frisbee, feet, [f]ilosophy

i played in my first ultimate frisbee tournament on Saturday and it was so fun! our team won! plus, it was supposed to downpour all day and it held off until mid-afternoon so it was great. I was very, very tired afterwards but all in all a good time.

for some reason i always feel the need to time something deeper and more philosophical in, but i can’t really think of anything. I did get this huge blood blisters on the bottom of my big toes which is kinda gross. I can tell whenever I get a pedicure the girl is thinking, “what does she put her poor feet through?” my feet are very hygenic, but i get a lot of blisters and battle scars.

OK, don’t know how it went from philosophical to feet, but what can i say…

PS: ultimate frisbee is NOT disc golf! there’s nothing wrong with disc golf, but just to clarify that’s not what I was playing on saturday. google each to see the difference.

 

yesterday I had the worst headache EVER.  I think it was the sinus variety and was just so painful!  At lunch I went to CVS to get some medicine and came across this stuff called “BC” but had no idea it was a powder!  So there I was, in the CVS parking lot (trying to waste no time managing the headache before my 1pm meeting) with powder everywhere, trying to down it, afraid someone will think I’m using drugs, get accidentally arrested, etc.  All these thoughts are going through my mind at this point.

And then, it hardly even worked!! Maybe for 2ish hours but by the time I went home back to pain. So I found some Aleve, drank some tea, did my nasal flush (kind of odd but it does work) and I woke up this morning and I’m fine! Whatever was in the air has probably cleared out but it’s so much nicer.

Probably not that interesting to write, but that’s mostly all that I can come up with this morning.

I did go speak to my high school cross country team on Saturday. They are running in districts today in fact and it was really good! They actually listened. I won state in the 800m my senior year and apparantly it’s turned into a “legend” of sorts around there (which I find HILARIOUS) but they asked good questions and it’s neat to be able to help and motivate people.

And I’m hoping to see Sean this weekend! Hope it works out.

 

I do support our troops!

Things I’m not so fond of:

• Big Brother  seriously I hope julie chen is getting paid A LOT of money to host it.  how how how has it been on for ten seasons?!?!
• Toby Keith I know Sean and I go back and forth on this guy, and I’m sure his restaurants are very nice and he has an ardent support for our troops, but really?!  he’s just creepy to me, sorry babe.  you’re not creepy though! haha ;)
• those Pizza Hut commercials…”Would you like to try our chocolate, eh, dunker?”  We air those over and over again…I get it! I get it!  but they just drive me NUTS!!!  Just google “pizza hut commercial dunker” and there are refreshingly many forums that agree.
• this kind of fits, but if you happen to be looking for movers, don’t fill out some time of online application thingie.  I got more calls from random companies that if you google them get “ripoff alert” galore!!

Things I am fond of:

• The Clay Pit restaurant… and a great time with friends!  also, they do have non-Indian dishes too…
• Spending more great times with friends!  And non-chain lattes!
• New, scary, but exciting opportunities!
• This fantastic weather!  I’m not dying or dreading running in the heat the past few days.
• The new Coldplay album.  So good!!!  I keep playing it over and over again.
• FOOTBALL SEASON!  It just feels nice. 
• of course Sean, I’m kinda fond of you too.

For the blogland folks who read this, I have accepted a job with an “integrated marketing” company in Shreveport and I start 9/29!  It’s better hours, better pay, an interesting job and will allow me to somewhat have a life.  So I’m kinda nervous but excited!  If anyone knows anything about Shreveport, let me know!

 

back!

i’m back!! woo hoo!!

my trusty powerbook is fixed and feels like brand new! there were so many things (well, at least a few) that I wanted to blog about but just never had the time at other computers and doesn’t really seem timely blogging about them now.

my computer now has more than twice as large hard drive, twice the ram, the newer version of iLife, and so much more! haha…

in other news, is anyone else completely hooked on the olympics?! Sheesh, it seems like I’m totally glued every night! This is so sappy, but I start tearing up when someone, especially an American, wins a gold. There are so many North Texans and/or Longhorns competing it gives it that much more of a ‘personal’ connection. I realized I caught the bug when last week I found myself watching badmiton and individual sabre thinking, “when else would i EVER watch this for more than about three seconds?!” Granted, I did do a fairly in-depth story on fencing in college, so the sabre made some sense, but still.

The swimming? hooked. Women’s beach volleyball? glued. Women’s gymnastics? uh, yeah! And now track is underway! It’s just greatness.

Truth be told, I’ve always loved the Olympics. I think Barcelona with Jackie Joyner Kersee and Gail Devers grabbed my attention and I’ve been hooked ever since. These games really represent the ideals of sports. The NBA superstar is cheering on beach volleyball player who is equally successful but far less a household name without a multimillion dollar contract. Even seeing the cocky, playful Usain Bolt humbled by beating Michael Johnson’s 200M record. So cool.

If I worked for NBC this would be a perfect blog for work! But I work for CBS…so it’ll do for here.

 

soaring

so the other day i was jogging at this park in sherman. it has a large pond/small lake in the middle and they put a trail around it. so it’s pretty nice, naturey.

i finished and was walking to cool down across a levee on one side of the pond/lake, and i saw this bird flying overhead. i am DEFINITELY no animal expert but i think it was a hawk of some sort.

i’ve heard, read, and said isaiah 40:31 for many, many years, but living in urban areas honestly i’ve never really seen a bird soaring like that one. over the water so peacefully. it would glide, slowly flap its arms when needed, and seemed so at ease.

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

my life is definitely easier than others, not going to argue that. but i’ve just been very tired and stressed about some things lately. but seeing that bird really was a visual reminder of the incredible hope. we can’t renew our strength on our own, but it’s this incredible feeling (i hate to say feeling but get my gist).

so i hope wherever you are, God will renew your strength to do what you need to do. life doesn’t stop, but life is meant to be lived soaring even in tough times.

 

surprising self-help

the weather is absolutely incredible outside!  80 degrees, sunny, slight breeze.  just perfect.

i ran a couple laps at the main park here, then walked 2 more just because it’s so nice out! then i ate lunch on my balcony and read a magazine, just enjoying being outside. i’ve been in a new apartment since december and now i’m really reaping the benefits of having lots of windows and the balcony! it seems like such silly things, but i really like sunshine, there’s a creek of some sort with lots of trees so it makes for nice scenery.

the past couple of years since college, it seems like inadvertently i’ve started on some type of self-help when the seasons change. last year it was cleaning. seems trivial, but i’ve never been a neat freak. not a slob, but have always had my fair share of clutter. i literally bought a book on housecleaning and it’s great! still not a neat freak, but things are a little more under control.

this spring it seems like i’m trying to cook. do we see a pattern here??? i’m usually outside, shopping, reading, or spending time with people than doing particularly domestic things. well, cooking for oneself is usually cheaper and healthier than eating out all the time, and it’s embarrassing not knowing the basics.

plus, my mom and sister are REALLY good cooks so they’ve been in the kitchen while i’ve usually watched the game on tv with my dad. so bad right?!

so far it’s the basics. omelets. stir fry. different varieties of salads and pastas. sometimes combined! rice, chicken, and combinations of it. i really like polenta and hummus (not combined!). other stuff, but again VERY basic. my hope is i’ll have a foundation of some sort and be able to build slowly on it.

i think the bottom line is, it’s so important to try and improve oneself in some new way. i certainly have more things to work on than just cooking and cleaning but it’s a start!

 

spring, spring!

i live in texas where the weather is already very mild. very.

but still…i wait through all winter, anticipating spring/summer.

yes, yes 100 degree weather in july is miserable. playing frisbee in that i literally feel my skin cooking outside. but the warmth is so nice!

april is soon…then may…then june! yes i sound like dr. seuss, but i seriously cannot wait for a little warmth!

i guess being outside a lot it gets tough to stay pretty when it’s just so dang hot, but i mean, come on! that’s one great thing about the lone star state right?!

the tree outside my window here is finally turning green! it’s a hotspot for the birds, but the fly away before i can snap a pic…but the green contrasted with the cardinal red, and sparrows’ colors are so inspiring.

i’ve even been able to start running in the evenings when i get off work. i really don’t like running in the dark, so now it’s a race against the clock to get in as much distance as possible before the sun goes down.

i was running the other day and thought even that could be a ‘thoughtful’ type post. there’s just something in the air at dusk or dawn that’s so refreshing. i don’t like running with headphones b/cs the ambient noise outside is much better. i guess a treadmill is different but even then it’s a release for me to hear what’s going on around while i stay quiet.i can’t wait until the sun stays out longer! and there aren’t these random cold days in the mix. spring, spring!!

 

cowtown musings

so on saturday i did one of the hardest things of my short life so far. i ran the cowtown half marathon! 13.1 miles of pure pain. actually, the first 5 weren’t so bad but the last eight or so…ugh.

each step was tougher and tougher. my wind capacity was fine, but my muscles just started to get really tired. now considering i only decided to run the thing a week before, it was great! such accomplishment and next time i’ll train a little more so hopefully i won’t be so sore!

but thinking about it i started to get philosophical. of course. so the entire time i was thinking of the goal, pushing through a lot of pain to cross that finish line. and considering i ran for 2+ hours, that’s a lot of time to think.

seems obvious, but it seems like the most valuable things in life are the things you worked hardest for. i know, i know, we don’t “work” for salvation. and it’s clearly valuable. but we do work out our salvation. and it’s a lot of work! not to sound like a martyr, but oftentimes it takes a lot of sacrifice…and there are definitely people who have sacrificed more than me for their faith, but there’s sacrifice nonetheless.

friendships…the best ones takes work. loving a person even when they fail you. staying in contact and keeping up with their successes and hurts. i know my parents marriage certainly has taken a lot of work, but they wouldn’t trade it for anything. and it’s so inspiring to see after all these years.

whatever it is. it seems hard and almost flippant to say, “wow this is hard but it’ll be more valuable in the future!” because it’s certainly incredibly difficult at the time.

but each step…even filled with pain…is a step forward. it’s bringing you closer to that goal. many times that goal isn’t even visible or tangible at the time. you’ll probably be sore afterwards, but to look back after finishing is an incredible feeling.

so writing this out it seems kind of cheesy. but that’s what running for so freakin’ long does to a person.