VOTE

What more is there to say? Don't be a whiner if you don't vote. Don't think your vote doesn't count. It does, really, truly. If you are of any other persuasion than a wealthy, white, land owning male many people fought very hard so you could have the privilege to vote. Don't be an ass and take it for granted. And if you're a wealthy, white, land owning male chances are good that the Founding Fathers wouldn't have been allowed to vote had they not been Americans instead of English (and whatever else).

My personal preference - vote Obama. But even if you don't vote for Obama, get off your ass, get out the door and mark a ballot.

Voting for McCain is a vote for more of the same from someone who is even more egotistical than our current Executive, and his running mate is more stupid than the current Executive. No matter how I look at it it's bad.

Now go vote. I got to the polling place at 6:40am and there were 30 people there by the time the polls opened. I've never seen that before.

Des Moines Marathon - a Tardy report

I ran my second ever (and second Des Moines) marathon on Sunday 10/19/08. Again we had a lovely day, although it got a bit windy at the end. I enjoyed being a slow runner since it allowed me to play tour guide to some of our out of town guests.

I was on track at the 13.1 mile mark to be a minute or two faster than last year. Taking into consideration that I had a negative split last year, I expected that to actually end up being more like 5 minutes. Unfortunately, it was not to be. When I hit Grays Lake at mile 22, I wouldn't say I hit a wall or even "THE WALL" but my legs did become really, really heavy. I kept going but the walking portions became more frequent and a bit longer. I was pooped. So, I ended up finishing slightly slower than last year, by about 30 seconds. How odd is that.

I thought I might have been making some progress with running speed, but in this endeavor it appears not. I'd better get back on that.

I will run another marathon next year. Perhaps I will venture out of the Des Moines area. I have an invitation to run the Lewis & Clark Marathon in 9/09.

Why do I work

Currently, I am working so that I have a house to live in, food to eat, and clothes to wear. I also work because my employer is funding my MPH degree. Aside from that, I see no good reason to venture into the pit of despair each and every weekday.

Really, at one time I loved what I did here. I remember working extra hours, giving 150% and smiling on my way to work. Of course, it wasn't like that every day, but it was like that most days. I've been here 11 years now and I think about the first 5 years were pretty decent, then the 20 months that I worked as a Social Security Consultant in my department, but that job got vendored out (went belly up) in August of 2007 and I landed right back in my old job. I say that I hate this job, but that doesn't really convey the depth or the breadth of how much I despise, loathe and am completely disgusted by this job. I don't enjoy it any more. . .at all. The only redeeming factor is that I like the majority of the people I work with quite well. I suppose that makes it tolerable most days.

I long for the day when I can have a job that makes me happy to get up in the morning. I hope I am able to find something here at my current employer to take me through my degree program, because having that mostly paid for is pretty sweet. It will probably take me about 3 more years to complete my degree. I wonder how long I can live with this unhealthy attitude about my job?

Mistaken Identity

I often think about how I look both with and without clothes. As a formerly fat person and currently "regular" sized person I think my body image is totally screwed up. I'm driven by the numbers on a scale and the ones in the waistbands of my pants. I am a little larger right now than I prefer to be, but where did that preference come from? If I feel healthy and I can run all these races, perhaps I should dwell a little less on how I think I look and try to discover who I really am. . .physically. Sometimes I think I am bigger than I am and sometimes I think I'm smaller. I guess when it comes down to it, neither one is right or wrong. It just is.

So, I'm perusing the Punk Rock Cycling Flickr pictures from our rides this summer, and Donny took this really decent photo of me. I can pick out the flaws (chunky monkey arms) but the two things I like best about this picture are my smile (looks real and not contrived) and my right hand (holding the bottle. . .my fingers look really cool, not sure why I think that, they just do). So, this is a lesson to me to de-emphasize a weight or a size, re-emphasize health, and love the things about me that will always be beautiful no matter what.

Run

I decided not to do any more triathlons this season. I did the last, Cy-man, on Sunday. I was considering another race in Iowa City on 9/21 but I decided I didn't need to spend $60 on a race and $60 on gas when I wasn't swimming and cycling as much as I should. That is because all attention is now focused on the RUN.

The Des Moines Marathon is on 10/19. So, I have 5 weeks to go. I have a 20 mile run this weekend, and one the last weekend of the month and then I will taper to shorter runs. Running 20 miles wouldn't be SO bad if I ran faster. Then it wouldn't take me 4 hours. That is a long, long time to run. It is hard to keep your mind focused and yet unfocused. . .focused on getting the run completed, and yet unfocused on all the aches and pains you develop along the way. And at the end of the long run is the longed for and dreaded ice bath. It hurts like hell at first, but then it feels so good.

I ran 8 miles this morning, in the dark. That's not my favorite, but it was nice to get it done and out of the way. I twisted my ankle a bit, but it doesn't feel too bad so I am hoping nothing more will come of it.

The Boy was awake and watching TV when I came downstairs at 5 am this morning. I got mad at him for being up so early. Guess what, he fell asleep and was asleep on the couch when I got home a little after 7am. OOPS. I guess he really was more tired than he thought. . . I told him he was! Anyway, so that resulted in rushing around so he could get to school, and then lateness at work for me.

I finished a pair of Jaywalker socks for myself and am about 80% done with my first Monkey Sock for Kasi's 18th birthday.

I ride bikes

Last week the Specialized bike rep, a rather teeny but powerful and super-fun, a chick named Amy brought the Specialized WSD bikes to Des Moines. I got to test ride this sweet number. This was my first real experience on a mountain bike. Once I got over being too chicken to go over a curb, I really enjoyed it.

Days in Hell: the Job

Ok, so I've been tired of this job for a long time. I tried to leave a couple of years ago, got another job I pretty well liked that was an adjunct to this department, then about a year ago, they decided to let that department "go." So I begged for this job back. I believe I may have made a mistake. When I "came back" I realized just how much I hate this place. I have tolerated it for a year. I have gone back to school and work is paying for the majority of the school (less the textbooks and miscellaneous fees) so I really want to keep working for the company. But, the straw is breaking this camel's back. We launched a new claim system 4 days ago. It sucks. It has lots of issues. It is NOT easier to use than the prior 30 year old main frame based (Cobol based) system. It is more complex. It takes 10 times longer to do anything. Everyone is at their wits end here and we are all being told to be "positive" about it. I think that's wrong. Examiners have huge caseloads and they are just getting more behind because now something that used to take 5 minutes is taking an hour. I am sure there will be some improvement as we become more proficient with the system, but some things are just inexcuseable. And here's the funny thing, the management knows it sucks and they keep feeding us "treat" food. . .to make us feel better. So pretty soon we will all be 10 pounds heavier and depressed! Way to go.