Skates! April 23, 2006

Skates!
Originally uploaded by cmpayne.

I just got back from my first official Nashville roller girls practice. Up until now, we have been skating at a nearby roller rink which sucks because of all the tiny children I am afraid of killing. The league is brand new as of January, so everyone, except for the coach and a few others, is pretty much on the same page. I am surprised at how fast skating has come back to me. I am even better when I wear padding. Who cares if you fall then! The best part of roller derby is meeting all of these cool girls I would never have met otherwise. A nice break from the male-centric engineering world…

Anyway, now I need a name. I was thinking Professor Pain because of my last name and all (and maybe one day that Ph.D. thing). But I don’t think that I exude the image of asskicker… Maybe something somewhat “sweeter”, like Deadly Dahlia. I’m new to this creative thinking thing. Anybody have a suggestion? There doesn’t necessarily have to be alliteration. Just something clever…

114494528141502668 April 13, 2006

There are a surprising number of options for sending a package to El Salvador. Cary needed some sunscreen so I mailed a couple of bottles to her today. I could send the package by airmail for about $20. That option would take about a week or two to get there. There was some middle option for $15. I don’t remember how long that would take. Cary told me to mail the package “by boat” because that would be cheapest. So, that is what I did. This method is called “economy” at the post office. When I told the guy I wanted to send it economy, he looked at me skeptically and told me it would take a month or two to deliver. That’s what the girl said she wanted. But a month or two? It seems like it would take extraordinary effort to make a delivery take that long. You could probably walk it down to El Salvador in that period. Where does a package sit while it waits for its months long journey? Seems like an easy way to lose a package…

In other news, I finally bought the pink wig I have been lusting after since last summer. I saw this wig in a costume shop in Albuquerque while Katie was visiting me. I didn’t even know I wanted a wig, much less a pink one. But I knew when I saw it that I had to have it… I have no idea why it took me nearly a year to decide that $20 spent on a frivolous purchase would be acceptable. I spend $20 regularly on other things. Shirts that I decide I don’t like after one wearing, race entry fees, food, and whatnot… Why not a pink wig? Even if I only wear it once, not that big of a deal… So, now, where do I wear it?

114462262801724301 April 9, 2006

I did it! Not that I thought I couldn’t or wouldn’t, but I crossed the finish line in my very first marathon today! I had a dissapointing time of 4:55, but ces’t la vie. Next time, right? So my new goal, because I am incapable of existing without some sort of goal, is an actual 4:20 marathon. I am just saying that to be realistic because I really want a 4:00 marathon, but saying that you are going to shave an entire hour off of a marathon sounds crazy. Maybe saying you are going to willingly run another qualifies as crazy. Hmmm…

Well, highlights of the marathon included running toward the St. Louis arch multiple times at dawn, seeing the Clydesdales as we ran through the Budweiser brewing facility, and the water stops that seemed to be placed every half mile, oh yeah, and my blueberry bagel at the end. Lowlights, my newly acquired ankle pain at mile 19, and realizing that I ran the second half a lot slower than the first… All in all, a great first marathon experience… Hey. I finished!