Sometimes, Melissa runs her legs. Sometimes, she runs her mouth.

Tag: life goals (Page 2 of 2)

I've become a lightweight.

I live in a dry county and for whatever reason have become friends with people who don’t drink. As a result, there isn’t the bar hopping of days past.

As a result, this list of Drinks to try before you expire. Well I don’t have that many bold items.

List of Drinks You Must Try Before You Expire

1. Manhattan Cocktail
2. Kopi Luwak (Cat-poo coffee…I plan to seek it out on my next trip to Vietnam…it’s crazy expensive…even there.)
3. French / Swiss Absinthe
4. Rootbeer
5. Gin Martini
6. Sauternes
7. Whole Milk
8. Tequila (100% Agave)
9. XO Cognac
10. Espresso
11. Spring Water (directly from the spring)
12. Gin & Tonic
13. Mead (Mead can be really tasty…)
14. Westvleteren 12 (Yellow Cap) Trappist Ale (N
15. Chateau d’Yquem
16. Budweiser
17. Maraschino Liqueur
18. Mojito
19. Orgeat
20. Grand Marnier
21. Mai Tai (original)
22. Ice Wine
23. Red Bull
24. Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
25. Bubble Tea (nasty, nasty stuff)
26. Tokaji (want to try…)
27. Chicory
28. Islay Scotch
29. Pusser’s Navy Rum
30. Fernet Branca
31. Fresh Pressed Apple Cider
32. Bourbon

33. Australian Shiraz
34. Buckley’s Cough Syrup
35. Orange Bitters
36. Margarita (traditional recipe)
37. Molasses & Milk
38. Chimay Blue
39. Wine of Pines (Tepache)
40. Green Tea
41. Daiginjo Sake
42. Chai Tea
43. Vodka (chilled, straight)
44. Coca-Cola

45. Zombie (Beachcomber recipe)
46. Barley Wine
47. Brewed Choclate (Xocolatl)
48. Pisco Sour
49. Lemonade
50. Speyside Single Malt
51. Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee
52. Champagne
53. Rosé
54. Bellini

55. Caipirinha
56. White Zinfandel
57. Coconut Water
58. Cerveza
59. Cafe au Lait
60. Ice Tea
61. Pedro Ximenez Sherry
62. Vintage Port
63. Hot Chocolate
64. German Riesling
65. Pina Colada
66. El Dorado 15 Year Rum
67. Chartreuse
68. Greek Wine
69. Negroni
70. Jägermeister
71. Chicha
72. Guiness
73. Rhum Agricole
74. Palm Wine
75. Soju
76. Ceylon Tea (High Grown)
77. Belgian Lambic
78. Mongolian Airag (kimus)
79. Doogh, Lassi or Ayran
80. Sugarcane Juice
81. Ramos Gin Fizz
82. Singapore Sling
83. Mint Julep
84. Old Fashioned
85. Perique (appears to be liquor distilled from tobacco!)
86. Jenever (Holland Gin)
87. Chocolate Milkshake
88. Traditional Italian Barolo (Have a bottle…unopened…need to open).
89. Pulque
90. Natural Sparkling Water
91. Cuban Rum
92. Asti Spumante
93. Irish Whiskey
94. Château Margaux
95. Two Buck Chuck (Would buy it if it were in AR)
96. Screech
97. Akvavit
98. Rye Whisky
99. German Weissbier
100. Daiquiri (classic)

See? Look. How did that happen?!?!?! How did that happen. I’m a do-gooder. I should go sell girlscout cookies and add
“GOLLY GEE WHIZ” to my vocabulary.

another day closer to death.

“Remembering that I am going to die is the best way for me to avoid the trap of thinking I have something to lose”. — Steve Jobs

Get busy living, or get busy dying. — Andy Dufresne The Shawshank Redemption

Many colleges and graduate schools had their graduations this weekend. As a result, many graduation speeches were heard. Other blogs commented on great graduation speeches. One that was mentioned over and over again was Steve Jobs’s speech at Stanford University.

When I was a teenager, I was quite a morose kid. I guess you could call me an EMO child– reading Sylvia Plath, thinking about teenage alienation and cliques and the cruelty that goes with it. I went to college and eventually out grew it but it did leave me with a tendency to be drawn to the darker things in life.

Later when I became an investigator, I was exposed to the bad things in life with crime, drugs, desperate poverty shaping a person’s decisions. I learned very quickly that there is no guarantee that when you walk out of the house in the morning that you will walk back in the house later that evening.

As a result, I try to make each day count. It is the explanation for many of my actions. It is what lead me to DC. I always wanted to live in a big city. It makes me grateful to be here in Arkansas spending time with my parents and grandparents because they are old and someday much sooner than I want to consider, they will be gone. I have this tension between myself wanting to do big things like travel to great places and stay here to be with my family. It is also part of my discontent with where I am now. I don’t feel like I am making a difference. I don’t feel that I am experiencing any great new experiences. I feel left out of the small town scene (also known as the “good old boy network”) and that life just might be too short to make it worth my while to try to break it down or change it.

It’s also why I keep a big bold “bucket list” with things I want to experience. I’ve always been a reach for the stars type of person. I have found that even if you don’t achieve the stars– well the moon is pretty cool.

Still excited about 21st Century Breakdown, even if Belle hates Green Day. blargh.

I'm officially not young anymore.

I was born in the evening around the time most people are watching the evening news.

My friend Mofo is going on a trip later this year with Contiki. I checked out their website and saw all these cool trips. Then I saw this

. What makes traveling with Contiki different is not only do we take 18-35 year old travelers from around the world to the most desirable destinations, but we also encourage them to experience these places in a completely subjective and unique way. It’s not just what you see, it’s how you see it.

*Gasp* I’m too….OLD! I ran to the mirror. I believe I got MORE GRAY HAIR!

Well maybe not old but I have officially hit a milestone. I am no longer considered young. Young is, for demographics purposes, eighteen to thirty-five. Today, I hit the 36 post. I am no longer young. I’m apparently too old to get away with the stupidity of youth. I’m no longer a “stupid college kid” or a “fresh young thing straight out of college.” I am, for all practical purposes, old enough to know better.

Of course, this means that I’m feeling really stupid right now.

The day was a lazy day. Actually, it was a day filled with a long to do list but no immediate deadlines. I procrastinated like a champ. I got a PhD in procrastination. I had two clients come and I ended up chatting with them for long periods of time. I guess that wasn’t wasted time. I was rapport building. I got some paperwork done. No upsetting drama filled phone calls. Then I went home and ate one of my favorite meals (lasagna). I got some presents from my parents. News that the grandparents presents were coming in the mail. Watched some TV. Kicked some ass on Mafia wars over the course of the day. Pretty nice.

Of course, this is birthday week and the weekend is for the MEEK to END.

With my birthday being about ninety days from the beginning of the year, it’s a good time to reassess my goals and test out those resolutions.

1. My running has been fairly consistent and good. I’m gaining fitness with fewer walk breaks and my pace is getting faster. Unfortunately, I haven’t done enough hill training and need to find some hilly terrain with sidewalks or a large shoulder so I can go up the hills without worrying about death and dismemberment due to an automobile accident.

2. I had intention of doing yoga at least twice a week. I also entertained the 100 pushup challenge and the 200 sit-ups challenge. To date, I haven’t even done the diagnostic test on either one. So I’m guessing I should start with something. I at least need some sort of strength training.

3. There is the career management thing which I’ve thought about and I’ve gone to events and shaken hands and made contacts. Usually if I met someone, I either get a card or google where they work (if they tell me) and send a “nice to meet you” note with a card. Yeah I’m cheesetastic. Or a networking genius. Still actual bonafide job hunting is slow. Focus on marketing here. hrmm… not sure.. NOT SURE AT ALL.

4. I know that one goal was to complete the Little Rock Marathon and I DID IT! woo hooo. I had a goal of trying a marathon near the end of the year. That’s 9 more months to train. it’s doable. I’ll still be the last person to finish but I can definitely get the fitness level to finish. I will pick a flatter course than Little Rock, for good measure.

5. I also am planning to be more social. I’m working on it.

My big fat geek half marathon.

For reasons that to this day I don’t fully comprehend, I have always been a person that other people underestimate. For example, my guidance counselor recommended that instead of taking AP English and Calculus that I take a two period class called Office Lab that taught you how to use all the secretarial machines. I ended up being the one who made the perfect score on the Calculus semester test. There was the time this girl told me that my boyfriend was “TOO FINE” to be dating “someone like me.” (How she managed to live with all her hair perfectly placed on her head, I’ll never know). When I had my first meeting with my piano teacher in DC, I bought a piece I could play to show him my level of proficiency. He told me that this was a “very difficult piece.” Yeah I played it. He was impressed. UH HUH. That’s what I thought.

I’m thinking maybe I should get “that’s what I thought” tattooed on my butt.

Sometimes, I have found that I underestimate myself. I’m a perfectionist and see my flaws and weaknesses a lot more than I see my strengths. As a result, I like to do something that scares me a little to remind me that I’m alive and capable.

I began running in DC. DC has some beautiful running routes. There is the National Mall, which has a gravel trail where you can run from the Capital to the Lincoln Memorial and back again. The sidewalks are wide enough that you can run across the Memorial Bridge into Arlington National Cemetery. Rock Creek Park has a bike and running trail.

Sometime relatively soon after I started running, I thought about completing a marathon. It sounded so over the top that I just had to do it. I had a friend doing the Aids Marathon training program and through that I learned about the Galloway Method

So I put the marathon on my bucket list. I then broke it down to the smaller goals with a 5K, 10K, and a half marathon on my list as well.

Life happened. I moved. I gained a ton of weight. One day woke up and realized, HOLY SHIT I”M FAT! I’m really really fat! and started back to running . . very very slowly. So far I’ve lost about 20 pounds.

Last Saturday was my half marathon: The Little Rock Marathon in, where else, Little Rock, Arkansas. I printed out the training schedule on the site and went to town.

As any longtime reader of “run melissa run” knows, I have been panicking about this race for a good two weeks. I’ve never run a race with this many people. I had visions of being trampled by other runners. I’d never run a race this long. Would the hills kill me? Will I lose my timing chip? lots of concerns.

They turned out to be unfounded. I took pictures. Here we go.

packet pick up

This is where I picked up my “packet” with my number, timing clip, and all the necessary items needed for the race. The expo was nice. I met some of the nicest people while I was there. Runners, as a group, tend to be really nice people. Maybe it’s true what they say about endorphins and mood. I saw lots of nice things and ended up doing a little shopping.

Cool shirts at the expo.

I did not buy either one of these t-shirts.

Goodies

I bought The Stick, which is billed as a “self massager” (no not that kind of massager). IT was worth its weight in gold. I got some gloves, a ponytail headband, a bumper sticker, a magnet, and some jelly beans.

I did my carbo loading at Dam Good Pies. This is an awesome restaurant with great food. I highly recommend it.

Best shirt ever.

I almost wore this shirt to the race, thinking it would be hilarious and might give the spectators a little chuckle. Then I remembered that my pants were black. Oops.

The race itself. Well 6 a.m. is really freaking early. My mother wanted to go with me and since I’m not a morning person, I was more than happy to have someone else with me to wake my sleepy head up for the race.

I started the race with my intent to do 2 minute running/1 minute walk break splits for the duration and I kept this up easy breezy until somewhere between mile 9 and 10.

Around mile 7. (when mothers with cameras attack)

This picture is around mile seven. Our hotel was on the race route and my mother waited and came outside and took this picture. Obviously, I’m not what you would call pleased with my mother playing Paparazzi.

Somewhere around mile 9 and 10, I got real tired. This route was significantly more hilly than the training area in my town. In fact, Little Rock is a lot more hilly than Melissa land in general. The hills had gotten to me. I began walking up the hill in front of the Governor’s Mansion. After that, I pretty much walked the rest of the route. My goal was just to finish. I didn’t care if I was last.

I finally got to the last turn. I got some lipstick at the lipstick aid station and crossed the finish line about 3 1/2 hours later. One person cut off my timing tag. Another person put my finisher’s medal around my neck.

My finisher's medal

(my finisher’s medal)

And none other than Mr. TMFW himself put the mylar blanket around me to keep me warm. By this point, I was so tired I wanted him to tuck me in bed with some warm milk and read me a bedtime story.

The post race atmosphere is a little odd. People are tired and yet supportive. I ate a slice of pizza, some chocolate milk, and a banana. I found my mother. I called my Dad.

“Hey Dad”
“So how did it go?”
“It went alright”
“Did you finish all 13 miles”
“yeah”
“REALLY!”

Uh huh that’s what I thought.

Bragging rights.

I learned a lot during that race. I learned that I need to find more hills for training purposes. I learned that in running, like life, the two biggest things are to show up and to keep going when times are tough. Everything else is gravy.

,

13.1 represent.

Me and my medal.

I survived. I wasn’t dead last. I’m a happy (and sore) camper. It’s also late. I will write in detail later.

Book lists and zaniness

I am a woman who loves lists. I am always making lists, editing lists, and throwing old lists in the trash. I am always on some quest to improve myself and have found that making a list of the small incremental steps is a surefire way to ensure success.

I have always liked to read. Maybe not as much as other folks for I have always had piano playing as another time consuming hobby, but I do like a good story now and then.

When I found out about the Modern Library 100 Best Novels and the Radcliffe Best Novels lists, I was on that bandwagon and put reading all those books on the bucket list. Reminder to self, PUT BUCKET LIST ON BLOG.

Modern library list (books read bolded)
1. (1922) Ulysses James Joyce
2. (1925) The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. (1916) A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man James Joyce
4. (1955) Lolita Vladimir Nabokov
5. (1932) Brave New World Aldous Huxley
6. (1929) The Sound and the Fury William Faulkner
7. (1961) Catch-22 Joseph Heller
8. (1940) Darkness at Noon Arthur Koestler
9. (1913) Sons and Lovers D. H. Lawrence
10. (1939) The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck
11. (1947) Under the Volcano Malcolm Lowry
12. (1903) The Way of All Flesh Samuel Butler
13. (1949) Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell
14. (1934) I, Claudius Robert Graves
15. (1927) To the Lighthouse Virginia Woolf
16. (1925) An American Tragedy Theodore Dreiser
17. (1940) The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers
18. (1969) Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut

19. (1952) Invisible Man Ralph Ellison
20. (1940) Native Son Richard Wright
21. (1959) Henderson the Rain King Saul Bellow
22. (1934) Appointment in Samarra John O’Hara
23. (1938) U.S.A. (trilogy) John Dos Passos
24. (1919) Winesburg, Ohio Sherwood Anderson
25. (1924) A Passage to India E. M. Forster
26. (1902) The Wings of the Dove Henry James
27. (1903) The Ambassadors Henry James
28. (1934) Tender Is the Night F. Scott Fitzgerald
29. (1935) Studs Lonigan (trilogy) James T. Farrell
30. (1915) The Good Soldier Ford Madox Ford
31. (1945) Animal Farm George Orwell
32. (1904) The Golden Bowl Henry James
33. (1900) Sister Carrie Theodore Dreiser
34. (1934) A Handful of Dust Evelyn Waugh
35. (1930) As I Lay Dying William Faulkner
36. (1946) All the King’s Men Robert Penn Warren
37. (1927) The Bridge of San Luis Rey Thornton Wilder
38. (1910) Howards End E. M. Forster
39. (1953) Go Tell It on the Mountain James Baldwin
40. (1948) The Heart of the Matter Graham Greene
41. (1954) Lord of the Flies William Golding
42. (1970) Deliverance James Dickey
43. (1951-1975) A Dance to the Music of Time (series) Anthony Powell
44. (1928) Point Counter Point Aldous Huxley
45. (1926) The Sun Also Rises Ernest Hemingway
46. (1907) The Secret Agent Joseph Conrad
47. (1904) Nostromo Joseph Conrad
48. (1915) The Rainbow D. H. Lawrence
49. (1920) Women in Love D. H. Lawrence
50. (1934) Tropic of Cancer Henry Miller
51. (1948) The Naked and the Dead Norman Mailer
52. (1969) Portnoy’s Complaint Philip Roth
53. (1962) Pale Fire Vladimir Nabokov
54. (1932) Light in August William Faulkner
55. (1957) On the Road Jack Kerouac

56. (1930) The Maltese Falcon Dashiell Hammett
57. (1924-1928) Parade’s End Ford Madox Ford
58. (1920) The Age of Innocence Edith Wharton
59. (1911) Zuleika Dobson Max Beerbohm
60. (1961) The Moviegoer Walker Percy
61. (1927) Death Comes for the Archbishop Willa Cather
62. (1951) From Here to Eternity James Jones
63. (1957) The Wapshot Chronicle John Cheever
64. (1951) The Catcher in the Rye J. D. Salinger
65. (1962) A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess
66. (1915) Of Human Bondage W. Somerset Maugham

67. (1902) Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad
68. (1920) Main Street Sinclair Lewis
69. (1905) The House of Mirth Edith Wharton
70. (1957-1960) The Alexandria Quartet Lawrence Durrell
71. (1929) A High Wind in Jamaica Richard Hughes
72. (1961) A House for Mr Biswas V. S. Naipaul
73. (1939) The Day of the Locust Nathanael West
74. (1929) A Farewell to Arms Ernest Hemingway
75. (1938) Scoop Evelyn Waugh
76. (1962) The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Muriel Spark
77. (1939) Finnegans Wake James Joyce
78. (1901) Kim Rudyard Kipling
79. (1908) A Room with a View E. M. Forster
80. (1945) Brideshead Revisited Evelyn Waugh
81. (1953) The Adventures of Augie March Saul Bellow
82. (1971) Angle of Repose Wallace Stegner
83. (1979) A Bend in the River V. S. Naipaul
84. (1938) The Death of the Heart Elizabeth Bowen
85. (1900) Lord Jim Joseph Conrad
86. (1975) Ragtime E. L. Doctorow
87. (1908) The Old Wives’ Tale Arnold Bennett
88. (1903) The Call of the Wild Jack London
89. (1945) Loving Henry Green
90. (1980) Midnight’s Children Salman Rushdie
91. (1932) Tobacco Road Erskine Caldwell
92. (1983) Ironweed William Kennedy
93. (1965) The Magus John Fowles
94. (1966) Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rhys
95. (1954) Under the Net Iris Murdoch
96. (1979) Sophie’s Choice William Styron
97. (1949) The Sheltering Sky Paul Bowles
98. (1934) The Postman Always Rings Twice James M. Cain
99. (1955) The Ginger Man J. P. Donleavy
100. (1918) The Magnificent Ambersons Booth Tarkington

Radcliffe list

1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
3. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5. The Color Purple by Alice Walker

6. Ulysses by James Joyce
7. Beloved by Toni Morrison
8. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
9. 1984 by George Orwell
10. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
11. Lolita by Vladmir Nabokov

12. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
13. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
14. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
15. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
16. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
17. Animal Farm by George Orwell
18. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
19. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
20. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
21. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
22. Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
23. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
24. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
25. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
26. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
27. Native Son by Richard Wright
28. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
29. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

30. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
31. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
32. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
33. The Call of the Wild by Jack London
34. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
35. Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
36. Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin
37. The World According to Garp by John Irving
38. All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren
39. A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
40. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
41. Schindler’s List by Thomas Keneally
42. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
43. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
44. Finnegans Wake by James Joyce
45. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
46. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
47. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
48. Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence
49. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
50. The Awakening by Kate Chopin

51. My Antonia by Willa Cather
52. Howards End by E.M. Forster
53. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
54. Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger

55. The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
56. Jazz by Toni Morrison
57. Sophie’s Choice by William Styron
58. Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner
59. A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
60. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
61. A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor
62. Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
63. Orlando by Virginia Woolf
64. Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence
65. Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
66. Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
67. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
68. Light in August by William Faulkner

69. The Wings of the Dove by Henry James
70. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
71. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
72. A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
73. Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs
74. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
75. Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence
76. Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe
77. In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway
78. The Autobiography of Alice B. Tokias by Gertrude Stein
79. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
80. The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
81. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
82. White Noise by Don DeLillo
83. O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
84. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
85. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
86. Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
87. The Bostonians by Henry James
88. An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
89. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
90. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
91. This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
92. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (okay confession here. I have gotten 3/4 of the way through this and oh lord, make it stop!!!)
93. The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles
94. Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
95. Kim by Rudyard Kipling
96. The Beautiful and the Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald
97. Rabbit, Run by John Updike
98. Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster
99. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
100. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie

Resolutions

I am a chronic list maker. I always carry a notepad of some type in my handbag or my bookbag to make notes. I always have a to-do list of some sort. I have a big “bucket list” with the sublime, the surreal, and the serious. This, however, is the list of goals for this year. I have a tendency to dream big.

  1. To finish the Little Rock half marathon
  2. To run a marathon (maybe Chicago, Marine Corps or Las Vegas)
  3. To see the Warhol exhibit in Little Rock
  4. To see the Postsecret exhibit in Bentonville
  5. To incorporate yoga into my workouts.
  6. To get at least 64 ounces of water a day
  7. To move from my humble hamlet to somewhere more urban. (this is the COUNTRY so “more urban” won’t be that hard)
  8. To try sushi (yes I’ve lived this long and haven’t tried any)
  9. Less processed food
  10. Read 50 books this year

Sixteen tons and what do you get?

Bellesouth says that I tagged her on facebook for this meme but she is sadly mistaken. I haven’t done this meme anywhere and since it’s Holidailies, I thought I would amuse you with these snippets.


The Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 16 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 16 random people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you.

  1. I actually keep a large and annotated bucket/things to do before I croak/goal list. There are hundreds of things on there
  2. I want to finish a marathon
  3. Even though I am from Arkansas which considers itself the South even though the coasts consider it the Midwest (these are some fighting words y’all), I do not like fried catfish, sweet tea, boiled okra, deer hunting, the Arkansas Razorback football team or watermelon. I’m afraid the state might revoke my driver’s license, “Sorry hon but you’re no Arkansan of mine!”
  4. Once upon a time, I had a website and I wrote an entry about how I was so horny I could cry. A reader sent me a vibrator for Christmas. God bless the internet
  5. I love the writing of William Faulkner and want to read everything he has ever written
  6. I was able to name 111 countries on this website
  7. I was inspired to take piano lessons from a Bugs Bunny cartoon involving Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
  8. I still want to be able to play that song
  9. One of the most amusing memories of my brother is when he put an egg in the microwave to cook it. I believe I was 12 and he was 10. The egg exploded and blew the microwave door wide open.
  10. I have straddled the equator in Kenya
  11. When I’m on my own accord and not bound my societal conventions or legal obligations, I curse like a sailor.
  12. If it’s possible to have a diet Dr. Pepper addition, then I definitely need join Diet Dr. Pepper Anonymous.
  13. I want to ride on camel while looking at the pyramids in Egypt. I need to hurry up, I hear acid rain is making them erode away
  14. I’m scared of snakes
  15. I like taking photographs. In another life, I would be a photojournalist
  16. I turn into a babbling baby talking idiot whenever I see a kitty cat or a tiny puppy dog. Seriously, someone is going to shoot me someday.
  17. I lost 30 pounds this year. GO ME!

This isn’t actually facebook so I’ll just tag anybody who reads this and needs a holidailies prompt.

BOOO YAAAA

I ran 6 miles on Saturday. That’s right 6 miles. That, to date, is the furthest I have ever run. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that I didn’t feel like I was going to fall down from exhaustion. I couldn’t believe that my pace didn’t slow down a whole helluva a lot. I couldn’t believe I wasn’t crazy sore. I did have a slight ache that made me very aware of my legs when I was trying to go to sleep that night but that was it.

I am amazed. RAWRRRRR..

Of course, now I’m feeling all proud of myself and am considering doing the Little Rock Marathon in earnest. There are some hills and that will be a challenge but it seems doable. Crazy but doable. I will be ridiculously slow but it seems feasible that I can finish the thing.

WOW! I’m amazing myself over here. Of course, running a marathon has been one of those “BUCKET LIST” type goals so I’m a little psyched about the whole thing.

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