For the purpose of filling in the gaps that I left by not blogging for a whole year, I am writing this, the first of many such posts, hopefully, to fill in my imaginary readers on what the actual readers (hi Mom!) of this blog already know...
I met Katie in Junior High, but I don't remember having any classes with her until High School. World history sophomore year, and chemistry senior year. (Yes, we had chemistry together, hilarious.) Anyway, it was in these two classes that we became acquaintances. But never friends, really. We could not even find each others signatures in our yearbooks, if that says anything. Eventually I left on my mission, and near the time when I got back, she left on hers. While she was gone I rekindled friendships with some of my old high school friends, and spent a lot of time with them. Eventually, she got home and started spending time with the same high school friends I was spending time with, and thus we re-met.
She did not know who I was, actually. I remembered her, but she thought I was someone else. It was not until she looked me up in the yearbook that she realized who I was. She only (to this day) has one memory of me from before the mission. It is of the dweeby, awkward, pudgy, annoying, 10th grade version of myself following her through the halls calling her "kit" (she used to spell her name 'KT') which apparently I thought was hilarious and she thought was outrageously irritating.
But now that I am older, much more mature, irresistibly attractive, charming, and funny, she was able to overlook her one memory of me, and be friends with me. Which we remained for about 6 or 7 months after she got home. We went hiking, snowshoeing, camping, rafting, and backpacking together. By February we could not be satisfied with friendship any longer. After attending a concert on Valentines Day with a group of friends, I went to her house and asked her on our first date which we scheduled for Presidents day weekend. We went birdwatching, which included some strategic marsh bushwacking, which required us holding hands in order to steady one another... Got hotdogs (that made her sick) and went to the Nickelcade (I know, totally romantic, right?). We kissed on our second date, and were decidedly steady by our third.
About a month and a half later, I was approached about a summer job opportunity selling for Living Scriptures. My biggest hangup was that I didn't want to leave Katie. She once thought about coming with me, but then decided against it thinking it was "too big a commitment." I felt quite strongly that I needed to go do this job, and she said she would support me in whatever I chose. About a week later, we went camping together and she brought up marriage. I was surprised because I had planned on dropping the big "I love you" that night, and here I had already been trumped by her explaining that she had often dreamed of us being married or engaged, and that she prayed about it and received a "Well, duh. Isn't it obvious?"
So here I was, completely caught off guard, because the last thing I'd heard from her is that she "liked where we were" and selling with me would be "too big a commitment." She had also mentioned a few days prior that she didn't think she would get married until she was 50. But I was glad to hear it, for I had certainly been thinking about marriage, I told her so (rather awkwardly I might add) and then we shared the sentiment I had planned on delivering that night anyway. About another week later, three days before I was set to leave for my summer job she asked if I really had to go. I said yes, because I felt like I was being prepared for certain things like independence... responsibility... and... marriage... there was a short silence broken by Katie saying "I do want to marry you Mike." I sighed and expressed my joy that the feeling was mutual. The next day we spent the day together discussing marriage, the day after that I planned how I would propose and talked to her parents, and then the next morning, Easter Sunday, I popped the question when I went to her house to pick her up for church.
The next day I left for three and a half months, which in case you are bad at math is almost twice as long as we dated! She flew to Houston to visit me in July, and then again at the end of the summer so we could drive home together. From that day we have been virtually inseparable. We were married on October 6th, 2011 in the Salt Lake Temple and life together has been nothing short of euphoric since then. (It is only life apart that gets hard, like when I am at school or she is cutting hair) I love her so much, and am eternally grateful that Heavenly Father put all the dominoes in place so that events would transpire as they did. I got so much more than the best wife I could ever begin to hope for, I also got to be an older brother (something I have always wanted) of five new siblings, as well as getting two grandpas, two more parents, one new adorable nephew, more new aunts and uncles than I can count, and a new best friend.
Showing posts with label Epic Events. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Epic Events. Show all posts
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Friday, January 21, 2011
New Year, New Adventures!
Hopefully, I will be able to settle back into some kind of more regular blogging routine after my rather lengthy hiatus. When school struck last fall, blogging was never the same. Perhaps it was because homework competed with my attention, or perhaps with summer ending, I had fewer exciting things to post. In the near future, I may go back to chronicle some of the things I have done since I stopped blogging semi-weekly, but for now I want to get the obligatory "New Years" post out of the way while it is still January.
2010 was the first year that I made resolutions that I took deeply to heart and they ended up shaping my entire year. I ended up succeeding with most of them, and that made for a very satisfying year. I wanted the same kind of direction this year, so I spent a lot of time pondering about what would be the most important to me throughout 2011. Only 2 goals really stuck out to me, that I knew would be of paramount importance, but I wanted a more meaningful year so naturally I made up several other goals and dubbed them resolutions. As you may be able to predict, the other goals did not make through even the first couple weeks of January. I know I have rambled on goal setting before, but I realized this month that it does not matter how many goals you set at new years or any given time, but rather how important success in meeting those goals is to you. It is like a quote I read once. "Self discipline is remembering what you really want."
I think many goals are made more meaningful when made at times of your life when you are undergoing big changes. Here are a few changes that I have made since I last posted in order to achieve some goals that are important to me.
1. New home. Having transferred to BYU, I now live on my own in Provo, which was one of my goals of last year, moving me further towards independence.
2. New job. (kind of) I still work for the same company, but now I can work from home, which is a very convenient job for a college student like myself, and in order to be more financially independent, I am trying to work more hours and perhaps even get another job to supplement my income. Hopefully that works out.
3. New friends. This one is pretty hard. I love and miss my Salt Lake friends very much, and have no intention of ceasing to play with them. However, since it is not logical to drive 50 miles every day to hang out with them, I obviously have to leave my shell and make new friends here as well, which can be fun but is also kind of stressful in a way; sometimes afraid to just be myself because relationships are still fragile until people really get to know you, and then I can be my weird, crazy, opinionated self. It just takes time.
4. New school. I realize that I already covered this one, but there are other differences than just location. I know the work load will be greater and teaching styles much different. I am, however looking forward to it.
5. New lifestyle. Last year my physical focus was to become a triathlete. This year it is slightly different. Rather than the more exercise-intensive focus of 2010, I have started out this year with a new diet. Put simply, I eat vegetables, protein, and legumes for every meal and go nuts eating whatever I want one day a week. It is from a book called "The 4-Hour Body" by Tim Ferriss, which [don't worry!] I will not give an extensive review of at this time. But given my obsession with health and nutrition, I look forward to seeing how this works out. I may give occasional updates or insights from my experiences with it, but rest assured I am not going to turn this blog into a food journal or show weekly photos of my topless self in a mirror or anything. (Although you can find before pictures of me here.)
So there you have it. I am going to try my hand at blogging every week again, and see how that works out. If it doesn't, I apologize in advance. Have a great weekend!
2010 was the first year that I made resolutions that I took deeply to heart and they ended up shaping my entire year. I ended up succeeding with most of them, and that made for a very satisfying year. I wanted the same kind of direction this year, so I spent a lot of time pondering about what would be the most important to me throughout 2011. Only 2 goals really stuck out to me, that I knew would be of paramount importance, but I wanted a more meaningful year so naturally I made up several other goals and dubbed them resolutions. As you may be able to predict, the other goals did not make through even the first couple weeks of January. I know I have rambled on goal setting before, but I realized this month that it does not matter how many goals you set at new years or any given time, but rather how important success in meeting those goals is to you. It is like a quote I read once. "Self discipline is remembering what you really want."
I think many goals are made more meaningful when made at times of your life when you are undergoing big changes. Here are a few changes that I have made since I last posted in order to achieve some goals that are important to me.
1. New home. Having transferred to BYU, I now live on my own in Provo, which was one of my goals of last year, moving me further towards independence.
2. New job. (kind of) I still work for the same company, but now I can work from home, which is a very convenient job for a college student like myself, and in order to be more financially independent, I am trying to work more hours and perhaps even get another job to supplement my income. Hopefully that works out.
3. New friends. This one is pretty hard. I love and miss my Salt Lake friends very much, and have no intention of ceasing to play with them. However, since it is not logical to drive 50 miles every day to hang out with them, I obviously have to leave my shell and make new friends here as well, which can be fun but is also kind of stressful in a way; sometimes afraid to just be myself because relationships are still fragile until people really get to know you, and then I can be my weird, crazy, opinionated self. It just takes time.
4. New school. I realize that I already covered this one, but there are other differences than just location. I know the work load will be greater and teaching styles much different. I am, however looking forward to it.
5. New lifestyle. Last year my physical focus was to become a triathlete. This year it is slightly different. Rather than the more exercise-intensive focus of 2010, I have started out this year with a new diet. Put simply, I eat vegetables, protein, and legumes for every meal and go nuts eating whatever I want one day a week. It is from a book called "The 4-Hour Body" by Tim Ferriss, which [don't worry!] I will not give an extensive review of at this time. But given my obsession with health and nutrition, I look forward to seeing how this works out. I may give occasional updates or insights from my experiences with it, but rest assured I am not going to turn this blog into a food journal or show weekly photos of my topless self in a mirror or anything. (Although you can find before pictures of me here.)
So there you have it. I am going to try my hand at blogging every week again, and see how that works out. If it doesn't, I apologize in advance. Have a great weekend!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Karaoke
I know it has been at least 20 years since I have blogged, but I admit that once school started, I am always too preoccupied with school assignments and so forth to put much thought and/or effort into blogging. But I did have an experience a while ago that I told some friends I would relate via blog, so I take this brief time I have at work to fill everyone in.
First off, doesn't the word "karaoke" look funny? It doesn't look like it sounds to me and I always have to look it up after wards to make sure I spelled it right. Anyway, where was I... Oh yeah, CostCo. As a matter of fact, I am at CostCo quite often these days, the reasons for which I may have to elaborate upon in a later post. This particular day we had taken a a "field trip" from work (my job is way close to CostCo) to go and get a bunch of free samples for lunch.
It was a good day, we made the usual round from the bakery through the cheese area and up and down the cold aisles to make sure we didn't miss any, ending on the waffles with real maple syrup. Now, there is a delicate art to sample-collection. If you can manage to get a good dialogue going with the sample people, then they will likely give you more and/or bigger samples. This worked particularly well on the chimichanga sample-man who ended up cutting them in thirds instead of fifths and offering multiple pieces to us, score! Yet I digress...
After all the cold aisles, we ended up wandering through the seasonal stuff and we came across a neato little karaoke machine, with built in microphones and speakers. Of course, for Tosh and I, this proved to be an irresistible opportunity to push the limits of our comfort zones and have a little fun at the same time. There were no good songs, and each one we attempted was thoroughly embarrassing. We didn't know most of them, but we did our best, the girls were too wimpy to join in, so they watched from afar and pretended not to know us. After a couple songs, we got a couple of fans, one older, foreign lady actually came up to us to express her enjoyment. We felt our deed was done, until I realized we had one more spectator who deserved a personal tribute...
It was at this point that a song I was actually somewhat familiar came on the screen. It was "All You Wanted" by Michelle Branch. Not the most ideal song for a couple of guys to sing, but it would have to do. The introductory notes started playing and I shouted into the microphone a dedication of this song to the waffle sample lady. It was as stirring a rendition of a Michelle Branch song I had ever sang publicly.
If you are wondering if there is a point to this blog post, you can stop now, because there really isn't. But if I had to make one up for some reason, I would say that it is a tribute to the people in our lives who labor tirelessly to bring joy and happiness to others without seeking personal recognition. In particular, the waffle ladies in each of our lives. So next time you are at CostCo, remember to thank the sample people for the joy that they bring into your life each and every visit, and if you are not in too much of a hurry, stop and sing them a little song. You will not only get the joy of bringing a smile (or look of utter confusion) to some random old-person's face, but you may just get another sample out of them, and that is what it is really all about.
First off, doesn't the word "karaoke" look funny? It doesn't look like it sounds to me and I always have to look it up after wards to make sure I spelled it right. Anyway, where was I... Oh yeah, CostCo. As a matter of fact, I am at CostCo quite often these days, the reasons for which I may have to elaborate upon in a later post. This particular day we had taken a a "field trip" from work (my job is way close to CostCo) to go and get a bunch of free samples for lunch.
It was a good day, we made the usual round from the bakery through the cheese area and up and down the cold aisles to make sure we didn't miss any, ending on the waffles with real maple syrup. Now, there is a delicate art to sample-collection. If you can manage to get a good dialogue going with the sample people, then they will likely give you more and/or bigger samples. This worked particularly well on the chimichanga sample-man who ended up cutting them in thirds instead of fifths and offering multiple pieces to us, score! Yet I digress...
After all the cold aisles, we ended up wandering through the seasonal stuff and we came across a neato little karaoke machine, with built in microphones and speakers. Of course, for Tosh and I, this proved to be an irresistible opportunity to push the limits of our comfort zones and have a little fun at the same time. There were no good songs, and each one we attempted was thoroughly embarrassing. We didn't know most of them, but we did our best, the girls were too wimpy to join in, so they watched from afar and pretended not to know us. After a couple songs, we got a couple of fans, one older, foreign lady actually came up to us to express her enjoyment. We felt our deed was done, until I realized we had one more spectator who deserved a personal tribute...
It was at this point that a song I was actually somewhat familiar came on the screen. It was "All You Wanted" by Michelle Branch. Not the most ideal song for a couple of guys to sing, but it would have to do. The introductory notes started playing and I shouted into the microphone a dedication of this song to the waffle sample lady. It was as stirring a rendition of a Michelle Branch song I had ever sang publicly.
If you are wondering if there is a point to this blog post, you can stop now, because there really isn't. But if I had to make one up for some reason, I would say that it is a tribute to the people in our lives who labor tirelessly to bring joy and happiness to others without seeking personal recognition. In particular, the waffle ladies in each of our lives. So next time you are at CostCo, remember to thank the sample people for the joy that they bring into your life each and every visit, and if you are not in too much of a hurry, stop and sing them a little song. You will not only get the joy of bringing a smile (or look of utter confusion) to some random old-person's face, but you may just get another sample out of them, and that is what it is really all about.
Monday, October 11, 2010
"Do One Thing Every Day That Scares You"
I don't expect any of my readers to know the origin of the quoted title, unless I have one of those random creepy blog-stalkers. It is a quote from a video I posted a few months ago that I said really inspired me to make something more interesting out of my life. And it is filled with lots of great one-liners and pieces of advice and counsel for life. Highly recommended!
Anyway, back to the point. I have not taken the aforementioned advice as seriously as I have taken others. I do not make it a point to do something scary everyday, because I haven't really been able to see the point. But it started to fit together on that day in Good Earth Natural Foods... But recently, more events have occurred that have taken me well out of my comfort zone, and as a result I found that my comfort zone has expanded each time something like that happens. No wonder there is such value in leaving your comfort zone!
So I thought I would share a couple experiences I have had that have been kind of scary. One of which was forced out of my comfort zone, the other one I voluntarily left it.
First story: The other week I was babysitting my nephew Tate. A note about babysitting, I love little kids, especially ones that I am related to. But there is one thing that I have successful avoided for my whole life as a babysitter, I have never had to change a "poopy" diaper. I came close once, I was playing with Tate when an odious stench filled the air. My sister (his Mom) was due to arrive home any minute, so I prayed that it would be soon. But the situation soon worsened as I discovered that the frothy excretions were not fully contained by the diaper! I panicked and put Tate on his changing table and went to the opposite corner of the room to sit in the rocking chair. He was stranded by a wall on one said and a four foot drop every other direction, so there I sat. Rocking and watching him to make sure he didn't jump/fall off. In a few more minutes I heard the door open and called out to my sister as if this crisis was just barely under way and happily passed the baton over to her, seeking refuge in the basement. Crisis averted!
But the next time this happened, I was NOT so lucky. It was a similar situation, but the problem was that it happened shortly after my sister and brother-in-law left. I knew I could not just wait like last time. So I took inventory of the situation. I ran into the bathroom and started searching through cupboards for supplies. I found a box of latex gloves and quickly grabbed them and when I could not find any surgical masks I ran to the kitchen to grab a paper towel and stuffed it into the collar of my shirt, and proceeded to drop essential oils (Peppermint and Lemon) on it to neutralize any odors. What happened next was all a big blur, I remember hands and legs flailing around, lots of baby wipes, laughing, and a cloud of baby powder... then it was over. I sat there, my mind reeling with the implications of what had just happened, I could not claim total inexperience as an excuse ever again. (But if any of my siblings are reading this- don't get any ideas, I do not plan on repeating this anytime soon!) The moral of this story is though: as long as you have the right supplies and are prepared, and keep your cool, you can make it through even the most horrible situations!
Anyway, back to the point. I have not taken the aforementioned advice as seriously as I have taken others. I do not make it a point to do something scary everyday, because I haven't really been able to see the point. But it started to fit together on that day in Good Earth Natural Foods... But recently, more events have occurred that have taken me well out of my comfort zone, and as a result I found that my comfort zone has expanded each time something like that happens. No wonder there is such value in leaving your comfort zone!
So I thought I would share a couple experiences I have had that have been kind of scary. One of which was forced out of my comfort zone, the other one I voluntarily left it.
First story: The other week I was babysitting my nephew Tate. A note about babysitting, I love little kids, especially ones that I am related to. But there is one thing that I have successful avoided for my whole life as a babysitter, I have never had to change a "poopy" diaper. I came close once, I was playing with Tate when an odious stench filled the air. My sister (his Mom) was due to arrive home any minute, so I prayed that it would be soon. But the situation soon worsened as I discovered that the frothy excretions were not fully contained by the diaper! I panicked and put Tate on his changing table and went to the opposite corner of the room to sit in the rocking chair. He was stranded by a wall on one said and a four foot drop every other direction, so there I sat. Rocking and watching him to make sure he didn't jump/fall off. In a few more minutes I heard the door open and called out to my sister as if this crisis was just barely under way and happily passed the baton over to her, seeking refuge in the basement. Crisis averted!
But the next time this happened, I was NOT so lucky. It was a similar situation, but the problem was that it happened shortly after my sister and brother-in-law left. I knew I could not just wait like last time. So I took inventory of the situation. I ran into the bathroom and started searching through cupboards for supplies. I found a box of latex gloves and quickly grabbed them and when I could not find any surgical masks I ran to the kitchen to grab a paper towel and stuffed it into the collar of my shirt, and proceeded to drop essential oils (Peppermint and Lemon) on it to neutralize any odors. What happened next was all a big blur, I remember hands and legs flailing around, lots of baby wipes, laughing, and a cloud of baby powder... then it was over. I sat there, my mind reeling with the implications of what had just happened, I could not claim total inexperience as an excuse ever again. (But if any of my siblings are reading this- don't get any ideas, I do not plan on repeating this anytime soon!) The moral of this story is though: as long as you have the right supplies and are prepared, and keep your cool, you can make it through even the most horrible situations!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
The Scariest Moment Of My Life!
I have come close to death and severe injury on many occasions in my life. I have nearly drowned twice, once while whitewater rafting, the other time in the ocean. I have had some scary close encounters with shards of glass that should have cut me to ribbons, and have had large rocks falling from above that just missed landing on me. I have been lost in the wilderness by myself more than once, and have nearly fallen off a few rock faces. I have been threatened to be shot while staring at a loaded shotgun. I have lost control of cars on black ice and/or snow several times, and confronted members of the Aryan Nations.
But all of that pales in comparison with what happened yesterday in a Good Earth Natural Foods store... But before I tell you exactly what happened, I will need to provide some background.
Last Christmas, I planned an extra special gift for my dearly beloved sister, April. She had recently gotten into the whole/natural food scene, and so I made and stocked a custom grain cupboard for her. To get the grains needed, I went to WinCo, and Good Earth Natural Foods. I found out that my dear mother also needed to go to these two stores, so like any good son, I decided to go with her. (And also so I wouldn't have to pay for gas.)
Anyway, I'll get to the point. There was a certain cashier at Good Earth, and she was extremely beautiful and radiant. A great smile, and tons of light in her face, she was practically glowing. Anyway, I tried to strike up a little conversation, which is quite difficult when you aren't really buying a lot. So I asked her to show me where something was, then I purchased it from her, and under the pressure of the people in line behind me, I wimped out and kept walking. After I left the store, my mother commented on how the cashiers thought I was "cute". This bolstered my courage and I asked if she would wait in the car while I went back inside to seek this fair maiden's number.
I went back in, grabbed some random product and got in her line. As luck would have it, the person in front of me had some protest about how much something cost, or they couldn't write a check, or their card was declined, or they were paying in all pennies, or something. They must have been there for 10 minutes, and I am standing behind them looking like an idiot because there is another line that is completely open. My nerves grew more tense, and then I heard a car horn. I thought it was my mother, and all my confidence was shattered. I put down whatever it was and left the store, only to find out that it was some one else honking, but it was too late. I could not go back. I was left to wonder if I would ever see this beautiful girl whose name started with "C" and was a little bit strange but I couldn't remember it because it was covered in part by her hair.
Anyhow, it was quite a traumatic experience, and every time I have gone to that store since, I have looked for her, but my efforts have been in vain. That is... until yesterday.
Of Course, fate would not allow me to meet this girl under normal, non-awkward circumstances though. The first time we met, I was with my mother (whom I love, and is in no way embarrassing to have around other than the fact that she is my mom...) and this time I was going to the aforementioned store to get supplies for a "Clue" themed party to be held that evening; and of course, was already in my costume. So here I am, dressed up as a character from a board game, this time having given a ride to my sister and nephew, and there she is. My sister sees how my eyes lock onto this angelic creature, gives a knowing look, and prods me over to ask for her number.
So there I stood. Eight months, almost to the day since I last saw her, and I go and get the same thing I purchased from her in December, ginger ale. I go through the line, while my sister takes the parallel checkout line, the whole while jerking her head in a "go ahead, ask her" motion, and I wimp out and keep walking. I just couldn't do it, asking a girl out without any basis is too scary. I am fine asking girls out that I know, or even ones I don't know that I can talk to for at least 5 minutes, but the fear of the unknown here was crippling. While my sister continued checking out, I seized my nephew in hopes that he would be a conversation starter, or if hit the jackpot, he would be as enthralled with this girl as I was, then I'd have an easy in. But no such luck. I left the store again, heartbroken. But at least this time I could read her name tag, "Caprise." Once out of the store, my sister threatened to go and ask herself if I didn't, and gave me the same reassuring confidence boost I got back in December. "She thinks you're cute, I'm a girl I can tell."
So for about a minute I gathered my courage, prepared what I was going to say, marched right back in there, she greeted me by saying "back again, huh?" in a melodiously beautiful voice, and I said... "Where is your bathroom?"
Apparently, I needed some more courage gathering, so I went to the bathroom, and on my way back out, I grabbed a sample cup of chocolate soy milk, drank it and then looked for a garbage can that I knew they kept under the registers so I could be close to her. This time there was no one else in the line, just Caprise, standing there looking at me, perhaps wondering why I was wearing a green shirt, green tie, and faded green corduroy flood pants. (I was obviously "Mr. Green" from Clue...) I disposed of my sample cup, looked her in the eye, and turned around to face the door. Then I stopped, turned back to face her, leaned over and said, "Actually I have one more question." She encouraged me to ask it, and I so I nervously inquired : "Not to be weird or creepy or anything, but I was wondering if you ever go on dates with random guys who come into natural... I mean, Good Earth Natural Foods..." She smiled that beautiful smile, giggled a little bit, and then said, "I would, if I was single..."
And that was it, just like that it was over. I gave her another smile, which she returned, and I quietly left the building. Now, this may not have been the ending I wanted, but the good news is, now that I have done it once, I think that I have crossed over some kind of mental barrier I had. So look out random good looking receptionists, cashiers, dental assistants, and girls on the street, there ain't no stopping me now...
But all of that pales in comparison with what happened yesterday in a Good Earth Natural Foods store... But before I tell you exactly what happened, I will need to provide some background.
Last Christmas, I planned an extra special gift for my dearly beloved sister, April. She had recently gotten into the whole/natural food scene, and so I made and stocked a custom grain cupboard for her. To get the grains needed, I went to WinCo, and Good Earth Natural Foods. I found out that my dear mother also needed to go to these two stores, so like any good son, I decided to go with her. (And also so I wouldn't have to pay for gas.)
Anyway, I'll get to the point. There was a certain cashier at Good Earth, and she was extremely beautiful and radiant. A great smile, and tons of light in her face, she was practically glowing. Anyway, I tried to strike up a little conversation, which is quite difficult when you aren't really buying a lot. So I asked her to show me where something was, then I purchased it from her, and under the pressure of the people in line behind me, I wimped out and kept walking. After I left the store, my mother commented on how the cashiers thought I was "cute". This bolstered my courage and I asked if she would wait in the car while I went back inside to seek this fair maiden's number.
I went back in, grabbed some random product and got in her line. As luck would have it, the person in front of me had some protest about how much something cost, or they couldn't write a check, or their card was declined, or they were paying in all pennies, or something. They must have been there for 10 minutes, and I am standing behind them looking like an idiot because there is another line that is completely open. My nerves grew more tense, and then I heard a car horn. I thought it was my mother, and all my confidence was shattered. I put down whatever it was and left the store, only to find out that it was some one else honking, but it was too late. I could not go back. I was left to wonder if I would ever see this beautiful girl whose name started with "C" and was a little bit strange but I couldn't remember it because it was covered in part by her hair.
Anyhow, it was quite a traumatic experience, and every time I have gone to that store since, I have looked for her, but my efforts have been in vain. That is... until yesterday.
Of Course, fate would not allow me to meet this girl under normal, non-awkward circumstances though. The first time we met, I was with my mother (whom I love, and is in no way embarrassing to have around other than the fact that she is my mom...) and this time I was going to the aforementioned store to get supplies for a "Clue" themed party to be held that evening; and of course, was already in my costume. So here I am, dressed up as a character from a board game, this time having given a ride to my sister and nephew, and there she is. My sister sees how my eyes lock onto this angelic creature, gives a knowing look, and prods me over to ask for her number.
So there I stood. Eight months, almost to the day since I last saw her, and I go and get the same thing I purchased from her in December, ginger ale. I go through the line, while my sister takes the parallel checkout line, the whole while jerking her head in a "go ahead, ask her" motion, and I wimp out and keep walking. I just couldn't do it, asking a girl out without any basis is too scary. I am fine asking girls out that I know, or even ones I don't know that I can talk to for at least 5 minutes, but the fear of the unknown here was crippling. While my sister continued checking out, I seized my nephew in hopes that he would be a conversation starter, or if hit the jackpot, he would be as enthralled with this girl as I was, then I'd have an easy in. But no such luck. I left the store again, heartbroken. But at least this time I could read her name tag, "Caprise." Once out of the store, my sister threatened to go and ask herself if I didn't, and gave me the same reassuring confidence boost I got back in December. "She thinks you're cute, I'm a girl I can tell."
So for about a minute I gathered my courage, prepared what I was going to say, marched right back in there, she greeted me by saying "back again, huh?" in a melodiously beautiful voice, and I said... "Where is your bathroom?"
Apparently, I needed some more courage gathering, so I went to the bathroom, and on my way back out, I grabbed a sample cup of chocolate soy milk, drank it and then looked for a garbage can that I knew they kept under the registers so I could be close to her. This time there was no one else in the line, just Caprise, standing there looking at me, perhaps wondering why I was wearing a green shirt, green tie, and faded green corduroy flood pants. (I was obviously "Mr. Green" from Clue...) I disposed of my sample cup, looked her in the eye, and turned around to face the door. Then I stopped, turned back to face her, leaned over and said, "Actually I have one more question." She encouraged me to ask it, and I so I nervously inquired : "Not to be weird or creepy or anything, but I was wondering if you ever go on dates with random guys who come into natural... I mean, Good Earth Natural Foods..." She smiled that beautiful smile, giggled a little bit, and then said, "I would, if I was single..."
And that was it, just like that it was over. I gave her another smile, which she returned, and I quietly left the building. Now, this may not have been the ending I wanted, but the good news is, now that I have done it once, I think that I have crossed over some kind of mental barrier I had. So look out random good looking receptionists, cashiers, dental assistants, and girls on the street, there ain't no stopping me now...
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Cost-Benefit Analysis
I don't think there are any activities that bring true, long term satisfaction except for those which involve considerable sacrifice and/or inconvenience. Often, the sacrifice will involve money, and it will always include a sacrifice of some of your time.
A cost-benefit analysis is typically used to make financial decisions, but I feel that it can be applied to most every decision when deciding if the result of carrying out that decision is worth more than the time and resources put into it. Going through this process is necesarry if we desire to follow the ancient counsel: "Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy."
Now the question: What satisfies you? Or in other words, what is so important to you that the time, inconvenience, and money it costs are no longer an issue? The answers will inevitable vary from person to person, but I think there are a lot of similarities in what we each value. As I give and explain my answers to the above questions see if you can identify some things about your own priorities.
Creating joyful memories is one of the most valuable and satisfying things I can do, and on a similar note, I find immense satisfaction in building positive relationships. These two feed off of and reinforce one another, memories are created as relationships are built and vice versa. The long-term worth of good friends and memories exceeds most anything else you can invest in. When difficult times inevitably arrive, I plan on having a reservoir of happy memories to draw on and hopefully a team of friends to support me, just as I try to be supportive of them.
Recently I took a road trip with a few friends up to the Pacific Northwest, which I will no doubt blog more about later. The trip was designed to be relatively inexpensive but of course it still carried with it a sizable price tag in money, time lost at work, missing school, and so forth. But I hardly gave those things a second thought when invited because I knew that the memories made and friendships strengthened were well worth it, and I was right. I also do not typically like to eat out a lot, but eating clam chowder or fish and chips on a pier in Seattle was more than just a meal, it was an experience.
I rarely, if ever watch TV or movies by myself because I do not think the loss of time is worth what I gain. Especially if I have seen that movie before, or if it is not educational in someway. However, I often watch movies and shows with friends/family because spending time together strengthens bonds and so forth. I'm sure by now you get the idea.
Other things that are worth my efforts, I put into goals so that I can measure them better. These are mostly things that are meant to improve myself as a person spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Things like studying the scriptures, exercising/triathlons, reading good books that benefit me with what I learn, which is why I only review non-fiction books on my blog. (I like fiction as well, but typically only listen to it while doing other things.)
Aspects of many of these things are not enjoyable, but the overall result is truly satisfying. Hiking as an example, the blisters, soreness, bug bites, and rocks in your shoes are not very fun. But the scenery and views you see, the peace you feel, the strength and endurance you gain, the appreciation for nature's beauty, the satisfaction you achieve, and (if you are not alone) the relationships built and strengthened, make the whole experience one worth repeating.
Before I wrap things up, I want to make a brief comment on the things we buy, rather than just the activities we spend money on. The same rules for me apply. Most often I can justify a purchase because of the long term benefits it will provide to me, take my recent purchase of a raft for example. It will help me better myself physically as I get exercise, as well as help create memories and friendships as I share it with others. The same went for my bike, my wetsuit and everything else that was required for my triathlons, these things are investments in a better life.
I hope that we are all happy with the way we spend our time and money, and if not, I know that we can be by undergoing a cost-benefit analysis by seeing how activities and purchases will help us later in and throughout life, and beyond. Pleasure is always trumped by satisfaction.
A cost-benefit analysis is typically used to make financial decisions, but I feel that it can be applied to most every decision when deciding if the result of carrying out that decision is worth more than the time and resources put into it. Going through this process is necesarry if we desire to follow the ancient counsel: "Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy."
Now the question: What satisfies you? Or in other words, what is so important to you that the time, inconvenience, and money it costs are no longer an issue? The answers will inevitable vary from person to person, but I think there are a lot of similarities in what we each value. As I give and explain my answers to the above questions see if you can identify some things about your own priorities.
Creating joyful memories is one of the most valuable and satisfying things I can do, and on a similar note, I find immense satisfaction in building positive relationships. These two feed off of and reinforce one another, memories are created as relationships are built and vice versa. The long-term worth of good friends and memories exceeds most anything else you can invest in. When difficult times inevitably arrive, I plan on having a reservoir of happy memories to draw on and hopefully a team of friends to support me, just as I try to be supportive of them.
Recently I took a road trip with a few friends up to the Pacific Northwest, which I will no doubt blog more about later. The trip was designed to be relatively inexpensive but of course it still carried with it a sizable price tag in money, time lost at work, missing school, and so forth. But I hardly gave those things a second thought when invited because I knew that the memories made and friendships strengthened were well worth it, and I was right. I also do not typically like to eat out a lot, but eating clam chowder or fish and chips on a pier in Seattle was more than just a meal, it was an experience.
I rarely, if ever watch TV or movies by myself because I do not think the loss of time is worth what I gain. Especially if I have seen that movie before, or if it is not educational in someway. However, I often watch movies and shows with friends/family because spending time together strengthens bonds and so forth. I'm sure by now you get the idea.
Other things that are worth my efforts, I put into goals so that I can measure them better. These are mostly things that are meant to improve myself as a person spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Things like studying the scriptures, exercising/triathlons, reading good books that benefit me with what I learn, which is why I only review non-fiction books on my blog. (I like fiction as well, but typically only listen to it while doing other things.)
Aspects of many of these things are not enjoyable, but the overall result is truly satisfying. Hiking as an example, the blisters, soreness, bug bites, and rocks in your shoes are not very fun. But the scenery and views you see, the peace you feel, the strength and endurance you gain, the appreciation for nature's beauty, the satisfaction you achieve, and (if you are not alone) the relationships built and strengthened, make the whole experience one worth repeating.
Before I wrap things up, I want to make a brief comment on the things we buy, rather than just the activities we spend money on. The same rules for me apply. Most often I can justify a purchase because of the long term benefits it will provide to me, take my recent purchase of a raft for example. It will help me better myself physically as I get exercise, as well as help create memories and friendships as I share it with others. The same went for my bike, my wetsuit and everything else that was required for my triathlons, these things are investments in a better life.
I hope that we are all happy with the way we spend our time and money, and if not, I know that we can be by undergoing a cost-benefit analysis by seeing how activities and purchases will help us later in and throughout life, and beyond. Pleasure is always trumped by satisfaction.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Have It Your Way!
Never, since the days of the great "Willy Wonka Golden Ticket Promotion" has there been such devotion, determination, and united effort to reach a common goal.
It all started about a month ago when Burger King launched the Twilight/Eclipse game promotion. We learned that not only was it possible to win a Vespa, but also $100,000 or a really fun trip for four! This is when my friend Amber suggested that we buy our beverages from BK until the promotion ends. (The stickers you need to win are on the drink cups and the large "fry-pods") At that time Amber had already purchased several drinks and kicked off the game, and later that evening I suggested we return to buy a couple more, because I had an idea.
So off we went, Amber and Lisa in the drive-thru and I went into the store. They bought a couple drinks, and I asked if I could buy a large water cup for 25 cents, when I found out I could, and that the cups he would give me had the stickers, I got three or four of them. My two friends were so impressed with the idea that we decided to go out even later that night and buy as many water cups from as many Burger Kings we could find in the valley!
In the car we went, fortunately Lisa had her GPS so that we could plot a course to as many BK's as was possible. Some would give us the cups with the stickers, others would not, one lady made us pay full soda price just to get the water cups! One guy was sneaky and gave us some of the cups that were defective and didn't have stickers... Well, two can play at that game, so we took them to another BK and complained that they had no stickers on them, so she gave me some new cups with stckers, but the gross part is... She kept the cups without stickers that we had already used, and gave them to Amber when she went through the drive-thru to buy more water cups! Isn't that disgusting? She gave Amber USED cups, and she did not even know we were part of the same group, because I was in the store, not in the car with Amber. Ick.
Overall, we ended up getting TONS of cups, stickers, and instant win prizes though. And since then we have continued to patronize Burger Kings, look through the garbage cans, petition people for their empty cups and frypods, and collect stickers in every way we could. It was quite an adventure, especially the first night.
Unfortunately, the contest ended today. And we are not in possession of a Vespa, $100,000.00, a trip, movie tickets for a year, or even the collectors Eclipse water bottles. But that is not to say we finished empty-handed. We have coupons for free Whoppers, french toast sticks, shakes, sausage biscuits, and probably about 30 cheeseburgers! Not to mention the fact that I stayed really hydrated buying and drinking all of that water, and we had fun anyway.
I close with a sentiment from modern philosopher, Jack Handy:"It's funny that pirates were always going around searching for treasure, and they never realized that the real treasure was the fond memories they were creating."
It all started about a month ago when Burger King launched the Twilight/Eclipse game promotion. We learned that not only was it possible to win a Vespa, but also $100,000 or a really fun trip for four! This is when my friend Amber suggested that we buy our beverages from BK until the promotion ends. (The stickers you need to win are on the drink cups and the large "fry-pods") At that time Amber had already purchased several drinks and kicked off the game, and later that evening I suggested we return to buy a couple more, because I had an idea.
So off we went, Amber and Lisa in the drive-thru and I went into the store. They bought a couple drinks, and I asked if I could buy a large water cup for 25 cents, when I found out I could, and that the cups he would give me had the stickers, I got three or four of them. My two friends were so impressed with the idea that we decided to go out even later that night and buy as many water cups from as many Burger Kings we could find in the valley!
In the car we went, fortunately Lisa had her GPS so that we could plot a course to as many BK's as was possible. Some would give us the cups with the stickers, others would not, one lady made us pay full soda price just to get the water cups! One guy was sneaky and gave us some of the cups that were defective and didn't have stickers... Well, two can play at that game, so we took them to another BK and complained that they had no stickers on them, so she gave me some new cups with stckers, but the gross part is... She kept the cups without stickers that we had already used, and gave them to Amber when she went through the drive-thru to buy more water cups! Isn't that disgusting? She gave Amber USED cups, and she did not even know we were part of the same group, because I was in the store, not in the car with Amber. Ick.
Overall, we ended up getting TONS of cups, stickers, and instant win prizes though. And since then we have continued to patronize Burger Kings, look through the garbage cans, petition people for their empty cups and frypods, and collect stickers in every way we could. It was quite an adventure, especially the first night.
Unfortunately, the contest ended today. And we are not in possession of a Vespa, $100,000.00, a trip, movie tickets for a year, or even the collectors Eclipse water bottles. But that is not to say we finished empty-handed. We have coupons for free Whoppers, french toast sticks, shakes, sausage biscuits, and probably about 30 cheeseburgers! Not to mention the fact that I stayed really hydrated buying and drinking all of that water, and we had fun anyway.
I close with a sentiment from modern philosopher, Jack Handy:"It's funny that pirates were always going around searching for treasure, and they never realized that the real treasure was the fond memories they were creating."
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Just Desserts
Now it is July, and you know what that means. Wait, you don't? Well, I'll remind you: This month means that the Dessert Fast of June is ended! You may recall that Tosh and I were planning on ending it triumphantly today, but then we realized we wouldn't even be together, so we went camping the night of the 1st instead and had smores that night.
I really must say, the anticipation was the best part, because I could hardly finish mine. I had also been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to eat some junior mints I had been saving for several weeks, and I kid you not: I could hardly eat three of them because they were so sweet it felt like they were burning my mouth! Unfortunately, I am confident in the ability of my taste buds to quickly re-adapt.
My observations following this undertaking are few. I noticed several things of note though... Right when I stopped I broke out horribly, I think because my body was detoxing. After that though, my skin was a lot clearer. There is a noticeable energy difference (increase), but it was not as defined this time as it has been in the past. The only other thing is that I almost got sick twice last month and both times I was able to overcome, so I think my immunity was a lot better. So there you have it.
Anywho, now that I have talked about that and this post is still kind of short, I will close by talking about the camp out Tosh and Katie and I went on... We went up to where I did my triathlon at Rock Cliff campground. We stopped at BIG 5 on the way so Tosh could buy a fishing pole, and I saw that they had inflatable rafts on sale, and I could not resist buying one! So we went up there, claimed our space, had our dinner and then I was anxious to go out on the lake, and even though it was after 11pm, I was able to get Tosh and Katie "on board" with the idea. On the walk to the lake we saw fireflies! That is exciting because I have only ever heard of them and didn't know they even existed in Utah.
On the lake we were considerably squished into my little boat, but had an amazing view of the stars. It was so peaceful and serene, we all loved it. In the morning we went out again, except I was swimming in my wetsuit some of the time. But I did learn that it is a good idea to make sure your fishing pole is secure before you jump out of the boat because Katie may or may not have been holding it, and she may or may not have let go for fear of her life because you jump out in such a was that could have tipped the boat. Either way, my fishing pole (which was really my dad's) may or may not have ended up at the bottom of the lake that day.
Lessons learned from today's post: (also from the experiences that the aforementioned post are based upon) 1. Camping is fun. 2. Sugar is bad. 3. Rafts are fun. 4. Lavender oil in water really doesn't keep bugs away. 5. Fireflies do exist in Utah! 6. "Where the Wild Things Are" is a weird movie. 7. Reheating sticky rice in tin foil on a campfire doesn't work. 8. Don't wear flip-flops and/or shorts camping in a place densely populated with various "itchy-bitey" insects. 9. Fishing poles don't float. and 10. Camping is the one of the only times I can really clear my mind and just think... or not think whatever the case may be.
I really must say, the anticipation was the best part, because I could hardly finish mine. I had also been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to eat some junior mints I had been saving for several weeks, and I kid you not: I could hardly eat three of them because they were so sweet it felt like they were burning my mouth! Unfortunately, I am confident in the ability of my taste buds to quickly re-adapt.
My observations following this undertaking are few. I noticed several things of note though... Right when I stopped I broke out horribly, I think because my body was detoxing. After that though, my skin was a lot clearer. There is a noticeable energy difference (increase), but it was not as defined this time as it has been in the past. The only other thing is that I almost got sick twice last month and both times I was able to overcome, so I think my immunity was a lot better. So there you have it.
Anywho, now that I have talked about that and this post is still kind of short, I will close by talking about the camp out Tosh and Katie and I went on... We went up to where I did my triathlon at Rock Cliff campground. We stopped at BIG 5 on the way so Tosh could buy a fishing pole, and I saw that they had inflatable rafts on sale, and I could not resist buying one! So we went up there, claimed our space, had our dinner and then I was anxious to go out on the lake, and even though it was after 11pm, I was able to get Tosh and Katie "on board" with the idea. On the walk to the lake we saw fireflies! That is exciting because I have only ever heard of them and didn't know they even existed in Utah.
On the lake we were considerably squished into my little boat, but had an amazing view of the stars. It was so peaceful and serene, we all loved it. In the morning we went out again, except I was swimming in my wetsuit some of the time. But I did learn that it is a good idea to make sure your fishing pole is secure before you jump out of the boat because Katie may or may not have been holding it, and she may or may not have let go for fear of her life because you jump out in such a was that could have tipped the boat. Either way, my fishing pole (which was really my dad's) may or may not have ended up at the bottom of the lake that day.
Lessons learned from today's post: (also from the experiences that the aforementioned post are based upon) 1. Camping is fun. 2. Sugar is bad. 3. Rafts are fun. 4. Lavender oil in water really doesn't keep bugs away. 5. Fireflies do exist in Utah! 6. "Where the Wild Things Are" is a weird movie. 7. Reheating sticky rice in tin foil on a campfire doesn't work. 8. Don't wear flip-flops and/or shorts camping in a place densely populated with various "itchy-bitey" insects. 9. Fishing poles don't float. and 10. Camping is the one of the only times I can really clear my mind and just think... or not think whatever the case may be.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
My First Olympic Triathlon!
This will be a post very similar to the last time I talked about my triathlon experience, and I will just put what I learned this time in here, rather than make a separate post for it again.
Alright here goes, my plans to get to bed early did not work out, neither did my plans to go to sweet tomatoes. I ate a bunch of pasta at home and then just tried to go to bed. Getting everything ready took longer than I thought so I didn't have time to do PM yoga either. That may be the reason I could not fall asleep. I just lay there for an hour or more thinking about the race, and visualizing my triumphant leap through the finish line. Finally I put on a talk from speeches.byu.edu, because those usually put me right out, but it still took lots longer than usual.
When my first alarm went off I turned it off and waited until the second, third, and forth went off. Then I was up, and had "The Final Countdown" in my head (I recommend opening this link in a new tab and listening to the song while you read the post!) while I gathered everything up I had so nicely prepared the night before and at some cereal and a banana. Now I was off. I arrived just on time, that is to say, about an hour early. Which was enough time to look around, stretch, talk to others, and get my body marked, but not way too much time like my first triathlon.
After getting my little transition spot all set up, I put on the ol' wetsuit and got in the water to get acclimated. It wasn't too horrible actually, about 61 degrees with a wetsuit is just fine once your feet go numb, and until you put your face in. They delayed the start for a little while to try to clear a bunch of driftwood out of the way of the course, but let's just say they didn't get it all...
When they announced we would be starting in "3...2...1..." I scrambled to get to the back of the group so I didn't get killed and then jumped in and started swimming. I immediately realized why it is important to have anti-fog drops for your goggles, because even with them it is really hard to see the buoy that you are supposed to swim to. At first I tried to just swim with everyone else, elbows, legs, hands and everything flailing all around me... Then it got less crowded, which was nice. I guess I figured everyone had just kind of found an equilibrium with their surroundings, but I was wondering why I kept hearing a whistle blowing and someone yelling "right, swimmer!" I guess I just figured it was someone else's problem, until I stopped and looked around to see that I was way off course! I tried to re-correct my direction and the next time I checked I was off again! It is terribly difficult to swim in a straight line in a lake when the water is moving, the water is cloudy, and there is no line on the bottom to follow. It was all I could do to try to stay with the "herd" but even this didn't always workout, since some of them would stray off too. (See diagram below)
I was already tired and only a sixth into it, and I knew there was only one way to keep my cool: pretend I was not in a triathlon. I would stop for a couple seconds and say hello to the lifeguards, or tell them good morning, just as if I was out on a beautiful summer day for a leisurely dip. When I ran into someone I would politely say "excuse me" and keep going. Last time I could afford to be a little competitive in the swim and committed myself to doing only freestyle stroke. This time, anything was fair game. I would switch to breast every now and then to get my bearings and look for the buoys, then I would do backstroke when I got tired and then I would slap someone on accident and switch back to freestyle, only to find that I had been going completely off course. If swimming straight in a lake is hard, backstroke is 10 times worse! At one point I switched to backstroke after rounding a buoy and when I got my bearings again I found out I had actually been going backwards. And even when I could get myself moving forwards, the buoys seemed to be swimming away from me. Oye ve.
The good news is, even though you may think it is not an admirable trait to swim all skiwompus in crazy loops and zig zags, consider the fact that I probably swam farther than anyone else in that lake. So there, I bet I did a half-ironman distance swim, actually. But while I'm speaking of skiwompusness, there was one guy who I think made it his personal mission to swim in a crazy floating zig zag pattern specifically designed to block my progress. Oh well.
Anyway, a few more collisions with people and driftwood as well as a few swallows of lake water to keep hydrated, I made it out of the lake in one piece. I must have been one of the last ones because there were hardly any bikes in the transition area! One glance backwards confirmed my suspicions. I think there were only 2 or 3 Olympic distance swimmers left in the lake, and one was a girl! (they start several minutes after the men). Oh well, at least my bike was easy to find.
I admit it, I was too tired to do a really fast transition, so I took my sweet time, and was a little nervous in getting on the bike because my legs were already sore due to the variety of strokes I had to use to stay alive in the lake, and my arms were so sore that I could hardly support my torso by holding on to the handlebars! I managed to get up and going though, this time not so gung-ho about passing everyone, even though I did a few, of course. Then my morale took another hit when the first place kid came zooming in on his bike shortly after I got on mine.
26 miles is a long way, and it feels even longer when the first half of the bike leg is all uphill. I was happy to have a long downhill stretch to look forward to though. I tried my first GU packet at this point, and it wasn't bad, I just hoped it helped me get back some energy because people were passing me, which is unacceptable, even though most of them were sprint distance people, so they had half the distance to go. Ultimately, I think everyone passed me except for one blessed soul though. He was my motivation to keep going strong, to keep me safe from last place! I beat him to the top of the hill and turned around for the downhill half, only to feel a gust of wind in my face. Terrific. But I was still doing good, until I noticed a girl with a flat tire. As I went by I yelled out, "do you have everything you need?" and she said, "um... yeah..." Not a good sign. So I turned around and biked back to her only to find out she had no clue how to change a flat. I had kept telling myself I just wanted to finish, and not worry about the time, so I helped her. As I did, that other guy zoomed by. Oh well. Once she was good to go, I got back on course and she was close behind me the whole time, but I never let her pass me. Until the run, at least...
As I biked into the transition area, I passed people who had finished and were heading home. I knew most of them were sprinters, but it was still a little disheartening. But then I saw my 3 friends Amber, Lisa, and Tosh walking and cheered that they came and they cheered for me. That renewed my zeal as I got off my bike, slipped my shoes on with my new rubber laces I had just bought (which are fabulous by the way) and grabbed a GU packet and took off running.
The transition wasn't too bad, thanks to the brick workouts I've been doing, but I couldn't finish the GU packet because it made me thirsty so I just ran with it and it got all over me! (but I didn't want to litter!) I passed my friends again who were in the middle of making signs, my favorite was an unfinished one that Tosh read aloud as I ran by, "You are doing GREAT, keep..." it was quite funny. It wasn't long after that when the girl who I helped with her bike ran past me, and for the remainder of the run I was left to battle it out for last place with this woman twice my age. I kind of set my pace to hers, and she started taking little walking breaks so I caught up with her, we were neck and neck for a mile or two, and made it through the first lap, still fighting for second-to-last place.
This part was torture! I think it is unfair to have to run 2 laps because then you know what is ahead and that is no fun, because then I just dread the hills! But to make matters worse, the second lap starts about 10 feet from the finish line, to be right there and then have to run away again, oh... pure psychological torture. I think that is one reason I ended up "hitting the wall" (as they say) a little later and had to take a walking break. Fortunately, I can walk pretty fast because of my long legs, and she would walk periodically too so we were still close. Eventually though, she pulled away from me and I kept run/walking after her. I got my 6th or 7th wind (I think I used up my second one in the swim) as I got close to the finish line, and was able to run the rest of the way there. My friends were there cheering me on, and I ran up to the finish line and mustered all the energy I could to "leap" through it like I had pictured myself doing, but with the way my legs were, I'm sure it was more of pathetic hop, than a triumphant leap.
But I finished! That is the cool thing, and despite pretty much everyone else being done before me, I still got a time that I was okay with, around 3 1/2 hours. And even better news: I found out I wasn't last! There was at least 2 people behind me somewhere. One person who apparently had gotten lost during the run when they took a wrong turn, and an old grandma lady. Bless their hearts.
Then I had learned that Amber won a gift certificate (that she gave to me) for being the most supportive fan there, and even cheering for everyone else too. My friends are the best! They even shaded and fanned me as I lay on the ground and as I stretched. Not to mention that they got me a whole quart of chocolate milk that I drank on the way home. I doubt they will ever know how much it meant to me to have them there cheering me on. And especially to have them there to give me and my bike a ride back to my car because there is no way I had another 3 miles left in me to get back to it myself!
During the ride home my feet were so sore it hurt to even just have shoes on, and for some reason even my fingers were sore. But man, was it nice to shower and take a nice long nap when I got home...
Alright here goes, my plans to get to bed early did not work out, neither did my plans to go to sweet tomatoes. I ate a bunch of pasta at home and then just tried to go to bed. Getting everything ready took longer than I thought so I didn't have time to do PM yoga either. That may be the reason I could not fall asleep. I just lay there for an hour or more thinking about the race, and visualizing my triumphant leap through the finish line. Finally I put on a talk from speeches.byu.edu, because those usually put me right out, but it still took lots longer than usual.
When my first alarm went off I turned it off and waited until the second, third, and forth went off. Then I was up, and had "The Final Countdown" in my head (I recommend opening this link in a new tab and listening to the song while you read the post!) while I gathered everything up I had so nicely prepared the night before and at some cereal and a banana. Now I was off. I arrived just on time, that is to say, about an hour early. Which was enough time to look around, stretch, talk to others, and get my body marked, but not way too much time like my first triathlon.
After getting my little transition spot all set up, I put on the ol' wetsuit and got in the water to get acclimated. It wasn't too horrible actually, about 61 degrees with a wetsuit is just fine once your feet go numb, and until you put your face in. They delayed the start for a little while to try to clear a bunch of driftwood out of the way of the course, but let's just say they didn't get it all...
When they announced we would be starting in "3...2...1..." I scrambled to get to the back of the group so I didn't get killed and then jumped in and started swimming. I immediately realized why it is important to have anti-fog drops for your goggles, because even with them it is really hard to see the buoy that you are supposed to swim to. At first I tried to just swim with everyone else, elbows, legs, hands and everything flailing all around me... Then it got less crowded, which was nice. I guess I figured everyone had just kind of found an equilibrium with their surroundings, but I was wondering why I kept hearing a whistle blowing and someone yelling "right, swimmer!" I guess I just figured it was someone else's problem, until I stopped and looked around to see that I was way off course! I tried to re-correct my direction and the next time I checked I was off again! It is terribly difficult to swim in a straight line in a lake when the water is moving, the water is cloudy, and there is no line on the bottom to follow. It was all I could do to try to stay with the "herd" but even this didn't always workout, since some of them would stray off too. (See diagram below)
I was already tired and only a sixth into it, and I knew there was only one way to keep my cool: pretend I was not in a triathlon. I would stop for a couple seconds and say hello to the lifeguards, or tell them good morning, just as if I was out on a beautiful summer day for a leisurely dip. When I ran into someone I would politely say "excuse me" and keep going. Last time I could afford to be a little competitive in the swim and committed myself to doing only freestyle stroke. This time, anything was fair game. I would switch to breast every now and then to get my bearings and look for the buoys, then I would do backstroke when I got tired and then I would slap someone on accident and switch back to freestyle, only to find that I had been going completely off course. If swimming straight in a lake is hard, backstroke is 10 times worse! At one point I switched to backstroke after rounding a buoy and when I got my bearings again I found out I had actually been going backwards. And even when I could get myself moving forwards, the buoys seemed to be swimming away from me. Oye ve.
The good news is, even though you may think it is not an admirable trait to swim all skiwompus in crazy loops and zig zags, consider the fact that I probably swam farther than anyone else in that lake. So there, I bet I did a half-ironman distance swim, actually. But while I'm speaking of skiwompusness, there was one guy who I think made it his personal mission to swim in a crazy floating zig zag pattern specifically designed to block my progress. Oh well.
Anyway, a few more collisions with people and driftwood as well as a few swallows of lake water to keep hydrated, I made it out of the lake in one piece. I must have been one of the last ones because there were hardly any bikes in the transition area! One glance backwards confirmed my suspicions. I think there were only 2 or 3 Olympic distance swimmers left in the lake, and one was a girl! (they start several minutes after the men). Oh well, at least my bike was easy to find.
I admit it, I was too tired to do a really fast transition, so I took my sweet time, and was a little nervous in getting on the bike because my legs were already sore due to the variety of strokes I had to use to stay alive in the lake, and my arms were so sore that I could hardly support my torso by holding on to the handlebars! I managed to get up and going though, this time not so gung-ho about passing everyone, even though I did a few, of course. Then my morale took another hit when the first place kid came zooming in on his bike shortly after I got on mine.
26 miles is a long way, and it feels even longer when the first half of the bike leg is all uphill. I was happy to have a long downhill stretch to look forward to though. I tried my first GU packet at this point, and it wasn't bad, I just hoped it helped me get back some energy because people were passing me, which is unacceptable, even though most of them were sprint distance people, so they had half the distance to go. Ultimately, I think everyone passed me except for one blessed soul though. He was my motivation to keep going strong, to keep me safe from last place! I beat him to the top of the hill and turned around for the downhill half, only to feel a gust of wind in my face. Terrific. But I was still doing good, until I noticed a girl with a flat tire. As I went by I yelled out, "do you have everything you need?" and she said, "um... yeah..." Not a good sign. So I turned around and biked back to her only to find out she had no clue how to change a flat. I had kept telling myself I just wanted to finish, and not worry about the time, so I helped her. As I did, that other guy zoomed by. Oh well. Once she was good to go, I got back on course and she was close behind me the whole time, but I never let her pass me. Until the run, at least...
As I biked into the transition area, I passed people who had finished and were heading home. I knew most of them were sprinters, but it was still a little disheartening. But then I saw my 3 friends Amber, Lisa, and Tosh walking and cheered that they came and they cheered for me. That renewed my zeal as I got off my bike, slipped my shoes on with my new rubber laces I had just bought (which are fabulous by the way) and grabbed a GU packet and took off running.
THE END
Saturday, April 24, 2010
My First Triathlon!
So I went to bed super early last night and set 5 or so alarms just in case. (unless you count drinking a lot of water, then it would be 6 alarms ;) ) I did my pm yoga practice to calm me down and do some stretching and it worked like a charm. I woke up 1 or 2 times in the night with a mix of excitement and my 6th alarms going off early, and when 5:00 came, I was up and ready to go, having laid out all my stuff the night before, and my bike in the car already. I ate some oatmeal with peanut butter and a banana and took off. I way overestimated the time it would take me to get there, in my frazzled and excited state of mind I actually factored in extra time for traffic, just in case. (note: it was 5:30am on a Saturday!) Suffice it to say, I was there in like 15 minutes, got my race packet, they wrote numbers all over me, I stashed my bike in the transition area, and still had 2 hours until the pre-race meeting.
I spent most of the time just wandering around in the cold in flip flops and a swimsuit, fortunately I did bring a hoodie, but my feet were cold. I did some stretching, some a.m. yoga (which made me feel silly in front of everyone) and eventually the time passed and it was 8:00, pre-race meeting. They covered the basics, told us where the course went (like I'd remember, that's why they have signs!) and I headed to the bathroom before the race. Apperently, I wasn't the only one who thought it was a good idea to lose a few ounces of weight before starting because there was no toilet paper, and unfortunately I did not notice until it was too late. This was a dilemma, 20 minutes until race time and I was stuck in a stall. How humiliating. I quickly analyzed my options, and decided I'd have to ask the stall next to me if they could "spare a square". I was just working up the courage when I heard the people in both other stalls loudly complain about a lack of TP in their stalls as well. Now I was doomed! I scanned my surroundings for other options, no toilet seat covers, no tissues, and then... there it was. Divine providence had placed a scrap of paper towel at my feet, and though I knew it was disgusting, I had no choice, that scrap saved me.
After that exciting moment, we all got in line to start the swim according to our 100m swim times. I placed myself with the "average" swimmers, I stood in line among these middle aged women and thought I was in the right skill group, I was wrong. My number was called and jumped into the water and took off. I haven't been swimming hard core for a couple of weeks because of a recent illness, but I thought 2 weeks wouldn't matter, I was wrong. I struggled to make it to the end of the first lap, near paralyzed at the prospect of doing the same thing 7 more times, I tried to keep reminding myself I was a good swimmer and had done a mile a couple weeks ago without too much trouble, 400m was nothing. But I did not believe myself, each time a middle aged lady swam past me I felt more and more humiliated, my only scrap of dignity I could maintain was to not give in to the urge to start doing backstroke, if I could do the whole thing freestyle, even if I was slow, I would feel okay about it. I think about 4 people ended up passing me, which is scary because they pace you 5 seconds apart, and I was with the "average" people.
Every time I caught a glimpse of the remaining laps, my determination faltered a tiny bit, but somehow I made it. I jumped out of the water, and wobbled over to my flip-flops and hoodie, and walked to the transition area, not able to jog. I was worried that I felt so drained but I got to my bike, put on my bike shoes, helmet, and shirt, and was off.
Now I was in my element. I was not even deterred by the huge hill that lay before me because I passed almost everyone in sight. It was incredibly satisfying to fly past so many people, I did not even realize that biking was as much of a forte as it was. I cruised up the hill, for a few miles and was regaining all of the confidence that I had left in the pool. It was particularly exciting to pass one of those people with the 3-4 thousand dollar bikes. Right near the top of the hill, another guy managed to pass me, and as he did, he said: "Man, you're flying on that thing!" Oh, that did it, my confidence and adrenaline went into over drive, I couldn't let this guy be the only one to pass me, so I began chasing him down a big hill, but he was quick! So I crouched down and relished in the sound of the wind passing as I torpedoed down this hill at 30-40 mph. I lost a little momentum on a sharp turn, but did not let up, even thought the guy in the blue shirt that passed me was nearly out of site. I kept going, another stretch of downhill, and then it was time to pay for all the fun I'd had with a very long, very steep climb. It was seemingly endless! Each time you thought you could see the top, you would get there and just see another stretch of uphill, but this turned out to be a great blessing, because I ended up passing about 5 or more people on this stretch, including Mr. Blue Shirt. My legs burned each time I pushed down on the pedal, and somewhere in the back of my mind a piece of advice I'd heard or read started to warn me: "Don't give it your all on the bike, because it will make the run incredibly difficult". I tried to reassure myself I was not giving it my all, just my most. Besides, it was now my goal to not let anyone else pass me, now that I had regained my lead over blue shirt. And when I finally reached the top of the hill, I but into high gear and let loose. There were 3 people in front of me that I could see, and I could tell I was closing in on them. I overtook the first one and crouched down into a more aerodynamic position, chasing the remaining two. I slowed slightly at an intersection and the guy I just passed breezed by me. Now it was on. I put my heart and soul into overtaking all three of them, and at about 100 yards to go until T2, I did just that. It was so close that when I dismounted the guy that had passed me was right behind and ran past me to his bike spot. But I did not care, I had won the bike leg of the race! Walking afterward was difficult though.
I made it to my little spot and changed shoes much faster than I had in T1, and tried jogging a little bit. Wow. They are not kidding when they say T2 is the hardest transition. And of course, the run leg began with a nice stretch of uphill running, on grass... I passed people I saw walking and desperately wanted to join them, but just like my determination to stick with freestyle in the swim leg, I tried my best to not start walking, no matter how slow I ran. There was a guy about two feet in front of me that I set my pace with, if he could do it, I could. I just hoped he didn't stop to walk because I needed the motivation I got from following him. The uphill did not end after the grass, and continued up and up through some neighborhood in Kearns. The guy I had been following had a ridiculous watch that would beep every mile, and when it went off the first time, he announced "one mile!" and I just about died. "You mean I have two more to go?!" I almost started walking right there, but did not give in, I could see a water station and knew it must be the halfway point, I only walked to drink my water and then kept running, knowing that the downhill had to start soon, even though I was beginning to think that the whole running course was something akin to M.C. Escher's painting of the never ending staircase!
Then I saw the spires of the Olympic Oval, which I knew housed the finish line, and the descent began! A couple of people got bursts of speed and ran past me, but it was all I could do to keep running, I smiled at ever spectator I saw and made small talk as I ran by at a pace of what may have been only 3mph, until I made it into the building and onto the the track, only 100m to go! My original intent was to sprint the last bit, but that did not work out so well, I managed to pick it up to a normal running pace at least with about 15m to go, and then I crossed the finish line.
Oh, what relief! What fun to hear the people you never met cheering for you as you ran through. I celebrated by eating a banana and drinking some chocolate milk, and I soon learned that was all my body could handle at that point. A few minutes later (ironically) my Sister, brother-in-law, and nephew showed up, and took pictures and gave me a balloon. :)
The final results... 83rd Place, (woot!) which is out of about 300 people I think... And I finished in 1:28:38, which made me happy since my goal was to beat 1:30:00. The realization of what just happened didn't hit me until I was driving home and a wave of satisfaction came over me, now I really am a triathlete!
(Just ignore my weird face on this picture)
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