Concierge

Posted on Wednesday November 17 2004 ·

First, let me say a GIANT thankyou to all of you for your support on my not-so-very-cool job situation. :)

Second, let me say another GIANT thankyou to all you folks AGAIN for your kind words on my 5K. It was a big deal for me to PR on it and I was so happy to have folks to share it with.

THANKYOU!

I have been doing alot of soul searching about my career lately. Without getting too much into detail about my background, its mostly engineering type stuff. Which is kind of odd because I have PhD in chemistry. Soooooo, I can do engineering without an engineering degree, and I don’t do chemistry when I’m doing engineering, and that sounds alot like a “no experience necessary” job. Its not really like that, but it is kind of odd when I think about the path I took to get here.

One of the career exercises I took once asked me to think about the best job I ever had and why I liked it. I couldn’t think of one at the time, but I think I figured it out. When I was in college I took a class between semesters working in the music department on a musical. I was the Assistant to the Musical Director.

Not Assistant Musical Director, Assistant TO the Music Director. I copied music, did some music transcription (augment these meaures, etc), copy more music, make sure everyone has their music and that their equipment works, take attendance during rehersal, and copy more music.

One time, the piccolo player needed a stand to put her piccolo on while she played her flute. I built her a small wooden stand that clamped onto her regular music stand so she could rest it there.

I knew everyone in the musical and they all knew me. Everything they needed, I found for them and they were happy. I didn’t have to tell anyone what to do and I didn’t have to promote any ideas. They told me what they wanted and I got them exactly that or as close as I could get.

Thinking about this I realized a good job for me would be a Concierge. Did you see For Love or Money with Michael J. Fox and (sigh) Gabrielle Anwar? Tell me that guy did not have a cool job. He blew it ofcourse. He started having problems when he tried to interject his own opinions and stopped doing what his customers asked for. But he did get Gabrielle. ;)

Filed Under: General

Protected: I have been invited to leave.

Posted on Monday November 15 2004 ·

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Filed Under: General

Ann Arbor Turkey Trot 5K

Posted on Sunday November 14 2004 ·

Another PR for me and I’m really happy about that. I think I really hurt myself too.

Yes, I did indeed kill myself on this race. I started out waaaaay too fast. The first time I looked down at my Forerunner is said 6:50 pace. I almost fainted. Here’s why: every track team in the county decided to run in this race. There were bunches of kids from all over with their team sweats on. And ofcourse, young kids run like the wind. It was hard not to get caught up in it. :)

It was damn cold when I went to pick up my packet at 8:30. 20F!! Frost on the grass. Not as bad as Chris who had snow, but it was cold. By 11:30 when my race came it had warmed up to 40F so I was doing ok. The parking lots were all filled with people and they were parking on the lawns, because there was a 10K and a kids dash before the 5K. Lots of races today.

I know this course really well so there were no surprises for me and I think its better when you know in your mind how far you have to go, not just in the numbers. Still, I pushed this pace much much too hard. This was fastest I have run since High School and it was killing me. There comes a point, I think, when you have to back off before you really do serious damage and I feel like I was hanging on the brink of that.

In the last bit of the race, some track guy passed me and I was happy to let him go by because he was running strong and I was so tired I wanted to drop dead right there. Then I could hear some giant clod-hopper stomping up behind me and there was no way I was going to let him pass, so I picked it up. And then he picked it up, and then I did. And we were just pounding away like two fools who don’t realize that 2 or 3 seconds off your time doesn’t really matter when you are not going to place anyway. Then we caught up to the track guy and he started pushing hard. So the three of us come screaming across the finish line and the crowed was cheering like crazy at us three idiots. Track guy, then me, then the clod hopper. I was happy to place in our own little race. :)

I just kept walking after the finish. I could hardly breathe. All I could do was take little gasps of air. My lungs were just burning. I wanted to fall down but I knew I wouldn’t be able to get up again. I never felt that bad after a race. I don’t ever want to push it that hard again. It was really, really stupid.

Forerunner lap times:
Mile time
1…………7:11
2…………7:34
3…………7:38
last bit……:59

Forerunner said this was actually 3.2 miles not 3.1, but I hit the lap button manually at each mile so those distances should be correct. My time will be a little bit off from the official time because I forgot to hit my stop button for a little bit at the end (for the reasons above).

Official time: 23:11, 7:28 pace, 10/17 in my age class, 116 overall. I don’t know what the total number of runners was at this point, but it can’t be more that 150.

I’ve got some ice on my right calf right now because it hurts like crazy. Maybe I had injured it earlier and that’s why it had been so tight. I had taken a hot bath before stretching out this morning, hoping it would get me warmed up. I think it helped alot for all the stretching.

Ok. Today my son and I are baking a cake for his Cub Scout Bake Off and I’m making truffles for the auction. I made the centers the other night and today I’ll be tempering the chocolate so I can dip them. Hmmmmm. Maybe I need to pull out of those chocolate bars and give it a taste for next week’s report.

Filed Under: Injury and Pain, Races

Race day again!

Posted on Sunday November 14 2004 ·

Its 5 AM on race day and my back says “Get up or I’ll hurt you more!”. Funny how it likes to do it the most on race day. Jerk back.

Anyway, I have the Ann Arbor Turkey Trot 5K this morning. A race on my turf. I know this course well and I know when to speed up, when to slow and when I can just let it all fly because I’m almost at the end. The course is pretty flat except for one hill. If I ever had a chance to PR, this would be it.

I’m still concerned because my training has been really light since the half. I had all kinds of funny right knee pain Wednesday, and now this AM my right calf is really tight. I’m thinking about taking a hot bath before stretching out. We’ll just see how it goes today. When you first start running, you PR alot, but it has to slow eventually.

The wierd thing about this race is that its at 11:30. Every other race I’ve been in has been at 8:00 or around there. They’ve got other races this morning so the 5K is last. I’m not sure I’ll be able to figure out what to eat with my timing all messed up. Oh yeah, and the packet pick up and registration is around 8:00. So I go get my stuff, LEAVE, rest at home, then go back. Kinda silly.

I was agonizing last night about which shoes to wear. I love the feel of the Mizuno’s but I have only run 2 miles in them total. The Nike’s have the mileage, but they aren’t as comfortable as the Mizuno’s. Still deciding I guess. :)

Sounds like Chris did a great job on his first marathon yesterday. Trail marathon, mind you, with SNOW. Good job, Chris! Now, more than ever, I want to get to the full marathon because everyone else has done it. Next year, next year, next year, next year…..

Ok, the ibuprofin is working. Back to bed and then I get up for registration.

PS
Just realized I had not adjusted the blog clock to Daylight Savings time.

Filed Under: Injury and Pain, Running

The Running Blog Family Map!

Posted on Saturday November 13 2004 ·

Mark has put up a map of the world with points marked for the location of Running Blog Family members. Move the cursor over the points to see who is where and to get a link to their blog. If you want to be added, go here for instructions.

Very cool, Mark!

Filed Under: General

Chocolate for every day

Posted on Friday November 12 2004 ·

Yesterday I took a trip to my favorite store for chocolate: Bella Vino. They used to be called Merchant of Vino. They carry alot of wine but also “fine foods”, which is alot of imported wierd stuff including chocolate. They have a HUGE variety, so I bought as many as I could find and posted them here.

I was going to try each one today and give a report but I would be totally sick by the end of it. I’ll tell you about a few and then talk about the others later, but I wanted to show them all here in case you wanted to get some for yourselves now.

Here they are in no particular order:

Karkunov This is a Russian chocolate distributed in the US by A. Korkunov Chocolatier, Inc.. Their website is www.korkunov.com. 72% cacao so it is very dark and I’m dying to try it. I like the packaging, its heavy cardboard like a small box.
Lake Champlain I’ve spent several summers and boating trips on Lake Champlain so when I saw this one I had to get it. They are out of Burlington, Vermont and have their website at www.lakechamplainchocolates.com. They describe it as Belgian chocolate.

Chocolove Chocolove is out of Boulder, Colorado. The chocolate is made in Belgium but packaged here in the US. Their website is www.chocolove.com. Each package comes with a love poem inside!

Dagoba When I saw the Dagoba all I could think of was the planet where Yoda lived. :) Their website is www.dagobachocolate.com. Their package says that Dagoba means “temple of the gods”. Below that it says “Chocolate is sacred.” I agree 100%. I tried this one for the first time today. I don’t usually like milk chocolate but I thought I should get some variety. I also bought their dark chocolate as well though, just in case I needed it. Their milk bar is very good. I’ve had organic chocolate before that has just been terrible, but the Dagoba Milk Chocolate is quite good and I would recommend giving it a try.

Chocolates El Rey Chocolates El Rey is one of the finest available. They make their chocolate from “single bean” sources in Venezuela. That is, they do not blend cocoa beans like most chocolate makers do. Kinda like single malt scotch, only chocolate. Good stuff indeed. I have a video of how their chocolate is made, which they will probably send to you if you ask for it. Their web site is www.chocolates-elrey.com.

Green and Black Green and Black’s is another organic chocolate, certified by the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). I’ve never had their chocolates before so this will be a first time for me. Their website is at www.greenandblacks.com.

Hachez Hachez is a German chocolate which I have also never tried. They list Venezuela as their source for cocoa beans. Their website is www.hachez.de.

Scharffen Berger Nibby Bar AHH!! The Scharffen Berger Nibby Bar! One of my most favorite chocolate bars to eat. This bar contains bits of cocoa nibs, which are cocoa beans after they have been roasted and shelled. The ground nibs are what they make the chocolate out of. You can buy cocoa nibs at alot of places and I would like to use them to top truffles some time. The Nibby Bar is a MUST try for those who like dark chocolate. They are pretty small bars so no worries about getting more than you need. I shared a bar with a friend just yesterday. Fantastic! Scharffen Berger’s website is at www.scharffenberger.com.

Valrhona Valrhona is the giant in the world of fine chocolate but my understanding is that they have not made “eating chocolate bars” until fairly recently. They are big suppliers of couverture and other chocolate for confection manufacturing, and are a French company. I have had lots of their chocolate and it is superb. I found that their couverture, although more expensive, is probably the easiest for me to work with. Their website is valrhona.com.

Filed Under: Chocolate Friday

Hello, working world!

Posted on Friday November 12 2004 ·

Are you going to work today? I’m not! :)

Today is a company holiday! Yipee! Well, not so yipee when you know that its a holiday to celebrate the real holiday yesterday wherein we remember the hundreds of thousands of soldiers that died fighting for our government. And today, there will be more to remember than there were yesterday.

My wife’s grandfather was a WWI vet and always got a special seat in the parade. He had soldiers at his funeral firing a salute with rifles. The last time I saw him, he was in the hospital and I asked him about the large tattoo he had on his forearm. He said he and some other soldiers were in New Orleans and they had been drinking and all went to get tattooed at a place on Bourbon Street.

I was a total sloth yesterday. I did not go to the gym. My leg hurt and it was late and I was tired and it was cold outside and I didn’t want to walk out to the truck. I think it was a good decision. I think. I will stretch today, I promise.

GASP!

I just remembered my promise. OK, this is not Friday’s post. This is a post on Friday but not THE Friday post. I’m going to work on that right now. Really. You’ll see. My wife is leaving for the day with my son and I have the whole time to create today’s REAL post. Although I’m sure there will a GIANT honey-do list because she’ll be insanely jealous that I have today off. Woman are like that. :)

Oh yes, and before I forget, here’s the joyous news we received at work to think about all weekend long: Voluntary Separation. Some of us will be invited to participate in this exciting program next week. The good thing is that my company has been very generous with severance packages. Other companies pay you to the end of the day and you are done. Count your blessings, I guess. I may be counting my pennies next week.

Filed Under: General

How to piss me off on Ebay

Posted on Thursday November 11 2004 ·

Snipe in a bid on a $5.00 item with only 16 seconds to go, and outbid me since I couldn’t be there to snipe it myself.

Then send me an email 18 seconds after the auction closes saying “my bank is dry due to utility companies error. I wonder if you would like it still. I will pass it over to you..”

You are a scammer and I will report you to Safe Harbor. Scum.

Filed Under: General

Got water?

Posted on Thursday November 11 2004 ·

Note to self: Do not run in the South African marathons.

Marathon for Masochists

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Organizers of South Africa’s Soweto marathon have apologized for forgetting to deliver enough water to thousands of runners on Saturday, leaving them dependent on the charity of township residents.

Athletics South Africa said it had deliberately bought more water than it could possibly need — some 300,000 sachets — so they were baffled when it became clear many of the runners were not getting water in the baking early summer heat.

“We thought of various things such as theft or the hijacking of the truck,” said events and marketing manager Linda Ferns. But it turned out that officials had simply failed to empty one of three storerooms, leaving a third of the water locked away.

Soweto residents provided water from their own taps and standpipes to many of the 7,000 runners and walkers, she said.

“No-one was hospitalized, but a lot of people were treated for dehydration,” Ferns said. “I’m embarrassed and I’m sorry.”

Filed Under: General, Running

I think I did a tempo run.

Posted on Wednesday November 10 2004 ·

Tonight’s run was almost exactly like Higdon’s 5K plan for today. I did 3 miles (yes, on the damn ‘mill again) and ran mile 1 at my 9:14 pace, then ramped up to an 8:00 pace and back down again over the 2 mile, and then the last mile at 9:14 again. Higdon does it by time (10 minutes each section) and I did miles just because I remembered it wrong. Anyway, it was kind of interesting. I may do more of these kind of things.

I also bought new shoes! Mizuno Alchemy’s. I had tried them on before but had selected the Nike Kantara’s because of their heel cushion. Now I’m thinking that the heel cushioning business was bunk and I should have gone with the Mizuno’s because they had GREAT arch and heel fit. I mean, the insides of these shoes are shaped like they were molded from my feet. I ran in them tonight and they were wonderful. I’ll be rotating in and out of these since the Kantara’s have 173 miles on them now.

And now the bad news. My right knee.

I had this tightness and slight wobbly feeling in it on the last run. Tonight it was definately painful/sore when I stopped. It feels like ITBS. I’m not sure why it has crept in on this side now. Might be from all the weights this week along with the running. May have left those muscles feeling tired and now rebuilding all the way. They are pretty loosened up from all the stretching they get so it can’t be that. I’m hoping its not ITBS rearing its ugly head again.

Tomorrow I am scheduled for 2 miles easy. I may take it as crosstraining to give the knee some rest. Friday and Saturday are both full rest days before Sunday’s 5K race, which I registered for today.

Filed Under: Injury and Pain, Running
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