beat the other guy may be stronger than the drive to get the girl. How can two guys be friends and compete for the same girl? Is this the same trait that helps guys work things out and not hold grudges? I guess I just don't understand or we women make things much more complicated. Maybe that's why we have the rule that once you date one person in a social circle, you've contaminated the dating pool. Do guys think differently? Good for you if you aren't bound by these thoughts regarding reputation. If not, choose wisely.
Sunday, September 17. 2006
Today, Mel, Heidi, Bethany and I biked the Centennial Trail in Snohomish and did the 35 mile out and back course to Lake Stevens. The trail is pretty new, wide and has hardly any people! It was a nice alternative to the Burke Gilman Trail if you want a flat ride, away from cars. The only drawback was the safety fences that we had to slowly bike around when we approached major interesctions. Fortunately, there was only was one fall during the ride. How many girls does it take to fix a tire? Well, today we all learned a new bike feature or trick from each other. As semi-responsible riders, we carried bike tools, spare tubes, food, water, cell phones and instructions (since we don't know how to properly repair our bikes on the road). We really need to either 1) Attend a bike maintenance class or 2) Host a party and have an experienced biker give us a hands-on class on how to do basic bike maintenance. We are open to suggestions. We laughed that Tupperware parties are not our thing, but bike maintenance, self-defence or refresher CPR/First Aid Courses would be fun for us. We learned how to use a CO2 cartridge to inflate a tire for the first time. It was pretty funny watching us read the directions and "experiement" before fixing the problem. We all ran yesterday and it felt great to stretch our legs. Plus, it gives us an excuse to go out to lunch together. We're hoping to squeeze in a few more rides before winter comes. The ride gave us time to plan out our exercise plan for next year. So
many races sell out quickly and hotels start raising their rates. It's funny how we coordinate and do annual planning for races. This is what our preliminary plan is for next year: - Nookachamps 1/2 Marathon in January. Knowing we have to run a race in January will keep us honest during all the holiday parties in November and December.
- Vancouver 1/2 Marathon to maintain running fitness
- STP in two days. We'll stay in a hotel instead of camping.
- We'll each do a Triathlon. I'm only commiting to a sprint distance, but the others will do Olympic or Half Ironman. Maybe Seafair for me?
- Hood to Coast Relay, if we get in.
- MS 150 Bike Ride
- Nike Women's Marathon in SF.
Please post a comment if you have any suggestions on places to stay.
Saturday, September 16. 2006
If you're reading this blog, you are probably one of my close friends. I don't dare write all the stories that have been happening (in order to protect the innocent), but at least you're halfway caught up the next time you see me. I really don't think I stop and say how wonderful and supportive my friends are to me. I also don't believe that withholding feelings makes the rare appreciative words more special. I personally don't get tired of kind words when the intention is good. So, thank you for patiently listening as I go through my breakup healing. And thank you for all the extra distractions. Not only are you positive, supportive friends, but you are pretty darn entertaining. I have so many smart ass friends, what does that say about me? I've already finished my "chopping my hair short" ritual, so I know I'm almost back to normal again. The only foolish calls I've made was to you and you promptly kicked my butt and kept me from doing anything I'd regret. It was great seeing most of you at the run this morning and the hours of coffee socializing afterwards. I'll see some of you biking tomorrow...this time let's try to keep the ambulance, Search & Rescue, and Firefighters away.  Okay, I'm off to an evening with more girlfriends.
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