Irrational

I have quite a few irrational fears. Clowns. The ice cream man- which may also stem from the same place as the clowns issue does (I’m looking at you, Stephen King). Walmart after dark. Stepping on man-hole covers on the streets because I’m afraid of falling through.

 

Just to name a few.

 

But the most recent one? It came as I became a member of the public transit system.

 

I absolutely hate these things:

 

Not the small turnstiles. Those I can manage. Sure, it’s an art to roll your suitcase through one. But I’ve practiced and become semi-decent at the trick.

It’s the tall ones I fear.

 

Obviously the girl in front of me hates them, too. As shown by her opting for the “emergency exit only” door. You can easily guess which route I took.

 

I mean… come on.

 

What if my bag gets stuck? It’ll get wedged between the two turnstiles and I’ll be stuck forever (which is horrific- as an average sized human being, it’s still a tight fit)! Or killed in some crazy Final Destination-style moment. Because my luck will surely run out one of these days.

 

What if the person behind me pushes too hard? It’ll send me flying out as I get tripped up in the “walk through”.

 

What if I push the wrong way? Does it still work?

 

What do tall people do in these things? Or overweight people?

 

I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS!!!!

 

There has got to be a better way.

 

And until these questions are answered, I’ve learned the various paths of least resistance. Also known as which way to walk off the train at my designated stop to avoid the scary death machine if at all possible. Or only use them at stops that are less populated so I know I won’t be shoved through like cattle.

 

Although the turnstile I used last night was not spilling people out everywhere, it still gave me anxiety.

 

We pretend that’s why I needed to be subdued with this:

 

It’s not the only reason. I also heard the damn ice cream truck coming my way. Had to run a half block with my work bag flying behind me.

Stupid Stephen King movies.

 

But I’m safe now. The door was deadbolted and continued to stay that way all night. Because I stayed in. Not so much because of my fears (the ice cream man was long gone by the time it got dark), but because it was either have a relaxing night on the couch or meet up with a guy who asked me out on a date and then decided later on to add “bring a friend and let’s go drink our faces off”.

 

I feel the right choice was made.

Friday Follies

1. I need to be less awkward in life and maybe work on my game for the ride home on the train earlier this week. The hottie that came and sat by me didn’t get a wink from me. Or sexy eye contact. Or a witty comment or two. Instead, he got whacked in the side of the leg as I had to shift in my seat to make room for more people.

I have no idea why he didn’t want to chat me up.

2. Rainstorms at night are much less fun to try to sleep through now that I sleep on the top floor of an apartment with a tin roof.

Sure, there are worse things. But tell that to sleep-deprived Amy. Just go ahead and try.

3. I’m running a themed race next week. My friend from St. Louis is helping me with this because I have no access to the exact thing I want to wear and she does (you’ll see). Now, the entire el car I rode last night knows my measurements and bust size. And maybe my displeasure with how there’s more junk in the trunk and a lack of anything substantial “in the front”.

It wouldn’t have been so bad had our train not been delayed for 15 minutes on the tracks… just sitting there… STOP LOOKING AT ME!

Wow, I am super awkward.

4. My taste in classic literature has been a bit on the snarky side of things these days:

I’m just finishing up “Me Talk Pretty One Day” and just starting “Jeneration X”. I’ve read several books by both David Sedaris and Jen Lancaster. The sarcasm kills me.

David Sedaris makes me feel better about being an awkward individual.

And I want Jen Lancaster to be my BFF. She lives here, so I know she’s totally going to give me a call so we can hang out.

Patiently waiting…

And waiting…

5. There’s much to be done this weekend, including a long run in the morning, so to prepare, I’m doing my usual Friday night in.

Thank goodness the wine glasses are clean.

One of the few things that are around here.

Ah well. Another thing to tackle. Tomorrow.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

And On Friday, She Rested.

Or at least I will. It’s still early yet.

But I have high hopes.

Starting with sleeping in and not participating in a morning workout. When training for the last half in April, I enjoyed having Friday as a day of rest, so I kept with the tradition for the most part.

Plus, that allows for an extra glass or two of wine on date night. There are no downsides to this.

However, I am reminded now that training for my half marathon in September should have started this week. Whoops.

Since it’s my day of rest, I’ll worry about that tomorrow.

Today I will worry about making sure wine is chilled and the DVR is ready.

Today I will worry about emails from friends and fam to catch up on and new recipes for a friend’s birthday to google.

Today I will worry about making sure I have clean workout clothes and a charged ipod for a run that is… tomorrow.

Today I am resting.

And it feels good.

(Source)

Obviously this is me tomorrow. Not today!

Happy Friday, kids.

Whatcha doin’ today?

Low Profile

Yesterday I didn’t post.

It was Friday the 13th. Seemed safer to just keep a low profile. You just never know when it comes to such things.

Besides, I didn’t have a lot going on. It was a rest day in every which way.

Ever since half marathon training started back in January, I’ve used Friday as a recovery and rest day so Saturday could be super kick-ass.

This seemed smart in theory. Not so sure if it always worked. But I’ve decided to keep up with the trend- even if the race is well behind me.

Plus, after a long week of work, there is nothing better than walking through the door after a stupidly long commute and just collapsing on the couch.

My roommate was not far behind. We bond through our sheer laziness.

At some point, I got hungry. There was chicken defrosting in the refrigerator, or a burrito at my local mexican joint with my name on it.

The cooking of the chicken won out. Mostly because I didn’t feel like putting my shoes back on to venture outside.

Plus, you can’t really walk down the street or into a restaurant with an open glass of wine.

I mean… what if you dropped it?

On top of that, there is quite a bit of food in my refrigerator that needed to be used up. And if I wanted to still have that kick-ass workout this morning, a burrito bomb with extra guac and sour cream might not be overly helpful. Counterproductive, to say the least.

We’ll save that for late-night after-party snackage.

So I was a good little girl and made myself some chicken with a side of brussels sprouts and the last of some sweet potato fries.

Stewie was a little nervous about Friday the 13th, too...

It was then a swift retreat back to the previously mentioned couch to watch The Descendants.

Definitely worthy of all the Oscar attention it got. However, not really a “feel good” movie. Makes sense, being as how it’s about finding out that your comatose wife cheated on you.

Yet worthy of a tear or two.

I know. What is going on with me?

We also rented Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Since it didn’t get watched last night, we’ll get to it at some point today, I’m sure.

Even if I will probably feel the need to purchase another dead bolt and sleep with the light on for a few days/weeks/whatever.

I’m not mature enough for “R” rated movies.

Balls.

See what I mean?

Rest Day Numero Uno

Good morning everyone!

My parents are coming to visit today! What does this mean exactly? It means I get another weekend of quality family time, along with food from the farm. It also means my hands may permanently have the smell of clorox and windex from the amount of cleaning I’ve done in the last 24 hours.

Since I’m on official “race rest” until Sunday morning and my roommate is saving her energy for a big bachelorette bash later tonight, we spent last night getting in some roommate bonding time. Much like every other night of the week. I’ve been told we’re like an old married couple. So what? A quiet night in with a wholesome dinner, a movie, and early bed time is a rockin’ good time on a Friday night.

If there was a little wine spillage on the bib number, it totally means good luck, right?

Wait… what?

We decided on watching Young Adult. It was either that or Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. But we both felt the need for something light.

Or so we thought that’s what we were getting into. “Light” is what the trailers for Young Adult portrayed it as. Definitely not what it was. It ended up being a “grass is greener on the other side” sort of movie that ended with the same feeling as it began with. I’ve had better.

Alright, time to break out that windex one last time and finish my laundry. When the ‘rents give an estimated arrival time, it really means they’ll show up about three hours before then.

You think I’m kidding.

100 Words- I Stayed In Edition

I stayed in last night.And watched my Red Birds win the World Series.

Red wine to celebrate a victorious cardinal nation. Hell yes.

I also stayed in to rest up for an 8-mile run today.

The pace was kept around 8:45 and I still had energy at the end of the last mile. This makes me feel oh so good about next week’s 15k! (Yes, I was nervous about it.)

Finally, I stayed in so I could be all rested up for tonight.

It IS Halloween weekend afterall…

Remember last year?Let’s see if we can top it…

Happy Weekend!

100 Words- Lethargic Edition

Energy has been lacking for the last few days.

Not sure why. 

I’ve cancelled the last two days of workouts. And sat on my couch instead.

Or laid on my couch. Either/or.

Friends tried to get me out last night.

I politely said I had plans.

With a couple of Red Box movies. And a bottle of wine.A new wine. Because I was feeling mischievious…And leftovers. Because that was a lie. I was actually feeling quite boring.

Hopefully this lethargic feeling goes away. It’s driving me nuts.

Plus my friend will hate if I cancel our run… again. Ugh.