Old Reliable 10k

Me - 1:00:26 chip time; 9:49 pace; bib #613; place 541 out of 817. Fastest in my age group - 44:14; 7:10 pace. ¡Merda! I'm slow.

Bunnies 3.0.

Wow! Three decades down and what...five/six to go??? Crazy to think that I could live to the year 2070 when I vividly recall bearing down the hatches for the turn of the 21st century thinking that the world might end. I was laying on a stuffed mattress in the middle of my living room floor surrounded by candles and eating canned tomato soup. My ex saying to me in his best worst Italian that at least we made it to Europe before waiting for the world to end.

I guess I can say the same for turning 30; no regrets! I've been fortunate enough to travel to other countries and see life outside my limited scope. I benefit everyday from the formal education I've been able to receive. Some mornings I wake up thankful for my own warm bed and a roof over my head when some share a single room with all their extended family and sleep on bed rolls. When I run in the evenings, I think about having a strong heart and body to carry me and how lucky I am to live in this body. When I walk in the mornings and I'm greeted by the sun, I can't imagine life without it.

For my birthday I took time out to celebrate mid-month by going on a spontaneous trip to Paris with my newest closest friend. Taking spontaneous trips energizes me and this trip went off without any snags, so once again the spontaneous trip cravings are subdued. My return to Raleigh however has been less than glam. My recent Mr. Fabulous turned out to be Mr. Houdini, and pulled a wonderful disappearing act once again tarnishing my trust and faith in the male species. If anyone reads this and has recently spotted the asshole, call me - it will confirm my suspicion that he's a fool and not a corpse. But enough about outside parties...let's talk about my family. They may not be hand-picked like my friends, but they love me attitude and all and I wouldn't trade their stubborn republican asses for all the rubies in India. We threw a 60th birthday party for my Aunt last weekend and she squealed with delight. In turn, my cousin's new wife and my new cousin, cooked me a delicious brunch and baked some very delicious pumpkin muffins to celebrate the fall and my 30 years on the planet. Awww...like I've said before Life is Good and to repeat a quote that I'm told all the time from my Mama, "Someday your prince will come, and along the way you gotta kiss a lot of frogs." Why couldn't that fable 'be kiss a lot of cute bunnies' instead?

Life is Good...

Maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on Match.com in my last blog post. It actually did really well pairing me with the current man in my life. Since we met, I've experienced moments of pure bliss accompanied with delicious meals and good entertainment. One of my favourite things about him, and there are many more than just this one, is that he gets along with my friends so well. They've been really accepting and he seems to genuinely enjoy their company. The past 5 weekends since we met have really been fantastic. Even my little mountain bike spills don't phase me when I'm this happy. So Life Is Good...the sellers accepted my offer and I'm going to buy this house that I've called home for the past six years. My job is going really well and I'm learning every day. I would highly recommend my Master's program with Villanova to any HR professional seeking an advanced degree and this weekend was sunny & beautful - I ran a 10k on Saturday in better time then my last and I discovered a new mountain bike trail with friends, which kicked my ass but left no major damage just minor cuts and bruises. Yeah, if you were wondering - I'm smiling here in Raleigh, NC.

Ninja Turtle Burgers

My friend Wild Irish threw one helluva bash last night, complete with boombastic DJ, overhead outdoor lights, tiki bar, personalized cups for the beer kegs, glow stick balls for night time fun, three sets of corn hole, and delicious food prepared by the guests - pot luck style. The Mustached Mystery Man's blackberry cobbler was warm, sweet and tasty. My Ninja Turtle burgers were a hit too. My cousin always sends me these "forward" emails, and one of his most recent included photos of these beef burgers smothered in cheese, wrapped in bacon, and adorned with hotdogs for turtles appendage. I thought they looked awesome and the guest of honor at last night's party included bacon in her wedding vows, so I just had to whip some up for her as a special treat. Mine were smaller than the original and my bacon weave didn't turn out quite as planned but they were tasty with a slice of avocado and tomato on a sesame seed bun.

The summer is sailing by, but I haven't wasted a single day. Thanks to my super mom, I got an early birthday gift that's been bringing me a lot of joy. Meet the XXX Caliber (really there's just one X, but three XXXs are just more fun. The bike is still being broken in, and I'm having a kick ass time doing it.

The master's degree program is better than expected and I'm in the middle of my second course and enrolled in my third. If all goes well, then by my 30th birthday in October, I will also be a home owner! I'm sitting down with the home owner next week for a little negotiation talk. The most exciting part about all this, is that if things go as planned - my little bungalow will get some much needed renovations and I'm going to install an open-air outdoor shower, which will be so refreshing during these 100º+ days we get in the Carolinas.

I would say match.com is going well, but it's really not. I decided to create a profile after a sucky night of hanging out with all couples for the third weekend in a row and watching them PDA all in my face. We'll see how it does. I've already been stood-up by a dude that could play the ab-xylophone who signed his texts, "Will-i-am" - disturbing, for a short white guy. I got propositioned by a "wildlife/pest removal" specialist aka exterminator, (I'm sure he has some wonderful qualities) but I declined. Last night I'm pretty sure I let my friend write my phone number in permanent marker on her forearm to give to friend that was at the party, who showed interest. As I mentioned in my June post, most of my friends are planning their weddings, but it turns out they're kinda dreading hang up the "single" hat in the closet to collect dust. I wonder when the time comes, if I will to. It really can be a lot of fun.

Movie Inspired Rambling

I loved hard in my late teens/early twenties. So hard in fact, that I married a man I'd never spent more than 10 consecutive days with because I thought romance could conquer all and marrying my summer camp sweetheart was romantic. That's the kinda crap you see in the movies. The honeymoon period is blissful and exciting, the couple moves to Europe and travels on trains sipping prosecco and frolicking at Carnevale, and I guess sometimes - even in real life - it works out between two people that don't really know each other. Arrange marriages survive and have for generations.

Love isn't that easy these days.
Grateful for the memories.
Hopeful for many more.
Wondering when it got so damn complicated, and stopped being fun.

There is love in my life. I'm surrounded by it. Several years ago on V-Day my dear friend's boyfriend arranged a surprise wedding. Now that's love! I was there sitting in the back of the small chapel when her face lit up with delight at the unveiling of his little charade. That day I was full of love. In the past twelve months I've seen two engagements. A big hurrah while beach camping with all their friends, a guitar, a serenade, and a big round of schlobo singing. She couldn't stop smiling. She was so happy. Love was in the air. My cousin proposed to his girlfriend three weeks ago at a minor league baseball game, on the jumbo-tron and I was there too. He'd invited his family and hers, but we didn't know his intent. The cool part was that he told me he wanted everyone to know, which is why he did it on such public front. The wedding is in October. Another friend's wedding is just weeks away and there will lots of love there too. So for this blog I blame, of all things, the damn movie Julie/Julia. A movie inspired by food and fueled by love.

Social Sacrifices

So I'm pretty excited about embarking on this new Grad School adventure (literally). Post graduation I hesitated to take graduate level classes for the same damn reason I'm sitting at home tonight instead of at the Local 506 watching Local Natives rock it out. It's going to be a long two years turning down social invitations like these:

1 - Local Natives touring in Chapel Hill, all shows on this leg of the tour are SOLD OUT - bollocks!
2 - Leaving the homemade curry dinner party BEFORE the chicken was even in the oven - shite! However, the take home vegetarian version was delish.

And it's only Day Two.

3 - Saturday night Party in Brentwood, now Leslie thinks I'm lame.
4 - Sushi, even if it was just Sushi Blues, I declined due to class - damn.

Well I made through week 5.

5 - Uwharrie Hiking Trip; term paper time

conundrum

play the game
cat and mouse
chase
you’re the holy grail

guard your treasure
don’t give a clue
create desire

rule 1 : be yourself
rule 1.5 : love yourself
rule 2 : listen to the audience
rule 3 : patience
rule 3.75 : don’t modify, adapt
rule 4.2 : don’t reveal all your cards too soon
rule 5 : exude confidence
rule 6.1 : don’t settle
rule 7 : mind readers don’t exist
rule 7.7 : wanting is not needing
rule 10 : there are no rules

follow your heart
be kind
reciprocate
show gratitude
smile
embrace
believe
trust
forgive

Urban Hiking

Leaving my bike behind when it's cold, rainy, and 5AM exuded a sigh of defeat from me, but I gave-in and hailed a ride home with a friend. My body ached Sunday morning as I laid it down to rest; an ICO trip, a drive to Pittsboro to visit the Carolina Tiger Rescue, art stimulation, concert music stimulation, and six straight hours of standing and slinging drinks. Bright strong sunshine roused me from the deep sleep I was in and breakfast was the next thing on my mind. I wanted to be outside in the sun, the first warm day in over six weeks. I dialed my phone. It rang. My friend answered. Then it started raining. So my hike downtown to retrieve my bike, started with an umbrella in one hand and a dog leash in the other. My hike took all day, roughly eight miles round trip. Trip highlight's: finding old Califone album in Used Bin, finally ordering a Shut Up and Eat It! hero sandwich from Sadlack's, where the cook makes a sandwich of his fancy for the patron to enjoy. Biggest highlight of the day...retrieving the bicycle from work and having Tucker "pull" me home. Every new thing I experience on my bike; clip-in shoes, riding with no hands, having the dog pull me, &tc. is thrilling.

Weekends like this one are the fabric of my happiness; simple pleasures shared with friends requiring some level of exerted force where there's no crowd involvement, being outdoors is part of the experience and time is a non-issue.

People who suffer from dissatisfaction at work may need more weekends doing things they love. In a recent online article workers complained and carried on about not being happy with their jobs:



Over the past several years working as a young HR professional, I've developed my own theory concerning the subject. It starts with the progression of technological advancement. During the Industrial Revolution, advancements in agriculture, transportation, mining, &tc were slowed by research & experimentation; firsts were happening constantly but they took decades. There was a lack of connectivity; telegrams took days to arrive, a massive distance variable; west coast and east coast weren't talking to each other everyday. Today, technological advances are rapidly making appearances in the market -turnarounds are months not decades, and business professionals are affected by that. It's hard to keep up. People find it difficult to be motivated at work when their job changes frequently and products being developed quickly become obsolete. Those working locally here at RTP, are investing time in an ever-changing technological environment that doesn't produce a tangible product to admire. Most of us, me included, are working to support something on the outside. I may never actually set foot on a farmer's plot or lift a jug of product, but I show up everyday and support the mission. Is that motivation enough? In a society of materialism, instant gratification, and capitalism; can I ever truly be satisfied with my work if I'm not getting direct credit and/or holding the finished product?

Yes, I can because work isn't my sole purpose. There's been a generational shift since the Baby Boomers went to work for manufacturing and industrial jobs. We're a thinking workforce now. Our product: Ideas! Often our work is providing words of direction; managing projects to get items produced on opposite ends of the world then get them back to their original creator for dissemination. Workers are motivated in a variety of ways and current Generation Xers are motivated by feeling like what they do matters. This is increasingly difficult when so many are "support" staff. However, accepting the fact that people aren't remembered when they're gone for how much stuff they bought with the dollars they earned or laid to rest with credentials after their names on tombstones, but rather for being good mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends, and neighbors. Work should be secondary to the other pleasures in life and if those are in balance then work, regardless of what you do, should be a means of income to support those pleasures. Work to play, work to travel, but don't live to work.