Soul Thumping

Running for the Roses (Oh, and Frostbite)

Tomorrow I'm running a 5K, the 30th annual Run for the Roses.  A portion of the proceeds go to Carolina Canines for Service, which is a good cause.  I'm doing the run because I enjoy running now, and it feels good to set a short-term goal.  As with my previous race, my goal is simply to finish, and not focus on my timing (although I know it has improved since my last run in June).

Why does anyone care?  They probably don't but I'm taking the time to blog about it for three reasons:  

1.  I'm quite proud of myself for making another short-term goal and sticking to it.  For me, that is an accomplishment of cyclopean measure.

2.  My brother jumped on board the running train and is going to run with me, and I'm very proud of him.

3.  The third and most important reason to blog about my event is that this could be my last blog entry for a while (here comes the drama queen from behind the curtain...enough already).  The high tomorrow will barely be in the 40s.  Now, I know this is above freezing and all, but it's cold.  My legs could freeze (not literally, I'm talking figuratively now) up on me and I could trip and fall, and roll right into the ditch on Blount Street and no one will stop to pick me up.  I could trip and crack my ankle, splintering it into a thousand pieces and roll into the ditch on Halifax street and no one will pick me up.  What if I slip on an icy patch, land on my head, knock myself out and roll into a ditch behind Peace College and no one picks me up?

Hmmm, I don't think I'm worried so much about getting hurt, I think I have abandonment issues.

--Fortuitous Observer

Super Bowl XLIV Chick-style

I am a chick who enjoys football.  I like watching the games; I cringe when players take a hard hit to the head; I comment on who has the best looking butt and who has the dumbest looking mouth guard, and yes, being a woman, I also judge a team on the color of their uniforms (except Detroit, it doesn't matter what color they wear, they suck, and Cleveland does take the trophy for having the ugliest uniform colors, and they suck also).

I'm not an expert on all of the statistics of teams and players and l don't want to be because, well, I have a life and other interests and I'll leave that to every man in the country who has a football blog.  Having gotten that statement out of the way, here are my thoughts about game day this year (by the way, I'm running a 5K race Sunday afternoon, before the Super Bowl, in temperatures that are going to be less than 40 degrees, so depending on if I trip and scrape most of my face off on cold pavement or a toe freezes and falls off, I may not give a shit about Super Bowl XLIV):

1.  I'm not hiding the fact that I'm pulling for Indianapolis.  Why?  No special reason.  I don't dislike the Saints.  I love the city of New Orleans and no one on the team irritates me much.  Their uniform colors are ok, but I would like to see un update to the fleur di lis.  Maybe some funky shadowing or some ivy growing around it, I don't know, something to give it some pizazz.

2.  Drew Brees needs a hairstyle.  I think he has good hair, it just doesn't do anything to flatter him so he might want to visit a new hair salon.  Just my opinion.

3.  Petyon Manning needs a hairstyle.

4.  Peyton Manning has a great butt.  He is so boy-next-door cute that I just want to pinch his cheeks (face cheeks, let's keep it clean) or give him a noogie or something.  I can't help it.  Oh, and I think he is a great player, even though there was so much chatter on the internet about him choking and failing under pressure.  Whatever.

Now, there are rumors going around about he and his wife are divorcing, and I don't know if it's true or isn't true, but if he loses on Sunday, it could be due to those personal pressures he is under, so I hope all those Monday morning quarterbacks will keep that in mind.

5.  I'm interested in seeing the commercials because they haven't been funny in at least 3 years.  Oh, oh, wait, except for the one a couple of years ago where the guy used his girlfriend's white cat to clean up pasta sauce and she walked in and thought he was stabbing her cat because he had the cat dripping with sauce in one had and big butcher knife in the other hand?  That was hilarious.  Actually, I'm curious to see if CBS runs the so-called "pro-life" ad.  All I'm going to say about that one folks is this:  let's keep politics out of football.  It's bad enough we have politics in politics.

Life will go on after Super Bowl XLIV.  I barely remember who won last year (I know, I know it was Pittsburgh), and I'll forget by next year who even played this year, that is how important the whole thing is to me in the grand scheme of things, but everyone else is making their predictions, so I'm compelled to jump on the bandwagon:

Colts - 17; Saints - 13

--Fortuitous Observer 

Be Careful What You Wish For

I'm not afraid to use the occasional adage now and then, and "be careful what you wish for" seems most apropos now.  You see, here in North Carolina we don't encounter vast amounts of snow.  We see more snow than say, Mexico or Barbados, but not as much as Alaska or New England.  So, when Mr. Weatherman predicted snow for last weekend, I for one was so excited that my heart pounded like bongos in my ears!

I love the snow.  Ah, the peaceful tranquility of sparkly little jewels falling lightly from the sky.  The rhythmic spray of those delicate flakes bouncing from the street as they turn into dense crystals.  The deluge of dread as those lovely gems turn into scary, hostile ice.

Did I wish for an inch of ice?  No.  Did I wish to be trapped in my own .29 acre of land for 3 days?  Nope, didn't ask for that either, but that is what I got, I mean, we, I'm not the only person in the state, though I sometimes I wish I were...damn, I didn't mean that...

--Fortuitous Observer

Tomorrow Isn't Even Here Yet, But I'm Already Annoyed

Why?  I have no idea why...

I Miss My "Friends"

I don't watch weekly television shows now with any regularity (I try to watch House because I wish I could be as honest as he is...ok, maybe not that honest), but I was thinking today that I really miss Friends.

Friends was my favorite show back in the day.  I felt like the characters truly were my friends and when I came home after a rough useless day from work on Thursdays, I couldn't wait to unwind with a glass of wine and hang out with Monica, Rachel, Chandler, Ross, Phoebe, and Joey.  I tuned into my Friendsand tuned out the rest of the world.  I took solace in their plights, zinger lines, and recurring neuroticism.  I liked it there, in that funky small apartment in Manhattan.  It was a little like my own tiny apartment at the time, only I was living in downtown Raleigh, not Manhattan (I know, huge difference).

I think what attracted me to this series was the fact that I didn't have many friends of my own (and I still don't), and I envied their connection and closeness, yet was overjoyed with it at the same time.  I didn't have many friends because it was always difficult for me to find and make connections with people that go beyond superficial (and I still have this issue).  Not because most people are superficial, but because Idon't know how to connect.  This time, I'm not blaming other people...yeah!!!  I'm putting the blame solely on me.  Write that down folks because my next post will be back to blaming or bitching about someone else.

The older I get ('gulp', and I am getting older), the more I realize how important these deep connections with people are, and if you have them, count yourself lucky and don't screw them up.  As for me, more years of therapy to understand why I don't want to make friends, and fortunately, cable so I can catch my Friends almost any day of the week if I want to, just in case I do feel like playing.

--Fortuitous Observer