Running up that hill.

Did not "train" all weekend due to headaches/feeling not so great.  So, yesterday, when I go to do my set mileage, I feel terrible, like my legs are like lead.  I managed to keep running for a mile but I stopped soon after that.  It didn't make me feel great (because I should have done more), but I can't be disappointed because at least I did SOMEthing.

More than anything, I got Vegas on the brain.  We fly out Sunday, and I'm really looking forward to it.  It's going to be a fun awesome vacation with fun awesome friends, and it's just what I need.

Now that Angel & Buffy are all done (at least DVD wise...), I need a new show.  Of course, I went delving into the world of cult shows, and I came up with Veronica Mars.  I was pretty certain I would love this show for a long time, but again, I held off.  Mostly, when I don't watch a show that has a lot of buzz around it, it is because a) everyone else is watching it and so I am trying to be too cool for school, b) Jack tells me I need to quit watching so much TV/he tells me I already watch a show almost identical to it/he tells me I watch enough shows that aren't good solely for entertainment purposes (that boy doesn't understand my addiction, huh?), or c) it came on the same time as one of my favorites and this is pre-DVR times and therefore I could not watch.  With VM, I have no idea which one of these typical reasons it was but I'm guessing it fell into the realm of b.  Either way, I think I needed to be a fan of 2 things before I started VM- Buffy (duh) and Party Down.

Party Down is one of my new favorite shows because it has a great cast and it reminds me of Arrested Development.  ANYTHING that can invoke memories of AD is a blessing in my book, because there are not a lot of shows that can garner that kind of compliment.  Party Down does, because it's got dysfunctional characters doing somewhat ridiculous things that are hilarious and awkward at the same time.  That to me is television gold. 

However, PD is produced by Rob Thomas (NOT of MB20), and he's the creator of Veronica Mars.  Therefore, lots of crossover in casting.  This is also the reason by being a Buffy fan was crucial to pre-VM viewing, because there are many old Buffy cast members that grace the VM line-up.  I'm looking forward to episodes featuring Charisma Carpenter, who I didn't like much at the beginning of Buffy but broke my heart by her last episode of Angel.

Either way, Veronica is filling up the void in my life left by finishing one of my new favorite TV franchises.  Fast-paced and unique dialogue, interesting characters, excellent pacing of plotlines, and dynamic casting.  Do I like TV too much?  Perhaps.  I don't think so.  I think it's my hobby.  I know that sounds weird... but it's true.  I watch it a lot, but it's not a passive activity.  Sincerely, my dream job would be a TV writer-- NOT a writer of TV shows (though I think I'd be really good at that...) but someone who writes about TV, like a reviewer, and get paid for it.  Basically what I do now with more focus and MUCH more money.  One can dream...

This got rambly.

ANOTHER goal met!

Ran for over 1.5 miles STRAIGHT last night.  To me, that's awesome.  The other thing that I was very excited about is that I reached the point where I could run and not think about it.  I was on the treadmill, staring at the wall in front of me, and I wasn't thinking, "OH, my legs hurt!" or "Just a little bit more, just a little bit more" or anything like that.  I was listening to the music and listening to my breathing, and my legs didn't even feel like they were moving.  It was pretty freaking great.  I'm very confident that I'll be able to finish the race within that 90 minute time that Mom wants.

Nothing else other than that.  Just feeling good about running, which is weird...

A Goal Met, and A Wee-Little Rant

I officially started the 10K training yesterday.  I say official because I hadn't been running, just Shredding.  I should have started 8 weeks before the "race" and so I was a little concerned as to how I would do today.  Today was a 2.5 mile day, and I usually don't go that far when I jog/run/whatever.  When I was doing that "couch to 5k" thing, I would run according to time rather than distance.  So, I was a little nervous, but I was like, whatever, I gotta do it so I was just gonna try it.

Now, I feel I must thank Jillian AGAIN.  I did something I haven't done in a really long time, if ever.  This is kind of sad, but I'm excited so I thought I would say it.

I ran for one whole mile straight.

This has been a goal of mine since I started doing more athletic/work-out things.  I used to run track in middle school (one whole year!  woooo!), and my "event" was half mile.  Even then, when I was running DAILY and competing, I don't remember going a whole mile without stopping to walk for a bit.  And I was 12 years old!  You're supposed to be all crazy active and crap when you're 12!  So yesterday was a pretty awesome day for me.  Maybe it's a silly goal, but hey, it's MY goal and I reached it.  THEN, I did my 2.5 miles, and I kept up the pace we'd need to keep to finish in 90 minutes, like Mom wants to.  In general, WTG, me.

I've been watching/reading/listening to all this Kevin Smith stuff lately.  I love the Kev, as I have since I was 15 years old.  I know he's a big dude, and I know this is kind of a blown-out-of-proportion story, but holy crap, this is so embarrassing.  I wouldn't wish this kind of press on anyone, even someone I hate.  The other thing about this is, so I read the comments other people post on major news sites about this story.  THAT is the most terrifying part, because they are hate-filled rants about how all fat people need to die and they are disgusting and they should kill themselves for being so disgusting and good for Southwest for telling him he's gross.  That boggles my mind, because... that's a kind of hate I don't understand.  I want to say I can't believe it, but the sad part is I can.  This is one of those hot button issues that usually gets swept under the rug, but I seriously feel like there is a hatred of fat people here, which is weird because Americans ARE FAT.  We eat processed foods, and we're sedentary, if I can generalize.  This is why I work out, this is why I try to eat better.  I am habitually lazy (have been all my life!), and if it weren't for some excellent recessive genes, I would easily be one of those people that has a hard time and struggles with their weight, and that thought scares me because I don't want to become a "person of size" as Southwest calls them.  I'm not saying we should all be lazy and eat what we want and not worry about health issues and stuff; I'm just saying we shouldn't HATE people to the point of TELLING THEM TO DIE because they are overweight.  That is simply horrifying to me.

"Gus, don't be this crevice in my arm."

Didn't Shred yesterday, but I did shovel some ice and snow.  I'm definitely feeling it now in my back and shoulders.  I woke up this morning, and my arms were killing me.  I was so confused, until I started moving around more and realized what hurt and where.  At least it makes me feel slightly better about not Shredding.  I didn't this morning either, but that was because I wanted to have plenty of time to get to work in the tundra, and in order to Shred in the morning I HAVE to be started by 6:15 am or I don't have enough time.  Therefore, it'll be this afternoon.

I started Level 3, and while it is "no joke" as Jillian would say, it is also my favorite of all three levels.  I liked One, but I also felt like I mastered it pretty quickly.  Two pushed me further, but it is also a lot of plank work, and it hurt my hands more than I realized.  Three is a lot less work with the weights and a lot more resistance with your own body and strength.  There's a ton of knee work too, which makes me feel I need to get a knee brace due to an old embarrassing injury that I've ignored since I was about 13, but that's a story for another day.  And that day is called Never.

Last night was Psych night, which is one of my favorite shows.  It's got that murder mystery angle, and it's pretty much the silliest thing I've ever watched.  That includes Scrubs AND Boy Meets World.  Its silliness is part of its charm, and it is also geared towards people who love obscure pop culture references and quotable phrases.  My favorite things from last night (if I'm not allowed to use lyrics from the opening scene song, Steve Perry classic "Strung Out") were Gus referring to himself as the Vault of Secrets, him telling Shawn that he couldn't help him "Period.  Suck it.", the Simon Baker reference (Psych constantly adds little bits of mockery in almost every episode about the CBS show "The Mentalist" which is a less silly rip-off), AND the entire conversation between Shawn, Gus, and the falsely accused inmate.  Shawn called Gus by his real name (no silly nicknames!) and he told him not to be the "iiiiiiih" in "wait for iiiiiiiiiit."  In order to understand any of that, you probably have to watch the show.  Therefore... sorry!

Finally, is it Feb 28th yet?  No?  Let me know when it gets here, okay?  C'mon Vegas!  I wanna see Fat Elvis and possibly something featuring Cirque du Soleil.

ALSO

Congrats to friend and blog reader Melissa on her engagement :)  And WTG, Old Lady props to me because the girl I used to baby-sit?  Turns TWENTY-TWO TODAY.  Barf. 

Blah blah blah, snow snow snow.

Have I mentioned I'm over it?  Well, here it is one more time: OVER IT.  I did appreciate a 3 day weekend, though.  It gave me time to really gain some Angel momentum.  I'm into Season Four now, and I love it because ANGELUS is back.  You can tell the difference between Angel & Angelus because Angel is sad and mopey, and Angelus is a huge ass who wears eyeliner and leather pants.  Plus, Angelus will occasionally speak in a very terrible Irish accent.  Woo.  It's kind of like how you can tell when Buffy isn't Buffy because her hair is crimped.  I kid you not.

Many power outages around the area this weekend.  We are lucky because we live in a more centralized and populated area of the county, so our power was never out for long.  It was simply annoying- it would go out, come back, go out, come back, blah blah blah.  However, TWICE, it went out while I was doing my Shred.  WTF?  The first time, I had literally just started, so I made up my own Shred.  I mean, it's 3 minutes strength (30 sec core exercise, 1 min legs & arms), 2 minutes cardio (two different exercises, 30 seconds and alternate), 1 minute abs, repeat twice.  So... I did a pretty good job, probably somewhere between a Level 1 and a Level 2.  I worked my abs too much, because now they are super sore.  And so again this morning, I was in the middle of Circuit 2, and I was feeling pretty good, when BANG.  Power out AGAIN.  And this time, I had to go to work!  I definitely needed a shower.  So, i tried to finish that circuit and make up another one, finished cleaning off my car, and when I came back in?  Power on.  UUUUUGH.  It's just annoying.

I need to officially start training for this 10K.  With the massive amounts of ice and snow in this town, I get nervous about going to our "workout room" at work because there is lots of snow all around the building and I feel wussy.  However, I need to just suck it up and do it.  I want to be able to get through this race with a good time, and I want to be strong enough to inspire my mom to keep up with me.  I think it's important for us to do this together.  Very awesome bonding.

20 days til Vegas.  PLEASE GO BY AS FAST AS POSSIBLE, you 20 days.  I want to be here.

I... don't have the words.

I can't stop laughing because I just found this picture of my fave David Boreanaz from his first job on Married With Children.

I will not be able to do anything for the rest of the day, because I will probably still be LAUGHING.

Nothing else to report, just giggly.  Heeeeeeee.

[insert witty and punny title here]

Lost last night.  Whoa and meh.  A couple of things I liked, a couple I didn't, and some I just didn't care about.  I'm kind of ready for questions to be answered rather than more questions be introduced.  I am quite confused about Sayid's resurrection, but we'll see, I guess.  Also, the revelation that John Locke = Evil Man in Black from last season's finale was not a big WOW moment for me, because that's the only logical explanation as to who he could be.  Don't really know how I feel about it yet, but I can tell you this- I loved seeing Bernard & Rose together, even though it made me so sad.  They won't get their happy life together, because she's sick.  On the island, at least they were together with Vincent and stuff.

I looked up a 10K training program, since I've got like 8 weeks to go and I should have been training for it.  I took a page out of Amber's book and I'm following a slightly modified Hal Higdon schedule.  I'm still doing the Shred, but I'm kind of doing it my own way.  I'm not worrying about missing days so much (as long as there are just a few here or there, not like every other day or anything), but if I feel terrible, I'm not doing it.  I did Shred this morning, despite the fact that I had a sinus-y headache, but the cool thing is that working out made it go away.  Awesome sauce.  However, my plan is to continue with the Shred at least until Vegas, which is the end of the month.  I also found out that my awesome friend Erin will be in Richmond to celebrate her 30th birthday the same weekend as the 10K!  So, hooray for bonus celebrations and hooray for not having to travel to Richmond for an extra weekend :)

Speaking of said awesome friend, she made me this totally bitchin' hat that I super love.  I have been looking for a hat that looks like this for about... well, to be honest, probably since I was in high school.  It's got that old school 1920's feel to it, like a cloche, and it's pretty much the coolest.  I wore it all around the house yesterday, and I wanted to wear it to work today, but with the crappy crap weather, I decided against it.  Plus, I've been wearing my LL Bean "Holy Crap It's Snow-pocalypse Cold Outside" coat to work, and it would not look as good with it.  Either way, check it out below!!

Love ya, hat!

The sun is out!  Melt that snow!  Melt that snow!  We need to make room for the next foot or more that supposed to be coming this weekend.  (Or, as my brother called it, Snowmageddon 2010: Snow Looking Back)  Siiiiiiiiigh...

"The sky looks pissed...the wind talks back..."

SERIOUSLY, so over this weather.  I never in my life thought I would tire of snow, and yet, here I am.  I want it to GO.  AWAY.  It's just everywhere and irritating and making me cold and I feel like I'm going to fall on ice every day.  I'm too clumsy for this kind of weather.

A few entries ago, I talked about Lost.  And I didn't realize that it came on TODAY, not tomorrow.  So.. YAAAAAY.  I'm so excited.  As previously stated, I love TV (der) and I especially love well-done TV (thought I don't exclusively love well-done TV; please see also any entry about Angel).  Lost is especially well-done TV.  It's one of the only shows that can continue to surprise me.  I gasp, I yell, I talk back, and I generally interact with an inanimate object.  Now, I have been known to talk to the TV on many occasions, regardless of the quality emanating from it.  With Lost, though, it's different.  It's not passive at all.  I don't feel like I'm just sitting there, staring, while the pretty colors change.  It's like a total experience.  The only other shows I can think of that make me react like this are Glee and Pushing Daisies.  Then again, with those two shows, I may just be reacting to the pretty colors.

Either way, I am sad for Lost to end, but I'm also kind of relieved.  Watching Lost is... well, as I said, it's not a passive activity.  After you watch it, your mind hurts.  You need to talk it out.  You need to know what's coming next.  You need to know what is UP with the Dharma Initiative.  Are they scientists?  Are they crazy hippies?  Are they government coverups?  Where can I get one of those awesome jumpsuits?  Too many questions.  There aren't many shows out there that rile their fans into such a rabid frenzy.  Especially when none of it is REAL.  Personally, I find it semi-exhausting, and I can't wait for my many questions to be answered in just a few months' time.

If they don't explain the numbers, though... someone's getting punched.

Grammy... Awards?

The Grammys were on last night, and I had no urge to watch it.  Whatsoever.  I have previously stated that I love award shows, but this love does not extend to the Grammys.  I think they are kind of pointless and nonsensical at this point.  I don't feel that they truly honor the people who should be honored.  It's not even a veiled popularity contest; it's just boring.  However, I ended up watching them due to unexpected but welcome houseguests, and we needed something to entertain ourselves.

There were about 400 performances last night, ranging from a song about jeans by the Zac Boring Beardy Brown Band to something so bizarre by Capt. Jamie Foxx Crunch that I don't even know what to say about it.  Beyonce sang Alanis and grabbed her non-balls surrounded by Rhythm Nation, Gaga and Elton were pretty normal, Roberta Flack wore a Bedazzled neck brace, Dave Matthews did a spastic happy dance that reminded me why I love Dave Matthews, The BEP love Target and Black Jack Dealers In Space, Bon Jovi phoned it in, and Swifty + Stevie = off key.  However, I saw about 4 awards given out.  Why even bother to masquerade as an award show when the majority of it is NOT awards?  If you want it to be lots of performances, give out the awards offscreen, and have the winners perform a week later.  This is just ridiculous at this point.

I also noticed that nothing very original or particularly good won awards.  Nothing innovative, nothing that made me say, "wow, good choice."  In fact, when the Zac Brown Band beat MGMT, Silversun Pickups, and The Ting Tings as Best New Artist, I kind of wanted to stop watching all together.  Um... what?  Have these people HEARD Ocacular Spectacular?  Are we listening to the same albums?  Just... wow.  In general, watching the Grammys made me sad for the state of music affairs in this nation.

Though, I do like Taylor Swift.

I've missed another day on the 30 Day Shred due to oversleeping (whoops!), and with said guests last night I didn't get up this morning, but my plan is to hit it when I get home from work.  I've lost more weight (yaaay!), and I still swear I look skinnier, and therefore I still like doing it.  Plus, I only have about 10 days left, so there's no point in quitting when I've gotten this far.  I am getting a LOT better at walkout push-ups, I still hate anterior raises of any kind, I weirdly like all forms of crunches, and I am still terrified of Jillian.  I will probably go back to treadmilling it once this is done, since I have that 10K to think about (see previous entry to donate to my page!), but hopefully this Shred will have kicked up my endurance, despite the fact that I haven't run in a long while.  Eek, nervous.

I'm sick of snow and coldness.  Come on, Vegas.