2011

Well, I'd be remiss if I didn't blog to reflect on my life in 2011. When I think back to 2011, I truly think of it as the BEST and WORST year of my life. I know that sounds cliché, but it is really the only way to describe 2011 for me. Basically, the bad started at the end of 2010, and continued well into 2011, getting worse in January. I was extremely unhappy with my career, which made me unhappy in life. I just felt lost in life. Was this how I was supposed to feel at 26? Was this it? Could I do this for the next 30 plus years? Even if I found another job, could I leave this one? It was prestigious, paid relatively well, secure, and to be honest a lot of people would kill for that job. My motivation was gone. I had the best work ethic in high school in college. By the time 2011 rolled around it was dead. I was just a shell of myself who came to work, didn't talk to anyone, miserable, barely left my desk, and then left to go home. I let that place suck so much energy out of me all I wanted to do when I got home was work out and retire to my room. I also pushed people away that had nothing to do with any of it, and I regret doing that.

In January I recognized how bad I had let things get and sought out change. From there I focused on how I could make the best of my job until I completed my service agreement. I could choose to be happy at work and suck it up, or I could let it swallow me. I'm stubborn, but slowly I realized the path of least resistance was choosing happiness. I used to think that was straight up bullshit. People would say, "You can choose to be happy." And I would think, "Whatever, how do you choose that if you hate everything around you?" Quite simply, you just do your best to ignore the negative and focus on the positives. I started coming around at work and even had a few thoughts of not quitting. Ha! I must have hit my head those days.

There were other things going on with me too, more personal. I didn't think I would ever deal with it or face it. I am not going to get into that here though because this is a very public forum and I don't believe in sharing ALL with the world! But it has to do with the following theme. I am somewhat of a people pleaser. Hell, I am a complete people pleaser. That might be hard for some to believe, but I really just want everyone to be happy. Unfortunately, up until 2011, I lived my life for others. Almost every decision I made involved me analyzing, "Will this make X happy?" or "What would Y think if I did this?" A noble goal (if I must say so myself, haha), but an unrealistic one. Fact is, you're NEVER going to please everyone. There will always be someone who doesn't agree with you. There will always be someone who doesn't like you for good reason, or not. You can ALWAYS find a way to make yourself happy.

I saw this quote and it resonated with me: "When someone says you've changed, that simply means you have stopping living their life." Have I changed? Yes, a hell of a lot. More than some of you people reading this know. But it's because I changed for myself. And I never knew I could be this happy. At 27, I am the happiest I have ever been in my life and that feels amazing. Is every day rainbows and butterflies? Of course not. In fact, yesterday I was kind of down, but you keep your head up and you keep moving forward. You have one life to live and you'll never get a moment back. So with 2011 being the best and worst, I am looking forward to only the BEST in 2012! (If the world doesn't end!) Sorry I had to.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas! (Observed)

So I'm a day late, kind of. Technically, Christmas is being observed today too since it fell on a Sunday. I know I was lucky enough to have off today. I hope everyone else was too. If you don't celebrate Christmas then just happy weekend to you. I had a GREAT Christmas and now I'm ready for the new year. I went out with one of my BFFs, Mike, Friday night, which was a lot of fun. On Saturday I visited Kara and the baby again. It's crazy how much the baby has changed in just over a month!

Then I spent the rest of Saturday, Sunday, and this morning at my parents. It was very nice and relaxing. We ate, lounged, watched some chick flicks, which my Dad loved and my uncle hated. I think spending the last 30+ years with chick flicks has ruined my Dad. HAHA! I also got a lot of great stuff... Michael Kohrs purse and wallet, framed photos from the wedding, shirt, sweater, mandoline, VT tumblers (yay!), bathroom accessories, VT apron, check, and cash because I am due for a phone upgrade. I am getting the iPhone 4s tomorrow and cannot wait! Apple, here I come. Sorry Apple haters.

And it's back to work tomorrow for four days before a three-day weekend!

Me and Mike out Friday night

Daryn and Me

Laney, so precious when she is behaving!

Virus

So early Sunday afternoon I got a virus, or I should say, my laptop got a virus. I will say it's like the third time it has gotten this virus in six months. And no, contrary to what everyone was tweeting at me, I was not watching porn. It wasn't a bad one. It just acts like you need to click here to enable, run this virus scan, blah blah, but that's actually the virus. The trouble is you can't open your virus or anti-malware software! So basically I had to spend all Sunday afternoon/evening fixing it. And then it happened again last night. WHAT.THE.HELL. So rude. This time I can tell you exactly what sites I was on... abc.com to watch Modern Family and The Google. Eff this Dell. I am getting a Macbook very soon. I was trying to wait until February, but I don't know if I can. First world problems, I'll tell ya.

Also went to Tysons Corner on Saturday to do a little Christmas shopping. Wow, I thought I was at a rock concert because the parking was so crazy. Inside it wasn't bad. The best part was getting almost $200 worth of stuff at The Limited (my kryptonite) for $73. Yay Christmas sales!

They also setup a website to help Officer Crouse's family. If you can spare even $5 I recommend you donate. Especially in the spirit of Christmas. If you're interested please go here. They have received almost $100k, which is so impressive! I cannot believe Christmas is next week. Where did this year go?!

Virginia Tech

Once a Hokie, Always a Hokie. I am sure this is not news to you, but I love Virginia Tech with ever fiber of my being. If it was a person I would lay my life down for it. Bad things happen everywhere, every day, and on other college campuses too. Unfortunately, Virginia Tech is under a microscope because of the horrific, unthinkable tragedy that happened there almost five years ago. I will NEVER ever forget that day; so many lost their lives way too soon. Whenever I get down, frustrated, or annoyed by something I try to think of those 32 that aren't here to live this life. I am, and I shouldn't take it for granted.

Today we lost a Virginia Tech police officer to another senseless act of violence. You can say Virginia Tech is cursed, that bad things happen there, but you're wrong. Blacksburg is where my heart is and it will always be there. I know all my Hokies understand. Those of you that took this as an opportunity to make jokes or talk badly about Virginia Tech, shame on you. On April 16, 2007 we received an outpouring of support and it was wonderful. Today there was a lot of support too, but also some hate and I ask why? Thirty-two innocent victims are murdered and people literally send their support (see below), but one is killed and it's somehow a joke? I feel sorry for you and the person that you are, or at least the person that you portray to the world. But mostly I feel sorry for you because you never got to go Virginia Tech and experience the magnificence that is Blacksburg! HOKIE NATION. WE ARE VIRGINIA TECH.

Rest in peace Officer Crouse and thank you for your service. UT PROSIM.

Fail Fail... WIN!

Two fails this weekend. The first one was Ram Racing's Hot Chocolate 15k/5k at the National Harbor Saturday morning. The race was set to start at 8am so my friend and I left my place in Arlington just before 6am. Everything was just dandy until we approached the location where we were going to park. Dead stop on the highway and we were still a couple miles away. We needed to park by 6:45am so we could catch the shuttle. Well, we got there right at 6:45am and all was fine because they obviously realized things were running behind as there were plenty of shuttles. We got to the race at 7am so we had an hour to kill. Good and fine since I don't like to be rushed for races. Even had time to take some photos!

So there I am ready to run and there's a view of the harbor, kind of. Well, there was MAJOR traffic getting into the venue and it was blocking part of the 5k course. Yeah, real men of genius designed that course! The announcer was the worst as he kept saying, "about five to ten minutes until we get this thing going." Umm, no. The 5k was supposed to start at 7:30am and it started at 8:30am. So the 15k, which I was running, started at 9am. AN HOUR LATE. I also didn't plan on standing in the cold for two hours so as you might imagine I got a little chilly in that outfit. This was only the beginning of the worst. My toes were numb for the first three miles of the course, a very strange feeling. The course was AWFUL! We ran the first 5 miles on a legit highway, interstate, whatever you want to call it. AND they left a lane open for traffic. I was dodging semis, mack trucks, douche in a BMW, breathing in exhaust fumes, and looking at signs for 495, 295, Route 1.

Hey guys, let's take this run onto 295! #safe

We finally got up to the harbor and that was okay, but the course was just still so dumb--narrow, off road, on road, sidewalk. Ridiculous. I am pretty sure my dead cat (RIP Miss Kitty) could have designed a better course. This was definitely not a course for a PR as you had to weave in and out to get around people because it was so crowded. I still finished in an hour and 20 minutes so not great, but not bad.

Then we have disaster number two: ACC championship and the Hokies. Holy hell what an awful showing. There's really nothing good to say about that effort! However, the joke was over the next day when we got the invite to the Sugar Bowl! Honestly, better bowl than the Orange Bowl anyway! Better location and better opponent. It's just so funny because of all the hate about it too. I swear some people just love to hate the Hokies. Sure there are teams out there I don't really care for, but I don't actively spout hate and hope they lose. Lots of people do that to the Hokies and to them I say SUCK......... OUR SUGAR! Haha. And today was all about how undeserving we are and this is a travesty. Hoooookay, what about Michigan?! And what about the fact that this is all about money anyway just like everything else in this greed riddled world!? I mean Bernie Madoff might as well be running the NCAA and BCS because it's all about getting the suits more money for their yachts, summer homes, luxury cars, and other non-necessities. So do we deserve to go to the Sugar Bowl? No, not really, but we're going so STFU and I'll be cheering them on with my hater blockers on. PEACE.

Absent

Okay, it has been a hot minute since I have posted and so much has happened! I have been really busy (I know), but in early November I wasn't that busy and didn't post because I just didn't have anything I wanted to write about. Well now I do! First of all, how about those Hokies!? So yeah, I know I said we sucked, and we kind of did. I mean, we really struggled against some teams like Duke?! Not okay. But we beat lame ass Virginia and that's all that matters! Now we're Coastal Champs again and we're headed to the ACC championship. Act like you care!

I moved! Major life upgrade. The place is so ridiculously nice and it's in an awesome location. I am not going to go into great detail because I don't want to give away where I live. I'll end up waking up to some creeper trying on my clothes. All I can say is it feels so good to be moved in and out of the old place!

New job is still going well and the holiday party is this Thursday, which I am really excited about. I haven't gone to a real holiday party in almost four years because we only had lame-o work parties during the day in the government. I have been running a lot and I am running the Hot Chocolate 15k this Saturday. I just got new running shoes at Potomac River Running, and was pleasantly surprised when they rang up at 30% off. I just love when little things like that happen!

Alright, it's off to hang my diploma and other frames!

Insanely Busy!

So I haven't blogged lately because I have been insanely busy. There's the normal busy with work and working out, but then you add softball, going out almost every night, whether it be for a drink, party, movie, dinner, or whatever else! Then last weekend I went to another wedding... seventh of the year. Once again, Mike and I murdered the dance floor! Woo, tonight is my first night in two weeks where I think I can catch my breath.

Today I went to a Stella and Dot Trunk Show and got some really cute jewelry so I am excited for that to come! If you don't know about Stella and Dot you should definitely check it out. The Hokies didn't play today, and that's great because they sure could use the extra practice time! That was a pitiful showing.

And tomorrow I am going to meet my best friend's newborn baby. I am so freakin' excited! I bought a bunch of little outfits today, a hat, and a bib. It's ridiculous. I had to walk away or I think I would have bought a whole wardrobe. Maybe if I get back from my parents early enough tomorrow I'll write another post!

Ch-ch-changes

It's been exactly one week since I started my new job, and although that's not exactly a long time, I feel like know I made the right decision. I am excited about my first assignment, the potential opportunities, challenges, and whatever else lies ahead. I've also already met some really great people. Everyone is very friendly and super helpful. Most of all, I'm just so thankful for the opportunity especially in this economy. My future's so bright I gotta wear shades. ;) Hahaha, okay sorry.

Work isn't the only thing though. Life is just good and I feel so relieved that this is where I am in my life right now. You see, a year ago I was in a really bad place. I was extremely unhappy, depressed, anxious, unmotivated (except for running and working out), and I just felt stuck. I recognized that things were bad and that I needed to do something about it. All the changes that I needed to make seemed so overwhelming though. You know how scary the unknown can be and the idea of changing to get there seems insurmountable? You have all these ideas in your head of how things could be or will be, but for the most part it's all in your head. I think being stuck in your own head and not knowing is way worse then taking the risk to figure it out. Actually, I know it's way worse.

Well, I can honestly say I've never been happier because of the changes I made over the past year. Without risk, there is no reward. :)

On another note, I am old. Long gone are the days where I can go out three nights in a row. To be fair, I was out late Friday night (another 4am'er), but then Saturday rolled around and I was worthless. And not a hungover worthless, just a 'I am so tired, I just want to lie on the couch and watch TV all night.' My 22-year-old self is laughing my 27-year-old self.

New Beginnings

Welllll, my sister's wedding was amazing, vacation came to an end, and I started my new job! Life is good. Everything went well for Daryn and Jon's wedding; the weather was beautiful, albeit a little windy. They were married at La Grange winery in Haymarket, Virginia (my hometown, holla!) and if you haven't been there I recommend you check it out. The reception was also there and Ted Garber was the musician and he was so much fun! Mike and I had a blast dancing and hanging out. I can't wait to go to another wedding with him at the end of the month!

After being off for almost two weeks I was exhausted this past Sunday. How does that work?! Oh, dinners, hiking, lunches, happy hours, going out until 4am, running, yoga, and everything else under the sun. I started my new job Monday and it's going great so far. It's just orientation right now, but it seems like a great company. I am ready for the weekend though because I feel like I need to catch up on sleep. I haven't slept well the past few nights.

Oh and to top the wedding off, the Hokies won! Woo, homecoming this weekend. I am a little sad I won't be there. It's probably the first homecoming I haven't gone to... maybe ever! Tear!

Staycation

Everyday I'm hustlin'. What?! Okay, nevermind, that is playing on my Pandora right now. So my staycation is starting to wind down; only four days left. I start my new job Monday though so that's exciting. I have enjoyed my time off by getting lunches, dinners, and happy hours with friends. We were supposed to have a softball game last night, but that was obviously ruined because we live in a tropical rainforest now. Yeah, you didn't know? We were transplanted to the rainforest! So we had a teammate happy hour at Hunan One instead. What a cool place! I had never been there, but it has great happy hour food and drink specials.

I've also gotten to work out a lot, which is always nice. Running, lifting, and yoga today! I hadn't been to Dancing Mind Yoga in a good month, so today was hard! In a good way though. I feel great now.

This is a big weekend with lots going on. First of all, (but of course not most important if Daryn is reading this) we travel to Wake Forest. When I say we, I mean the Virginia Tech football team, which I'm obviously a part of. Anyhow, Wake Forest is doing well so I am worried about this game. Furthermore, our awesome defensive end James Gayle isn't traveling with the team because he is hurt! Some dirty Miami player took him out of the game early last Saturday. Weak! Did Nevin teach you those dirty plays? Secondly, my sister is getting married! I had to get some of the length taken off my dress (one of the cons of being short) and I picked it up after yoga. It looks great! All the real fun begins tomorrow. I will be sure to recap it on Sunday!

Whirlwind

Where to even begin?! I had my last day of work last Wednesday and it has been non-stop since then. Last night was actually my first night at home since October 3. I have to admit it was a little sad leaving the building on my last day. I guess because it's the end of another chapter and I worked there for over three years. We also had softball on Wednesday as usual and got pummeled as usual, but it's okay because we have fun and go to Carpool afterward!

The best part of this week and weekend was going down to Blacksburg of course! I went to the game and it was probably the best game I have ever attended. The crowd was awesome, it was a beautiful day, and the team played so well. And it's ALWAYS great to beat Miami.

Thomas and Taylor celebrating

Allison and me celebrating!

I also went hiking with Robby on Thursday, which was really nice and pretty. It was a good hike with quite a few lookouts. I love being outdoors in Virginia, especially in the Fall. People don't utilize hiking and the great outdoors enough! It's easy for most of us to access, and best of all, it's free.

Now I get to continue my time off getting to do whatever I want! I am going to lift today, and maybe run. Other than that I'll be playing it by ear! Happy Columbus Day!

It's the Final Countdown

I have less than two days left at work until 12 glorious days off. I know you're jealy. First of all, I will mention the nightmare from Saturday. It was my birthday, as well as Virginia Tech's! The university opened October 1, 1872 and then 112 years later the real fun began when I was born. I cannot believe I just found out that bit of news on Saturday. Anyhow, neither of those were the nightmare. The nightmare was that game, against Clemson, OMG. I have been a Hokie fan for nine years and I am pretty sure that was the most painful game I ever watched. Just awful. Our defense played pretty well, but that was the only bright spot. Our offense was HORRENDOUS as was the play calling. And the special teams was special, but not in the way you want them to be. I can't say I was that surprised though, judging how we played against our first four cupcakes opponents. Oh well, it's just a game. Hopefully it doesn't dictate the rest of the season. I am heading down to Blacksburg for the Miami game and I cannot wait!

So yep, work tomorrow, and a halfish day on Wednesday and I am done. I signed some of my resignation forms today and it felt so good. Today was just a great day overall. You know, just one of those days where you wake up and think, "life is great, today is going to be an awesome day." Then the guilty verdict was partially overturned for Amanda Knox, which just made me so happy for her. She gets to come home now. Say what you want about her, but she was railroaded by the Italian police and justice system. They botched the case from the beginning and the prosecutor has a very questionable past. It sucks that she had to spend four years of her life in jail and fighting this case, but now she gets a fresh start back home and she's only 24. Isn't that what life is all about?!

And I will leave you with my newest obsession, Lost and Found by Kate Herzig:

Peanut Butter

If you really know me you know that I am pretty obsessed with peanut butter. I really could subsist on it and I know I am not well if I do not want any. What's better than peanut butter? Peanut butter AND chocolate. Today I went to Pinkberry and they had peanut butter flavored frozen yogurt! I tasted a sample and it was a winner. I ordered it and added strawberries, mochi, and heath bar. It was pretty much the highlight of my day! That's a little sad, but whatever. I ran about 6.2 miles this morning. I decided to hit the trail and run into Georgetown and back, which is always a beautiful and calming run.

Friday I had a really wild night of Whole Foods, running, and Target. Then I watched Bridesmaids with my roommate. Honestly, I was a little disappointed! Everyone hyped it up so much and I thought it was going to be amazing. It was really funny and I enjoyed it, but I expected more.

Saturday was my sister's bachelorette party, which lasted all day and into the evening since we did a winery then bar thing. I watched the game and was once again, unimpressed. I am really worried about playing Clemson this weekend. It's on my birthday too so they better win!

Two Weeks Notice

Yes, I did it. Today I put my two weeks in at work. I cannot describe to you how happy it made me. I feel relieved, happy, optimistic, and only a little sad. I'm only sad because I will truly miss some of my coworkers. We have gone through a lot together and they definitely made the days seem a little shorter and a lot more fun. I wish I could create my own company and hire everyone so we would be together forever! They'd probably quit if I was their boss though. Haha. The best part is my last day is October 5 and I don't start my new job until October 17. Woo, vacation staycation!

This Saturday is Daryn's bachelorette party and we're going to some wineries so that should be fun. Also, we play at Marshall. So far I am NOT impressed with the Hokies. I mean sure some players are having some great games individually, but they're not gelling together as a team. Who only hangs 26 points on Arkansas STATE?! If you haven't even heard of that team, well they play in the Sun Belt conference. Yeah.

This is short, but there isn't much else to say. I think I am going to go eat ice cream. Bye.

I'm Alive!

I didn't have the flu, but whatever I had was basically just as bad. Today is the first day since last Friday that I feel 100 percent. My stomach hurt all week and it finally stopped hurting yesterday after my coworker brought me a breakfast of eggs, toast, and potatoes.

Work yesterday was so slow because I got in at 6:30am. The time was passing so slowly and I was bored. Then at 10am some major drama unfolded and the rest of my day flew by. All I can really say is that I always knew there were lots of crazy, different, special people in this world, but I have only started to see it over the past couple of years.

Also, I have been so lazy with cooking lately. I don't know why, but haven't been interested in cooking. I didn't eat a lot this week since I was sick, but I finally felt like I could eat something Thursday night. So I went to this neighborhood joint Astor Mediterranean to get carryout. Why do randos feel the need to talk to me? I don't know because when I'm in a public place like that I'm pretty sure my face says, "don't effin' talk to me." So this lady asks me what all this stuff (in the glass casing) is? And I asked like what and she pointed to something. I said, "I think those are their bbq wings." (Thinking now please stop talking to me). NOPE! She says, "ohhh, I'm from Kentucky and we don't have much of this Mediterranean food there." Then the conversation really takes off:

(BTW, please read her portion in a thick, southern accent)

Me: Oh.
Kentucky: I'm here visiting while we are still the United States of America.
Me: Silence. Probably gives a look of WTF are you talking about?
Kentucky: I really love lamb, but I got the eggplant because I want my nicotine fix in my dinner. You know eggplant has the highest amount of nicotine of all vegetables?
Me: No.
Kentucky: Oh yeah. And lots of vegetables have nicotine, broccoli, tomatoes, and they want us to quit smoking! Yet we're getting it in our food.
Me: Silence (Thinking oh my god lady, are you effin' serious?! You are talking to the number one cancer stick hater and I can smell smoke on your nasty ass breath so I'm pretty sure you got your fix 863 times today.)
Kentucky: Yeah they want to get rid of tobacco because they can't patent it. So the government just wants to take it away just like everything else.

Patent tobacco?! WHAT?! And I still didn't say anything. The restaurant finally put me out of my misery and gave her the food she ordered. My god! At least once a week some weirdo like this feels the need to talk to me. I need to work on my bitch face or wear my ipod 100% of the time.

Last night I went to Ten out of Tenn at Iota and it was such an awesome show. If the show or any of the artists are coming to your city I definitely recommend that you go. There is nothing better than good live music. I'm posting a video of Andrew Belle performing In My Veins because it's an awesome song. He performed it last night and it was amazing.

Not The Flu...

Well after feeling like death yesterday, I made an appointment with my doctor today. Yesterday I was basically in my bed until 4pm with maybe one hour on the couch. Just getting to the couch was a challenge. I had the chills, then sweats, major fatigue, horrible headache, and body aches. Sounds like the flu, huh?! Awful. I finally started to feel better last night, but then I tried to go to bed around 10pm and had awful chills again.

So I went to the doctor and they were looking at me like, "man you look like death and hell all rolled into one." They did an influenza test though and it was negative. My doctor said it's probably just a bug similar to the flu. I guess that's good because it should go away sooner. I do feel a little better today--not as weak, no chills. She basically told me to alternate between ibuprofen and tylenol all day.

So let me tell you how this relates back to metro! I never used to get sick. Sure, as a kid, but never in high school or college or even the first two years out of college. I eat healthier and work out more than I ever have. Yet, now it seems the past two years I get sick three times a year. And why? Riding the metro with all the asshats who are sick, but go to work anyway, and cough their germs all over the damn train. So I ask you, if you're sick, even if you feel like you could go to work, DON'T! Do some work from home or something. You're getting everyone else sick.

Let's Remember

Well, this week never really turned around as my car wouldn't start and had to be towed to the automotive shop, the Hokies played like crap (but a win is a win), and I feel like crap. Seriously, I don't think I have ever had a sinus infection, but I guess that's what this is? I have the worst sharp pain in my forehead that only goes away for a few hours when I take ibuprofen and I get the chills and night sweats.

However, I can't really complain that much because I am alive. Today is the ten year anniversary of 9/11, the first of three events in which I realized this is a cruel, crappy world. I remember the exact moment when we heard about the Twin Towers. I was in Chemistry class, a junior in high school and they came on the announcement with a message about what was happening. At first I thought President Bush had been assassinated. That wasn't it though and we would only begin to comprehend what happened over the next couple hours. We ended up getting out of school early. The other two events I will never forget are the DC snipers and of course, 4/16 at Virginia Tech.

So if you're feeling down today or worrying about this and that, take a moment to reflect on your life and why you're still here.

Rain Rain Go Away

The rain kind of coincides with how I feel right now. Just down. That's why I haven't blogged. Well I was also busy down in Blacksburg, which was a totally fun time. I wish I could have stayed longer, but I came back Saturday night because I had a wedding on Sunday. The wedding was also a great time. Labor Day is where is took a turn, but hopefully in time things will be better.

On another note, a brighter one, I have less than 30 days left at my current job, which makes me very happy. I am ready to move on and try something new. Sometimes I wonder if I am making the right decision, but every day at that place makes me realize that I am! Oh and more good news--my achilles tendonitis is finally better! I don't think it's 100% yet, but I have been running. And yesterday I ran the furthest I have run in like a month, 5.5 miles, which made me feel so much better. It's really hard for me to rest even though I know that's the only thing that will help most of the time.

And lastly you should check out this song by NeedToBreathe because it's awesome!

Let's Go...

Are you ready for college football?! Specifically Virginia Tech! I am so excited and cannot wait to get down to Blacksburg tomorrow. Are you ready for all of this:

Best Tailgating Ever

Blacksburg Bars & $10 tabs

David Wilson... all that needs to be said

And of course the main event. Where all the magic happens. THE BEST PLACE ON EARTH. Where you bounce like you've never bounced before as the players run out of the tunnel and chills run down your spine. Where dreams come true. The place I experienced some of the best times, seen some amazing wins, but also soul-crushing defeats. No place else I'd rather be than spending four hours with 66,233 amazing people!

Worsham Field!

ENTER SANDMAN.

Lane freakin' Stadium

I know I am. I have been waiting for this since January. I can't wait to see all most of my college friends, enjoy cheap, but amazing food, ridiculously cheap drinks, make some awesome memories, and see my Hokies yard stomp Appalachian State! LET'S GO... HOKIES!

Beautiful Day in DC

So after yoga and a little running on Sunday (achilles tendonitis is slowly getting better) my friend Jon-Erik asked me if I wanted to do something outside since it was so nice out. You would have never known that a hurricane tropical storm had hit the day before. I think it was probably the most beautiful Summer day to date. It was somewhat hot, but not too hot, an amazing breeze, and the sky was the prettiest blue you can imagine. He suggested the MLK memorial and I thought that was a great idea since it was just unveiled this past weekend.

So we trekked into DC and found our way to the MLK memorial. There were lots of tourists, but it wasn't too bad. And you know how much Taylo loves her DC tourists. There were lots of cool quotes along the wall and the MLK carving itself was really cool. It's really sad that I live right outside DC and don't take advantage of all DC has to offer in terms of memorials and museums. I told Jon-Erik we should do it more on nice days since Fall is coming. I mean it's free and there's just so much to see.

We also checked out the WWII Memorial, which is was amazing to take in. I rarely take the time to just sit and be with anything. But it was nice to just stand there, look at the memorial, and all the people enjoying the day. I think I am going to try to make it a habit to go into DC to walk around the mall, visit memorials, or even museums every month. On our way home we ate at South Block Smoothie & Wrap Co., which I highly recommend. Not only was the wrap delicious, but they had Hokie hot sauce! Obviously this is my new favorite restaurant in Clarendon.

WWII Memorial

Speaking of Hokies, four days until kickoff. I'm so pumped. Fall is my favorite season and Hokie football makes it that much better. Oh plus I got my newly designed VT Nikes. LET'S GO...........

Earthcane

So I like Hurriquake better, but the earthquake came first. What a week. To be honest, the "hurricane" or tropical storm wasn't that bad here. However, it was pretty bad south of us and it seems NYC is going to be hit pretty hard. Yesterday was so.freaking.boring. I didn't really feel like venturing out during the day and was not about to go anywhere last night. Plus I stayed up pretty late all week so I wanted to catch up on sleep. I went to bed around 11 last night and slept until almost 9am. Solid! Half the power is out in my apartment. Actually, maybe more than that. Both bedrooms are out and then random places in the living room and kitchen have no power. I wonder how long this will last.

Guess what is now less than one week away?! Virginia Tech's opener against Appalachian State. I cannot wait and I am headed down there on Friday. I have to come back some time Saturday night though because I have another wedding on Sunday.

I am going to yoga soon. Hope all is well at the studio! NAMASTE.

EARTHQUAKE

So, an earthquake in Mineral, VA sent DC/MD/VA into chaos today around 2pm. Most people are saying everyone is overreacting and it wasn't that bad. Well sorry, but I work in a federal building in DC, and an old one at that. My first thought was, oh no, it has had all it can take, and we're going down. Mind you, I am on the top floor of my building so getting out alive isn't that likely! The building shook a little and then it REALLY started shaking and it felt like the building was going to crumble.

I ran out of there so fast, but I had to go down 11 flights of stairs. And people were moving so slow, linking arms, and using the railings. SORRY, BUT MOVE!! I seriously thought the building was going to go down and all I could think was I'm going to die. I started panicking, couldn't breathe, and felt light-headed. Basically I became "that person" in an emergency situation. I wanted out though. I wanted to call my mom and see if she knew what was going on in DC! And I was just praying that the building wasn't going to come crumbling down. Finally, I got out and noticed lots of other people. I found one of my coworkers and people were talking about an earthquake. Umm, what?! This is DC. We don't get earthquakes here. My coworker said she thought it was a bomb, and that didn't even occur to me at the time, but that's also pretty scary because that could happen. My building would be a prime target for a terrorist attack.

So, it was an earthquake and a 5.8 one at that. It was time to go home. Who knows if my building is going to hold up. It was literally falling apart pre-earthquake, so one more shake and that thing might go down. So my coworker has the idea to bikeshare because we just KNOW metro is going to be a hot mess. That turned out to be an awesome idea and it was a pretty fun ride too. DC was crazy and the police were everywhere yelling at people. We were riding with the traffic, which was kind of scary, but we made it to Arlington in about 25-30 minutes and put the bikes back. This was really not how I imagined my day going when I woke up at 7am and then delayed my alarm until 7:15am!

Up, Up, and Away

I haven't written in a week. Jeez, I've been busy. Let's see. We won our final game of the season. That's right, we go out in style. We were just getting started, but good news--we're playing fall ball too! And our team name is now Coyne Flip. Don't ask. It was supposed to be The Ballston Teabaggers or something. Ahh, guys.

I was up outside of Boston Thursday through Sunday. It was an AMAZING weekend, flying aside. I am not going to get into the nightmare that was flying up there, but flying just ain't what it used to be guys! I want to travel more, but the last four times I have flown have been special. And not in a good way. Anyhow, we spent Friday at the beach lounging and playing wiffle ball. Then Logan and I had dinner and drinks in Rhode Island. Wow. Rhode Island is a BEAUTIFUL state! Who knew? I guess a lot of people, but not me! Saturday I accompanied Logan to a wedding and it was an amazing time. It was an all day and night event so Monday was rough as per usual.

Also, we all know how much Taylo loves to talk crap about metro! Well, I'm about to blow your mind and say something semi-nice. Metro provided me with such epic service last night. I think they broke a world record. My friend dropped me off at the New Carrollton metro (if you don't know where this is look it up on the wmata map) and I made it to Courthouse in 33 minutes! We actually only stopped at, you know, designated STOPS. That's right. We didn't stop in the middle of the tunnel and then jerk forward 27674 times or hang out in the tunnel for five minutes because the train ahead of us was still servicing the station. The train went forward and stopped only when necessary. I am telling you metro provides a real HIGH level of service on Sunday nights. But really that's the only time.

I feel like there was something else I wanted to talk about, but I can't remember what so I will just leave you with a few photos.

Super Bummed

I am truly blaming my most recent injury on Mizuno! I swear I've played by the rules only increasing my mileage by 10 percent a week and I have cross-trained trying to minimize the impact from running. Well, I got on Dr. Google today and started reading about the symptoms and it seemed to match achilles tendonitis (tendinitis?). Then I got on the running forums and it talked about how it was so hard to recover from AT. Great! Then I was massaging the back of my heel trying to assess my pain. I noticed a crunching feeling last night and it was definitely still there today. It's like nothing I have ever felt and I knew it was not good. I had my coworker touch it and she was severely grossed out. I called my doctor at 10am and she had an opening at 3:30pm. Yay! Love their practice. Meanwhile I got some ice from the nurse and that seemed to help it.

Cut to doctor. I gave her a brief history, been going on maybe 2 weeks, but wasn't bad until I ran 12 miles Sunday. Ooops. She said, "first of all, good for you running 12 miles." Haha! So she checked it out and had me do some things and asked if it hurt. She said she thought it was AT. UGHHHHH!!! Then she had me face the wall and touched the back of both ankles and at one point I yelled out in pain. It's weird, but sometimes if you touch a certain point there is this brief shooting, hot pain. I know you're thinking this sounds awesome. So she said no working out for a week and take 600mg of ibuprofen three times a day. And then I said, "yeah, I was going to take some time off running, but what about cross-training?" She said, "nope, I know telling someone like you to not run is tough, but I really want you to take a week off and not exercise at all." I said "okay, I know." And she said, "I mean it. You really need to take a week off." And I know I do, but damn telling me not to exercise for a week is like telling me not to breathe. I can't remember the last time I took off more than a day. I just hope it gets better and it's not a nagging injury like everyone talked about on those running forums.

I know it could be way worse and four or five months ago I would have been super mad and probably continued to exercise. I am going to take the time off though and more if necessary. And with that I will leave you with this quote because I think it's inspiring and can be applied to many aspects of life.

"Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won't either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart. You are here to be swallowed up. And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself you tasted as many as you could." -The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich

Lime Mousse Cake

It was a busy weekend in Taylo's world. Okay really only Saturday night through Sunday night, but whatever. I went out in DC Saturday night and got to see a bunch of friends. Late night, but fun times. Next I think you should know that I designed and ordered the coolest shoes on NikeID! I know you're jelly. I would be too. Now I am even more excited for the opener against Appalachian State. I'll definitely be the coolest person at the tailgates and games. Orange and maroon head to toe! Okay, I'll shut up now.

I ran a bajillion miles yesterday trying to increase my mileage for the Richmond Marathon. I am reeeeeeeal pissed though. I could have run even more, but my right heel was/is killing me. I decided to stray from my beloved Asics and get Mizunos. I will never betray Asics again. These Mizunos are killing my heel, but only the right one?! I thought it was blistering, but no. It's like someone has taken a hammer to my heel. Grggghhhhh. It only hurts when I'm in sneakers though. Anyhow, I was out at my parents so I got to run through the neighborhood hitting every street and seeing the mountain views. It was nice and the weather was awesome. One thing though. Doesn't everyone over the age of 10 know to run AGAINST traffic so you can see the cars coming at you? Apparently Mr. No shirt running with my jogging stroller missed that lesson in life. He was running WITH the traffic which made it real awkward when we happened to be running the same direction at the same point and a car came through.

Then my Mom made an awesome dinner and it was nice to sit outside without it being 876 degrees! She made whole wheat pasta with crab, shrimp, and asparagus! On the side we had garlic bread and salad. I piled so much pasta on my plate and my mom told me I wouldn't eat it all. Wrong. Then for dessert we had Lime Mousse Cake and it was all homemade. Even the crust!


So, I know what you're thinking. "So that's where Taylo gets her cooking skillssss." Hahaha! Right Mom? Mom said the cake is only for the pros. Whatever, I could make that cake in my sleep. Only three days left until my weekend begins!

Softball Win

Well, the season is almost over, but 1411D finally notched their first win last night. And it was a big one! Under the lights, 9pm game, so the pressure was on. Lots of recruiters on the bleachers. Ha! Anyhow, we got yard stomped Monday night 18-3. At one point I was just hoping we would score ONE run so we wouldn't get shut out.

Last night things just finally came together. We fielded well and got back to bat pretty quickly. We all had some great hits. I had two RBIs, walked twice, and scored a run. It was pretty much the opposite of Monday night as we won 18-4! It's nice to be the ones doing the throttling. So we have our last game next week, but at least we're 1-5 now and we're not going to end the season defeated! Go Hokies! I mean, ugh 1411D!

Metro Faux Pas

Well, if you follow me on Twitter you had to know another metro blog would be coming soon. In only four short days I have encountered not one, but THREE metro no-no's! First up, no eating and drinking on the metro people! I know what you're thinking. We all know Taylo breaks rules. For instance, I do not come to a complete stop at stop signs. In fact, when I'm home visiting my parents I barely stop at those stop signs at all because I am more likely to encounter a deer than another driver! But I do not break the eating and drinking on metro because I think it helps keep the metro clean and semi-free of rats! Ever ride the NYC subway? I feel sorry for the soles of my shoes.

Next up, the pole. The pole is for everyone to hold onto and I try to avoid it because again, nasty germs. However, during rush hour we ALL need access to the pole. If you're hugging it and I can only reach above you that's not going to fly. I don't know if you noticed, but I'm VERTICALLY CHALLENGED so it is rather hard for me to reach the top of a six foot pole. And please do not LEAN on the pole because I can't grip my hand around the pole with your sweaty back, butt, and shoulders leaning on it. Please see two offenders below. Please do not be these people.

NOT OKAY! This is rude.

Now that we got that out of the way. I can make you jelly of what I had for dinner tonight. First I had to go to Target Greatland, which is a real first world problem. I was pleasantly surprised to find my beloved Kombucha Tea there though, and cheaper than Whole Paycheck (of course). So I grabbed two of those, the rest of my grocery list plus a few other things I didn't need. Then we get to the checkout. I always pick the wrong line! This kid in front of me is about to head off to college by himself or something because he had pillows, comforter, dvds, and other junk. Anyhow, the lady is almost done ringing him up on my approach. His total comes to $140. Dang boy! Then he runs his credit card and it is declined. Awwww hell no. Here we go. He tries again. Nope. So then she has him apply for a Target card. Okay, now things are getting sketchy. It is taking forever; put in your address, is this your address, confirm this, do this, KILL ME NOW. Then it says he cannot charge anything for seven to ten days. WOW, brilliant. Meanwhile, you just KNOW I was huffing and puffing in the line by now because it had been ten minutes. So then Target lady is at a loss so I say, "umm, is there any way we can do this later?!" And the kid says, "oh yeah, let her go." Yes, please let me go while you figure out how you're going to pay for $140 worth of crap!

Back to dinner. I came home and started chopping up all my veggies and pulled out my spices. The worst is chopping up a sweet potato to make fries! I almost lose a few fingers every time. I cannot wait until I go to my parents Thursday and get my sister's old knives. To accompany the sweet potato fries I made a bell pepper stuffed with a quinoa mixture. As I cooked the quinoa I sauteed garlic, onion, mushrooms, carrots, and seasoned that with paprika and cumin. I stuffed that into the pepper and also added some mozzarella, parmesean, and goat cheese to the top. As I said before, you should be jealous because it was awesome and I probably ate my daily vegetable serving in one meal!

See the carrots behind the plate? No, you can't have them.

Umm, Who's The Rude One?!

So before I get into things I want to talk about what just happened at Trader Joe's. Some people are so mean and self-centered in Northern Virginia. It was super packed as usual and if you know anything about TJ's you know it's small and the aisles are super narrow. So I am going along and there is kind of a jam in the aisle. I only had a basket and all these people around had carts. So this guy in front of me kind of moves to the side and I figured he was stopping so I went around him. Then I hear him like being all passive-aggressive saying, "oh yeah just go ahead, no one else is trying to get through, cruise on through." In the past I might have engaged him, but I was just so dumbfounded I didn't say anything. Then I stopped to get some garbanzo and black beans. So this douche stops and says, "you know you're incredibly rude. People are trying to get through and you just move on through." I am thinking umm, what? First of all, sorry I didn't know there was a ranking of who got to go through first. Secondly, I have a basket and it's a lot easier for me to navigate. So I just said, "umm I have a basket and you have a cart. Chill out." And you're a grown man berating a woman in a grocery store? Like who's the rude one? I don't know why but it really bothered me and kind of hurt my feelings!

Anyhow, yesterday was my sister's bridal shower and it was fun. She got a lot of good stuff and had a good time as well. I got her Virginia Tech tervis tumblers! Would you expect anything else from me? No!

Then I came back home, went to a BBQ in DC, ended up seeing a former coworker who happens to work with my friend now. It's funny because we were all working for the same agency at one time, but now both of them are at another. DC is so small! Then I went to a birthday party for a bit, which was interesting. This is random, but sometimes I feel sooo old and other times I feel pretty young.

I didn't get up until 10:20 this morning because I had to get up early yesterday. I needed to do a long run and thought it would be okay to do it around 5pm. Wrong. I looked at the weather and it was going to be brutal then. So I decided I'd go around noon. Oh.my.god. Worst decision ever. I ran 12 miles and every minute of it was pretty awful. Oh well, at least I did it.

Nothing Can Rain On My Parade

I really think someone could tell me they hate me and I suck and I'd say, "okay, great!" and not care one bit. I am in such a good mood. Everything is working out and for the first time in a long time everything feels right! Even better tomorrow is Friday and it's the freakin' weekend!

I made the dumbest move on metro this afternoon. I'm on the platform and it says a "Vienna" train is approaching so stupidly I just get on the train without checking to make sure it was an orange line train. I kept thinking to myself, "man the train is really empty today." Well, duh, there was a reason for that. All the sudden we leave Rosslyn and two minutes later I am seeing daylight! This is NOT supposed to happen on my commute because I'm underground the whole time. I start freaking out and realize I must have gotten on a blue line train. No worries, I got off at Arlington National Cemetery and turned myself around! Taylor, five months ago, would have freaked out and been so pissed. But I just rolled with it! It happens.

Then after I got home I had an awesome 5.2 mile run even though it's another scorcher out there. All my good fortune almost ended though when I was running through a crosswalk in which I had the WALK sign and Granny comes barrelling into the crosswalk and gets a foot from me before slamming on her brakes. I threw my arms in the air, screamed, and yelled, "!@$%" as I kept running from her. I could tell she was freaked out too, but come on. I've said it before and I'll say it again, people do not pay attention!!

Two Things: Softball and Facebook

We had a makeup softball game last night and it started off pretty swell. 1411D was 0-2 going into the game so obviously we were looking for a win. Unfortunately that didn't happen and we lost by two runs! So sad, but we're really getting better with every week. I feel like we can win one game this season and really train hard in the off season to become a powerhouse in the league next year. HAHA!

Facebook. I use to LOVE it, like obsessed. Every day I grow a little more hate in my heart for it. It's just so annoying how Mark is always changing things, it's super slow, and then just HOW popular it has become. I mean I remember when I joined way back when I was in diapers a sophomore in college. I mean it was just a bunch of college kids. And then they started letting more people on it. Fine. But then it grew and grew and now e'rrrrrybody and their mom, grandma, sister, cousin, neighbor from 3rd grade, 9th grade English teacher is on it.

If I am not in semi-regular contact with you now. There is a reason. I don't want to be in contact with you. Sorry. Maybe that sounds bitchy, but you're not in contact with me either so I guess you don't want me in your life either. Great! Until it's not. A friend from my parents youngin' days found me and my sisters on there today. This would be fine, except he fell off his rocker awhile back. He is from the country club pool we went to growing up. My parents used to hang out with him, his wife, and other couples. Naturally they lost touch over the years. Until about threeish years ago when he RANDOMLY showed up at my parents house. I was living there at the time and dude was on some goooood shit. Or he escaped from the insane asylum and was now on the loose. Either way he did some strange stuff. He would show up unannounced at the house and bring "gifts" which were anything from pills to trinkets. One time no one was home except my little sister and he roamed the house, used the computer, and watched my little sister sleep! What.the.hell. I had enough when he came over drunk once with a bottle of champagne. We didn't answer the door and so he started roaming the neighborhood BY CAR. He was chilling on our neighbor's front porch drinking the champagne. So I called the police and they came and took him away. Never heard from him again...

UNTIL TODAY! That crazy fool added me, "poked" me, and sent me a creepy message. He did the same thing to my sisters too, but wrote on my little sister's wall too because she didn't pay close enough attention and confirmed his creepy ass! Ugh, needless to say I hit the "not now" button and I do not know this person so now he can never add me again. Facebook was more fun when it only existed in my college world.

Lazy Sunday

I had a pretty low key weekend. I have been running around and going out too much and it wore me down. I feel like I have something on my schedule every day. So I stayed in Friday night because I wanted to get up at a decent hour Saturday to run 11 miles. Good decision. Then I spent the afternoon at the pool with Jon. It was freaking hot and the pool is like bath water.

One of my friends from Virginia Tech, who I have also known since elementary school, is going away to graduate school for a year at Carnegie Mellon. So his girlfriend threw him a surprise going away party Saturday night. That was fun and he was super surprised, which is always nice!

I was going to go to the beach with Logan today, but my throat has been bothering me and as I said I feel run down. So I felt bad, but I texted him last night bowing out. We're going to a wedding in August though and we will get to go to the beach then! So today was the laziest Sunday I have had in awhile and it was great. I woke up at 9:30am and made a yummy breakfast--baked peanut butter pancake. (I should have taken a picture because it was so pretty). Then I washed my sheets and did other laundry. Also cleaned my room and dropped some stuff off at Goodwill. It was a pretty productive Sunday as well.

And dinner was delicious! I haven't had kale chips in a good week so it was time for those with some ketchup and encrusted tilapia! Now is it really time to go to work again tomorrow? Boo!

Short Week!

Well when you don't start your work week until Wednesday it goes by pretty quickly! I took Tuesday off because Verizon was coming to hook up FIOS! I also needed to get my hair cut, definitely a good reason to take a day off, haha. The Verizon guy took forever, but I actually felt bad for him. Of course, my complex put the wall mounts in so we could get Verizon, BUT they failed to actually wire it from the ground up to the apartment. So the poor guy was outside in the 95+ degree heat with a ladder wiring up the building! I don't live on the first floor either! So he started around 11:15am and I was waiting and waiting so I could go for a run. Well finally at 12:30pm when it didn't seem like he would be done anytime soon I asked how much longer and he said, "oh maybe two hours." Ummmm, what?! I had my hair appointment scheduled for 3pm so I needed to go on the run soon. I asked him if he minded if I went running and he said no. I knew he wasn't going to leave with my stuff because I knew who he was. Anyhow, went on the run and it was HOT, but not too bad. Thank you to the Arlington residents running your sprinklers! Very refreshing.

So I finished my run and of course I had to shower. Umm, more awkward. My friend said it sounded like a porn he watched once. Ughhh, no. So he finished around 1:15pm and showed me how to work everything. It's awesome and I am so happy to say sayonara Comcast!

On another note I also made Banana Bread on Tuesday. I followed this recipe from fitsugar and it turned out pretty good! Especially with some butter or sunflower seed nut butter!

Next up, who loves falafel?! ME! I had it twice this week in a whole wheat wrap with tahini, pickle, cucumber, hummus, spinach (one night), and mozzarella cheese. The other night I had it with sweet potato fries, but tonight I had it with a baked sweet potato (not pictured). So the falafel kind of looks like poop balls in the picture, but I swear it's good!

Let's see, what else?! Well I am feeling pretty confident about my potential opportunity and life is great right now! Tomorrow is Friday and I have some fun stuff planned for the weekend.

RIP Miss Kitty

Well this day really took a turn for the worse. First the root canal and then my Dad had to put our family cat down this afternoon. I kind of knew it was coming because she hasn't been doing well since last week and she is 23!! Still it's sad and I am a lot more upset than I thought I would be. I cried on the phone with my Mom and she could not stop crying. I had to hang up because it was just too much. She had a great, long life, but a pet that is around that long you kind of just get so used to them that you think they will be around forever.

She was the prettiest and sweetest cat ever. I don't even like cats at all, but I loved her. I am severely allergic to them, but I would pet and cuddle her and then just wash my face and hands. I know it could be a lot worse; I could be losing a human family member. She was a huge part of my family though. I am glad I went and rubbed her head this morning before I left. My dad already buried her in the backyard so that was it. Now she isn't suffering and can join Amber and Molly in pet heaven.

And The Weekend Continues

I am trying to look on the bright side here. At least I get a four day weekend. Why, you ask?! Well, my back molar, which is already a crown, has been bothering me for the past two months. My dentist said it might need a root canal, but to keep an eye on it. Well it got worse, so painful to hot and cold and sometimes ached all the way to my ear. I don't need a Doctor of Dental Science degree to know that's not good. So I stayed the night at my parents (since my dentist is out that way) and went at 8am this morning. He looked at it and took an x-ray and gave me the bad news, yeah you probably need a root canal. But then he referred me out to an endodontist? If you don't know what that is, it's a dentist who specializes in saving teeth. Okay whatever, told him I'd like someone near Arlington since I didn't think I'd be doing it today. He found some dude and I decided to call them when I got in the car. Talked to the receptionist and she said if I was there in the next hour or so they could get me in. Greaaaaat, Gainesville to Arlington in rush hour. We all know what that's like. Nevertheless, I decide to go for it since it's only 8:25 and I didn't plan on getting to work 'til 10:30am.

Route 66. Nothing more needs to be said. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't great. I wanted to curb stomp the imbecile behind me. Subaru station wagon thing. That was his first mistake. His second mistake was tailgating me in 20mph traffic. I'M SORRY SIR, but I cannot go faster when there are 650,000 Northern Virginians in front of me. And please forgive me that I like to maintain a fair amount of space between my car and the car and front of me. CALL ME CRAZY, BUT I LIKE TO AVOID FENDER BENDERS. Not Mr. Subaru though. He decides to cut into the HOV lane and then cut in front of me. WOW, YOU'RE AWESOME. Now you're one whole car length closer to work!! GET A LIFE DOUCHE. (Note: I sound pissed in this post, but I was as cool as a cucumber in the car jamming out to Bieber and found it kind of funny.)

Alright, so I arrive to the endodontist office around 9:45am. Not bad considering I got gas before I left Gainesville. I start filling out all the crap, they make copies of my insurance stuff, blah blah. Then Dr. Root Canal's dental assistant takes me back. Dr. Root Canal is nice looking, somewhat young, pretty blue eyes. He asks what the problem is and I tell him. He then does the cold air thing. Does this hurt? No, not really. He does it on another part and I make a horrendous face and yell out something that sounds like "ahhh" and he says okay, sorry that's all I needed. Yes, you need a root canal.

Dr. Root Canal: Have you ever had one?
Me: No, but I've had orthognathic surgery.
Dr. Root Canal: Oh really, that's different. When did you have that?
Me: (Thinking--no shit, sherlock, it's different, just pointing out that I have been through some serious dental stuff). Umm, a little over two years ago.
Dr. Root Canal: Okay, two years ago; what did they do?
Me: Moved my upper jaw up and forward and lower jaw forward.
Dr. Root Canal: (Looking in my mouth again) Oh, I see. Well, they did a really good job.

So then he asks me some more questions about that. How was it? Painful? Were you wired shut? Truth be told, it wasn't painful. It was just ANNOYING. I was wired shut for 12 days and I forget this sometimes now, but man it made me appreciate food. Everything was liquid for 12 days and I wanted real food. Twelve days doesn't seem like a lot of time, but trust me it is. I lost ten pounds and had no boobs or butt! :) I digress.

So Dr. Root Canal does his thing and it really wasn't bad at all. I really thought it was going to be some kind of horrible. He advises me to take ibuprofen and prescribes me Vicodin? UMM WHAT?! Jeez Louise, if I need that this is not going to be good later. He said that it's like an ankle sprain and that the teeth and jaw will be sore later from all the drilling, pounding, etc. Special. It was at that point I decided not to go into work. And I am already on annual leave tomorrow (I'll explain in another post) so that's how I got my four day weekend.

All was well until I got the bill. Alright, your portion is $588! Whaaaaaaaaaat?! Kill me now. That's after insurance dude. The bill was like $1621 and adjusted to $1000 and after my insurance picks up their part I owe $588. I hope my health insurance picks up some of it, but probably not. It was at that point I realized my biggest fail in life: not going to dental school! Ha, no I never thought about it, but thinking about how much money my mouth/teeth/jaw are worth I really should have gone that route! You see between dental checkups growing up to now, expanders, cavities here and there, wisdom teeth removal, two rounds of braces, crown, orthognathic surgery, and now a root canal I'd venture to say about $75k has been bled from someone's pockets whether it be my parents, mine, insurance company, adjustments, discounts, etc. I think I should insure my mouth! ;) And yes I take care of my teeth, brush twice a day, floss, and six month checkups. I was just a mouth breather as a child since I couldn't breathe out of my mouth because of my enlarged adnoids, which were removed in middle school. My pediatrician and dentist didn't catch it early enough and it messed up the development of my jaw. Thus I had a really small mouth and overcrowding was a huge issue. Wow, that makes me sound kinda messed up, but I'm pretty normal now. Haha, as normal as one can be.

Okay, on another note, the NFL lockout is over and it seems to be all people can talk/facebook/tweet about. And you know what?! I DO NOT GIVE A FLYING F#$%. This is what's wrong with America. Here we have a bunch of rich millionaires acting like children that finally come to an agreement and "save" the NFL season. Meanwhile, our economy continues its steady descent into oblivion and the average American cares more about the freaking.NFL.season. What a joke. Maybe it's because I hate the NFL and pretty much all professional sports, but I really could care less whether the NFL is around tomorrow or twenty years from now. I would be a little sad for all my favorite Hokie players not having a chance at their dream, but my god, there are more important things going on right now than an NFL season!! I guess we have to wait for the other group of rich, spoiled millionaires on the hill to "figure it out" and come to some sort of agreement.

Weekend Warrior

Well, my week finally turned around and I had a great weekend! So our softball game, well, we're a little rusty. We were at bat first and did okay, but then our opponent went to bat and I was playing catcher. They cracked ball after ball into the outfield. I was starting to wonder if there was a softball they couldn't knock out of the park. I am happy to say we finally dusted ourselves off and instead of getting stomped we just got crushed! Haha. They hit one home run so far out of the field it went into a parking garage! I hit at all three of my at bats, but they were lame grounders so I need to work on hitting. Oh, I made an awesome diving catch in the outfield too. It was epic. You probably saw it on SportsCenter. And I had just finished a pop sickle so the stick was still in my mouth... super safe!

Happy hour with coworkers Friday was hilarious and fun. Happy hour is great too because it makes for an early evening ;) and I was asleep by 10:45pm on a Friday night. Whatever, don't judge. Thus I was up early on Saturday to make some pancakes before going to get new running shoes and then head to the pool with my friend/coworker. Cottage cheese oatmeal pancakes are delicious. They sound gross, but they're amazing. I got new running shoes at Potomac River Running and a Nike hat since I had a 10 miler planned with my friend Kim on Sunday and it's about 3867282 degrees out every day lately. I am trying to ramp up my miles and training because I plan on running the Richmond Marathon this year. My first full marathon!! Anyhow, here's a little montage of me getting pumped for softball, new running shoes, and then all geared out for the 10 miler.


After the pool I went to bikram baptiste yoga. It's like a 100 degrees in there, but didn't matter since it's like 120 degrees outside. It was a pretty good yoga sesh, especially since I hadn't been in two weeks and it wasn't crowded at all. Kim and I ate at Boulevard Woodgrill last night and I had the seafood kabobs--yummy. Then we came back here for a chill night and watched The Guardian since we wanted to be up by 7:45am to beat the heat for the 10 miles. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Yes, it was hot, and it was a lot hillier than I expected. I usually bike that route so biking hills is MUCH easier than running them. However, since I dorked it out with all my gear plus took a Gatorade G2 and a Clif Gel + caffeine I really found it to be a pretty enjoyable run. We finished in about an hour and 40 minutes and that included a few walking breaks. Pretty good training run. I like that I have the whole day ahead of me and my workout is done!

Is It Friday Yet?

No, I mean really. This week is dragging and it sucks, so I just want it to be Friday and time for happy hour after work!

I cannot even begin to describe the annoying things happening this week. Why does an awesome week have to be followed by a crappy one? Does this mean I can plan for a good one next week?! Wah, woe is me. At least we finally have our first softball game tonight, which I am pretty excited about. It was rained out last week. The downside? This HEAT. It is ridiculous and only going to get worse tomorrow and Thursday. Really puts the skids on running outside, which is hard for me because I hate the torturetreadmill.

Okay, I can stop whining for a second to talk about VIRGINIA TECH football! Specifically recruiting. I feel like we're having great success in recruiting with Shane Beamer on board now. Our most recent commit, Augie Conte, commited to Virginia Tech even though both of his parents are Hoos (we all make mistakes in life). Yay, go Hokies!

And let's go 1411D! We better win tonight.

Nathan...

thinks he is so cool that he deserves his own blog post. I am giving it to him because I was going to write something else, and it was kind of whiney so I deleted it! This is Nathan:

Wow, look at all those beers!

I met Nathan approximately two years ago. Actually exactly two years because it was the summer of 2009. No, Nathan I am not obsessed with you. I only know because this lovely photo came from my "Summer 2009" folder. Little did he know it would be the best summer of his life because he now knew MUAH, me, Taylo, Tay, the bestest person ever. Currently, Nathan loves to entertain me on g-chat during the work week and via drunk texts on the weekend! What a swell guy. Sometimes (rarely!) he will entertain me with a real life, in person, visit. Like maybe happy hour this Friday, Nathan?!

Nathan also loves to correct my mistakes on this blog. He also pretends to hate this blog and asks who in the hell is reading it, but then asks me at least twice a week for a link to it! Nathan is obsessed with rowing too. That's why I don't see him much in person. He is alive and well in my g-chat and text messaging world, but he is too busy rowing his boat down the Potomac to see me in person!

Winning At Many Things

Life, negotiating, and running. First of all, I am waiting to hear about something and once it's final then I can talk about it on here, but since this is really public and you don't need an account to read it I don't want to talk about it yet. Secondly, I don't know if I have mentioned this before, but I mothereffing hate COMCAST WITH A FIERY PASSION!

So I called Verizon to ask them something about my Internet (thank god I only have cable through Comcrap) and they mentioned that I could get faster Internet plus FIOS for $69.99. Umm what? I pay $72 for Comcrap plus $22 for Verizon Internet. Yep, they can set me up with a sweet deal for $69.99. Will it lock me into a contract? Nope! Sounds too good to be true. Let me call Comcrap and see if I can drop their asses like a bad habit. Oh yes I CAN! Here's the exchange:

Comcrap: I am sorry to hear you want to cancel. Why is that?
Me: Oh, I just HATE COMCAST and can't stand your service, plus I am getting a way better deal with Verizon.
Comcrap: We're sorry to hear that! What do you not like about it?
Me: Everything. The service, the technicians and their timing or lack thereof, the price...
Comcrap: Oh, well we see you called x and x, and we had someone there x. Did they not resolve the problem? And we can give you a deal for...
Me: No! I don't care anymore, I already signed up for Verizon. I want to give a date to cancel my service.
Comcrap: Okay ma'am.

So I call Verizon back and they gave me FIOS with HD, 220 channels, fastest Internet connection available, and free DVR for 3 months at $69.99 a month! WINNING! I can't wait for July 26.

On to the next thing. This is random, but I feel the need to talk about elevator etiquette. I don't really have a problem with this except at work. I want to say that it is weird if it's just you and me in the elevator and you face me. STAND FORWARD. Not only are you facing me, but you're staring at me. Very AWKWARD. Also, if you're waiting for the elevator to come get you (and I know you might have been waiting a long time) stand to the side! It's rude when everyone is flooding out of the elevator and you're blocking the way because you're trying to get on the elevator. Lastly, DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT, press a floor and then not get off on it. I am trying to go to the 11th floor asshole. I already have to stop at 2, 3, 5, 8, and 10, THEN 11. Do you think I also want to stop on the fourth floor to check out the scenery because you pressed the button not knowing what day it is and that you really work on the fifth floor?!

Do not be this tool