1. I've had race fever for weeks, and I have finally found an outlet- the NYC Half-Marathon in March. It's in NYC, the course looks awesome and you get a medal at the end (I have severe medal entry, probably because I never got athletic trophies as a child). It's lottery entry, though, so I might not get in. We'll see! In the meantime, I'm going to try doing a "run" (run/walk) outside this weekend. I don't know if I have proper clothing for running outside so this could be innnnnnteresting.
2. Also on the calendar for the weekend: Twinkie vet visit, fall festival at stynxno's friend's church in Brooklyn, dinner at another friend's Red Hook restaurant.
3. Parents come to town for a week in 12 days. I briefly entertained obtaining proper furniture for them to sleep on, but I think I'm over that idea. They'll just have to make themselves comfortable on an air mattress!

Oo, maybe I should do 9+1 in 2014 so I can have guaranteed entry to the marathon in 2015. CRAZED I TELL YOU.

1. Had a new neighbor email me out of the blue to volunteer to update the neighborhood website. He's professional web designer and will do it for free (or at least for some comp house tour tickets). I put together the WordPress setup but I'm no one's designer so having someone with some artistic ability would be great.

2. Working on my web development skills and successfully wrote a sales report generator for house tour ticket sales and managed to deploy it to Heroku (a web app hosting service). Working on my mad GIT skillz.

3. Started physical therapy for my back this week and have been doing some torturous stretches twice a day. I think that they're going to put me in traction today.

3a. I'm so jealous that you're running in a half TPS. I so hope that I can get back on the trail after this back thing is cleared up. I need to decide soon if I'm going to shell out the 90 dollars for the Pittsburgh Marathon that's in May or not. I really wanted to do my first full marathon before I turn 50.

I might not be running it! Have to get in via the lottery, which I hear is difficult. Maybe if I don't get into that one, I'll do another....

1. Parent-teacher interviews this afternoon. This came home on kiddo's report card yesterday :)

≡ Click to see image ≡

2. TPS, there's definitely a bunch of April half marathons in NYC. I ran one in Brooklyn this year. You will have more luck getting into one run by NYC runs, probably.

3. Tired. Yawn.

1. Had my first 60 minute massage in years last night. Apparently I need 90 minutes and deep tissue work, according to the therapist. Signed up for their monthly massage service, which I can skip a month and break out into 2 90 minute massages, so we'll see how that works. I was informed I need to drink more water (yeah, yeah) but also told that my lower back tenderness is over my kidneys and could be caused by lack of water. Ok. I'm in - I'll try drinking more water consistently and then see if it goes away.

2. Getting my hair cut tonight - it's down to my butt, and hasn't really had anything done to it in a year or more. I get the urge every fall to do something to it. I'm hoping for a trim and some shape. Am going to Aveda, and letting students work on it, so I'm considering it an adventure. It'll grow back, worst case.

3. Finally done with the costumes and event I've been working on/looking forward to. Now, I get to clean and organize, and the plan for the next one in January. woo!

1. Struggling with a painful work project trying to integrate wildly different systems with vague requirements.

2. Wife is due to have our first baby in a week and a half. No signs yet.

3. Posted my first Metafilter FPP in a year, nobody took it to Metatalk so I guess it was OK.

1. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 2. chilling. 3. doing what needs done.

Totes jelly of all the runners! I just can never keep up with it.

1. So tired. I'm really hoping that I'm not coming down with another cold because I had one last month. (However, a goodly number of the symptoms have already appeared.) I'm trying to avoid taking a wakey pill here at work so I can take it before I go to dance class tonight, although doing that made me so out of it on Monday night.

2. Said tiredness makes it very hard for me to give a fuck about things, like the fact that I need to seriously clean my house tomorrow and prep for next year's dance stuff and decide when to tell AKD that I'm leaving them.

3. I don't think I'm going to have time for a nap today. I'm almost hoping that my mom's birthday lunch gets cancelled for Saturday so I can have a day to just sleep all the sleeps. Friday is when I normally do that, but I've got so much cleaning to do that I don't think it'll be possible.

1. NaNoWriMo is going poorly -- I'm at just under 20K words, but I'm grinding to a halt in terms of energy and interest. And I'm leaving town at the end of next week, so it looks like getting to 50K ain't gonna happen. *shrug*

2. Cold and windy here now. Hoping for warm weather next weekend in Florida, even though that will set back my annual process of cold weather acclimation.

3. I bought a new jacket for fall but the time for wearing it is already past.

I used savings to buy a used Honda minivan yesterday. My job ended, and I am going on a Road Trip. I know several people who died before they got a chance to retire, so I'm going to go some places I've 'always wanted to go' starting with seeing my son and his family in Colorado, visiting family along the way. Planning to be in Colorado for Christmas. After that, will plan the next destination.

1. My back is bugging me and I have a persistent headache so feeling the crankies this AM.

2. Went to see David Sedaris live on Monday night. Laughed ourselves sick and also teared up when he read his recent New Yorker story about his sister Tiffany's suicide. Still thinking about the evening.

3. Kinda rushed and completely off running/healthy eating track this week. Looking forward to a reset this weekend.

TPS, totally enthused to hear you are going to try to do a half! Go easy to start on your training. You are such a social animal, I'd also suggest looking around for a group of runners to join up with.

1. Today is eight years since George died. I still miss him every day. But I'm spending Thanksgiving with his family in Ohio, which I hope will put to rest the memories of the last time I was there at Thanksgiving. We'd planned our engagement, but instead it was his funeral.

2. I'm working from home until Tuesday. I'm so grateful for this job and the boss I have now. As long as I turn out the work, she leaves me to my own devices.

3. I'm loving Bikram yoga. I've found it easier if I take off my glasses, because all I can see is a blur and I don't get distracted by other people in the class - either by comparing myself unfavourably to them, or secretly criticising them in my head because they're "doing it wrong". There are some poses I doubt I'll ever be able to do, but certain poses I find easy, while the young, skinny, fit girls struggle to do them.

1. I lined up a professor to be my senior thesis advisor! Hot dog!

2. I had three really good sermons earlier this week but I'm still pretty worn out from it. Preaching two services on Sunday, a short service in front of my Lutheran colleagues on Tuesday morning, and then my "senior sermon" at my seminary wore me out since I wrote them all the day before (though I worked on them last week). I keep hearing good things about my senior sermon and I think it was recorded. However, I need to figure out how to get audio off of a CompactFlash card.

3. I've been asked to serve on my synod's outreach committee. My first meeting is at the Godbox tonight. I'll be meeting a brand new bigwig. Lots of networking will be done!

4. (bonus) I'm excited for the weekend cuz of all the things that TPS listed and the Broncos are on TV Sunday night!

1. I just had a class where everything that could go wrong did. The energy in the room was totally off, students didn't want to participate, jokes fell flat, I was totally tongue-tied several times, was prompted to revise material on the fly .... erg. Trying to focus on the things I can fix.

2. Trying to plan Thanksgiving and Christmas activities.

3. Hoping the day improves.

1. I just went to the Steven Alan sample sale and got a bunch of holiday shopping done (and a little for myself, cough cough). It seems to be sample sale season! I love shopping and getting crazy deals so this makes me super happy.

2. I've been baking up a storm recently- cocoa cookies, a pear tart, gougeres. It counteracts my efforts to eat healthy, but I love baking! And I keep finding recipes that I want to make. I am thinking of having a cookie swap party sometime soonish.

3. Husband is at a work conference this week which is rare. He spent so long agonizing over his outfits and what to pack. It was cute. I kept trying to remind him that it was an academic conference and literally everyone else there will be in jeans or a giant beige suit from 1992 and that he doesn't have to work so hard to impress.

4. I finally started using my citibike membership and it's really fun. Also terrifying. But I am proud every time I go out and bike. I decided that I should bike to the sales I want to go to, and get exercise and do something good before indulging. Today at lunch I rode in my skirt! I felt like such a badass for figuring how to do that without flashing the world.

(((hugs senyar)))

1. I am wiped out today. Last night I went to the Justin Timberlake concert, and didn't get home until one am, which is waaay past my bedtime. I am not JT's target audience, but I had a really great time. I recognized most of the songs, and the stage show was excellent.

2. Because I am so tired, I am going to miss a friend's birthday dinner this evening. I just don't have any gas in the tank. I will probably be in bed before too long. No matter, tomorrow is said friend's actual birthday, and I am going to spend time with her in the end.

3. This year has been all about putting myself out there, saying yes when I normally say no, generally in an attempt to be more social and less of a hermit. It's been an interesting year to say the least, but my poor little introvert brain is heading into the busiest time of the year screaming in protest.

1. Out-of-control sinus drainage.
2. Having difficulty catching my breath.
3. Just want to sleep for a century or two.

1. I have a wildly inappropriate crush. I think it may just possibly be reciprocated. It is wildly inappropriate yes and quite probably nothing will ever come of it but still it's enormous fun.

2. They are replacing the carpets at work starting Sunday - without closing the store. This is going to be so awful I can only barely imagine the awfulness. I mean it's going to be awful on a galactic scale, here. So I'm looking forward to that with dread and horror.

3. Perdita (this dog) is so addicted to Trader Joe's liver treats that I think I could probably train her to do anything at all, like recite Shakespeare while walking backward on a tightrope, with them. Lucky for her I am so deeply bone lazy.

1. No energy. I think I may need to replace some of my CPAP parts or something. Can't wait to be insured... if that ever happens.

2. My uncle passed away last night. That's the 3rd one I've lost, all on my mom's side. She's only got one brother left; crazy to think about.

3.

*hugs*, Senyar and Eideteker.

1. I had a huge five-hour gap between clients today, so I came back home to hang out with the kitties. Which was nice, but it was hard to motivate myself to leave the house again this evening.

2. I am too warm in the house but my heat had not been working and I finally got it working and now I'm reluctant to turn it off.

3. I've noticed that I've started talking more to strangers, like cashiers. I generally think this indicates that I'm happier in general, but now I'm worried that I'm turning into a customer at whom all the sales people inwardly groan when they see her. I mean, probably not, but human interaction often confuses me.

Hugs senyar and Eideteker.

Occhiblu, all the cashiers where I work are horribly bored when it's not busy and love chatting with the friendly customers.

! 1. I received a surprise package in the mail. It's a wonderful lift since I've been feeling down lately. Such a wonderful friend!

2. It's nervewracking waiting to get results from Mom's bone marrow test next week.

3. I have lots of catlapping since I keep it cold inside to reduce power bill. And I cannot find the space heater I use in the bathroom .... think the kitties need training on warming up wet person ... or searching out that heater. Kitties must earn their keep.

Yay, roadtrips and marathons! Hugs for Senyar and Eideteker.

1. Day two home with a cold. Rest and advil seem to be keeping life tolerable.

2. Signed up for NaNoWriMo on an impulse less than a week ago. My word count is shit, but the story is slowly building itself up. It's like being surrounded by Legos. I'm not hitting walls so much as I have this pile of stuff that needs to connect logically.

3. We got cable, well, Uverse yesterday. Not sure what to do with it yet. I'm half afraid it will suck my life away if I turn the TV on.

I'm Sorry, Eideteker.

1. My Aunt And Uncle Are Coming Next Month To See The Magritte At Moma. I'll See If I Can Get Them To Use The Subway This time.

2.Fuckton Of Stuff To Do In My Place. I Could Use A Stewie Cleanup Thread.

3. Title Case Has Come Back. Blahrrgll!

1) I got out of the hospital last night after being there since Monday.

2) I was what the doctors called an "Interesting Patient." ("You don't want to be an interesting patient" they told me. "You are interesting.)

3) They finally diagnosed me with infectious endocarditis, which is what I suspected, due to the splinter hemorrhages that sent me to the ER.

3.1) I get to spend 10 hours a day over the next 6 weeks giving myself IV antibiotics through an IV at home. Two antibiotics, twice daily, with a total run time of about 5 hours each time. Fun fun!

3.2) Not sure yet how/if I'll work during that time.

3.3) The good news is that I didn't die and that I actually feel fine.

1. Stressed and worried about:
1.1 - missing kids terribly on weekends when they are with their mother
1.2 - not coping with workload despite working nights and weekends to try and keep up
1.3 - some stuff happening in best friend's life
2. On the positive side, lots of people raved about a presentation I gave at a work conference Thursday
3. Because of 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3, sat on the verandah last night by myself and drank 1.5 bottles of red wine. Feel much better this morning than I have any right to.