Tough as nails

That's not necessarily me, but my blisters are toughening up. And all it took was patience and, for the right big toe, a nice big bleed that didn't leak too much but left it with a black-purple mark the size and shape of a malignant melinoma. My toes aren't completely ache-free, but now it's more irritating than debilitating.

The proof was in the nearly eight mile run I took Sunday. It was a test run of the Sound to Narrows, but I messed up the exit route so I ran longer than absolutely necessary. Which, at mile 7.5, is a big "bleah." The course isn't as horribly hilly as it could be, I'm glad to report, but it is a little confusing. Although my dogs were barking at me (and my face had turned spotty red in places that are not normally heat-ejection areas) so were my calves, hips and shoulders and everything else.

Today in the Y class I went about four miles on the "hill course," other, non-remedial runners might have gone about five.

After running eight miles I was stiff the rest of the day; it didn't put a damper on Miss Anora's christening party. Brownies, booze and lawn chairs are great post-run if you can't move hardly at all. She's cute, too, all cheeks and blue eyes.

What else is worthy of comment? Oh, this is pretty awesome. Saw another crummy Bollywood, "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai," which translates to "Something happens" and that's about right. I wrote a somewhat grumpy Netflix review and judging by the low numbers of recs on the third top-rated user review, means if my peeps hit it up I may just get the only grumpy Bollywood review on the rec list. That's a hint, Netflix users among us. And if that doesn't get you juiced up perhaps the fact that I point out the incest vibe will.

Presumptious much?

I was cleaning out my purse when I saw a strip of Safeway coupons — you know, the kind the store prints for you based on whatever you've bought — and noticed that one of them was for Always pads.

The kicker? At the bottom it says: "MAY WE SUGGEST: Ultra Long Extras with wings."

Presumptious much?

I would have been inclined to believe the suggestion was because the product was a source of professional pride by the Always people — or perhaps they're overstocked — but Michelle pointed out to me that all those coupons are very targeted and focused.

If she's right, that is a little too much corporate focus on my personal business for my taste.

OMG KFC

So gross.

Somehow I doubt "extensive" testing went into this. The picture is enough to make me want to barf. Just because it all ends up in the same place does not mean there is no justification for sides.

Funny, that

On my Flickr page I se I've had 100 views of a photo titled "Symbionese Liberation Callie," because I'm posing with a gun not unlike Ms. Patty Hearst did, followed closely by "Paramilitary Barbie (Well, Midge)" (me with two guns) and "Michelle with Rifle" (self-explanatory). At 80 views, the Russian sailors continue the military theme and "Lucas Skywalker," my previous most-viewed, has slipped to 70 views.

Lesson: If you want people to look at your pictures, put in some chicks posing with guns. Even when it's ironic, it's a draw.

Tacoma double rainbow

I just thought this was pretty cool to wake up to in March. I saw another double rainbow while running Saturday (Sunday? Sunday.) But it was closer together and didn't do the whole horizon stretch like this one.

Ramona wins an award

Here you can see my new haircut, a style I like to think of as Quimby Modern. Also you can see the dress my mom thinks is too inappropriate (a sentiment not shared by non-Puritans). Also in this picture, though it is very unsteadily taken, you can see my SPJ First Place award for spot news (basically, stuff you have to write really fast because it just happened — lots of plane crashes and murders are spot news stories. The story that won happened to be about 40 inches long. Yes, I write wicked fast and get all the good scoop, and that is why I am a winner) for non-dailies (but not alternative weeklies. Funny, but The Stranger didn't appear to enter this year, even after Dan Savage grumped about having to compete with The Peninsula Gateway instead of what rightly is the Stranger's true competition, Willamette Week and the Seattle Weekly. Also Willamette Week didn't really appear to have entered much if at all. Just that Nigel Jaquiss dude who's been racking up the legit journalism awards.

Oh, yes, I did run that day, but my back was what was killing me. Hotel dining chairs plus twisting to see screen plus 8 gajillion awards = lots of pain.

Oh yeah, the Gateway won more awards as a paper than any other in our division, I got the only first place writer finish (Jim Appelgate got design props but he's always a winner because his page design is the SHIZ), though Ric got a headline writing first.

Living the YA novel

The worst part about running is the blisters. I have blisters that have formed under previous blisters, giving one of my toes the appearance of a very young fetus, you know, when it's got a blobby head and all-dark eyes. I've got burst blisters that start oozing at bad times (like the dedication of the new Living War Memorial Park this morning while I was in sandals) and are bloody underneath.

Basically, I feel like one of those girls in the Young Adult novels about tweenies who want to be ballerinas and the main character takes a look at one of the older, more experienced girls' feet and they are reptilian and gnarled. I'm that girl but without the grace and tutu. Indeed, I feel weird running my little trotty, piston-like Shetland pony legs out in public.

Also, who woulda thought the first muscles to wear out when I run are the ones in my forearms. That makes no sense to me. But you can't really run with your arms dangling at your side. Or you could and say you were an Irish dancer, I guess.

More bloody toes

It's my own fault. After running this on Sunday I had blisters the size of potato bugs on my feet. So of course running this today (plus the near-mile to get to the Y, which I look at as a jump-start on my second wind) with my Y group (and Michelle, and really only Michelle since the others are super duper in shape and faster than greased lightning) busted a blister and aggravated the others. Damn my soft feet, unaccustomed to hard labor or drudgery!

If you check out the runs, look at some of the elevation issues. This is only the beginning of what awaits me at Sound To Narrows, I deeply fear.

In other health-related news, I have something on the order of five bags of salad that were on sale at the grocery store in my fridge. Do I want to eat them? Heck no. I want the FMW. But I've got to eat the salad before it goes bad. Damn you, healthy impulse!

Also, the weather is gorgeous. It's 60 degrees and sunny even though it's 7 p.m. If it were like this year-round I'd be a runner or something. I just know it.

Running on a full stomach

It's not the brightest thing in the world, but I'm giong to have to do it tonight. Since I didn't run last night. I was hashed.

The whole running thing is starting to get me down. Not only is the course going to be ridiculously long and dominated by uphill bits (and I am really great at running downhill and on level surfaces but not the uphill) but I'm not acheiving any of the results I wanted. According to people who support me, I'm packing on muscle at an unprecedented rate, not just blooming upwards in weight. Which is what it feels like.

But in the areas where I am excelling, I got my annual review today and I would quote from it and my boss's extoling my work ethic, prize-winningness, super repping skillz for the G------, etc. but I left it on my desk. And I got my annual raise. Let's just say Callie may be buying the six inch BMT on a day when it is *not* the special!!!

Speaking of prize-winning, I found out I'm going to win something from the Western Washington Society of Professional Journalists. But then, so is something the intern wrote. When the Seattle Weekly was in our circulation category — and not relegated to the brand new "alternative weekly" category (thanks, Dan Savage, for mentioning the Peninsula Gateway in your Slog entry on why The Stranger never enters the SPJ contest, as in "that competition is for papers like The Peninsula Gateway, and it's unconscionable that the Weekly puts itself in competition with such pissant papers." And that's not an actual quote, but there was a definite hint of we'd-be-fighting-below-our-weightedness, even though alternative weekly writers are well known for their modesty) — it was a little more special to get that plastic plaque.

So the intersection of work and running is coming up. One is going swimmingly, the other is a rough road, and Jake the sports guy says he's going to cover the S2N. With the camera. I'm running with the special slow people, it's doubtful I'll finish in less than 90 minutes, I tend to get very red in the face and my hair goes all poofy and crazy — this intersection of my competence and incompetence cannot meet or the juju will feel a confluence and infect my working life.

So I have to run harder than ever. 30th Street hill, prepare to be attacked.