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Tuesday, January 31, 2006

It takes a lot of

It takes a lot of willpower for me to not buy half the shirts at Threadless. You can't beat stuff like this:

+ Squirrels are Nature's Ninjas
+ You Win Again Gravity
+ Legendary Design Failure
+ The Communist Party

Ok, more than enough blogging for one day.

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

I will go running tonight.

I will go running tonight. Somebody throttle me if I don't.

I am planning to do the Buffalo Wallow 6K on Saturday morning. My worry, however, is that I am too slow. The Masters Men start at 8:00, Women (all ages) at 8:45, and Open Men at 9:30. I estimate it will take me somewhere around 38:00 to run a cross-country 6K. (An 11:00/mile pace would be right at 40:00.) That's getting pretty close to the men's start time! Eek.

I began my MS150 fundraising in earnest with a massive email yesterday. If I somehow didn't spam you with that email ;) and you'd like to sponsor my ride, you can donate here. Thanks!

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Last night I realized that

Last night I realized that I needed to do my homework assignment that is due this afternoon. The problem is that the textbook I ordered two weeks ago still hasn't arrived. I ordered it through Amazon, but it's actually coming from one of their partners, and the delivery estimate is anywhere between January 25 and February 8! Ugh.

With a homework assignment to be done, I decided that the only solution would be to go to the UHCL bookstore, pay the higher price there, and just return the Amazon-ordered one whenever it came (since you can't return books to the UHCL bookstore after the first week of class). That plan sort of sucked since it ruined my chance of saving any money, but it had to be done. So off I went to the UHCL bookstore, where...the book is backordered!

Well this presented a larger problem. Off to Barnes and Noble I went where, sigh, they didn't have any copies. They had copies of the books in the series for Dreamweaver, Flash, and Fireworks individually, but not the one for all three. And of course that's the one I need.

After that I needed to go to Best Buy to get a new case for my iPod. As a side note, I must say that I am convinced now that iPods are simply a means of selling all the freaking accessories that go along with them. My old iTrip FM transmitter? Yeah, doesn't work with the new iPod. And the new "standard" transmitter? Yeah, doesn't let you both transmit and charge the battery at the same time. So I had to buy one off eBay for $50. It's a good thing I managed to get $60 off the iPod by giving them my old one and being a student. And yet despite all this hassle, I never even considered getting an mp3 player other than an iPod. Apple is evil.

Best Buy, of course, is near the new Borders that I hadn't yet been in. I was already 0-for-2 in searching for my textbook, but gave it a shot. Of course Borders didn't have it either. 0-for-3, strike out, time to go home and send an email to my professor telling him I won't have the homework in on time because I can't freaking get a textbook.

Monday, January 30, 2006

Things I've learned in the

Things I've learned in the past three days:

+ I don't have the attention span for poker, especially when chips are free.

+ Black iPods still come with white headphones.

+ I get a little OCD when handling shiny things that show fingerprints. Eek. No fingerprints!

+ I always say I don't like sushi, but I actually do, at least the "normal" stuff.

+ It is impossible to go to REI and leave with one thing. You will always find something else you must have.

+ At least one of the 17-year-olds applying for the President's Scholarship is 10 times as impressive as I can ever hope to be.

+ For reasons unknown, JSC IT really does not like the idea of buying external hard drives for my group.

+ In April we should be able to start working 9-80s, or even 4-10s. YAY!!!

+ Branding and logos are in your subconscious.

+ There is such a thing as a southern hemisphere compass. But only because it is pre-calibrated to account for the difference between true north and magnetic north, which is pretty large down south.

The weekend was crazy busy. I need to stop overcommitting myself. I feel like I'm back in college when I had trouble saying "no."

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Most definitely worth seeing: Roving

Most definitely worth seeing: Roving Mars, a new IMAX movie.

We headed up to the Museum of Natural Science this morning for a special JSC showing. It was the coolest IMAX movie I've ever seen! Now, granted, that could be because I knew a bunch of the people in and I'm doing some work on a future Mars mission. But if the images of Mars that the Spirit and Opportunity rovers have taken looked spectacular in the newspaper and on your computer screen, they look amazing on a big screen. You can almost imagine what it would be like to stand there...

Friday, January 27, 2006

I took that photo!

I took that photo!

Friday, January 27, 2006

On Tuesday they took a

On Tuesday they took a picture of all the JSC people who ran the marathon or half marathon and put an article in JSC Features about it. Of course they ended up using the cheesy shot with us giving thumbs up. Ugh. I'm on the front row, second from right. Michelle is front row, third from left. Nick (Skytland, not Saadah) is in the back row, left of center.

And here's a photo I never got around to posting that Nick (Saadah, not Skytland) took of me leaping into the air when I saw my cheering section.

Good times.

Friday, January 27, 2006

In December, we all found

In December, we all found out that Houston was getting a Major League Soccer team. I was very excited at the prospect of getting to watch some good soccer on a regular basis. San Jose retained the "Earthquakes" name, so the Houston team would get something new. Something cool. Something great, right?

Houston 1836.

That's the name, er, the number, of the new soccer team.

Houston 1836.

In some backwards attempt to commemorate the history of the city by naming the team after the year in which it was founded (also the year of the Alamo -- which, as Doug pointed out, the Texans lost -- and the Battle of San Jacinto), I think Houston has just given itself the honor of having the team with the dumbest name in the entire freaking country. People in San Jose seem to agree: "We've all heard the legend of General Sam Houston crossing the ball to Davy Crockett, who removed the coonskin cap long enough to launch a header toward the far post." Yeah.

(Thanks Laurie for the link.)

Friday, January 27, 2006

It's been another good week

It's been another good week on The Daily Show. On Wednesday night, Ed Helms did a segment on how his New Year's resolution was to get a new job because his current boss is crazy like Willy Wonka and psycho like Hitler. (Ha!)

At the end, he presented "Ed's Job Wish List." Tops on the list was astronaut, which he oh-so-eloquently qualified with "but I don't wanna be some bullshit orbiter. I wanna land on a planet, ok?"

I cracked up.

I should just turn this blog into a recap of what I found funniest on the previous night's Daily Show.

Seriously.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Apollo 1 ~ January

Apollo 1 ~ January 27, 1968
Challenger ~ January 28, 1986
Columbia ~ February 1, 2003

NASA'S DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

Today we pause to remember the loss of our Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia astronauts and to honor their legacy.

Nearly fifty years into the space age, spaceflight remains the pinnacle of human challenge, an endeavor just barely possible with today's technology. We at NASA are privileged to be in the business of learning how to do it, to extend the frontier of the possible and ultimately to make the possible routine. It is an enormously difficult enterprise, made more so by the fact that we are human beings, and flawed. The losses we commemorate today are a mute and terrible reminder of the sternness of the challenge, and of awful consequences of our flaws.

It has always been this way. We celebrate Lindbergh as the first to fly non-stop from New York to Paris. But he wasn't the first to try. Chuck Yeager made history as the pilot who broke the "sound barrier." He wasn't the first to try, either. School children are taught of Magellan's pioneering voyage around the world. But only one of his five ships and 18 of the roughly 250 original sailors completed the voyage. Magellan himself didn't make it back; he was killed in the Philippines. About half of the settlers who set out on the Oregon Trail, or for the California gold fields, didn't make it. Amelia Earhart didn't make it. Today is the day we remember, and honor, those of our own who didn't make it back.

And how do we remember and honor them? No one has ever said it better than Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg: "It is for us, the living ... that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain." And just as we fly safely today because of the lessons learned from the loss of earlier generations of aviators, so also is spaceflight safer because of the losses we remember at this time of the year. The spacecraft fire hazards and the bolted hatch that killed the Apollo 1 crew will not kill another. The solid rocket booster that was responsible for the loss of Challenger is today the most reliable space transportation element we have. And the devastating effects of seemingly harmless debris upon Columbia are forever emblazoned on our consciousness. These are mistakes that will not be made again.

But as we remember those who have fallen, we must also honor them by acknowledging, humbly, that they cannot be the last. We have not made our last mistake in learning the art and science of spaceflight. There are places in Arlington Cemetery, and elsewhere, waiting for others who have yet to pay the ultimate price for our human failings. We do not know who, or why, or when, but it will come. We pray, today, that it will be a very long time. Let us on this Day of Remembrance honor our lost companions by resolving to make it so.

Michael Griffin
NASA Administrator

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

It May Look Authentic; Here's

It May Look Authentic; Here's How to Tell It Isn't is an interesting NY Times article about photo manipulation.

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You: Mars, in Glorious 3-D is another good NY Times article about a very cool new IMAX movie!

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Two entries this morning, to

Two entries this morning, to make amends to certain people who harassed me for not updating yesterday.

I took the day off work yesterday to run around Houston taking photos for an upcoming story in the Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger. Randomest of random, I know. Anyway, the focus of the story is the city of Houston, how it was affected by the Enron collapse, and what has happened in the four years since. With the trial about to begin in a week or so, I guess Enron is back in the news. I met up with the reporter and took photos of three of the people she interviewed, including a woman who lost her job and former Mayor Bob Lanier. I also did my best to get some "ambiant Houston shots showing how the city has bounced back." As it turns out, that is a tricky prompt to shoot to!! But I got a few shots that hopefully the newspaper will like.

If the article ends up online, I'll be sure to link to it.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

I went running last night.

I went running last night. THANK GOD. I really needed it, and not just because I was starting to lose fitness after eight non-running days. I needed because my legs felt all antsy, and I had all this pent-up energy. Oh, it was great.

I ran what I thought was something like 3.5 miles, but when I got back to my apartment, hit "stop" on the watch (which I hadn't looked at) and saw 27:36, I knew that either I've secretly been holding out on everyone about my speediness or my mental mileage estimation was, well, far off. Google pedometer happily informed me that it was the latter, so thankfully Sam doesn't have to worry about me coming up on his heels anytime soon. Hahaha! ;)

I've never guessed so poorly on a distance, and I would have known sooner if I'd been checking my watch during the run, but I wasn't. Anyway, it turns out that I ran 2.71 miles, which puts me at a much more Sarah-like 10:11/mile pace. I was breathing pretty hard, which felt great and was good for the previously mentioned pent-up energy.

Happy sigh.

Monday, January 23, 2006

Miscellanea: Edwin's friend got some

Miscellanea:

Edwin's friend got some photos of the gorgeous sunrise on Marathon/Half Marathon day. It's exactly how I remember it. Brilliantly orange and purple and the best possible way to start a long run.

This morning I returned an unexpected message that I had on my answering machine last night, and wound up with a freelance photography assignment for an out-of-state newspaper. A fairly large one at that. It was all so random. But it's a great opportunity. It's two assignments, actually. I am totally freaking out about it. What if I suck?

I haven't gone running since the half marathon. Last week was crazy busy, and the weekend was crazier busier. My legs are getting that antsy, wound up feeling. I've got to run soon. I have a late sim tonight, so the chances aren't good for today. :(

Yesterday I went to a travel photography seminar put on by National Geographic. It was pretty cool; I picked up a lot of tips and got to look at awesome travel photography all day. Not a bad day. Now I have to decide exactly what equipment I do and don't feel like schlepping around Patagonia next month. :)

I am sleepy.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

My first assignment for my

My first assignment for my web design class is to gather 10 photos and process them, for eventual use on an interactive, self-designed gallery page. I know, it's an easy assignment, but whatever. I have a bunch of ideas and can't decide which to do. You can vote:

+ World Series Game 4 (already processed, and obviously it makes an awesome gallery subject)
+ Running photos(pick one of the races I've shot and do 10 from that, the con being that most running photos look the same)
+ "Day in the life" (take 10 pictures in one day and use that as the theme)
+ Aerial photos (10 of the zillions of photos I've snapped from the window seat on commercial flights)
+ Inca Trail (because it was awesome)
+ Yosemite (could do a graphic of Half Dome as the page background)

I want to pick something that will make it fun to design the background of the gallery page. You know -- baseball stuff if I choose World Series, or an airplane if I choose aerial shots. I also want to impress the class with my photography, so I want to make sure that whatever I choose, I have ten really good photos...

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Happy Trogday Trogdor! (Thanks Kevin.)

Happy Trogday Trogdor! (Thanks Kevin.)

Friday, January 20, 2006

This aerogel stuff that they

This aerogel stuff that they used on Stardust continues to amaze me. It looks like frozen smoke. It's a great insulator for convective heat, and you can even lace it with other materials to make it insulate against radiative heat as well (they used it to insulate the batteries on the Mars Exploration Rovers). I wondered what it felt like, so Gavin looked it up. It looks like it should feel like Jello and should be all wobbly, but apparently it feels like rough, scratchy volcanic pumice. Only much lighter because it's 99.8% air. If you touch it softly, it will bounce back. If you touch it harder, it dimples. And if you press hard enough to exceed the elastic limit, it shatters like glass. It's completely bizarre.

I totally want to buy some and just have a block of aerogel sitting on my desk to poke and think "this is so cool," and it's only $1 per cubic centimeter. But the smallest quantity you can get is a liter, which would be $1000. (Yes, I had to look up that conversion.)

Aerogel. Who comes up with this crazy stuff?

Becca, Jen and I went swimming last night. It was my first time in the pool since last May or something, and I could feel my out-of-shapeness. I did 27 laps in just under 35:00. Two sets of 10 laps with a couple minutes break in between, followed by a final set of 7 that I ended because Becca and Jen had stopped, and I was tired anyway. I hope to start swimming again at least once per week to get back in reasonable shape for a triathlon. The apartment complex pool was successfully heated, though still overchlorinated...

Thursday, January 19, 2006

I was just thinking about

I was just thinking about that saying, the one that says "good things come in threes." I always thought it was a bunch of hooey. (Side note. Hooey. What a great word.) Anyway, I always thought it was a bunch of hooey...until this week. This week "good things come in threes" has been proven true in the most unexpected of ways.

And that's all I got to say 'bout that for now.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Cassie posted a list of

Cassie posted a list of her upcoming events and I'm now inspired to do the same. I need to anyway -- the next few months are crazy busy for me and I need to somehow keep track of my commitments! I really wanted to do the HARRA Iron Foot races, but I already know I'll miss at least two of them, so I'll have to wait until next season. So, by weekend (and for the record, it sorta freaks me out that I am planning weekends this far in advance):

Jan 21/22:
Jan 28/29: Run the Woodlands
Feb 4/5: Buffalo Wallow Cross Country 6K
Feb 11/12: Park to Park 5-Miler OR Surfside Half (Sat) and maybe West U Warmup Bike Ride (Sun)
Feb 18/19: in Patagonia!
Feb 25/26: still in Patagonia!
Mar 4/5:
Mar 11/12: Bayou City Classic (but I may be out of town!)
Mar 18/19: Seabrook Lucky Trails Half OR Relay (Sun)
Mar 25/26: in Tahoe attempting to ski! (if somehow not, then Law Week 8K) also, my birthday!
Apr 1/2: YURI'S NIGHT 5K, Webster
Apr 8/9: Space Race Bike Ride (Sun)
Apr 15/16: Resurrection Run 5K, Nassau Bay (Sat) and Easter
Apr 22/23: MS150
Apr 29/30:
May 6/7:
May 13/14: Summer Kickoff Fun Run 5K, League City
May 20/21: Silverlake Sprint Triathlon, Pearland (Sun)
May 27/28/29: Astros Race for the Pennant 5K (?) & Memorial Day!

And even farther ahead:
Oct 1: Try Andy's Tri

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Successful launch! Off to Pluto!

Successful launch! Off to Pluto!

Also, I may get to take a cool work trip in a couple months. Crossing my fingers that things work out...

Thursday, January 19, 2006

The Daily Show had a

The Daily Show had a great bit last night: "The Most Recent NASA Project and its Implications for Scientific Research." Complete with majestic music. Jon Stewart spoke over photos of the Stardust recovery, calling it "the first night vision footage ever shot not featuring sex or something blowing up." Hee hee.

Sad part is, being on the Daily Show is better publicity is better than anything we can do...

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

The February issue of Runners

The February issue of Runners World has a wonderful collection of stunning and inspiring photographs of 2005 NYC Marathon finishers. I highly recommend checking it out online, where the photos are accompanied by audio recordings of the runners telling their stories, or in print, where you can better appreciate the photos themselves.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

I had a sim yesterday

I had a sim yesterday morning. Having sims is still a new enough occurrance that I feel like I should announce each one... Anyway, it was pretty uneventful. In fact, very uneventful, as sims go. We only did three runs instead of the usual four, and nothing truly major went wrong. Therefore I did pretty well, and Marc started joking about me working them alone soon. At least I hope he was joking. I am pretty attached to having him or George there at the moment; always nice to have a safety net.

No more sims for me for at least two weeks though. There are three to watch, but none for me to work. Boo.

Class last night was, well, disappointing. I keep forgetting that overall, this program I'm in is for applied graphic design, and thus they teach a lot more about how to do things than why. I'd like to learn more theory, and spend less time on the technical details; last night the professor spent an hour going over how to resize an image at the correct resolution for the web. Seriously.

Sigh.

As for running, I'm thinking of signing up for Power in Motion this spring. Ten weeks, starting in March. That'd keep me motivated through May or June, right? ;) My goal would be dropping my 5K time under 30:00...

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

I need to take a

I need to take a self-portrait. I need to do it by the end of Sunday. It may or may not have me with my camera. But most importantly, I need it to be a really kick-butt photo.

You got any ideas?

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

I should note: the Joel

I should note: the Joel and Katie Chalmers household -- established a mere 7 months ago -- will be divided this weekend as the Seahawks and Panthers meet in the NFC Championship game.

You'll be outnumbered there in NC, Joel. Sorry. ;)

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Three day weekends are never

Three day weekends are never long enough.

Saturday was low-key, just me hanging around staying off my feet and drinking lots of water in preparation for the Half. Sunday was full of running, cheering for running, taking pictures of running, and recovering from running. I'm basically not sore at all today, so I'd say I'm recouperating well! I may even go for a run tonight, after class. Yesterday was another low-key day since, as previously mentioned, I didn't even get up until almost noon. Ahhh.

Yep, classes at UHCL start today, and this semester I'll be in web design (Dreamweaver, mainly) from 4-7 on Tuesdays. After feeling a bit bummed about taking a class in something I already know a decent amount about, I've perked up after realizing over the weekend (while messing around with Chris's page) that there are still quite a few things about Dreamweaver of which I don't take advantage. So I'm hopeful.

Yesterday I finally saw a winter movie not called Narnia -- Munich. I mentioned this to Carter yesterday and he immediately responded with "oh, it's good. But it gave me nightmares. It's like Saving Private Ryan, but on the streets of Europe." Hmm. I didn't quite know what to think about that, but away I went to the movies.

Munich is one intense movie. It is good. I'd almost say very good. Gut-wrenching in parts. It is well written, and well filmed, and well acted. Despite it's 2 hours and 40 minute run time (which I did not know about in advance), I never got bored with the story. It was more graphic than I expected, but then, I suppose the subject matter is not exactly cotton candy fluff. The meat of the movie focused more on how Eric Bana's character and group of assassins went about accomplishing their grim task, but as they proceeded to kill off more and more of the terrorists on their list, the focus began to shift toward how the characters felt about what they were doing. And that's what was more interesting to me -- to see how each reacted in a different way. I also found it interesting that Spielberg chose to end the movie with a shot of the New York skyline, with World Trade Center prominently featured. (After all, the movie takes place in the early 70s.)

Anyway, it's good. I recommend it. Just be prepared.

It's a neat week for NASA. Stardust landed successfully over the weekend, and I'm currently waiting to (hopefully) see the Pluto mission launch (if the winds die down). We're sending a spacecraft to Pluto. I mean, Pluto! Seriously! How cool.

Monday, January 16, 2006

I slept from 11:00 last

I slept from 11:00 last night until 11:45 today. It felt so good. I'm really not very sore at all. In fact, I was more sore last week after the Rockets Run and soccer than I am today. Weird how those things go.

After yesterday's Half, a little voice in the back of my head has started going "you know...you could still do the Love the Half Texas Challenge..."

If I did, I'd have to start in two weeks with the 3M Half in Austin.

Jan 29 - 3M Half - Austin
Feb 12 - Surfside Beach Half - Surfside
Mar 19 - Seabrook Lucky Trails Half - Seabrook

Plus two of the races in April and May. I dunno. I have a feeling I'm not really mentally prepared for that, and am instead just riding on the high of a successful race yesterday. But it's something to think about. Realistically, I'm thinking this may be a good year to do the Texas 10K Challenge, and save Love the Half for next year.

I just want to make sure I have something to work toward this year. The 10K Challenge actually is probably a good one, because it will force me to keep somewhat in shape for the summer and early fall races.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

I was supposed to have

I was supposed to have dinner with some friends at 6. Sometime around 4:30 I must've fallen asleep watching the Panthers game because next thing I know, it was 6 and the score of the game had changed! Ah well. I wussed out on dinner. I'm just sleeeeepy.

A couple photos from today... I didn't take as many as I wanted to, or of exactly what I wanted to, but c'est la vie.

Jessica, Cassie and Manny post-race:

The finish line!

Holden:

Jen:

Sam, Jessica and Jon post-race (Lisa, note Sam's shirt!):

Sunday, January 15, 2006

2:18:33! I did the Half

2:18:33! I did the Half in 2:18:33! I am happy.

I did 2:15 two years ago when I was better trained, and figured I could do 2:25 this year, so my goal was somewhere in that 10-minute window. I really thought it'd be closer to the 2:25 end. But I had a good day, and started strong, and managed to maintain it. My splits were all over the map, but my slowest mile was actually the first, when everyone was battling the starting crowds.

Mile 1 - 11:20
Mile 2 - 10:43
Mile 3 - 10:48
Mile 4 - 10:17
Mile 5 - 10:37
Mile 6 - 10:19
Mile 7 - 10:26
Mile 8 - 10:13
Mile 9 - 10:53
Mile 10 - 10:22
Mile 11 - 9:13 (short?)
Mile 12 - 11:46 (long?)
Mile 13 - 10:34
Final 0.1 - 1:04

I headed downtown and parked right in front of Minute Maid Park at 5:30 -- for free! Woo! A car pulled in right next to me and it turned out to be Erin, a coworker. She'd seen me on I-45 and followed me all the way downtown. I'd totally forgotten she was running the Half, but it was nice to see her. We headed into the convention center where I immediately spotted the bright orange of the Houston Running Bloggers banner.

The pre-race festivities passed quickly enough. I headed outside at 6:30 to use the outdoor port-o-potties (much shorter lines!) and mill around. What a difference from last year -- last year it was freezing as I stood waiting for the start, but this year it was downright pleasant.

At 7 a.m. we were off, in the glow of an absolutely beautiful sunrise. It was a little cloudy, and the sun lit up the clouds in a brilliant orange. For the first mile, I couldn't stop looking at the pretty sky. The race was pretty uneventful for the first few miles. Not too many spectators, but still tons of runners tightly clumped together. As we went over the Elysian viaduct, I glanced up and saw the streetlights bouncing up and down. I guess that's what thousands of runners crossing a bridge will do!

After an 11:20 first mile, I settled into a comfortable pace. Since my goal was 11:00 miles, it was easy to judge whether I was under that by doing the math. By the time I hit the 7-mile mark, I had a couple minutes "in the bank" to get me under 2:25, so I was feeling good.

Just past the 8-mile mark I got a huge boost from a crowd of my friends! (They were there more for Michelle who was doing her first marathon, but thankfully waited around to cheer for me and Erin as well!) I'm sure I'm going to forget someone who was there, but Nick, Curt, Sara, Jose, Ashley, James, Paul, Sonia and a couple others hollered and shouted and got me excited and feeling good. I saw them again a mile and a half later after the Half course turned around and we headed back downtown.

The toughest part was the end -- I started to get pretty tired and my legs started aching. I walked a couple extra times in the last 2 miles (after having walked only through the water stations to that point, as is my habit). As we entered downtown, the wind tunnel effect hit with a vengeance, but as we turned the final corner and I could see the finish line far in the distance, I knew I'd make it. And I knew I'd make it under 2:20.

After finishing, I found some of the other HRBers, as well as my friend David from the Gilruth trail. After a while, Jon, Jessica and I started walking backwards along the course to find others to cheer for. We ended up walking back to ~24.5 miles -- so I ran a half marathon and then walked 4 miles there and back! Sheesh.

As for the HRBers, they rocked it! Waverly -- Jon's 10-year-old daughter -- came in under 3 hours at 2:54 and change. Jessica beat 2:00, and Cassie and Manny soundly beat 2:15. Sam ran 1:19, which wasn't what he was hoping for but he seemed happy enough afterwards. I never did see Keith, though I see from his time that he finished right behind me. I saw Erica at the finish as well though I didn't catch her time. In the marathon, Lance clocked 3:02 and change, Steve S came in around 3:53 and Steve B finished just a smidge over 4:00. Jon, Jessica and I then got to see Dalton, Holden, Dave, Joe, and Jen near the 25 mile mark. It was great to see each of them in turn, and see that they were going to make it to the finish! I also saw a couple non-HRB friends, including Erin and, later, Michelle. Michelle was having a lot of trouble with her knee, but she pulled through in the end!

I had a great run and another successful Houston Marathon & Half Marathon day is in the books.

Saturday, January 14, 2006

It was a gorgeous day

It was a gorgeous day outside. Sunny, cool, with a Carolina blue sky. I spent it...doing nothing. Yep, nothing.

First of all, I slept until 11:00. This doesn't bode well for getting to bed early tonight in preparation for the race tomorrow, but I decided it was much more important to get the good night's sleep two nights before.

Did a couple errands, spent a little time on my underused balcony, watched a little TV. Had more pasta at Carrabbas.

We had an awesome Houston Running Bloggers pasta party last night at the Spaghetti Warehouse -- thanks to Joe for putting it together. As I sat at the table enjoying my chicken parmesan and the company of all the other running bloggers, I couldn't help but wish that I'd met all these crazy people a year ago. Then they could have helped me through the marathon! Heh. After four years of running more or less solo, it's nice to have a gained a running family this year.

Holden and Edwin have both posted some photos on their blogs. I took a few (not many, actually) and will try to post 'em tomorrow or Monday; I'm feeling lazy at the moment.

Wish me luck tomorrow morning!

Friday, January 13, 2006

The sight of a story

The sight of a story like this on CNN's front page makes me happy.

I'll be up early enough on Sunday morning to watch a bit of NASA TV, even if I'll be downtown at the convention center by the time it lands.

Friday, January 13, 2006

It's been a busy week

It's been a busy week and I'm glad to see it end. Not that I don't have a busy weekend planned as well...but at least the weekend has some large blocks of free time, as well as, you know, a whole extra day! A part of me always thinks it's silly that we get MLK day off work when we just came back from the holidays two weeks ago. But hey, vacation days are vacation days, and they're always nice.

Tonight I'm heading downtown to pick up my half marathon packet at the convention center and then eat pasta at the Spaghetti Warehouse with my fellow Houston Running Bloggers. (We have a cool photo of us on our front page now. Woot.) Running the Half, and cheering for the marathoners once I'm done running myself, will take up most of my day on Sunday. Oh, I did my last pre-half run last night, an easy 3 miles at 11:20 pace. It felt great. It felt leisurely. I am so happy that 11:20 feels leisurely again. I really am not sure what I expect to run on Sunday, but I know I will be very happy with anything under 11:00/mile, or ~2:24:00. I feel confident that I can do that.

We had the first official Yuri's Night 2006 meeting last night, which has spurred me to get some of the initial race planning underway. We have a date -- April 1. It's a little earlier than I'd like, but the following weekend I'll be out of town for Andrew's wedding, and the weekend after that is Easter. So April Fool's Day it is. Seriously. I'll be sending checks to USATF today for event sanctioning, and yesterday I got online registration up and running. I now need to call the parks office and communicate well enough that we avoid the issues we had last year (they apparently didn't know our event was happening even though I'd called them, booked the pavilion, etc).

I've got a list of websites to work on this weekend as well. First on the list is a very simple page for Chris's new side business; I'll post a link when it's done. Second is a little more work on the RRCA convention page. I've been harboring thoughts of a redesign for a month (the current page is functional and nice enough, but not entirely like how I'd originally planned for it to be) but haven't had time. I don't know if I'll get it done this weekend, but there are some tweaks it needs either way. Third is Carter, who wants a redesign. And last at the moment is my photoblog, which needs/wants a redesign.

My exciting life, eh?

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Last night I had a

Last night I had a dream that I was late to the Half Marathon and had forgotten to pick up my packet in advance. So I was frantically running around the convention center trying to get everything in order before the race started. I guess some part of my brain is a little anxious about the race, despite my overall "aw I've done this before" feeling.

I was cleaning out some old bookmarks last night and came across this great photo essay from the 2004 NYC Marathon. It got me thinking about what my photography plans are/should be for Sunday. Obviously the first 2:45 of the marathon are out for me, since I'll be running for almost 2:30 and then getting food for another 15 minutes. But afterwards, I'd love to try to get some shots even remotely as good as those on that site. And of course, photos of the HRBers finishing!

First, how do I get my camera? I could check it with my sweatshirt, etc, but that is a little risky. I've done it before (at the Marine Corps race in October) but I wasn't happy about it. The only other option would be to leave it in my car, and hopefully park close enough that I can get it quickly once I've finished running.

Second, where do I go to take photos? I'm pretty sure I won't be allowed back into the finishing area, and after that people are funnelled into the convention center. Do I take photos inside?

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Hey Running Bloggers, we've got

Hey Running Bloggers, we've got t-shirts! I'll have them at the pasta party on Friday.

The bad news is that the material is VERY thin. Probably more applicable if you are a girl, so girls -- your sports bra will definitely show through. (In the photo I've got a tank top on underneath.) Just an observation. They are also long; the shirt bunches at my waist because it's a little tight to stretch over my hips. Again, probably much more applicable if you are a girl with hips larger than your waist like me!

But the good news is that we have t-shirts, they were cheap, and the orange shows up great!

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Oh HRBers, I was so

Oh HRBers, I was so good last night. I beat my own brain and went for a run. And yes, I'm now patting myself on the back for it.

See, I'd planned to go after work, but I left a little later than I'd planned and it was too close to sunset to go running on the unlit trails here at JSC. So then I went home, and dutifully put on my shoes and went to the fitness room, but both treadmills were taken! (Ah, the beginning of the year, when everyone's trying to stick with their resolutions and thus the fitness room is always crowded. I can't wait till February.) I could've run outside, but I am so, so sick of the back-and-forth route that I have to follow if I run from my apartment; half mile loops over and over are boring as all can be. So at this point, I figured the fates were conspiring such that I not run. My brain and body were starting to go along with this, since my legs were still pretty sore from Sunday's race and soccer game.

So I went home, took off the running clothes, and settled in on the couch for dinner and some web surfing. Around 7:30 I decided it was time to go to the grocery store and get something to put in my very empty cabinets. At 8:30 I was back home again, but still thinking about how I hadn't run. "Hell with it," I thought, "I'll try again."

I got dressed all over again and walked back over to the fitness room. As I crossed the pool, I could see at least one of the treadmills was still taken, and sighed as I figured the other would be in use as well. But it wasn't! Woo!

I did 4 miles in the same fashion as last week's treadmill run -- 5.0, 5.3, 5.6, and 5.9 miles per hour, or 12:00, 11:19, 10:43, and 10:10 miles. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to finish the 10:10 mile without a fight, as I always seem to struggle more on the treadmill, but the last mile passed pretty smoothly, enough that I considered attempting one more at 6.1 mph (9:50 mile). But it was already 9:30 and I was ready to get back to the apartment and enter the "wind down" portion of my night...and I also didn't want to push too hard with the half coming up on Sunday.

Other than the constant "will I, won't I run?" debate in my head, last night was uneventful. It was my last free Tuesday night for the semester, since UHCL classes begin next week. This spring I'm taking the web design class. I'm not looking forward to it nearly as much as the graphic design class, but hopefully I will get something out of it, and if not, it still counts towards the nebulous M.A. that I may be working towards...

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

I just signed up to

I just signed up to track about a zillion people via my cell phone at the marathon and half on Sunday: Waverly (and thus, Jon), Cassie, Jessica, Sam, and Stephanie in the Half, plus Edwin, Holden, Jen, Steve B, Lance, Steve S, Rick and Michelle in the full. Who am I missing? I know I'm missing people.

My cell is going to be dinging like crazy with all those updates, but I'm hoping they'll be useful in knowing when to look for people to cheer for once I've finish my own race. I haven't decided whether to carry my cell with me or not as I run (probably not), but I'll get it once I finish the half. I'm also trying to figure out how to get my camera once I'm done! :)

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

There was some crazy guy

There was some crazy guy on the radio this morning talking about diets. Saying carbs are bad, the best food is steak, and you can lose weight with just 15 minutes of exercise twice per week. Said that if you went running for an hour a day for 40 days straight, you would lose no body fat because you're not burning fat, you're burning calories. Said we're all going to become diabetic because we eat too much sugar. The worst part? He kept repeating that this was all "based in science" and that he "is from MIT" and he "has read the 1200-page Physiological textbook" or whatever. He was throwing out all these bits of supposed credibility.

Sigh. I hate always hearing about these fad diets. There's one big way to lose weight: take in fewer calories, and burn more calories, than you are now. Or: EAT LESS, EXERCISE MORE. Seems pretty simple, even though I have issues with it myself. It's hard to eat less and exercise more. Food is good, and exercise can be unpleasant. But hey, that's what works. People pay attention to the fad diets because they're looking for an easy way out, but there isn't an easy solution.

At least the DJs interspersed his comments with a clip of a cuckoo clock chiming. That was funny.

I'm wearing my pearls today, the ones Brian gave me for Christmas. They came from China. I dunno if they're real or not, so I'm going to say that they are. I'm also going to call them my Communist Pearls. I'm wearing my Commie Pearls.

Oh, and my iPod? Still possessed. Sigh. Looks like I'll be making a trip to the Galleria this weekend for a new one.

Monday, January 09, 2006

Apparently our soccer game was

Apparently our soccer game was even more intense than I thought. I have been getting more and more sore all day -- by the minute! If it were just my legs, I could chalk it up to yesterday's race. But even my back and shoulders are aching! I hope that girl that took me down is as sore as I am. Geez! :)

Monday, January 09, 2006

It is going to be

It is going to be time for a new iPod very, very soon. Buttons that only work half the time are a problem. Songs that are halfway through and then randomly skip back to the beginning are a problem. Crappy battery life is a problem.

Any ideas about what to do with an old, oddly functioning 10GB iPod?

Monday, January 09, 2006

If you want to track

If you want to track me during the Half Marathon on Sunday, you can register for updates (via email or text message) here.

I had an unusually rough soccer game last night. We won, against a team that we had never beaten, because they were short 3 people. Even short, they are still really good and it took all of our efforts to stop them. It didn't help that the ref was calling a rather one-sided game. He even sent a fan to the parking lot -- the father of one of the high school girls on my team -- because apparently the dad was harassing him. I got knocked down twice, like me-upended-and-lying-in-the-dirt knocked down, and he never called a foul. Falling down isn't unusual for soccer, of course, but it's extremely unusual for me. I'm bigger than most of the girls out there, and have momentum on my side!!

But we won. And we'd never beaten them before. And they are really good. So even if we had 11 and they had 8...I'll take it!

Sunday, January 08, 2006

I ran the first ever

I ran the first ever Rockets Run in 2003, when it was still at the Compaq Center and when the course turned out to be more than a quarter of a mile short. (I finished in 28:something when I'd never even broken a half hour.) After that experience, and after hearing similar complaints, I skipped the race in 2004 and 2005. Today I decided to give it another chance and headed downtown to the new race site at the Toyota Center.

Here are the HRBers (thanks for the photo Jon):

I still have a lot of complaints about the race including:

+ A 10-minute wait to get my packet (because you had to sign a waiver that probably could have been signed online when you register!)
+ A wait to get water at the finish line (not having cups pre-filled)
+ No bananas, bagels, or other standard food (instead, there was pizza, hot dogs, and Diet Pepsi that had expired in July -- I took about 5 sips and threw the rest away, it was gross)
+ No posted results
+ A huge cloud of diesel exhaust as you enter the tunnel (probably unavoidable, but still icky!)

Thankfully the course was measured correctly, though the mile markers were wrongly placed. By consensus after the race, we decided that Mile 1 was long, Mile 3 was short, and the last 0.1 was long.

Come on, Rockets. I don't know whether I'll do it again next year. It makes me angry to pay for something that the Rockets should be able to do well. Instead, they just don't care. That's the saddest part -- they could do it right, but they just don't care.

If only they'd take a tip from the Astros. The Race for the Pennant is a very well-done race.

My splits were as follows:

Mile 1 - 10:13 (long, though I didn't realize it because 10:13 seemed like a damn good pace to me!)
Mile 2 - 9:49
Mile 3 - 9:21 (short)
Final 0.1 - 1:02 (long)

Total Time - 30:25 (9:49/mile), average heart rate of 189

Obviously I'm very pleased with my race; it's the fastest 5K I have done in more than a year. The encouraging (and frustrating) part is that I probably could have gone a little faster. Lance and Steve S (both of whom I finally met in person after the race) will cringe to hear me say this, but I never felt like I was going all out until the final sprint, which means I probably could've broken 30:00 if I'd pushed myself.

I ran 2.5 miles alone, then Cassie and Manny pulled up beside me. I'd been wondering the whole time where they were; I knew they were behind me because I never saw Cassie's bright red shirt in front of me. They had to have been right behind me the whole time, and Cassie later confirmed that they were. When they pulled up beside me I told myself "I'm going to stay with them, strong through the end." And I did. Cassie beat me to the line by a couple feet though after sprinting past me on the court. ;)

Obviously the last tenth of a mile was mismeasured. I ran that tenth faster than any other because 1) it was the end and 2) it was downhill through the tunnel to the basketball court, and yet I was only doing 10:00 pace? I don't think so. The last tenth was probably more like 45 seconds, making Mile 3 more like 9:35.

Nevertheless, I'm happy! Half marathon next weekend. I don't expect to match my 2:15 from 2004, but I fully expect to finish under 2:30 without too much of a problem.

OH! And mad props to Waverly, who broke her 5K PR by more than a minute! (And also earned a $100 payday from Jon; hmm, I wonder if I could convince my Dad to pay me if I break a PR...)

Saturday, January 07, 2006

First of all, congratulations to

First of all, congratulations to Andrew aka Jelly Santelli!! He ran his first half marathon today down at Disney World in a very respectable 2:27:57. On Sunday I'm going to try to match his time. :) Way to go Jelly!

I've fallen off the training wagon in the last month, but at this point, with the half marathon coming up next Sunday, I'm as ready as I'm going to get.

Two years ago I was totally in Half Marathon mode as I prepared for my first 13.1-mile run ever in January 2004. It was a big deal to me. Last year I was totally in Marathon mode as I prepared for my first 26.2-mile run ever in January 2005. It was an even bigger deal to me. This year... Well, oddly enough, the Half has sort of snuck up on me. I've been talking about it and training for it, but having already done two halves and one full marathon, this Sunday doesn't seem like such a big deal.

I sort of miss that anticipation, that feeling of "I'm about to do something I've never done before." That's not to say that I'm not looking forward to the race, or that I think the Half this year is any less of an accomplishment than it was the first time I did it (in fact, this year it will probably be more since I've been lax on my training!).

It's just a thought.

Today I didn't want to go running. I fear I am becoming a Joe "I Hate Running" Breda protege. ;) But today I really didn't want to go. I'd told myself a few days ago that I'd do 6-7 miles today, but my brain and body compromised and I did 3 miles. BUT I did them in 30:28 for a 10:09/mile average. I was really huffing and puffing at the end.

Friday, January 06, 2006

I have been trying to

I have been trying to convince Jose to come to Patagonia with us. I have sent him numerous breathtaking pictures, and today I even sent a limerick:

There once was a guy named Jose
who thought Patagonia was way
cool ('cause there's ice)
and the penguins are nice
so he bought his plane ticket today!

"Ha," I thought. "I am so clever. How can he resist a trip like this, especially when he would be with someone as clever as myself?"

In response, I got a haiku:

I want to go really
Penguins and glaciers, why not?
If I had known sooner :(

Apparently he is a bit clever himself.

Though I chose not to point out that his haiku has too many syllables...

Friday, January 06, 2006

I had a fantastic run

I had a fantastic run last Thursday in Charlotte. I did not run Friday because I didn't want to have to pack sweaty clothes when I flew to Atlanta. I did not run Saturday (though I did ice skate) because I planned to run Sunday and Monday. I did not run Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday because I was sick and just wanted to sleep. Then I did not run Wednesday because I was shooting soccer games.

So, it was with a feeling of slight desperation that I forced myself to squeeze in a treadmill run last night. After six days off, and still recovering a bit from my cold, I decided to take it pretty easy and ran three miles, one each at 5.0, 5.3, and 5.6 mph (that would be 12:00, 11:19, and 10:43 per mile).

It was a nice, relaxing run (well, as relaxing at the treadmill can be) and I'm glad I fit it in. Afterwards, I enjoyed dinner at Mely's with about a zillion people including Nancy and Graham, who had a layover in Houston on their way back from the "Becca's family goes to Ecuador for Christmas" trip.

And in other news, I quickly counted up my...

Sarah's 2005 Running (And More) By The Numbers

Hours spent running, swimming, biking, racing, etc - 83.08
Miles run or ellipticalled (mostly run) - 347.05
Miles biked - 270.7
Miles swum - 6

Highest running mileage week - 28 miles in the week that ended on Jan 1, 2005, i.e. my last big week before marathon taper! Yes, the week of the marathon, the marathon was the only thing I ran.
Lowest running mileage week - 0 miles, many times, especially during summer. :(
Highest biking mileage week - 150 miles during MS150 weekend in April
Lowest biking mileage week - 0 miles, many times, including every week since July. I really must train this year.

Number of races run: 15
Number of races biked: 1 (MS150)
Number of other races: 1 (Houston Urban Adventure)

Soccer games: lots
Softball games: lots
Climbing: not much, should go more

Thursday, January 05, 2006

If you want to see

If you want to see some cool photos, check out these many, many shots from Argentina and Antarctica. I can hardly wait to go to Patagonia!!

Thursday, January 05, 2006

There are a lot of

There are a lot of happy Longhorns around the office today. I didn't watch the Rose Bowl last night, which is a bit disappointing since it seems to have actually lived up to all the hype. Instead, I was shooting the two Interliga soccer games at Reliant Stadium. I enjoy soccer and these guys were good, so it was a lot of fun. I looked through a few of my photos last night and will finish going through them tonight.

I'm feeling so-so about the ones I did look at. The good -- my timing was good, and I caught a lot of good moments. The bad -- my equipment wasn't quite good enough to really let me be effective, and I was pretty handicapped by both the reach of my lens and the f/4 hit that I took to get to 280mm with my 1.4x extender. Hopefully I got a couple decent shots though, and will get the chance to do it again.

I worked my first real real sim this morning, a full 4-hour sim with four ascent runs (as opposed to my first real sim, which I did before Christmas, which was only one ascent). George had told me yesterday that he'd be there at 7:00 to help me, but he didn't show, and didn't show. By 7:30, since I was in no way prepared work the sim entirely on my own with no one prodding me and pointing me in the right direction, I began to panic. Finally he came in at 7:40; he'd overslept. Whew!!

Other than that, the sim went ok. The second run was a doozy where we found ourselves in a case for which we apparently have no procedures. Fun.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

For 2006: + Lose 10

For 2006:

+ Lose 10 pounds*
+ Maintain a base level of fitness through the hot, hot summer
+ Train for the MS150 (instead of just gutting it out)
+ Do another triathlon (Olympic distance hopefully)

+ Shoot on the field at another professional sporting event**
+ Double my photography income over what it was in 2005
+ Read my camera's manual all the way through
+ Learn to effectively use my hot-shoe flash

+ Play my flute, for the first time since leaving Stanford
+ Continue graphic design classes at UHCL or elsewhere

+ Certify as an ARD (flight controller)
+ Write and publish my STS-107 paper

* I hate this resolution. It's so generic. However, I am 7-8 pounds heavier than I was at this time last year, and my clothes are a little tighter. Boo.

** Technically, tonight's Interliga games count. But to be more specific, I'm thinking MLB, NBA, or NFL.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

So I don't have much

So I don't have much of a recap from my three days in Atlanta since I felt pretty crappy for two of them. But the short version is: After getting off the plane from Charlotte, I was immediately whisked down to Peachtree City to have pizza with the Greens. Alas, no golf cart rides this time. The next day we went ice skating and no one fell down, I got to see Kent's apartment (I like it lots), and we watched a bunch of TV (3 episodes of Firefly). I rang in the New Year with Carter, Kent, James, Chrissy, Daniel, and Virginia. It was excellent to see Daniel and VA for the first time in a long time -- they are always happy and fun to have around. I woke up sick on New Years Day and we took it easy by watching more movies (Serenity and Fantastic 4), and also went over to Chris's for dinner. Chris has done an amazing job renovating his house; I am extremely impressed. On Monday we checked out Atlantic Station, which I hadn't seen before. It's a definite improvement over what was there before, though I'd like it more if there were more interesting shops. Then, of course, I ended the weekend with my long wait at the airport.

Yesterday afternoon after I started to feel a bit better I headed to Barnes and Noble to spend a gift card and ended up spending twice what the gift card was worth! I guess that's what the stores are counting. But I'm pleased with my purchases -- the complete set of Narnia books, "A Crack in the Edge of the World" about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, another Patagonia book, and a neat bargain coffee table book I came across full of poems and artwork related to flight.

I think my iPod is finally truly in its death throes. I tried to turn it on while on the plane on Monday and nada. I've tried to reset it and nada. I can't get any of the buttons to work, and the scroll wheel is working only sporadically. I wasn't quite ready to drop $300 on a new iPod, so I was hoping to get it to limp along for another few months. I did get money for Christmas though and am selling a camera lens though, so maybe it's time.

Tonight I will not be watching the Rose Bowl. Instead, I will be at Reliant Stadium shooting the two Interliga (Mexican club soccer) games being played here. I applied for press credentials and got them! Should be fun, although I will be up late. Hopefully I won't relapse into being sick again.

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

I haven't run in 5

I haven't run in 5 days. The half marathon is a week and a half away.

I took a sick day and slept until noon. When I awoke, I still felt pretty crappy, but I couldn't sleep any longer. Once I got up and showered, I felt a little better. I'm pretty congested though, so I didn't try a run.

Since I did my long run before I got sick, I'm not too worried about my ability to do the race. It'd be nicer if I'd been able to run the past few days, but I won't lose too much fitness. So at this point, my highest priority is to get completely rid of this cold before race day. I don't want any lingering congestion or sniffles on the 15th.

When all was said and done, my plane left Atlanta at 10:50 p.m. Eastern time last night, four and a half hours later than scheduled. We got into Houston at 11:40 p.m. Central time, four hours later than scheduled. At least we made up a half hour in the air, eh? To really put a cap on the evening, we came into E terminal, where the bathroom was filthy and four of the eight stalls were unusable. I then had to walk the entire length of the terminal, across a couple skyways, and then take the train over to C terminal where I finally recovered my suitcases.

Seriously, Continental Airlines. It was midnight, and we were four hours late, and we were a tired and cranky bunch of passengers. You're telling me there wasn't an empty C terminal gate for us to pull into?

I owe Jen big time. She still came to pick me up, even though we didn't get back to Clear Lake until almost 1 a.m. Mad props to Jen.

Despite the airport delays and the annoying head cold, it's nice to be back in my little apartment. Home again, home again, jiggity jog.

Monday, January 02, 2006

I just got a call

I just got a call from the front gate of my apartment complex asking me if I was expecting a delivery from Papa John's. I resisted the urge to say "well, considering the fact that I'm currently stuck in airport hell in Atlanta, no, I'm not expecting a delivery, though pizza does sound pretty good right now, can you send it here?"

Monday, January 02, 2006

Kill me now. I am

Kill me now. I am stuck in airport hell.

We left Kent's at 4:30 to get my to the airport in time for my 6:20 flight. It has been thunderstorming on and off since last night, and I thought it might affect my flight, but hoped for the best.

It is 8:15. I'm still sitting at the airport. Our airplane has just left Houston, and now we have to wait for it to fly here, rid itself of equally irate passengers, get cleaned, and then finally we get to depart for Houston. Current scheduled departure is 9:52, more than 3.5 hours late. This may actually be the longest I've ever been delayed; I can't recall any other longer wait.

The "best" part? I've been sick for the past two days. My standard cold, which means sore throat followed by aches and pains followed by a general feeling of malaise. A recent bout of Advil has made me feel better at the moment, and I'm hoping the espresso in my Starbucks gives me a jolt. I thought of just taking a shot of Nyquil once I get on the plane, except I think I accidentally left my Nyquil at Carter's. (Oh, and because I've been feeling ill, I haven't gone running since Thursday. Four days without a run. Makes me feel antsy and keyed up in addition to the feverish congestion.)

So here I sit at the airport, having just paid $7.95 for WiFi access to pass the time after I got tired of reading People, feeling like poo and sharing the experience with a few hundred of my closest friends. I would kill for my Firefly DVDs right now, but alas, they're in my checked suitcase. I would've grabbed them, but oh, when I checked my luggage I thought the flight was only 1.5 hours delayed. Sigh. Sigh sigh sigh. I am not a happy camper at the moment.

Happy 2006!