Numbers

In random order..

2 - Days before I leave for Montreal
10 - Days I'll be there.
3 - Events I'll be participating in - 40K bike race, Olympic distance tri, half-marathon.

31 - Days until I fly back to Michigan for the weekend.
8 - Kilometer race I'm running that weekend.
43 - (or under) minutes I hope to finish in.. I really have no idea since I rarely do a run under 10 miles or a half-marathon.. unless it's a 10K at the end of an Olympic distance triathlon.

4 - Day in September when my boss is due to deliver
12 - weeks she'll be on maternity leave
12 - weeks I will be pulling my hair out
1 - class I'll be taking during that time.

30 - Days has September
2 - Pull ups I'm supposed to do before said day of September
68 - Days until said day.
7 - Seconds I could hold myself up; forearms perp to the ground, biceps parrallel to the ground.
2 - months ago I could do that.
3 - Seconds I could hold myself in that same position tonight

*sigh*

68 - days until Chesapeake Man
1 - other time I've completed this race.
3 - other Ironmans I have completed since 2002.
90 - minutes registration for Ironman Lake Placid 2007 sold out in.
362 - Days until the race

The countdown begins.. or continues..

Small Victories

I'm not big on computer games. In my family, we grew up playing cards and board games. Would could play some mean games of double and triple solitare as well as Uno!, Simon, and Mastermind. I was jealous of our neighbor who owned an Atari, our babysister, who had a Nintendo, and our cousins, who also had a Nintendo. I can't say I was really good at any of the games, but I did enjoy playing them.. I ruled on "Jeopardy!"

So when I got older and got my own computer, one of the first things I did was check out the games available.. Minesweeper, Solitare, Hearts, and Freecell. I never understood Hearts, Solitare bored me, Freecell was 'eh', but there was something about Minesweeper.

So I started to play it.. and kinda figured out how it worked. Then it got to the point where I had to have the 'best score' for all three levels on any computer that I used.. not counting at work. However, when I got a laptop for work, that quickly changed. So after I got the record, as it is with sports, it got me to think "what's next?" The only logical thing to do was to beat my previous record.

And thus it challenge began.

I'd get bored waiting for internet pages to load, so I'd play "a game". That game led to 20, and then.. lord, who knows how many. Then I couldn't go to bed until I won a game. If you know how to play minesweeper, you know it can take awhile sometimes before you win. Oh, and I only play the Expert level.

So much to my surprise, as I'm taking a break from listening to the live broadcast of Iroman Lake Placid on the internet, chatting on AIM, and trying out my new cross-cutting shredder, I thought I'd play a few games. Not much to my surprise, I won a number of them, and mostly under 90 seconds.

Big whoop.

So I was pleasantly surprised when I completed a game and a small 'window' opened up congradulating me.

I broke the record! I think my previous best for the Expert level was 74 seconds, but I was able to drop the best time down to 71 seconds.

Pretty sad that that was the highlight of my night.

A day of firsts

Monday was the first time I biked to work this year, and I wish I had started doing it sooner. It was great. I could definitely tell I was out of "biking to work" shape, but it felt good to get back in the saddle again. I took the usual route and was happy to see most of the roads repaved. Now I can see the glass before I roll over it! The weather was muggy as hell that morning, but I'd probably sweat just as much if I were to walk/Metro/walk, which is what I normally do. Normally, I'd wear 'commuter clothes', which is just shorts and a Tshirt and I wipe down with baby wipes before getting dressed in the bathroom.

When people see me on the way to the bathroom as a sweaty mess, they usually ask, "Did you run this morning?"

"Nooope.. just walked from the metro."

So like I said, if I'm going to sweat, I want to make sure it's because of a good workout.. And it is! My trip is a whopping 12.5 miles and takes me about 55 minutes - the same amount of time to walk/Metro/walk. The plus side is that I'm saving over $5/day. Don't think it adds up? Believe me, it does.

Monday was also the first time I forgot my underwear, too. I thought I had and extra pair stashed in one of my drawers, but after a lot of searching, I came up empty. Instead of going commando under my khakis, I found a pair of gray running shorts with a liner I could wear.

I rode the ol' steed in again on Wednesday and was called a 'masochist' by one of my coworkers who was outside for his morning smoke. Another asked me where I ride from, and when I told him he said, "that's why you're in such great shape."

"Well, I'm working on it."

That, I am..

The End of My Cell Phone Saga..

.. hopefully.

I don't know what I said last time, but after stopping in the Sprint store a few weeks ago, I was told to "come back later" and they'd be able to swap the phone numbers. LO and BEHOLD, they can't do what I thought they could.

Surprise, surprise, eh?

So I picked up the red phone and talked to Customer Care.. yknow, the one I talked to for god knows how long when I first got the phone. Well Brenda was more helpful than anyone I've talked to throughout this whole ordeal and got things all cleared up.

Here's the low down.. I have to send back the new phone. The number has been cancelled. Since I've been a long-time, loyal Sprint customer, I qualified for $150 towards an upgrade. So I purchased the same phone (but in burgundy!) at the store and had my number transferred to that phone. Contract renewed over the phone, text and web capabilities added as well.

So I purchase the phone and have them set it up. And again, things don't go smoothly. Apparently Brenda charged me $200 for the free phone I had purchased online and would be sending back. While Alex, the Sr. Communications Consultant at the Sprint store, muttered "what the fuck" and "this dumbass system" over and over, he did me a favor and credited my account that $200 so my $150 upgrade credit would go through and I would be on my way. As unprofessional as his grumbling was, he really helped out.

New phone - $50
Mail in rebate - $30
Actual cost of phone - $20.. plus weeks of aggravation
Ability to text like a banshee, receive my messages in a timely manner, and charge my phone - priceless!

Let's hope Brenda nor anyone else at Sprint tries to charge this loyal Sprint customer that $200 again.

The heat and humidity

I wouldn't say that it's unbearable, but the heat and humidity is bearable.. if you don't mind sweating your ass off. It doesn't matter what I wear when I go out, I'm going to sweat. I pack accordingly and bring water to stay hydrated, and a small towel to help dry myself off.. but it doesn't help.

Apparantly my body just likes to sweat.. a lot.

The thing is.. today it was 87 deg F, but it felt like 97 deg F with a 67% humidity. I don't even like to wear a bra and underwear when it's this hot.. and that's when I'm just at home. So going out is a bit of a fashion 'challenge' for me as I have to wear those as well as additional outer clothing.

And in this heat.. just the basics - under stuff, shorts, Tshirt - is plenty! I have the back ring of sweat from just a 10 minute walk. And I have no clue how people can wear jeans and/or layered T-shirts in these temps. No idea. And I swear I was the only one out there sweating as much as I was *sigh*

I won't waste too much time thinking about it as I lounge around at home in a pair of boxers and a Tshirt..

.. damn it's hot in here..

things I don't get..

I thought broccoli was one of the most feared.. most hated vegetables. Kids turned their collective noses up at it and wouldn't eat it no matter how you cooked it or dressed it up.

If that is so, then why the hell are the frozen cuts always sold out at my grocery store?!?! There is chopped broccoli, there is an assortment of broccoli spears, and petite florets, but no cuts. They carry at least 3 or 4 different brands of frozen items including the Safeway brand, yet they were all sold out.. still.. or again.. when I stopped in tonight. They were out when I was in Wednesday and last Monday and probably on the weekend, too.

Apparently everyone that eats broccoli shops a my store. Help a sister out and please leave one 32 oz bag for me? Heck, even a 16 oz bag.. I won't be greedy.

And why doesn't anyone carry my Tofu Scrambler anymore? I've tried making my own version and it sucks. I've tried Trader Joe's at Bailey's Crossroads, my Safeway, Whole Foods in Rockville, and Yes! Organic Market in Capitol Hill. I don't want to order it online, but I will if that's what I need to do to get my scrambler mix.

I tell ya.. the vegetarian gods are conspiring against me..

REI is the devil!

For sure.

I have spent waaaay too much time there in the past week, and would spend waaaaay more money if I had a car since I would make more regular trips out there "just to browse".

I have to admit, tho.. I look pretty damn good in my new threads..

the 4th

Ykno.. the thing about where I live in DC, I can't tell a gunshot from a firework.

don't tell my mom..

Better Late Than Never

It has been a long, drawn out process, but after constant batching and hours on the phone, I finally got a new cell phone. Believe it. After bitching about my phone back in December or so.. and dealing with more problems this past month, I finally pulled the trigger.

However, like me, the new phone wouldn't come without any baggage. First off, I order the phone online after speaking with a rep to clarify any questions. I order it on Father's Day as a FD present to myself. I get the automatic email to say "you'll have it in 4 business days". So I figure Friday. Nothing.

So on Friday I call the 8800# that was included in that automatic email. Apparently my order wasn't received. Well, it was received, but it was sitting on a shelf somewhere. An account rep had been 'assigned' to it and it was being fulfilled.

I get another email Monday to say the order has been fulfilled.. 4 days.. bla bla. It also includes specs about my phone.. and a new phone number.

Wait, wait, wait.. Homey talked with a rep and said I'd be able to keep my current phone number.

So I called the 800# again and was told I apparently bought this as an "add-on" and would have to call another 800# when I got the phone.

So I get the phone Thursday the 29th.. and it had arrived the 27th, but the front desk never called me about it!! Ugh.. a little peeved, but I take my new pet upstairs and prepare to be on the phone for awhile.

90 minutes later.. nothing is resolved. I'm transferred 5 times or so between Customer Care, Account Services, Tech Support (hmm) and back, that I finally say to the last guy, "Okay, what department are you in before I start my spiel so I know I'm talking to the right person"

Here's what I wanted done. I have a new phone with a new phone number. I want to keep new phone and old phone number. Difficult? Apparently, yes, it is. Finally the last guy says all I have to do is take both phones to a Store and they can do a transfer. Cool.

So I go to the store Saturday and explain, yet again, my situation.

Can't do it. The phone has to be active for 15 days or something ridiculous.

So I have 2 phones and 2 numbers I'm paying for. I have until the 23rd (end of my billing cycle) to take care of it before I have to pay the $200 termination fee.

For the love of God, I just want a phone that doesn't drop my calls, that lets me know I have a message the day I receive it, and lets me text message. All I want to do is send/receive text messages!!

I must say, I do sort of like the knew phone number, but it has a 443 area code and I'm partial to my 202. The new number also has my childhood street address in it, which is kinda cool. I just don't want to go through the hassle of passing out a new phone number and updating it on whatever bathroom stall it was posted in.

I am paying for it and might as well use it..

Will the saga ever end???