happy halloween!

hope it's been a great day for ya'll! i've been trying to get some work done before our big work party starts up...we've got quite the event, which includes several department skits. we're aiming to win this year, but i can't disclose the skit until afterwards...just in case someone else in cupertino is reading this. it's gonna be good!

friday night i was a SpeedBump at a halloween party...no one really got it " i got a lot of funny looks when i told people what i was...but that's ok...it was still fun. (wore black with orange duct tape stripes on me). i shoulda worn it today, but i tore it up over the weekend...

yay for fun costumes " candy! happy birthday, djg!

evidence

2006 goal accomplished

i did it! i ran a half-marathon. it took me 2 hours " 16 minutes, or so, which is ok. i only missed my goal by a minute.

'twas quite a bit harder than i expected. i rocked the first half...and then my legs got very, very tired. with a few walking breaks, i managed to finish all 13.1 miles. today my hams " calf muscles are a bit sore...but i'm doing ok. no need to cut my legs off at my knees 'cause of shin splints.

around mile 11 a very cool couple came up behind me " started to cheer me on...the husband was obviously in great shape doing this for fun...and it seemed the wife was feelin' much like me. john " julia made sure i kept up with them, or was within eyesight for the end of the race...which was a HUGE help. plus, sonja found me at mile 11 " 13 to take pics " movies...i'll post them as soon as i find my camera.

thanks to all, for the good wishes! as of this moment, i will not ever be doing a full marathon...the half is plenty. God didn't make this body to go 26.2 miles, i don't think.

sitting & standing

just for today, don't take sitting " standing for granted...in honor of the pain i feel whenever i sit, stand or do stairs.
thanks!

i laugh every time…

...i see this. it's just funny.

Talent Retention

i spent today at a Talent Retention workshop. i love these workshops because it's fun for me to learn about HR type stuff...manager do's " don't's, bonus programs to use, importance of pay, where employees find job satisfaciton, etc...and, of course, i apply it to my own life.

i figured out today that i've got it freaking awesome. of the top five things employees are looking for, i have all five in my current work situation. i'm going off of memory, 'cause my notes are in the car, but they are challenge, learning opportunities, good boss, fair pay and growth potential (last one's a guess)

the thing i hate about these workshops is that it's difficult to pull something out of them that's applicable to my job. a lot of it is high level stuff i have no control over. but, who knows, maybe i'll influence our CEO with some of my newfound wisdom...

tonight my pastor said something like…

Raiders fans will get all decked out " support their team no matter what the record...yet, if a pastor says ONE thing wrong, people are runnin' out the door so fast it doesn't have time to him 'em where the good Lord split 'em."

i've never heard that saying...the good Lord split 'em...cracks me up...

(yes, I went to church instead of class tonight...and shopped...i needed some me " God time...and i don't think i'm done...i may cut back on my social life for a bit...)

woot! woot!

i have started to say " type this phrase when i'm excited about something, and i'm not sure why. i don't really like it, but it's fun to say. woot! woot!

half way through the semester " i've got an A- and a B+ going in my classes. i'm not so excited about the B+ 'cause i thought i nailed it, but whateve'. i just need to pass.

woot! woot!

best line ever, stolen!

Good Morning, Silicon Valley stole the best line ever used on me...
It's Google's world. We just live in it and, increasingly, serve in it.

purple & firemen

i have built a reputation for myself.
if others i know see the color purple, or firemen, they think of me.

i just got this email from my roommie:
4 firemen just came down the hall and I thought of you
However, the paramedics are cuter.
We had a kid faint.

refreshing weekends

i miss refreshing weekends. my life has gotten so insanely crazy busy, and my weekends are so insanely packed that i'm never refreshed on monday morning. it's like i try to catch up on sleep all week and then another weekend hits. i want to blame singleness, as i remember refreshing weekends when i was coupled off...but i think it's much more. it's school, work, running, golf, and lots of play.

ya know, i shouldn't complain...i had a TON of fun this weekend. went out friday night; saturday was sleeping, cleaning, resting, housewarming party " the AWESOME Wild game; today was coaching, golf, movie " studying.

i did learn that i have more fun when i drink a little than when i drink way too much...i remember more, get in less trouble " enjoy my company that much more. i need to remember this in the future.

(i also think that i've been going so strong for so long that i need a break...but i don't have time to take one, yet, so i'll wait for thanksgiving weekend)

go Wild!!!

it was good to get back into the hockey season tonight with a brilliant win over the San Jose Sharks. the Wild made the Sharks look pretty dang pathetic, man...I love it!

breakfast

last time i was at the grocery store, i bought some eggo's. figured some actual breakfast would do me good during this half-marathon training time...and maybe it'll become a habit that extends beyond the running craze. i hear breakfast is good for you.

anyway, i find it very difficult to make myself sit down for 5 minutes ('cause that's all the time it takes me to inhale my eggos) before heading to work. i'm just not one of those people that takes my time in the morning...i sleep as long as i can, then rush around to get to where i'm going. even if my demeanor is much like Eor...i'm on a mission.

making time for breakfast...it's tough, but i'm not starving by 10:00 any more. that's a good thing.

running with family

not scissors. i think we should all go see the movie, though.

this morning i realized it would be fun to run a race with my family again. i've done grandma's 5k with my older brother twice, and almost the whole family did it with us once. it's just an awesome family experience...and i've never been so proud of my parents, who finished much more quickly than i expected.

i'm thinking about doing a full marathon next year and grandma's marathon would work out perfectly with my family vacation schedule. i emailed the fam to ask if they'd think about doing it again. i suggested the 5k for them, and my older bro wrote back to suggest the half-marathon, since we have so long to train. i'm super excited!

now to get the rest of the family to buy in.

guy

i like this guy

watch the video " notice that his dancing gets better with time...

Google’s Quote of the Day

"At the age of eleven or thereabouts women acquire a poise and an ability to handle difficult situations which a man, if he is lucky, manages to achieve somewhere in the later seventies."
- PG Wodehouse

running with dog

not scissors.

bad joke for a friday morning. anyway, this morning i went running with Murray, and at least two walkers moved out of our way to let us through. i felt a little bad about it, all running like i own the road, until i realized i would gladly get out of the way of a runner so he/she could run through. do others realize it's the nice thing to do, especially if they're not runners?

i've always suspected that considerate drivers are runners 'cause they get it...but maybe i'm off. or maybe i just expect too much as a runner. huh.

lesson learned: get out of the way of runners so they can keep their pace

my bedroom door since saturday

that says "Twins 2006 RIP"
i know i need to let it go...this is my last post on the Twins this year.

but, yay for Torii coming back!!!!!!!!

good answer

a couple weeks ago i asked a guy what his favorite thing was about his girlfriend...why he loved her so much.
he said, "she laughs when i fart."

that rocks.

numbers

how i got into TWO numbers-based classes this semester is beyond me. if i survive and pass, i owe myself something big...really big...

if anyone wants to help with some finance and/or stats, just let me know...it's all above my head.

two buck chuck

this past weekend was my long-awaited Burglar Party. a few people came by " we all had a blast restocking all the alcohol those silly burglars had taken a couple months ago.

i purchased a fire pit for the party and now plan on Firepit Fridays. come on over any Friday you want!

some fabulous person left me a bottle of Charles Shaw chardonnay. out here they call it two buck chuck. it looks nasssssssssssty. and if it's a joke, i'm disappointed that whoever brought it didn't acknowledge his/her humor.

RIP, Twins 2006

'twas a sad, sad day. i woke up to Christmas and am going to sleep as if i have a new year's day hangover (without the alcohol).

i didn't get spit on, but i did get booed several times over. and those around me cheered for the A's extra loudly; with good reason, of course. though i did sit by some nice older men who entertained my Twins fandom and chatted with me about their season. turns out one of them was a Giants fan, so he was there for baseball more than anything.

i don't really understand why i get so wrapped up in a baseball team full of guys i don't know, but i do. sports bring us together, i guess. and the Twins remind me of home. i just love 'em. unfortunately, that love puts a whole lot of extra emotion in my life...i know my blood pressure has increased this past month and they wrecked my Friday night. i'm supposed to be working on my Finance midterm, but i just can't bring myself to do it. i shall clean " play online instead...

i appreciate the sympathy text messages and phone calls today...i do...but i am remaining in mourning until tomorrow sometime. hopefully i'll snap out of it before my burglar party. the nice gentleman next to me gave me his stupid Athletics towel (homer hanky wannabe) so i could burn it in my firepit tomorrow night.

Twins 2006, i will miss you. You made me proud.

friday funny link

worth sharing: white " nerdy

this is as good as Christmas…

i'm so excited to watch the Twins live!!! in just a few short hours...

i will cheer as loud as i can for all the MN peeps asking me to represent. and that's gonna have to be loud.
as my sister said in her email this morning, "This is it, man!"

i hope i sleep tonight

i'm all nervous about the game tomorrow.
not only am i nervous for the boys...i'm nervous about the amount of taunting i may get as i wear my Twins jersey into the A's stadium. i can take spit...but if i get peed on, it's gonna get ugly. (that won't happen, right?)

funny story from today:
i was giving new hire orientation and the presentation was up on the big screen. i asked a leading question into my next topic and then realized the answer was on the slide showing. i covered up my laptop monitor, thinking that would do the trick. it didn't. the new hires saw the answer up on the screen, told me what it was and i then had to fess up to what i was doing with my hand over my laptop monitor.

at least we all got a good laugh out of it.

other people’s funnies

myspace name: "my new boyfriend is alcohol"
new way to spell 'damn': damb!

my Faith, defined a little

i was asked this on myspace:
Lets see.... question for you.... I am not meaning to be offensive in anyway by asking this... On your profile it says Christian - other, what does that mean to you? BTW, to let you know, I will not judge you. I will not preach to you. If you have questions, I will be more than happy to talk with you about them.

my answer was this:
i have to admit, i've wanted to ask about the 'Christian-other' since email #1, but i held back. isn't it interesting that we generally do that? afraid to offend someone. silly, i say. anyway, i love God with all my heart " live to make Him smile. i see Him in all the little (and big) things around me. i say "other" because i go to a nondenominational church " don't appreciate the silly little things denominations argue over. also, i don't appreciate the term "religious" 'cause it feels all negative. i hope to be a witness with my lifestyle, which often falters, yet finds hope, and don't "preach" a whole lot. now hopefully i haven't offended you.

slightly disheartened

i am slightly disheartened by the Twins performance today...but it's the best out of 5. if only i hadn't planned my burglar party for this saturday when my boys will be in town. now i must take friday off to go see them and have my tv's blaring on saturday.

lucky for you, michael cuddyer, my favorite player, is blogging about the playoffs, so i'll try my best to stop. enjoy the read!

a little taste of home…

apparently Caribou Coffee has gone national with some breakfast bars. made me quite happy to see...though it'd be fun to have the choice of Caribou or Starbucks out here in the Bay Area.

lite white raspberry - oh, how i miss you.

age & weddings

it's not so likely to hook up at a wedding these days...seems i've gotten old enough that almost everyone is coupled off. the past few weddings have provided a number of singles that can be counted on one hand. of course, that doesn't stop me from tearing up the dance floor with whoever i can find. :-)

just an observation.

Rivers & Kevin got married!!!

this weekend was definitely one of the most fun wedding weekends ever! it was so good to hang with the college roomies, make some new friends, spend some time in Lexington " see an awesome couple get married. that makes two excellent marriages starting this year!

yeah, boy

i'll be watching my Twins from the stands in Oakland on Friday night.
woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm so happy i could cry.

of course, i was flying all day, so i had to rely on text messages and my phone internet to keep up on the games today. thanks, friends!
(can someone send me a homer hankey?)