October 30, 2008
HSM3 and Four Men
Last night I went with Caden, Natalie, Annie, Hilary, and Ella to High School Musical 3. I have to admit that I’ve barely even seen the first two – in fact, I have not even seen in entirety the second movie. But I knew that this is the type of movie you can bring anyone to and not feel embarrassed.
When we walked in to the almost empty theater at the Gateway (sssshhhhh! don’t tell anyone I took my kid out on a school night to a movie!), I noticed that sitting right in front of the six of us were four men. Grown men. Older men. No kids in sight. No women. Hmmmmm…………………………..
I kept wondering if their wives/girlfriends/kids would wander in and join them and that perhaps they were just saving the seats. When the movie started and these guys kicked back, it was obvious that they were there just for themselves. Considering that there were maybe 25-30 people in the entire theater, they kind of stood out.
I don’t think those men will ever be waiting for women. Especially since Troy in a wife beater shirt in one particular scene sent the foursome a twittering. Yeaaaaahhhhhh…
When the movie was over (which, before I move on, was quite cute – typical cheesy for that genre but a great movie for families), the Fella Foursome was right in front of us leaving the theater. I heard one of them remark, “I’ll have to tell Kenny what I thought of the movie” and then suddenly it all made sense.
Sure, the men were a little more Sally than Steve, but they were obviously friends/cohorts of Kenny Ortega who directed the movie (which was shot entirely in Utah). Got it. They came to see the movie to support their friend and provide feedback. Not because it has some cute hunky heart throb, lots of guys singing and dancing and sweating, or musical freshness galore. They knew Kenny.
But still, four grown men at HSM3? The double takes, they were a’flyin’…
October 27, 2008
My nightcap
Just finished playing this (at 10:45 p.m.):
Went three games. Game winning point was a nice kill by me. 
I needed that. I needed that moment today and left pumped full of adrenaline and free from the cares and stresses of the world. Something about explosive power, watching the ball miss the block and drive down the line - sigh…sweet.
I really, really needed that to lift me up today. It put the big smile on my face that I was searching for all day long. Have I mentioned that I LOVE playing volleyball?
Rolling the dice
For the 6.5 people who read my blog, you might remember a recent post that was all about change and the pain and discomfort that can sometimes be associated with it. Well, I was more or less referring to my work situation which has been in a flux almost since I started there a little over 2.5 years ago.
We got word last week that my company is pulling out of Utah. Yep. Adios, Sayonara, Au Revoir. The Big Blue will no longer employ roughly 140 people at its massive building down in Riverton. The building has sold, the construction has begun, and layoffs will be kicking off in waves starting in March of ‘09.
But lest you think that I’m overly concerned about this, let me fill you in on a few of the details for those of us that weren’t already in the layoff line of fire (Payroll is impacted as they are being outsourced). I have until January 4, 2010 to make a decision. That is the very last day I can work in Utah for my company. That gives me roughly 15 months to decide. Yeah, I think they’ve given me enough time.
Sheesh! Are you kidding me??!! I don’t know many companies who would provide such a long period in which you can make the decision to stay or leave the company. AND they will help you move. AND they will have your same job available at a site of your choosing. None of this door-slam-bam-thank-you-ma’am, collect your pink slip and go. It’s a pretty sweet deal no matter which way you look at it.
Trouble is, I don’t know which direction to go! Do I move? Do I stay and find a new job with a different company? Do I play it by ear? Do I do I do I can I can I can I???? Sigh…so much to think about. But in case you’re interested, here are the states where I have the option to move to:
Hmmmm – any suggestions? I have a lot of time to think about this…
October 24, 2008
Sand in my toes
Best feeling ever.
Nothing beats digging your toes into sand on a beautiful beach. I mentioned that I stayed in Del Mar whilst I was awaiting my turn for the Mud Run. I wandered down to Seagrove Park and took a turn about the beach where it was ever so beautiful. It was just the sort of beach you wish to find yourself on when strolling along aimlessly. {I’ve just watched this – thus the reason for my choice of words}
Strolling about the park, I witnessed two beach side weddings that were utter perfection. I watched from the side as each party {on two different sides of the park} gathered together, one under huge white canopies with golden paper lanterns, the other with stanchions of gauzy drapery laced with magnolias. Incredibly lovely. And after one of the parties concluded, a small plane circled overhead with the sign “Andy {heart} Ali – Happily Ever After!”
As I roamed along the beach, I found the most interesting black pebbles. Caden loves collecting rocks and anytime I go to a beach or someplace where I can find rocks, I bring him back a few.
Two little boys, probably 5 & 7, watched me picking up rocks here and there and followed me with serious curiousity plastered over all of their little faces.
“How come you’re picking up rocks?” asked the youngest, scratching his head.
“Because I love rocks. They’re pretty cool to collect, don’t you think?”
“I didn’t know that grownups could collect rocks,” declared the older boy.
“Of course we can! In fact, the best part about being a grownup and collecting rocks is that you know which ones are magic and which ones aren’t.”
Their eyes grew wide and the littlest one asked, “Really? Are you serious?”
“Absolutely.”
Shortly after that the boys ran around the beach picking up more rocks than they could carry.
There’s something about the ocean that produces quite the calming effect. At least on me it does. The rhythmic movement of each wave. The criss-crossing pattern of the waves as they lap upon on the shore. I stood at the edge of the ocean, ankle-deep, feeling the pull of the tide for nearly an hour. Staring straight across the horizon, I watched the sun go down and never felt more at peace. I was one of only a handful of people still left on the beach when it was completely dark with just the sound of the ocean filling the space. I could have stayed there all night long.
Something about the ocean…
October 21, 2008
What he said
Daily I ask Caden about school.
“How was school today? What did you learn?”
Some days I get the same answer.
“It was good.”
And nothing else.
Sometimes he adlibs and this is when I love our conversations.
“Today Mrs. Millar came in with a puppet show to teach us about important things like patience, honesty, and open mindedness and two other things I don’t remember. I liked the patience show best because Josh was a pilot who crashed.”
Mmmm….k.
A few minutes later he turned to me and made one of his out of the blue comments. “I hit my funnybone today and it didn’t make me laugh.”
Totally straightfaced. Totally in sincerity. Not understanding why laughter wasn’t part of a funnybone. I busted up laughing.
He’s my funnybone.
Solana Beach – a day out for dogs
The hotel I stayed at in Del Mar was the Hilton San Diego/Del Mar. Very nice place that I really enjoyed except for one small item: they charge you for parking – $14 a day! I don’t get the whole “charge for parking” thing, nor the “charge for internet” issue either. It seems that the nicer the hotel, the more you pay for the extras (which seems so ridiculous and contradictory!).
My hotel was roughly 14 miles away from Camp Pendleton and right by the freeway so I knew I would have quick and easy access to getting there should I happen to sleep in. It was also just up a few blocks from Solana Beach, one of the many in California I had yet to visit.
After coming back from the race dog tired and ready for a good shower, I decided I needed to do a bit of exploring around the area before I was to head out. I jumped in my car and within just a couple of minutes I found myself at Solana Beach which I quickly learned was a dog friendly beach.
Lest you think this might deter someone from enjoying a sea side visit, I have to say that all the dog owners took very smart care of their four footed friends. I was nervous about it possibly being “dirty” but truthfully it wasn’t at all. And I love dogs. There were teeny tiny puppies that looked like they could fit into the jaws of the three Bull Mastiffs I saw. Four Golden Retrievers were frolicking in the surf. A pug sat contentedly on it’s owner’s lap. A Weimaraner nervously tried to free herself from her owner a couple of times. And I think I observed no less than 29 games of catch. All in all, it was quite an amusing time.
I wouldn’t suggest going to that beach to sit in the sand and just relax. It’s definitely a bustling place of activity and not quiet whatsoever. But it is pretty. So I enjoyed it for an hour before moving on down to Seagrove Park (OH. MY. GOSH. So beautiful!). I don’t know if I would go there again unless I had a dog but I enjoyed the scenery and doggies on parade.
October 20, 2008
Carmel-by-the-sea
On my one-day sojourn to San Diego from Folsom, I decided to take a brief break in Carmel-by-the-sea mainly because it just sounded so romantic and intriguing. Anything titled City-by-the-sea just begs to be visited. I was interested in finding out if the tiny town was like it’s name, full of whimsy and charm or just a misnomer.
Yes–oh most certainly YES–it was like its name. How would you like to live in a place where all the houses look like this?
The architecture on these homes made my jaw drop. Every home looked like something from out of a fairytale. I half expected Snow White to walk out of a couple of them or birds to flock to my shoulder and begin to serenade me in song.
This house is appropriately called The Hansel House. I was looking for gingerbread shingles.
The whole town has an artistic-creative vibe about it which makes complete sense considering famous artists/authors/actors have lived here (Ansel Adams, Upton Sinclair, Clint Eastwood). I looked into its history a bit more when I came home and discovered that artists, poets, and writers started to flock there around 1910. I can completely see why. My creative juices went into overdrive being there for only a couple of hours.
After touring the town with my mouth agape and my eyes spread wide, I headed on down to the beach because hey, it’s a beach. For the next hour, I just kicked back and relaxed on the sand, finishing the book I brought down with me, The Glass Castle (READ IT!).
If heaven happens to be a beach, then I have a lot to look forward to. Nothing beats a day lounging on a beach, listening to the waves crush upon each other as they come ashore. I had the hardest time prying myself away to leave and get driving for another 6 hours. I was half tempted to just forget the mud run altogether and enjoy the serenity of Carmel-by-the-sea.
Obviously I moved on down the coast to San Diego, more specifically, Del Mar. But I’ll talk more about that tomorrow. Meanwhile, enjoy a little glimpse of Carmel.
October 19, 2008
Marines, mud, and mad dash
What person doesn’t want to run 6 miles through sand, mud, rivers, hills, and other various obstacles? And what girl wouldn’t want hunky Marines encouraging you, smiling at you, cheering you on, and just being nice eye candy along the dusty/muddy way?
This was me before my Camp Pendleton mud run:
Ah, how fresh faced and completely clean and unmuddied I am. My hair was clean, there was no mud or grit or stray dried grass piece flecking my teeth. I could still smile and not be totally self-conscious.
Those of us participating as individuals lined up first, ready as the clock began to count down and a very verbal and boisterous Marine named T.C. screamed encouragment from a megaphone. It was slightly chilly (high 50’s) and the mist was still hanging heavy in many parts. I was shaking and really just wanted to get running to warm up.
As soon as 9:00 a.m. hit, the individual group took off while those organized into teams lined up behind us to get ready. I was enjoying the first 1/4 mile – until I came around a bend and saw a huge water truck thoroughly drenching ALL runners as they passed by. Oh my goodness. I was already freezing and now to add excitement and an even greater chill to the mix, I was about to be consumed by a downpour akin to throwing yourself over Niagra Falls. BOOOSH! Down came the water and so much for staying dry for a little bit.
I gasped from the cold water and wiped the excess from my eyes, all the way still running but starting to pick up pace to continue my quest for warmth. These Marines are tricky, however. Barely another 1/4 mile away, another water truck was ready and armed. Personally, I think the Marines were just getting a kick out of making the race a massive wet t-shirt contest.
Soon I hit the sand and everyone’s stride had to adjust. Ever run in sand before? Soooo not easy! But the trick is to keep your stride short and quick. Otherwise you waste all this energy trying to move forward. After having the sand beat the heck out of your quads and calves, you came to your first muddy area. Not so bad but you had to be careful to not slip and twist your ankle.
The hardest part of the race? The HILL. You climb and climb and climb and there are a few points you think, ‘I’ll right, I’m finally at the top!’ Um, nope, not so much. Climbing that high means one thing: going down is one steep ride. I was nervous about this part because my knee has been having many issues and downhill running just exacerbates it beyond belief. Well, thanks to the ski slope I descended on the course, I am currently sporting a lovely limp. Dang runners knee.
But I am no quitter and I kept going, even when my knee was throbbing and swelling and bringing tears to my eyes. I just had to adjust my pace a little bit. Sounds like a bucket of fun so far, doesn’t it?
The river crossing was an entirely welcome part of the race. One, because you were hot, sweaty, and needed to cool down by that point. Two, because the frigid river water froze my legs which meant I couldn’t feel my knee pain anymore. Three, because I ran next to a man (probably in his 50’s) who was extremely friendly and talkative and wore teeny, tiny running shorts with tight black spandex on underneath and a sleeveless Mighty Mouse t-shirt. He was most awesomely mighty.
Near the end of the race, you go up an extremely steep muddy hill and get ready to jump over two 5 foot walls, scamper through a short tunnel, slosh through mud pits, and then head on to the final obstacle: a giant muddy pit that you had to crawl on your stomach to get through. The women were jumping right in and crawling away but a few men jumped in the pit and tried to “walk” through by lifting up the banners that hung across to keep you down on the ground. Cheaters! And boy, did the Marines let them have it.
This is me at the end of the race. Yes, I edited it a bit for B&W purposes because remember how I said it all became a wet t-shirt contest? But as you can see from the pic below, I had some mud just about everywhere – like the lovely slice of it across my chin.
The hardest part (besides the hill) was running in wet shoes that would fill a little bit with mud. Slighly painful on the ole toesies. But it’s only 6 miles and you can do anything for 6 miles. Now a marathon…
See the mud? The dark line where my sock begins? Little tip: make sure to wear shoes you don’t mind getting dirty – as in totally dirty and nearly destroyed. Some people put duct tape around their toes to avoid mud seepage and also around their ankles. It looked too bothersome to me and I noticed most people tearing it off along the way. I grabbed the oldest pair of running shoes I had and they held up pretty well. I think I might use them again next year for this race. Which brings me to this point: IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!! Despite the chill and the hill, this race fit the bill for my running need thrill. Participate next year? I think I just will.
(my toes are still in recovery – along with my knee; but it was all worth it!)
October 17, 2008
A day to drive…and unwind
Whew! What a week…I am finally free from the daily roadshow and now I can spend the day driving from here:
Folsom
To here:
And finally on to here to rest my weary head:
Del Mar/San Diego
And tomorrow I will be doing this!
Bring on the mud, baby.
I have to run, or rather, drive so I best get going. I figured it would be nice to take a leisurely drive down the California Coast because I have never done it before. Seems like a pretty good reason, right? And it is just me. Didn’t I just post recently about taking a couple of days to myself?
