Unexpected Revelation

Yesterday was kind of a roller-coaster. I ended up leaving work early because I hadn't slept well the night before and my brain was going in 18 different directions that had nothing to do with staring at a computer monitor and scheduling training.

The biggest part of the day I'm not quite ready to share.  I'm wrapping my brain around some things, processing, and trying to put a positive spin on it.

Looking back, the unexpected highlight of my day was carpooling to a (pointless) meeting with my area's safety manager.  I was really tired to the point of acknowledging that I was talking without using my brain, and yet he kept the conversation rolling both to and from the meeting... and maybe made some faces at me during the meeting.

On the way back to our end of the world, I was totally nerding out about my safety & health class.  I complained about OSHA and bad employers and bad Congressmen.  And when I shut up long enough to let him get out 5 words I realized the guy actually knows his stuff way more that I assumed he did and cares - GENUINELY CARES - about the people he's responsible for.  He knows how bad it sucks for everyone involved when things go really wrong and is doing what he can to keep his people safe...even if it means shoveling elephant poop!

I've sat in enough (pointless) meetings to know that the general managerial perspective on employee safety is making sure everything is OSHA-compliant.  They are more concerned about covering their own - and the company's - asses than in actually being proactive and protecting their employees.  My job exists so that if something goes wrong (and it has), the people over and around me can point to a few sheets of paper and say, "not our fault...blame the injured or dead guy."

I'm glad that my people are also his people.  Though I'm sure I'm more personally invested in "my guys" than he is, I know he's more invested in them than some safety managers for other departments are.  And at the end of the day, the more people who care about my guys, the better for all of us.

Ten Things

John Scalzi posted a list of "ten things I have done that you (probably) haven't," and while I don't think my list compares to his, I thought it would be fun to come up with my own list.  Most of these are obviously Disney-related, but that's what happens when you spend your entire adult life affiliated with The Mouse.

1. Watched a veterinarian draw blood from the toe of a silverback gorilla.

2. Watched The American Adventure from both the pit below the stage and seated on the stage.

3. Been alone with the original "Jolly Holiday" dress from Mary Poppins.

4. Climbed up 2/3 of the way to the top of Cinderella Castle and looked over the parapet.  (after that, my fear of heights kicked in pretty massively).

5. Watched Magic Kingdom fireworks from the rooftops of Main Street USA.

6. Pet a baby white rhino.

7. Sang back-up for Celine Dion on a nationally-televised Christmas show.

8. Gave Drew Carey directions to the bathroom (and when he asked if he could just use the bushes nearby told him "we'd prefer you not do that sir.").

9. Rode in a van from Pittsburgh to State College (and stopped for dinner on the way) with Reel Big Fish.

10. Ran 13.1 miles in a tutu.

What about you?  What's on your list?

Too Funny to be TMI

I was Facebook messaging with Scott this evening about my thrilling return to Dr. Ponytail (OMG he started a new practice, where the people all TALK to you and LISTEN to you and... it's like the complete opposite of my primary doctor!!).  Following is a screenshot of part of our conversation...

There's really not much else I can add to that!

God bless you, iPhone auto correct!

The Ballad of JC Penney

The following is a copy of the e-mail I just sent to JC Penney "customer care" following a series of ridiculous service failures.  It's long, so I'm going to put it behind the jump, but if you're interested in call center or supply chain logistics, then this is the post for you!

Something About Pumpkins

Hello, my name is Jamie and I have a confession:

I don't get the pumpkin spice latte.

I had one a few years back, and I couldn't understand what the fuss was about.  It tasted like coffee... with cinnamon and cloves.  Every year around this time though, my social media feeds fill with breathless excitement about the "PSL."  Even McDonald's is getting into the act with a PSL of its own!  So yesterday I thought maybe the first one I had was just a fluke.  This time, I got it iced.  It was even worse than I remembered.  It was too sweet, had a bitter aftertaste, and tasted somewhat like the pumpkin hand sanitizer I have in my car that always makes my eyes water when I use it.

Here's the thing though: I love pumpkin.  Did you know this time of year McD's has a pumpkin pie?  I haven't had it, but I bet it's delicious. Tasty Pies come in pumpkin as well.  Disney carries pumpkin fudge, and once upon a time I was even able to get a pumpkin-fudge-covered apple there.  Delicious!  Jello's instant pumpkin pudding is delicious as-is, or in any number of different no-bake pies.  Pumpkin breads, muffins, or cake?  Yes, please!  And of course, the most wondrous pumpkin treat of all...

The Little Debbie Pumpkin Cake is the happiest seasonal snack of all.  I distinctly remember one year in high school that my mom bought A LOT of these at the Arnold thrift store and froze them.  I would rather have one of these than any other packaged sweet treat, even the oatmeal cream pie.

So maybe if there was a pumpkin coffee beverage that tasted more like pumpkin than potpourri I would love it.  Maybe I would even lose my s--t over it like everyone else.  But for now I think I'll stick with my regular coffee and enjoy pumpkin in other incarnations.

100% Awesome (and 0% modest)

Today has been a wildly awesome day for my internal number nerd.  It's also been a day where I shamelessly bragged about various things to anyone who would listen politely.  And since I haven't gotten all of the bragging out yet, here we are!

First of all, I don't recall whether I've mentioned my Workplace Safety and Health class.  Basically, the title is self-explanatory.  I took it because it's interesting to me (most of my job revolves around OSHA-mandated training) and because the company is reimbursing me for it.  Win-win!  Anyway, I'm fairly familiar with the subject material, and the requirements for assignments have been very clear.  So I managed to get 100% on all of the assignments up to the midterm.  I knew that the odds were slim that I'd be able to pull off a perfect score, but I was still disappointed that my exam grade was a 94.  Yep...I'm not sure when it happened, but I have become that person.  The one who humble-brags about "only" getting a 94.

The instructor sent out an email to the class today discussing the midterm, and he mentioned that there was a "slight curve" applied to our exam grades, so I logged in right away to check.  Imagine my shock, wait...perhaps GLEE is a better word, when I saw that my exam grade was curved up to 100%.  Yep...halfway through the class I still have a perfect grade!  (we won't mention that I'm scraping by with an A- and B+ in my other two classes right now)

Keeping with the perfect theme, last week I told my "bad news bears"/"mighty ducks" department that if they had a perfect regulatory score this week I would bake cookies for all of them.  I tried this trick a few months ago, and a manager screwed it up.  But hey - just one delinquency isn't so bad.  For the team that was consistently dragging down the rest of my region for my first two years, I was thrilled.  Anyway, the monkeys actually managed to clear out all of their delinquencies this week.  I guess that means I need to start mixing dough so I can make enough slice and bake rolls to cook up this weekend to feed NINETY people.

This department was my last holdout to get to the 100-mark at least once.  My next challenge is to get the entire region to 100%...preferably on the week that they run the "global compliance" report.  Everyone needs a goal, right?

Speaking of the global report, last month I was over the moon thrilled that my region was up to 99.6%.  Not only was it our highest score ever, but it was a full percentage point higher than any of my peers' areas.  I sent an absolutely gushing email to all of the managers in my region thanking them for their hard work, dedication, blah blah blah.  And I meant every word.

I should have waited a month.

I couldn't believe my eyes when this month's report came out and my region was up to 99.9%!  To be fair, they are actually at 99.87, but the one-decimal rounding works in my favor.  Across my entire domain, there are a handful of smaller departments at 100%, but I've got to say my region is a HUGE sparkling diamond of awesomeness.

It's really nice to have quantitative measurements to point to and say "this is good."  And because I'm not actually a trainer or a manager out there seeing what really is or isn't working, I sort of live and die by the numbers.  Rationally, I know that what I see is only a small part of the overall equation that keeps things running and keeps my people safe, and I'm an even smaller part of that equation.  

The thing about my region's success that makes me so happy is that I genuinely believe I have streamlined the process enough that when I'm finally ready to move on, they will do just as well without me...they'll just miss my sparkling personality and charm.

bwahahahaha

Anyway, this ego trip has taken me halfway to the moon.  It's probably best that I return to Earth now.  Thanks for coming along on the journey.  And next time I'm having a pity party, someone please remind me about today.

Tower of Terror 10-Miler, Times Two

Oh hi, guess what! I ran ten miles last night.  You're probably wondering why I didn't tell any of you in advance that I would be running.  Truth is, I didn't find out for sure I'd be running until Thursday.  I was given the opportunity, and despite my hip muscle issues I said, "well, I'm scheduled to do an 8 mile training run this weekend anyway...what's another two?"  Literally, those words. 

Who IS this crazy girl?

It turns out my hip (which was still bugging me on Friday) was just fine when I woke up Saturday.  And unlike the miserable weather last year, it was under 80 degrees (barely) and less than 90% humidity (by about 5%).  There was even a breeze...once or twice.

I'm not going do recount the whole course - lots was unchanged from last year - but I did manage to get the two pictures I wished I had gotten last year: the skeleton wearing a race bib and the lady whose sign made me cry last year.  I actually stopped and told her I remembered her and thanked her for being there. 

Despite my lack of training, I felt strong for nearly the whole race.  For the first two miles, my pace was actually below a 14 minute mile, and I knew I needed to slow down.  Unlike last year, when the first two miles were my hardest, I was pretty miserable from miles 3-5 this time.  I was actually getting chills, so I shortened some of my run intervals until I cooled down a little bit.

My stats from last night:
5K split: 45:51
10K split: 1:36:30
Finish: 2:39:27

I'd like to pause here to point out that my net finish translates to a 15:57 minute/mile pace.  This is the first long race where I finished faster than a 16 minute/mile!  I also beat last year's time by nearly 4 minutes...even though I stopped to talk to the lady with the sign and stopped 2 miles later to hug Matthew at the medical tent where he was working.

Overall place: 8189 of 9478 finishers
Division place: 838 of 1003 finishers

Some day I'll be fast enough to run one of these races and stop for pictures.  There were a few characters last night I regretted not being able to stop and pose with - the evil queen from Snow White (in wicked witch form!!!), Jack and Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas, and Hades from Hercules come to mind.

I was on my own this year, mostly due to my last-minute registration, and I made some decent decisions I want to note for future reference.  Rather that wear a belt pack, I stuck with shorts with pockets (and a tight drawstring).  In one pocket, I kept my little boxes of Craisins - my race fuel of choice - and in the other pocket, I had a snack-size zip-top bag with my ID, credit card, and spare car key (my purse was in the trunk of the car with all my other stuff).  I safety pinned the bag inside the pocket, and then "locked" it in by pinning the pocket closed.  I also pocketed a folded Disney merchandise bag, mostly because they fold flat quite nicely.  That bag stayed in my pocket until after I crossed the finish line, and then I pulled it out and put the bottles of water and Power Ade, snack box, and other assorted stuff in it.  It's tough to juggle 18 things at once, especially with post-hot-race sausage fingers, and the bag made it so much easier to navigate post-race.

...and of course, no race post would be complete without a tally of assorted injuries.  I have some random spots of friction burn in weird places - the underside of one arm and a few patches around the bottom of the bra I was wearing.  I have one blister: a nickel-size one near the hot spot from my old shoes.  And of course, most of my leg and foot muscles are stiff and achy.  My ankles are also cracking a lot.  My worst injury actually took place on Friday and was aggravated yesterday.  At some point I got a piece of dirt or gravel in my shoe and did a lot of walking.  A blister formed under my second toe, right where it meets my foot, and popped.  It's not a place where a bandage would ever stick, so the best I could do was slather it with Neosporin.  Judging by the damage there now, I'd say the original blister rubbed itself even bigger, and another blister might have formed underneath.  It's angry red, and hurts like a mo-fo when I wiggle my toes, but I think a few days of Neosporin and socks will cure me.

At the end of the day though, nothing can stop me from smiling with pride at what I have accomplished.  Last year, I trained for six months for this race.  This year, I was in shape (well...more in shape) enough to do it at the last minute.  AND I got a PR!  And now, my first ever race medal has a little brother.  Pretty sweet, right?

Next Races:

December 1: Space Coast Half Marathon

December 7: Orlando Half Marathon

December 14: Tap 'n Run 4k

February 22: Disney's Enchanted 10k (day 1 of the Glass Slipper Challenge)

February 23: Disney's Princess Half Marathon (day 2 of the Glass Slipper Challenge)

March 2: (tentative) Excalibur 10-Miler

Running Milestone

Sometimes the sunrises are worth waking up
early and lacing up the sneakers 

Bless me, running gods, for I have slacked. It has been far too long since my last weekend run. After my new running shoes failed to magically make me run faster, and caused me blisters in a place I wasn't expecting, I fell into a state of apathy.  But this past week I had a few minor victories. 

My manager suckered me back into Walking League, and last Wednesday was my first time back.  They've started a separate path for running.  It's a one-mile course that goes around a few sports fields and I found myself running over hilly grass, gravel, and occasional sidewalk.  I only made three miles, but considering it had been about a month since the last time I even wore my running shoes, I put that experience in the 'win' column.  The duct tape on my heels (the shoes rub my Achilles tendons on both feet) gave out near the beginning of the second mile, so even though I had enough time to do another 1/2 mile I decided to stop.  When I got home that night, I brutally warped my shoes, repeatedly bending back the part that rubbed on my tendon.

Thursday morning, I had crazy-sore muscles in a brand new place: the outsides of my thighs, where they meet my hips.  I chalked this up to the uneven terrain from Wednesday.   After some stretching and ibuprofen, I was fine.  Then I spent all day Friday in the theme parks with family, and the left side got sore all over again.  The silver lining there was I wore my running shoes all day with no trouble.  Apparently the shoes have been beaten into submission!

This morning, I set the alarm for 6:15 and got up to run.  My goal was 5 or 6 miles.  For whatever reason, my pace was slow from the get-go, but as long as I was running the speed didn't matter.  The big loop around my neighborhood is 1.5 miles, and by the end of the first mile I had settled into my (slow) pace and didn't get winded, form blisters, or otherwise lose my motivation.  Right when I hit mile 5, I realized that my sore hip muscle had come back with a vengeance, and it was cramping up.  It felt like a Charlie horse in the WAY wrong place.  Since my initial goal was 5 or 6, I considered turning right and heading back toward the house.  But I turned left.  I actually committed myself to the last mile.

That's right, I voluntarily ran a mile in pain, albeit loping a little like someone whose legs were different lengths.  I walked funny to stretch the muscle, ran my intervals as scheduled (because running actually hurt less), and made it to my goal and then some: 6.05 miles.  My race pace should've been just about 1:30-1:36, and I came in right at 1:40.  That's a snail's pace, but I'm just glad I finished.  I no longer feel like the half marathon I've got 11 weeks from yesterday (and the other one I've got 12 weeks from today) is an insurmountable goal.

So...wondering about the title of the post?  Well, today is the first time I can really recall running through muscle pain.  Aside from my various foot ailments, my only other running injury to date was an occasionally sore knee.  And generally speaking, I chicken out when there's pain involved.  But I know what a sore muscle feels like and knew I wouldn't do any actual damage to myself if I kept going.  And I kept going.  And I'm still sore, but it's nothing I can't handle.

Today, the sunrise,the rainbow, and all the friendly neighborhood dogs weren't my only rewards.  Today I'm wearing my sore muscle like a badge of honor.  Tomorrow, however, I'd like to be pain-free.  Seems that would be a way better reward!

Three's Company...Four's a Crowd...Let's Have a Party!

Below is a snippet of a conversation this morning at work between me and a guy who also works in the building.

Him: what are you drinking these days? (he has some sort of booze hook-up and often brings in bottles to people at work)
Me: nothing really. I don't like to drink alone.

Me: well, I occasionally make Jell-O shots with vodka...
Him: we should go out for a drink some time.
Me: eh...I only really go out on Fridays to Applebee's.  Don and I befriended the bartender there, and he only works Fridays and Saturdays. So Fridays are sort of my designated day to have a social life.
Him: oh, well then I'll go there and buy you a drink.
Me: thank you?

Yikes!

There I was, picturing awkward drinks with my usual Friday "date" and another "date."  So I did what any rational person would(n't) do: decided to invite more people to join Jamie's Awkward Party (also known as Jamie's Inappropriate Men Party).  So far, I found one other guy to come along - a guy friend (married, so he definitely fits in the parameters for the second party name) who works in another department. He doesn't know the other players, and apparently thrives on awkward.  I joked about inviting Scott, but...well, that just seemed like a bad idea on many levels.  I really am planning on inviting some more people from work.  If I build up enough of a crowd, then it'll be much more of a party atmosphere and (hopefully) less awkward.

So...anyone free on Friday around 2:45?  First round of fried green beans are on me (or one of my dates...)!

Culinary Creation

I found this recipe for Cheesesteak Stuffed Bell Peppers on Pinterest, and immediately wanted to try it.  Though I don't think bell peppers have any place in civilized cheesesteaks, I love stuffed peppers and thought it sounded delicious.

 

For me though, something about this recipe was lacking.  The stuffed pepper recipe I have in my memory, courtesy of the mom of my college boyfriend Ryan, was pretty much just rice and ground beef and tomatoes.  I can't imagine a stuffed pepper without rice.  It just seems wrong.  So I made up my own hybrid recipe.  It was so good I thought I should write it down before I forget about it!

 

 

Cheesesteak-Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

4 bell peppers*

1 small box Steak-Umms (6 steaks)**

1/2 yellow onion, diced

8 oz. baby portabella mushrooms, sliced

1 bag of boil-in-bag brown rice

1 small can of diced tomatoes

8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

salt

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

1. Cut the tops off of the bell peppers, scooping out the seeds and ribs from inside.  Dice the onion and slice the mushrooms.

2. Bring about 6" of salted water in a stock pot to a boil.  Submerge the peppers in boiling water for 2 minutes each. Use the same pot of water to cook the rice according to package directions. 

3. Brown the "steaks" according to package directions, draining the steaks on paper towels as they come out of the pan.  Either shred the meat as it cooks, or chop it after removed from heat.  Use leftover pan drippings to brown the onions and mushrooms, cooking until soft and lightly caramelized.  Drain onions and mushrooms well.

4. Open the canned tomatoes, pouring the liquid from the can into the bottom of the baking dish.

5. Combine rice, tomatoes, steak, onions/mushrooms, and half the cheese in a bowl. This is the time to check your salt level and add more if needed.

6. Place the peppers, cut-side up (duh!) in your baking dish, stuff with filling mixture, top with remaining cheese.

7. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, or until cheese on top is browned and beautiful.

 

* I definitely had enough stuffing for one more pepper, but just cooked the leftovers in a small single-serve dish.  If you have someone in your family who is pepper-averse, I recommend the same.

 

** My cousin Alicia balked at the idea of eating Steak-Umms.  You can absolutely substitute thinly-sliced steak, ground beef, slices of roast beef, ground turkey, those vegetarian crumble things... whatever makes you happy!

Could Be...

There is a song early on in West Side Story, sung by Tony before he even meets Maria.  The song "Something's Coming" describes the feeling he has that something major is about to happen.

It's only just out of reach, down the block, on a beach, under a tree.
I got a feeling there's a miracle due, gonna come true, coming to me!

The song is stuck in my head today.  See, I've got butterflies in my stomach.  I have no idea why - it could be one of a half-dozen different things racing through my head, or maybe it's just heartburn from breakfast!  But if it's heartburn, it's the most optimistic heartburn I can remember.  I'm genuinely happy for the first time in a while, and I really do feel like I'm on the verge of... I don't know.

However, I can't give myself over completely to this unsubstantiated wonder.  See, there was another movie that featured this song...


(TERRIBLE quality video and audio, and no clue what the graphic in the middle of the screen is doing there.  Skip to 1:10 and you'll get the idea.)

(also, slightly off-topic: this is another example of the type of driving I tend to see from men driving BMWs)

So, I don't know what is coming.  It could be something wonderful and amazing and unexpected... or it could be a bus.  For now, I'll accept the moderate insomnia and randomly sweaty palms and feet and hope for the best.  And until the bus hits me, I'm going to keep smiling and enjoy the ride!

Another Hodge Podge Post

Prologue:
I don't think I've mentioned on the blog (though Facebook knows alllll about it!) that my work building has a... considerable challenge with German cockroaches.  I had one run across my desk last week, and I'm still a little emotionally scarred!  The pest control department even came out last week to spray the lockers in the hallway because it seemed like all of the guys were shaking roaches out of their clothes and shoes.

One of my trainers stopped by today to tell me had training forms for me, but they were in his locker.  I asked him to shake the roaches off before bringing them to me, and he laughed, telling me there are no roaches in the lockers on his end of the building but they are in the microwave in that workshop.  He told me that he was heating a frozen meal - 4 minutes on high heat - and when he opened the microwave a roach ran out from under the turntable.  That's right, you can kill a Gremlin in the microwave but you can't kill a cockroach that way.  They.  Are.  Monsters.


skip to 2:00 for gratuitous exploding Gremlin action

In other news, I barely slept last night.  (I'm fine, just letting someone live in my head rent-free.)  After laying there not sleeping until 10:30, I got up and came back downstairs.  I watched The Daily Show and Colbert Report before going back upstairs.  After falling asleep around 12:30, I woke up at 1:20 and 3:05 before my alarm finally went off at 4:15. 

Ordinarily, on tired days I wear my hair in a bun and wear comfy/frumpy clothes and keep a low profile.  And I hear "are you ok?" or "no sleep?" from the folks in the building all day long.  This time, I made a conscious effort to hide the bags under my eyes behind glasses, hair down, a dress, and heels.  And all day I heard variations of "you look pretty today."  You can judge for yourself whether that really meant "thank you for showing me your boobs," but I'll take it!  (btw, I had a cardigan on at work)

Though I still feel generally off and it's likely I'll be asleep long before 8:00 tonight, I left today with a solid self-confidence boost I desperately needed. My original plan for tonight was to bake chicken thighs and make mashed potatoes for my next few meals, but I didn't want to commit to that much manual labor.  Instead, I stopped for a sub - half for dinner, half for tomorrow's lunch - and will try that whole cooking thing again tomorrow night.

For now, I'm just hoping I've evicted my brain tenant enough to sleep for a really long time tonight.  And perhaps I'll try this dress-up thing again tomorrow.

Weirdly Jamie

It’s been a weird 24 hours.  Perhaps that’s poorly phrased.  It’s not that anything really strange has happened TO me during that time, more that I’ve been experiencing really strange things.

 

Last night, in honor of National Creamsicle Day, I made myself a cocktail of Orange Fanta Zero (side note: “Zero” sodas make me so much happier than “Diet” ones) and whipped cream vodka.  I took the drink upstairs, where I immersed myself in the novel I’m thisclose to finishing.  At one point, I spilled the drink up near the head of the bed and a few thoughts popped into my head at once:

1.       This is why I can’t have nice things!

2.       This is why I don’t bring anything but water upstairs!

3.       Good thing the ugly brown sheets are on the bed!

I mopped up the excess liquid with a hand towel and went back to my reading.  The spot was dry by the time I went to sleep, so I plopped my pillow down there and didn’t think anything else about it.

 

I woke up with a start around 2:00 this morning and thought someone was toasting marshmallows downstairs.  My mind went through cookies with marshmallows, s’mores waffles, and campfire-toasted marshmallows first.  Realizing this was illogical, my next thought was that there was a fire downstairs and what I smelled wasn’t burning sugar but burning house.  It smelled so good though, I was starting to drift back to sleep and I remembered thinking something along the lines of, “I’m going to feel really stupid if I have to be rescued by the firemen and admit that I smelled fire and fell back to sleep.”  Finally my brain cleared just enough to realize what I smelled: the remnants of the whipped cream vodka in the sheets.

I smiled at my own stupidity, rolled over and fell back to sleep, secure in the knowledge that there was no baking prowler and/or arsonist downstairs.

 

Fast-forward 8 hours to work this morning.  My office mate called in, and the quiet at my desk was starting to get to me, so I was listening to music on my phone with one earbud in my left ear.  I went to the break room to talk to the working foreman, and then went straight to the bathroom with the music still playing into my head.

 

I was sitting on the potty, and decided to drum along on my bare thighs.  I wasn’t keeping time – it was pretty much a little drum solo: badabadabadabadabada.  And then I heard the worst sound ever: the sound of someone a few stalls over pulling the toilet paper roll.

 

I wasn’t alone.

 

And someone probably thought I was in there spanking myself.

 

And that person was probably wondering who the bad bad girl was.

 

I clapped my hand over my mouth and had to resist the temptation to yell out in my own defense.  I didn’t though, because a meeting had just let out and if there was some anonymous stranger in there I figured she’d just have a funny story to take back to her own office.

 

As I was washing my hands, the other stall opened and my ex-office mate walked out.  I looked at her and started to laugh as I explained that I was just drumming along on my legs to the music that was playing in my head.  I even pointed to the earbud and may have demonstrated the perfectly G-rated thigh slap technique.  She laughed, said she was wondering what the heck was going on, and we both left.  I had tears rolling down my face by the time I got back to my desk.

 

I guess this story could have a few different logical conclusions.

 

Morals of the Story

 

1.       Don’t drink in bed (which, seriously, I NEVER DO. But the book was upstairs and I had just made the drink and there was nothing on TV I wanted to watch)

2.       Don’t sleep in the wet spot (*waves hello to perverted Google searchers*)

3.       Don’t thigh drum in a public bathroom

4.       Take the time to write down the things that made you laugh today.  I’ve been at this blog thing to know that it’s the random day-to-day crap you forget about that makes you laugh when you read through your archives (*waves hello to Jamie of the Future*)

Singing High and Loud

They switched up the process for Candlelight choir this year.  Due to increasing demand, they have switched from first come-first served sign-ups to a lottery system, and now they're actually doing auditions.  They're not calling the process auditions, but "selections."  Either way, the idea that maybe there wouldn't be a tone-deaf person wailing behind me this year led me and my big fat ego to go out for it.

My "selection" was yesterday.

Of the four song selections, I originally decided to do the one that ends in a high A.  Why?  Soprano I ego, of course!  I broke out my old Candlelight rehearsal CD as soon as I signed up for "selections," and have been singing along with it on and off ever since.  Unfortunately, most of my other singing these days is of the alone in the car belting along with Christina Aguilera and Pink variety.  It turns out alternating between belting pop and singing high soprano (you know, with basically no warming up) will do a number on your vocal cords.

So I chickened out of the song that ends in the A, and instead went with the one with basically four bars of sustained G instead (from 1:23 to the end in this video, if you're curious).  I can't say I nailed it - I've got a lot more air in my voice than I used to - but I really do think I did well.  Well enough, for sure! 

I mentioned my "selection" on Facebook yesterday and got a comment that made me laugh: "You're a soprano?"  To hear me speak, you'd never guess that.  And the comment made me flash back to middle school, 7th or 8th grade.  I was auditioning for Ms. D, I believe for Small Ensemble, and she didn't even look up from the piano. 
her: voice part?
me: alto
her: (laughing, and speaking in a deep man voice to imitate me) alto

We then proceeded to do vocal scales, starting in the low alto range.  We kept going up and up, higher than I'd ever really even tried to sing.  I was aware that Ms. D was looking up from the piano, eyebrows WAY up in surprise.  Heck, I couldn't believe those notes were coming out of my mouth!  And the only reason my voice cracked and we stopped was because the girl standing next to me was laughing or making a face and it made me laugh. 

I've been a soprano ever since.

As far as singing goes, it's one of my true loves.  I'm better than average, but not great.  I still sing in the car, but rarely in front of other people.  Karaoke? Gah...no way!  I love singing Phantom more than Les Mis because I enjoy the high parts.  And I look back on that one moment in middle school as a turning point of sorts.  What if I never knew I had those high notes in me?

Anyway, just my self-absorbed deep thought of the day!

The Final Push

There was a point when I ran the Ten-Miler last year - somewhere between mile 7 and 8 - when I knew I was going to finish that race.  Starting with the day I paid the registration fee and at least once a day every day in between, I had doubts.  Would I give up?  Would my feet survive? Would I get scooped up by the Van of Shame?  But that moment when I realized I could finish was even more emotional for me than when I actually did finish.  Sure, there are a hundred things that could have gone wrong in those last 2-3 miles.  But the doubts were gone.  I knew I was going to do it.  I was doing it.  The worst was behind me, and I was able to look around and enjoy my moment.

Fast-forward to today.  I got my 2013-14 academic planner in the mail from World Campus and flipped to May.  There it was in black and white, printed and bound and in my hands...

May 9-11
Spring Commencement Weekend

I took a picture of the planner page and posted it to Twitter. Someone from the World Campus team tweeted back and said, "you didn't fill it in yet!"  It hadn't even occurred to me.  It's still so far away... hundreds of things could still go wrong.  But then all of a sudden I knew. The doubts are gone.  I know I'm going to do it.  I am doing it. The worst is behind me and I'm going to enjoy this.  So I went online and looked up the spring commencement schedule and I filled it in:

I haven't decided whether I'll make the trip up.  It's expensive.  It's impersonal.  I don't want to go by myself.  But it's not the ceremony that matters.  283 days from today I will finally be a college graduate.  And 4-6 weeks after that, I'll have a piece of paper to prove it.

...and maybe, just maybe, a year from today I'll be getting ready to start grad school. 

To Be Continued...

For now, I want to remember this day, when I got irrationally emotional about filling in a date on a calendar.  Today I realized I might not be close enough to the end of the race to see the finish line, but I know exactly where it is and the route I need to take to get there.  This is my moment.

This is the day
See it sparkle and shine
When all I've lived for
Becomes mine!

Finding My Voice...in Bangladesh??

I was taken aback by my own passion earlier today.  Though I can rant about non-issues like door slamming neighbors and unfairness at work with aplomb (please tell me I'm using that right...), it's rare that I find myself really caring about something important. 

Global warming?  Bad...but not going to be solved by me.
Dogfighting? Bad...but what would I do?  It's not like I know anyone who participates...

Generally, I hear things that make me sad for a few minutes and then I move on to rainbows and puppies and unicorns.  But this thing keeps nipping at the back of my mind, and I think maybe this time I'm going to act.

My "History of Work in America" class requires a weekly discussion forum, where we read a series of required "primary source" articles (and occasionally watch video clips), choose one question from a list of about 10, form an opinion, cite two of the sources, and blather for a minimum of 150 words.  We then choose a classmate's post and comment on their use of the source materials and whether they proved their point, in a minimum of 100 words.  That's it - nothing to it - easy points.  So this week, the question I selected was the following:

Could you conclude that sweatshops exist in developing nations because a developing nation--like the United States was in the nineteenth century--must go through the historical phase of harsh economic development in order for that developing nation to develop a modern economy?

My Opinion:
Nope...Sweatshops are NOT OK

My answer to this question can be summed up in two words: absolutely not.  Arguing that slave wages and unsafe working conditions are in any way “necessary” promotes consumerism at the expense of basic human rights.

We meet John Keady in the video, “Nike Sweatshops and the Sydney Olympics.” Keady researched working conditions in Indonesia and decided to see for himself whether the jobs were livable.  Not only did Keady lose 25 pounds in the month he worked in a Nike factory, but his wages were barely enough to pay for a rat-infested room and enough food to subsist on.  His decision to put an American face and voice to a first-hand worker account brought the plight of the workers to middle-class consumers around the world.

Meanwhile, the Stossel video “Are Sweatshops factories good?” is nothing more than a condescension against human rights protestors.  He managed to find a few people from developing countries to extol the virtues of factories.  His report is not very in-depth, and sounds like a commercial for these factories.

Another first-person account came from the article “Working Overtime to Vanquish Sweatshops.”   One immigrant, the daughter of factory workers, recalls her childhood: ''My mother was working 15 hours days,'' Betty Yu said. ''I didn't know my mother. I didn't know my father. They were at work when I woke up and when I went to bed at night.”  While this account probably mirrors that of children of nineteenth century US factory workers, one important differentiation can be made: though conditions then were deplorable, with long hours and dangerous working conditions, people around the world were immigrating to the US in massive numbers.  The bad conditions here were still better than the terrible conditions they left behind.  Who is immigrating to Bangladesh today?

Sources:

John Stossel ABC News: Are Sweatshops Factories Good?Sky TV: Nike Sweatshops and the Sydney Olympics
NY Times: Working overtime to banish sweatshops

Generally speaking, my commentaries hit right around 175 words.  So the fact that I managed to ramble on so extensively on this topic surprised me.  But hey - it's good to enjoy an assignment every now and then!  Today, I read an opposing viewpoint from one of my classmates.  I'd also like to share her commentary, followed by my response...

Sweatshops Boost the Economy * I would absolutely agree that developing nations must endure the same phase of harsh economic development that the U.S. did in order to develop a thriving economy; and utilizing labor to produce products sold in America is a great way to develop that economy. It’s called globalization “the development of an increasingly integrated global economy marked especially by free trade, free flow of capital, and the tapping of cheaper foreign labor markets,” as defined by Webster. Newer generations in India, Africa, China and Korea live better than the older generations before them because of production for U.S. goods (Are Sweatshop Factories Good?).   

The video (Nike Sweatshops and the Sydney Olympics) proved that globalization does work. That video was made in 2000? According to the Jakarta Globe, by early 2013, Nike planned to make the manufacturing plant in Jakarta “the largest manufacturing base for Nike apart from China and Vietnam.” Minimum wage was raised by 44%. That’s more than a 3 ½ percent increase in the cost of living per year. That’s a bigger cost of living wage than some American workers earn in  a year. 

Response:
As much as I love the idea of globalization and a global economy, I believe that a truly global economy should have standardized minimum wages (based on the nation's economy, of course) and a certain minimum of guaranteed worker safety.  I acknowledge that factories are not all sweatshops, and that for some workers in developing countries (as well as workers in this country) factories are perfectly safe and pay a decent wage.

I am very confused by your perspective that the Sydney Olympics video shows globalization in a positive light.  And while I find your statistics on the rising minimum wage a positive sign, I'd also like to point out that money doesn't do these workers any good if they die in an industrial accident due to their deplorable working conditions.  Just in the past six months in Bangladesh:

* November 2012: 117 killed in clothing factory fire
* April 2013: 1,000+ killed in factory collapse
* May 2013: 8 people killed in factory fire
* ...and just this week: finally, Bangladesh gives factory workers the right to unionize.  However, I wanted to highlight the following quote, pulled from the last article (emphasis mine):

"The government is in talks with labour groups and factory owners on a new minimum wage for the garment sector. Its current $38-per-month minimum pay is half what Cambodian garment workers earn.

 

Bangladesh last increased its minimum garment-worker pay in late 2010, almost doubling the lowest pay. This time, wages are unlikely to go much higher as factory owners, who oppose the raise, say they cannot afford higher salaries as Western retailers are used to buying cheap clothing."

"Harsh economic development" is one thing.  However, ignoring the horrible treatment of human beings for the sake of a $3 t-shirt from Wal Mart isn't globalization - it's exploitation.

 

So...it looks like, of all things, I am passionate about global workers' rights.  Who'd have thought?!?  I remember trying to find clothes made in the US a few years ago, and determined that my options would literally be to look Amish or to sew my own.  And I justified my inaction by telling myself that not all clothing factories are sweatshops.  Maybe my $5 t-shirt was made by happy well-fed women putting children through college on their wages.  I can't possibly solve this problem on my own.  And what I do probably won't make a bit of difference.  But that's not going to stop me from acting.  With one exception, I've boycotted Wal Mart for over a year over the poor treatment of workers in their stores in this country!  

I pledge that I will no longer buy clothes made in Bangladesh until real substantive change is brought to the clothing factories.  A living wage and safe working conditions should be guaranteed to every worker on the planet, and I am willing to pay more to do my small part. 

Though I can't find an article to explain this point more clearly, I learned in my labor economics class that labor costs are a small piece of a very large cost-benefit equation, and increasing the labor rate does NOT cause the product on the shelf to go up by the same amount.  That means a labor raise of $1/hour might translate to $.10 per piece of clothing. However, of that $.10, only 2-3 cents would actually be passed along to the consumer.

...but even if the cost of every article of clothing you buy went up by $1 - from a $5 t-shirt to a $6 t-shirt - wouldn't that be worth it to know there aren't starving workers living in filth?  And before you say you can't afford that extra $1 per shirt, consider all the ways to pay less - sales, coupons, clearance racks, stores like Ross and TJ Maxx, consignment/second hand/thrift stores...

OK...so that was an awful lot for one post.  Sorry about that.  Like I said, apparently I found my voice. And I can't seem to stop singing!

Time to Learn and Move On

I don't think I've mentioned the Zimmerman case here before, and I probably won't mention it again, but I was sort of shocked to wake up this morning to a "not guilty" verdict and to find so many of my out-of-state friends on Facebook proclaiming once again how effed up Florida is. So...

Let's do a quick recap the story, leaving race out.  Neighborhood watch guy sees suspicious-looking adult male, reports to authorities, makes the bad decision to get out of his car and follow male, makes another bad decision to approach male, male engages, struggle ensues, someone gets shot.

George Zimmerman made a series of very bad decisions that resulted in the death of Trayvon Martin.  That was a tragedy that ended one life and ruined the lives of members of both families.  In my heart, I believe that he thought Trayvon would back down when approached and had no intention of engaging in any sort of violence. I have a lot of opinions about George being a wannabe cop who turned out to be a coward, but I don't think this is the time for character assassination.

Let's not forget that 16 months ago the police investigators determined that George had acted in self-defense.  And then the media got involved. The only reason he was charged with a crime was the outcry from the community (local and national).  They wanted a trial.  They got a trial. 

For those saying Trayvon was a child: yes, in the strictest sense of the law.  But he was a full-grown man, and if the tables were turned and George had ended up being the one hurt or killed, Trayvon would have been charged as an adult.

For those comparing this case to the Casey Anthony case: the similarity, I believe, is only that the respective District Attorneys were bullied by the media and other outside influences into pressing charges in weak cases.  Florida juries are not inherently flawed, nor are Florida laws.  Remember, "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt" is a high standard built into the criminal justice to minimize the chance of an innocent person being convicted of a crime.

For those worried that this verdict will embolden nut jobs/racists to take the law into their own hands more often: I guess we'll see.  I'm inclined to disagree, but that's just a hunch.

It is my sincere hope that those who are unhappy with the verdict look at the laws they feel need to be changed and fight for their beliefs.  I hope that people on both sides stop being angry long enough to pray for the life lost.  And I hope that we all learn something and can move on. 

It's a 5K in my Neighborhood...and YOUR Neighborhood!

Last year, I read about a "virtual 5k" for Thanksgiving, and I thought it sounded like a ridiculous amount of fun.  Basically, they mail you a bib (race number) to wear, you run 5k wherever you want, and then they mail you a finisher's medal.  Like most actual 5ks, the event is for charity.  And since they're not paying for road closures, port-a-potties, etc., I have a feeling more money really goes for charity.

There's a girl named Alyssa training for the NYC Marathon as part of a charity group raising money for Alex's Lemonade Stand.  As a part of her fundraising, she has organized a virtual 5k/10k with an adorable medal.  I couldn't resist, and since her virtual race takes place the weekend of my first prescribed training run for the Space Coast half, I was already slated to run 3 miles. Now I have motivation to start running again before then so I can at least finish in under 45 minutes.

I thought I'd send out the information to my friends who are either already training for longer runs, or maybe just want motivation to walk 3.1 miles (or 6.2 miles) around the neighborhood. Whether you're local and want to shuffle along with me, or far away and plan to run or walk elsewhere, I hope you'll consider joining the fun.  Heck...maybe if any locals want to join together we can move the fun to one of the Disney resorts with a running path! (and then celebrate with an ice cream or an adult beverage?)

So what is Alex's Lemonade Stand?  According to the website, their mission is:

To raise money and awareness of childhood cancer causes, primarily research into new treatments and cures.

To encourage and empower others, especially children, to get involved and make a difference for children with cancer.

And Alex? (grab a tissue before clicking that one!)

ALSO...in September, the ALSF is holding a "Million Mile Run" fundraiser.  I have started a team and would love to involve anyone who is interested.  Thanks to my aforementioned training, I'm already slated to run 30+ miles in September.  Teams are supposed to run/walk at least 100 miles, and while sponsorship is encouraged, there's absolutely no registration fee.  As long as you have a comfortable pair of shoes and 20 minutes a day (way more than you should need to walk one mile), you could easily walk 30 miles of your own.  No fitness level required!

If you're interested in joining my team, just click here, select "I'm joining an existing team," and choose "Park Hoppers" from the drop-down list.  If you would like to donate a set amount, you can do that through the team page here (I'm going to make it pretty...later).  If you want to sponsor me per mile, leave me a comment/email/text and I'll keep track and let you know at the end of September how I did and how you can contribute.  And though I'm planning on doing most of my miles either on the treadmill or jogging around the neighborhood, if you want to do a fun walk at a Disney park or somewhere else I'll gladly come along.

Fitness for you and me...research for childhood cancer.  What's the down side?

Running in "Style"

I haven't had much to talk about on the running front recently.  That's probably because I haven't been doing any running.  In order to run before work, I would have to wake up at 3am.  That's a big fat NO!  And by the time I get home, it's 90+ degrees or raining.  And by the time the sun goes down, I'm in bed.

That changes soon.  I bought a treadmill and am waiting for it to be delivered.  It's going to live in the garage, with a fan, and I'll be out there 3 days a week.  It's time to start training again!

I recently bought a crazy pair of silver leggings as a base for a running outfit (I refuse to call it a costume) for the Space Coast Half Marathon.  And last night when I was laying in bed not sleeping, I was brainstorming how to turn the silver leggings into an awesome outfit.  I came up with a sparkly black tulle ruffled skirt and some sort of space-themed top, but then I couldn't figure out how to make the skirt.  (yes, I literally was contemplating sewing patterns. WTF?)  So today I found a kids' pattern online that I think would work for my purposes and started to visually put the pieces together.  Here's what I'm currently contemplating:

The leggings are pretty close to the ones I bought - shiny like a mylar balloon - and the skirt is pretty close to what I had in mind.  I'm not sold on the shirt, but I like that it's both spacey and girly.  I also think this would work with a bright pink shirt that says "Space Cadet" in sparkly letters.  The shoes? Obviously no! They came with the image of the leggings.

So...the Space Coast Half is the first Sunday of December.  The following Saturday (yep, 6 days later) I am signed up for the Orlando Half.  For that one, I found some sparkly orange organza that I'd like to use for a skirt (hoping for a 1/2 price sale around Halloween), and I thought it would be fun to find a shirt with an old Florida postcard image or Disney's Orange Bird.  Cute, right?

And of course, it's never too early to start thinking about the 2014 Princess Half Marathon Weekend!  I signed up for the inaugural Glass Slipper Challenge, which is two races in two days - the new Enchanted 10K on Saturday and then the Princess Half on Sunday.  I thought it would be fun to go fairly costumed up for the 10K, since it's less than half the distance/time to have to handle wearing silly pieces, and am currently digging the visual of the sisters of PNK sorority from Monsters University.   I'd have to experiment with the fuzzy leg pieces, but I think I could stitch them right to the bottom of a pair of capris.

...and then for the Princess Half, I think something quirky but sensible (again, obviously wrong shoes) with a nod to Disney but without going Princess would be great.  What do you think?

So yes, I'm currently planning outfits to wear 5-8 months from now.  Just don't ask what I'm wearing to work tomorrow!

CARROTS!?!?

The color of my hair probably gave away the subtle Anne of Green Gables reference in my post title. I've finally achieved the red hair I dreamed of when reading the Anne novels in fifth and sixth grades. 

...the only problem is I was expecting dark auburn instead of orange. 

I think I might love it, but right now this face pretty much captures my "oh my golly" mood pretty accurately!