Run on!

I've been applying my springtime theme, and many good things are happening!

One of them is that I signed up for the 2008 Twin Cities Marathon a while back. I was trying to keep it a secret for a couple of reasons…

One, if it looked like it may actually work out, I wanted it to be a surprise for a certain savvy someone. However, that was getting hard to do. I need to let family & friends know about my plans so that they understand that my training is a priority for me, and that it takes up a lot of my time & attention - trying to keep 'the plan' under wraps wasn't panning out well.

Two, back to that whole "if it looked like it was going to work out…" thing… I'll be honest - I'm still not really sure yet. Even if this whole house-buying ordeal doesn't work out, I'll probably still be moving this summer, so I'm going to have a lot on my plate! Plus, I have not thus far been training particularly hard at all - but that part has changed in the last couple of weeks…

So, the training thing: I've changed my hours at work to accommodate running in the mornings. I now have plenty of time to get in a long run every morning. That significantly frees up my evenings for other things - house-hunting, having a life, and cross-training (i.e. mountain biking!). Right now I'm logging mid-30s for weekly mileage, and am planning on bumping that up to mid-40s starting next week, then going up from there.

Who knows if it'll all end up working out. But I know this: I've talked a lotta smack about doing another marathon ever since my last one, and it's all just been "Well, yeah, definitely someday… next year for sure, I think…" After discussing this possibility with my savvy running role model one evening a while back, I decided that unless I actually sign up for one, I know I'll never get serious about really doing the preparation. And The Good Lord knows that I'm never short on excuses – heck, don't forget that I'm an alcoholic - I'm pretty good at finding excuses! ;-)

I'd already promised my friend that I'd assist & participate in her training for the marathon – and when I really thought about it after speaking with her that night, I said to myself, "What the heck are you waiting for? Sure, it'll never be a 'good time', but these are darn favorable circumstances!" And, lo & behold, slots were still available when I then checked online, so I signed up.

And if it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out. Even if I don't end up running it for whatever reason, I'm still going to do great things for myself by doing the prep work – and that's definitely worth it!
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Now playing: moby - run on

A few random things

1.) My hair is getting pretty darn gnarly. I'm liking it! The curls are most definitely back. I was going to get a clean-up trim this weekend, but I decided that I'm just going to let it go nuts. Well, that is until I'm advised that it should get cut ;-) The only thing that bugs me is that it turns into a rather crazy looking wind-blown afro (eerily similar to that Facebook ad I posted previously!) when I'm out running sans product, but oh well...

2.) This thing - it may look dorky, but it's pure genius!

3.) Windoze = evil. Macs rule.

That is all. Carry on.
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Now playing: guy's band - random jam

Ready, set, go...

Busy work week ahead. I'm going to pursue the City Living program for possible mortgage grant assistance, and will be attending a 9-hour seminar this week in the evenings as prerequisite for that program. Ugh, this is going to be a verrry long week - I'm so grateful that it'll only be 4 days! Between the early morning runs and go-go-go late evenings, I'm going to have to be very careful to stay well-rested, properly fed, and well-hydrated. Something tells me that I'm going to have a pretty busy weekend too ;-)

I'll have more news later this week...
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Now playing: republica - ready to go

Me no speakee Facebook

I don't get Facebook.

I've never really understood the allure of online social networking sites ala MySpace and Facebook, but I figured I'd take the plunge and throw together a Facebook profile. I thought perhaps my eyes would finally be opened to whatever the draw was. After several months now, my 'friends' number a whopping 3. I'm not quite sure what to make of that...

Truth be told, I expected to find many more folks I know out there, but I haven't. The 3 friends I have know all approached me, which was great - it's wonderful to be back in touch with those guys. But for the ones I have gone in search of since, I'm not sure how I feel about this whole 'friend' procedure - the power to control the establishment & status of a 'friendship' in such a public and potentially abrupt on-or-off way seems almost high-school-ish to me. But I guess that's how it has to be - I don't have any better ideas, or I'd be a young bazillionaire thanks to my own new uber-popular social-networking site concept.

This Facebook/MySpace concept of 'friendship' is a rather strange new twist on the concept of friendship as I have always understood it. Meh. Add that to the long list of things that I don't get. I guess that's all part of getting old and lame. Oh well. I'll leave my profile up, and see who stops by. You never know.

And, in conclusion, I'd like to share this gem of an advert I found on my Facebook page today:



Does Facebook really know that I'm balding? Apparently so. Well, this miraculous product seems to not only cure baldness, but it also somehow makes you look like Prince Harry stylin' a sweet Napoleon Dynamite afro, even if you didn't look anything at all like him before. Powerful stuff!
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Now playing: garbage - i think i'm paranoid

Brand new shine

I'm still just at the stage of going through my realtor's daily emails which detail qualifying listings, but the internet certainly is a very helpful way to 'shop' until I have time to f2f with my realtor.

My sister B told me the other night that she knew right away when she first saw the houses that she ended up buying, and I'm hoping to have a similar 'love at first sight moment' too. There is one great listing in today's email that definitely piques my interest, although the price is currently outside of what I'd like to be considering. I'm going to do a drive-by this weekend of it, and then talk to my realtor about that one for sure. Since it's a new listing, I'm hoping the price will come down some, and then... who knows? We'll see. I must admit that it definitely gets bonus points for being close to my savvy new lady friend ;-) Her neighborhood is one of the areas I'm shopping in - I like it.

No matter how much I end up liking a place, I gotta stay smart and not get in over my head with anything. That's just something I need to keep reminding myself, since I know temptation will be great and that I'm all too capable of championing implausible self-serving rationalizations (a well-honed aptitude of any alcoholic!!)
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Now playing: soul asylum - brand new shine

Cabaret

Went to see Cabaret at the Ordway last night - excellent show! The music was fantastic, and the show was contagiously energetic. I hadn't seen a performance of Cabaret prior, and I very much enjoyed it! Many thanks to my svelte, sophisticated, and savvy friend for spearheading the plans... I wasn't in the best shape last night due to some head congestion, but she put up with me and my sniffles nonetheless. It was a most delightful evening!
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Now playing: sarah vaughan - cheek to cheek

Still perusing

Not much news on the house-buy front lately... I'll have some more time available over the next couple of weeks to get out and put eyes on some of the neighborhoods and listings I'm interested in. Until then, I'm still just going over & comparing the qualifying listings I'm getting via email - lots out there!
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Now playing: the clash - should i stay

Approved!

Financing is a GO! Thanks USAA! I'm not yet sure if this is the loan I'll end up using (terms & conditions), but it sure is a great feeling to know that I'm a good candidate to get the benjamins I'm after.

So let the shopping begin! My realtor has started feeding me listings for the price range and features I'm looking for, so I'll have plenty to start watching & comparing over the next couple of months. I'm pretty excited...

Currently, I'm looking in the Northeast Minneapolis & even Uptown areas. My brother first recommended looking in Northeast, and I've heard good things from several other people now too, so I'm starting there. We'll see how it goes.

That would mean that I'm not as close to the great mountain bike trails here closer to my current location, but location is all a give & take. Compromise is the key to success in many areas of life, and I want to be smart about it with this rather huge investment.

And, I have a sneaking suspicion that I'll be doing more running than biking this summer anyway. I have some catching up to do :-)
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Now playing: the flying lizards - money