Tax Time, 10k, weekend plans

I filed my taxes yesterday. Uncle Sam expects to direct deposit my return (yes, owning a home can have its benefits--even in this economy) by 2/13. The worst part is that I don't get to touch any of the money, thanks to my recent get out of debt efforts. The debt is not much, but its enough to be a bother.

My house-mate is moving out this weekend; two more are moving in. Thank God--it sure makes paying the mortgage easier. I might even have a third, part-time house-mate coming Tuesday. This person goes to school in the city, but lives about 2 hours away and needs a place to crash two days of the week.

Miss Two is visiting this weekend! Nothing special is planned, so I am guessing its going to be a nice, lazy weekend. Super Bowl is Sunday. Not that thrilled, but I hope the Cards win.

My 10k training is going extremely well. Last weekend I had my first Team in Training training. I ran for just over 2 miles, at which point my shins were killing me. I kept a very good pace, almost 40 seconds ahead of my goal. Sunday, I went for a very strenuous mountain bike ride. I did the full loop, Northbank (I even discovered an additional part I'd never done previously) -> Belle Isle (the foot-bridge on the south side of the island has been deemed unsafe to cross, so my only option was to go back along Northbank or carry the bike over all the rocks--so I hopped across) -> Buttermilk. I wimped out of wearing the clipless shoes and opted for toe-traps instead. It was a really good run, really cold, but really good! Wednesday, I ran on the treadmill at work, 5 whole kilometers in 29:47, a perfect pace for my 10k goal (sub-60 min). I currently weight 180.8, a total of 3 lbs lost since I started training. I likely ruined any previous progress by eating a monster piece of pizza at work, total gutbomb.

I lost my **** ipod. I think maybe someone stole it. I'm not one to lose or misplace things, unlike my brother who loses his keys daily. I had it Thursday on the way home from the Inauguration and Thursday or Friday at work. That's my last memory of it. I've checked all my jackets, my car, my entire house, and my entire office. Nada. Luckily, my Blackberry has awesome mp3 playing capabilities and a headphone jack. I don't have the coin to drop on another ipod currently, but it looks like I may have to soon. Oh well--its just music.

I really enjoy my job, my boss and coworkers, and my career in genera. I don't appreciate it as much as I should.

I went to the last two VCU basketball home games. Both of them were incredibly exciting. I plan to attend the rest of the home games, provided I too, am home.

Swearing-in Ceremony, got screwed!

I didn’t get into the swearing-in ceremony, despite having a ticket!

Disappointed! My ticket was for the Blue (south) section. I waited for 4.5 hours, in line that moved inches at a time, with less than 3 hours of sleep, only to be turned away just before 12 noon. If only I hadn’t given away my 4 parade tickets, I could have skipped out of line and attended the parade. I ended up listening to a portion of the address in a coffee house a few blocks away.

I won't rant too much and I really don't want to give a minute by minute account, but I will say the a few things, namely about ways this could have been prevented--mostly if it were better managed. This is making news all around, too. Apparently 4000-5000 were in the same boat as me.

I’m terribly disappointed that:
1. people were breaking the line
2. there was no structure to the line, which allowed #1
3. there were no authorities monitoring the line to prevent #1
4. there were no TV monitors or speakers at the line--they clearly didn't expect people to be stuck outside of the gate
5. we didn’t get redirected to the vacant security checkpoint at the Orange gate when it was obvious the few thousand people in the Blue line weren’t going to get in
6. authorities later claimed that all tickets were honored, a comment they later rescinded

I’m happy that:
1. I was there!
2. I didn’t pay anything for the tickets
3. I had a weekend packed with other inaugural awesome activities (party, luncheon, concert, and ball)

Inaugural Activities (except swearing-in)

Friday: I went home right after work to pack, hung out with house-mate and neighbor for a bit, drove to my parents' house to pickup the digital SLR camera, then headed up to DC to spend the Inauguration with Miss Two. I found a really good piece bear-bait (car traveling much faster, should get the ticket instead of me) in the form of an E36 BMW 3-series and made extremely good timing. Meanwhile, Miss Two picked up TWO (get it?) Inaugural Swearing-in tickets.

Saturday: Jogged 1 mile. Exchanged two parade tickets for two EMILY's List Luncheon tickets. Went out shoe shopping (haha!) for several hours. Returned back to get ready for a party, an event was put on by Planned Parenthood. "What!?", you ask. Yes, PP put on a party, why does this come as a surprise to so many people? In any event, it was at the Women's National Democratic Club. Open bar and light-fare, need I say more? Clubs were charging $30 cover, so this was a deal!


Sunday: Attended the EMILY's List Luncheon. Heard quite a few powerful women speak (Pelosi, Solis, Napolitano, Clinton).

Attended the Inaugural Concert at the National Mall. Saw and heard too many famous people to name them all, but my favorites were: Samuel L. Jackson, U2, Beyonce, oh and Barack Obama!




Walked for miles and miles to and from these events.



Monday: Had a nice, relaxing day. Jogged two miles around the Capitol and back. Got ready for and attended the Black Tie & Boots Ball hosted by the Texas State Society. Danced (poorly, I might add) to some good country music. The ball was a very high-end event and was a lot of a fun, but I'm not sure I'd do it again. We spent 2 hours getting there, over 1 hour in coat check lines, and 2 hours returning home to Capitol Hill. All in all, it was lots and lots of fun, but I'm just not sure I'd do it again.

Tuesday: see my next blog post, but it basically goes like this: I attended the swearing-in ceremony of the 44th President of America, Barack Obama. I won't go into detail as to not ruin the tone of this email :)

new year blog catch-up / GOING TO THE INAUGURATION!

The holidays are over. Is this a good thing or bad thing? I had an excellent Christmas vacation that all started with at Giants game. Miss Two's friend scored Miss Two and me two tickets to the Giants/Panthers game. It was literally freezing cold (25 F), but we had a blast--especially because THE GIANTS WON THE GAME IN OVERTIME to secure home-field throughout the playoffs. Too bad their playoff journey ended when the Eagles beat them last weekend! I have two Eagle-fan brothers and 1 Eagle-fan nephew. I distinctly remember making the remark to my 7-year old nephew, "The Eagles are not as good as the Giants because they didn't even make the playoffs." They ended up beating the Giants in the playoffs, which they weren't even supposed to make. Fuck me! I love when wild-card teams do well in the playoffs (Giants last year), but I just can't get behind the Eagles on this one, sorry.

From the period of Thanksgiving to New Years, I spent 5 weekends in NJ, all while working in Richmond during the week. The reasons are as follows: 1. Thanksgiving 2. Giants Game (vs Eagles) 3. Rockettes Show 4. Giants Game/Christmas 5. (stayed until) Weekend before New Year's.

I am training for the Monument Ave 10k. I signed up with Team in Training through work. Team in Training benefits Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I have a web-page setup to take donations and so far, I've raised more than my $500 goal. A special thanks to all that donated!

My 10k goal this year is under 60 minutes. Last year, my first year participating, I completed the 6.2 miles in 1:08. That means I have to shave off 8 minutes, more than 10%! So needless to say, my training should be difficult--I'm just not a runnter. I am going to log my weight, my training, and blood pressure semi-daily (what a geek!) on the site.

Things to look for in '09... I'm thinking of moving out of Richmond. This is something I've wanted to do ever since actually moving into Richmond. Once I got a taste of the city life-style, I've wanted to live in a bigger city. Since I'm single and young, I figure now's the time! So don't be surprised if this blog is written from a different city in one year's time. I'd like to think that like a salmon, I'd come back to RVA spawn. I really like the River City, but I just want out for a bit. Also in '09 I'll be taking part in some athletic events (see next section). I also hope to take at least 2 vacations, funds permitting.

I setup a Google calendar the other day to keep track of the automotive and athletic events I'd like to do this year. The following items are on it:
3/28 - Monument Ave 10k (10k run race)
4/11 - Fredericksburg Off-Road Duathlon #1 (F.O.R.D.) (8 or 17 mi bike/run)
5/03 - Muddy Buddy (6-7 mi bike/run, with a buddy-- c'mon GLENN!)
7/19 - Battle at Burke Farm MTB Race (6, 12, or 18-mi bike race)
9/12 - Fredericksburg Off-Road Duathlon #1 (F.O.R.D.) (8 or 17 mi bike/run)
(no autocross events have been released yet)
Should be exciting. I'm praying for an injury-free season!

Vacations. I have confirmed my July motorcycle trip from Phoenix, AZ to Laguna SECA in July. Now I just need to get used to riding again, and I need to buy air-fare. I'd love to travel out of the country this year, but that might have to wait until '10.

Looking ahead to the next several days, I'll be in Washington DC for the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama! Miss Two thinks she has a lock on some swearing-in ceremony tickets. If that's the case, I'll be selling or giving away my Inaugural parade tickets. Monday night, we'll be attending the Black Tie and Boots Ball! I seriously can't wait!

I've also got two vacant rooms in my house. Want to rent?

The Day Richmond's blogs went dark

The only problem with a couple of guys starting up all the cool local blogs/news sites is that when something happens with the hosting, it all goes to shit and the Richmond online community goes dark.

rvanews.com
rvablogs.com
wotbn.net
pharrout.com

Get with it guys! Now I have to read Jack, which one shouldn't do first thing in the morning.

Update: all is back to normal. /golfclap