Friday Leftovers (July 9)

Another week in the books. I'm actually looking forward to this weekend. I usually have to work on weekends in the summer but not this weekend... well, at least not too much. And I can do my work from home, most importantly.

Word Association

As always, play here.

1. Authorized :: User
2. Flirting :: Disaster
3. Bad :: Good
4. Digit :: Number
5. Sexy :: Lady
6. Combinations :: Passes
7. Guard :: Forward
8. Retina :: Eye
9. Motion :: Picture
10. Concert :: Loud

Okay, flirting :: disaster is like in the term "flirting with disaster" although I was a disaster with that so I guess you could say that mirrors me; it's a good thing I don't have to worry about that anymore. Concert :: Loud probably shows how I feel about concerts now. I was never a huge concert-goer though that had more to do with funds than anything, but now I've little desire to go to concerts. Metallica I'll go see whenever they come to town and a few other bands as well but for the most part, I'm cool just hanging out and listening to music on my computer or my iPod or phone.


Bad Feelings

I went and traversed the course I took during my 22-miler. I thought about getting up again at 3:30 a.m. and heading out the door before 4 a.m. I thought about being on the run in the dark.

It all drummed up bad feelings.

I can't believe I got up that early and ran that much, alone. I wasn't alone in the end, of course, but still, I was alone for the first 17 miles of the run.

That might be a sign that I should take a break from running marathons, which I plan on. Sort of. My next one won't be until February or March. But then again, I know that once I remove myself from the 22-miler, that I'll feel better about it. The bad parts of the run are still pretty fresh in my mind but like most everything else that will fade and all I'll be left with will be the good memories.

By the way, is it okay to feel like a badass for having run that much? I know a lot of people, a lot of runners, have run as much during training, but still, it feels pretty cool to know that I'm there with them. I try and stay humble about running, always have tried to stay like that, and I think I do a good job with that, but still...

Five Question Friday

So here we go with another Five Question Friday. Thanks to the awesome Mama M. for hosting this. It's really fun, although, I feel like I'm crashing the party because I'm a guy and everything, but she don't seem to care, so here we go...

1. What is one food you could eat everyday?

Hmm... interesting question. This has changed and probably will continue to change as I get older, but today I'd have to say Orange Chicken. Funny thing is I can make it. In fact, the old-school readers of this blog might remember when I showed you all how I make it. It's delicious! I haven't made it in a while but I really should. I just like the sweetness of the orange and the texture of the chicken, and the consistency of the sauce... I mean Orange Chicken in general, not the recipe I make, although mine always goes over well.


2. Are you working in the career you thought you would be when you were 18?

No. I had no ambition when I was 18, at least not to go to college. I worked as a bank teller back in the day, most of 1994. I thought I was going to have a future in the financial field. I didn't want to go to college and I figured that was a good place for me, in a bank. That job would eventually lead to other things, none of which would have required college. Of course I got fired from that job (through no fault of my own, I believe, although I did deserve it, maybe one day I'll tell you the story) and then couldn't find another job so in late '95 I started attending college.


3. What is something that you wish you would have done when you were younger and you didn't?

Join the Peace Corps. I just hemmed and hawed for too long. Just when I was going to take the next big step and make a call about the Peace Corps, I met a girl and we now have two daughters together. But I always wonder about the places I might have been able to go to, what doors that would have opened. I mean, I did intend to come back here, but living abroad and lending a huge helping hand was very appealing to me, still is. Of course, I have a little bit more responsibility now so I can't do that.

4. What color are your kitchen walls?

White. My kitchen is too small. Not sure if painting the walls a different color would make a difference or not, but they're white and we don't necessarily plan on painting them soon. We would love to get new tile on the countertops and new cupboards but there are other things we'd love to get to.

5. Do you remember what your very first favorite song was?

Yes! I was just thinking about this the other day. A song came on the radio from the Talking Heads. I'm not sure what the song was, I forget the name, but it was pretty cool. I was getting into it, and I remembered the song of theirs that I really used to like back when I was very young. I thought that maybe if we weren't so poor back then, that maybe I could have gotten the cassette tape and then maybe I would have gotten all into the Talking Heads.

So what was the song I really liked, my first favorite song?

Burning Down the House by the Talking Heads. It came out in 1983 so I would have been about seven years old. I remember listening to the Top 40 countdown on the radio just to make sure I heard the song.

And now for a trip down memory lane...