My utility bills come in two ways. It is stupid. But the bill I get directly from Xcel is the gas from my stove and electricity. This months bill arrived. I had a usage of 0 on gas, with a total of $11.96 for fees and such. The electric was a usage totaling $8.61 if I understand the bill correctly with a total charge of $15.02, grand total of $26.98. That shit just ain't right.
My rant is a result of a conversation I had with LT about her utility bill. This just isn't fair. That is the equivalent of a 1.75 liter bottle of Absolute Citron.
I am missing my girl. I miss her very much. That is all.
I ran a women's only 5k this morning. It was a little cool at the 8am start, and I was a little worried. I was using my new device for the first time. No clue how to use it and I figured it all out after, but it worked. Anyway, I posted my best race time ever. Ever! It was a fast course. 22.39. I am so happy. So, as you get older, you can get faster. You really can. This is better than my fastest high school time by almost a minute. I really was shocked when I crossed the finish and saw the clock. I thought for certain there must be an error, they left a mile out of the course, or something.
No, that was my time. And I am feeling good and riding high.
I can say that the longer runs and distance training certainly helps these short runs. Until I trained for a marathon, I wouldn't run more than a 10k. I can see that long runs help the short run. And rest. I use to never rest. Now I take three days off a week. That has helped me as well.
These women were fast today. That kind of time normally puts you in the top 5 in a race. I was 8th in my age division. The fastest 40-44 year old woman finished in eighteen something. That is amazing. I'm impressed. And I am very happy with my own time. I want to turn cartwheels!
email just sent from race - short course, times adjusted. So, I had just over an 8 min a mile pace. Still good, still on track and as good as my last 5k. No complaints.
What am I doing here? Well, I have a few things to do, then I will be leaving. Yesterday I worked a very long day. Sixteen hours. Of course, there was travel time in that, but, I didn't get home until midnight. We had tours of the town, meetings and two public process meetings, all in one day. It all went very well. I was asked to speak in front of both groups. It was good practice. I find that meetings like this are rather entertaining. Because a lot of people show up just to talk about themselves or to hear themselves talk, but not necessarily to find out what is going on. They have their own agenda's. And there were characters at these meetings. I was cracking up. A guy who has been crunching the numbers and thinks that the town is sitting on a gold mine and missing an opportunity. A woman who had to have been drinking by the way she talked and another woman who thought that the costs we were showing for certain spaces was too high, not understanding at all that it was a construction cost, not an equipment cost.
The weather was total crap yesterday. This meant longer drives. The drive up wasn't too bad, but the drive home was terrible, and late at night. The partner in charge of the project drove, but I didn't want him falling asleep at the wheel, so I was just chatting away and rambling to keep him awake. He must think I'm a nut.
I planned on sleeping in, but I woke up as usual, normal time. I did manage to fall back asleep for a whopping half of an hour. So, I got up and got in. I do have things to do on other projects. So, I'm slowly tending to them.
I'm going to leave soon though. I'm going to buy a spatula. I'm making pancakes for the family tomorrow. Mmmm... Why do I need a spatula? Because my mother is challenged in the kitchen. The woman doesn't cook well, and kitchen gadgets, utensils and cookware aren't her thing. I want them to turn out right, so, I need a good spatula.
Today is also hair cut day! Much needed. Just thinned and groomed. I'm going to continue to let it grow. Or rather, I don't want it any shorter and I'll let my hair therapist decide the rest. As I usually do.
Also, I need to get my tags for my car. I'm expired! So, a trip to the DMV is in order. Ugh. I think I need an emissions test too. Its all a pain. I need to have 'her' name taken off the title and registration. I looked online as to what I need and lets just say that it looks complicated. I'm hoping that by going in it will be easier. Let's hope so anyway.
Show us your favorite pair of shoes.
I love every pair I own for different reasons. Each pair has a story. Yes, I am a shoe whore. I cannot deny it. This pair is my latest favorite, and the CEO of my office wears tennis shoes, so it justifies my wearing them.
This morning as I was driving into work, I was stopped at a light and looked over at the car to my left. Older guy in a big SUV, picking his nose. It wasn't the nose picking that disturbed me. As I turned away, I suddenly had to look back at him. The guys forefinger was giant! Huge! You know, like in the cartoons when a character get its finger smashed with a hammer and its bulging throbbing, his finger was that big! I was stunned. Oh, he was using his pinky to pick his nose, that big ol finger wouldn't have fit in his nostril. No way, no how.
Consider this a public service announcement...when you wear a new make and model of running shoe, be careful. Pay attention to the surface you are running on. I went for a run tonight and caught my toe, tripped and fell. Not a hard fall, thank goodness, but a fall none the less. The most minor of skinned knees, that a hello kitty bandage has made all better. And don't yell 'fucker' at the top of your lungs when falling if you don't want anyone to notice. If you want the entire city to witness your stupidity, go ahead yell it out as I did and had every person on the sidewalk turn and look.
With all that and having to stop for three lights, I ran quit fast. I'm pleased.
It has been a great day. The sun has been out and blue sky is all around. I have had a productive day as well as a relaxing day. In my belongings was my pie dish. Not just any pie dish, but a dish given to me from a friend for a birthday gift. She gave it to me with a recipe for spaghetti pie and taught me how to make this meal. Mmmmm..... Well, I forgot to buy a couple of things at the grocery and had to improvise, but it tasted great. It is one of my favorite meals. You could call it comfort food. It makes a lot, so I'll be having a lot of pie this week. I bought myself a little dessert treat too. Ice cream sandwiches! I can hardly wait. So, below is the series of images of the progress of my dinner. I'm happy that it turned out and was so enjoyable. Not just happy, but full and happy.
Since I live in the city, it isn't easy to find paths where you aren't fighting traffic and you're not on concrete sidewalks. There is a great route with a bike lane. I was running this route today. I was approaching a group of 4 cyclists. I always move to the edge of the bike lane when I come upon bikes. The lead woman in this group informed me this was a bike lane not a pedestrian lane. Can't we all just get along? Do you know how many times I dodge bikes on the sidewalk, where they are not suppose to be? So I responded to her by saying, do you really want to get into this? And kept on running. It was a good run. Next Sunday a women's only 5k.
I just need to get it out. I went to get my personal belongings today. 'She' granted me permission and gave me times when I could come. So I chose today, this morning. Since we do not speak, she just said I could come for my things. I had no idea what that would include. I knew it wasn't furniture. And it turned out as I expected in terms of what 'she' thought was mine. I am getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you how it went.
I arrived and as the garage doors are glass I could see boxes and things. Her car was gone and her sister's car was in the driveway. I went to the door and her sister met me on the front porch. I was given a sheet to sign saying I was picking up personal belongings. And I was given my spare key and the title to my car. Finally! I thought that was a plus. Her sister then went in and opened the garage door. There were about 25, mostly small boxes and some other items. It didn't take long at all. We loaded it up and were done. I rang the door bell so she would know to close the garage door. Done.
I took my friends out to breakfast for helping. Then I took the stuff to my parents to store in the basement. Some of it I brought back to the tree house. Some books, some art, my sketchbook from Finland, and a few other things.
Here is where her true colors shine through. I have sort of collected pens for several years. I like nice writing utensils. I had a case of them. Many of them given to me by her at various gift giving occasions. She took most of them, the ones she bought for me, the expensive ones. Things that were gifts from her and her family have been kept. I won't fight for them because a few pens and some other things don't matter. It just goes to show you who she is and the kind of person she is.
It is good to have that behind me. The next step is the settlement. And then I never have to deal with her again.
The best part of this was that LT called to check on me this morning. And let me wake her up after I picked everything up to make sure I was okay. That made me feel so good. It is great to have someone in my life who cares and loves in this way. A person who wants me to be me and enjoys all of me. I am grateful for her.
And now...I am wiped out. Tired from getting worked up. My body is a little sore from a few heavy boxes. I will soon eat, and watch a movie and go to bed early and just relax. Of course, I get to talk to LT soon, so that is a bonus.
Thanks for listening.
