Not Doing What I Should Be Doing

Yeah...it's been another crazy-busy week. It's that time of year, and I've got loads of papers to grade, which I don't mind. I mean I'm an English teacher. It IS part of what I signed up for, but I'm sorta guilty of not grading some papers that I should have done about a week ago, so the pile has increased and now I've got lots...it'll take me about 4 or 5 hours to get through all of it...GAH!

Also...I really don't have any interesting running stories to write about this week. I went to the SDTC track workout on Tuesday with Elsie and ran, wondrously, 6x800 repeats WITH NO PAIN! Although since then I've been noticing some pain around the Achilles...no, not in the right foot (which is the PF foot), but in the OTHER ONE...WTF????

Got the La Jolla 1/2 this weekend, so I'm taking it easy. I'll get in a short run this afternoon. Expo tomorrow. Race on Sunday. For today, I'm hanging with Turbo and his BF. They did an overnight field trip on the Californian, so I picked them up this morning, fed them lots of food at Denny's and now they're vegging on the sofa, playing video games. And since today is NikeMom's Foto Friday, I thought I'd add this to the mix...

Boyz chillin'

FOB (fresh off the bus...do they LOOK like they're gonna crash this afternoon?...yeah, I didn't think so either)

Video game zone

Also, last week Rookie on the Run tagged me with this...and since I've got nada else today, it's a good day to answer a tag. Here are the rules: I get to throw out one question, add a new one, and tag a few peeps to do the same.

1. What are your current obsessions?

Currently I'm obsessing about when the next '80s band concert is playing. So far, the only local concert I see is Depeche Mode in August. I'm sure my brief backstage visit has ruined me for life...

2. Which item from your closet are you wearing most often?
Old Levi Jeans...they're so old and worn that there are holes in them. Today I discovered a hole in the, shall we say, crotch region...yep, I wore them anyway cuz they're just so comfy. I'll just sit with my knees together like my mama taught me...

3. Last thing you bought for yourself?
A Cliff Bar, for breakfast on Sunday...how sad is that? but it is the last thing I bought for me. Actually, it was the second one I bought for me, but DramaGirl ate the first one.

4. What’s for dinner?
It's a Rachel Ray recipe for a shrimp bread soup...only I gotta go to Trader Joes to get some frozen shrimp. It's really yummy.

5. Say something about the person who tagged you:
I can't wait until Rookie on the Run and I get to meet in person...I love reading her blog and about her adventures training for the marathon. So much of what she's going through (injuries and all) are like my experiences last year.

6. What is one item you could not live without?
My laptop. It's got everything on it...although the iPhone is coming in a close second. As soon as I can MMS with the thing, it'll be the PERFECT toy!

7. Vacation spots you must visit before you die?
I want to go to Europe, specifically Italy and see the house where my mom was born.

8. Three things to do before you die?
Having earned a doctorate and run a marathon, and by raising two pretty amazing kids...I'm pretty satisfied with my life and I really don't have much of a "bucket list," but I do want to do a tri at some point (not a full...maybe a 1/2...certainly a sprint). Before I die, I'd also like to see our property fully landscaped (we have almost an acre and it's about 1/3 done. Have I mentioned that we've lived here almost 8 years?)...Oh and that light bulb over the dining room table. I'd like to see that changed before I die too...

9. What are you reading right now?
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. It's about why some people are successful. I love how he takes what appear to be sorta random incidents and shows how they are interrelated.

10. What is the last movie you saw and enjoyed?
I don't see too many movies. I can't even remember the last grownup movie I saw in a movie theater. The last movie I remember enjoying in a theater was probably Harry Potter...whatever the last one was.

11. What’s your guilty pleasure?

Blogging

12. What’s your favorite smell?
Fresh baked bread

13.If cost wasn't an issue and you could run any race in the world, what would it be?
I'd take the herd to run a race in Hawaii...ultimate race road trip.

14. Do you have a goal that you are trying accomplish before 2009 is over?
Yeah...the San Diego Triple Crown (Carlsbad 1/2, La Jolla 1/2, Americas Finest City 1/2)

15. Describe one of your happiest moments.
Well, there's the obvious one about giving birth...although to be honest, while I was ecstatic about meeting both the kiddos, I was mostly happy to just not be pregnant any more. I wasn't very good at being pregnant. I was nauseous the whole time. I gained too much weight, so I was uncomfortable. The day after Turbo was born (via c-section), I was up and walking around. People who saw me were surprised that I was so energetic. I was just happy that I didn't feel like puking any more...

(yeah, I removed question 16...but I am too lazy to renumber the whole thing...)

17. What do you have an addiction to?
Fresh baked sourdough bread with real butter (yum...I could eat a loaf of it. Forget chocolate and sweets, I'm all about the bread).

18. What do you do that you would be embarrassed for others to know about?
Well...I'm too embarrassed to say, so I won't...but it's NOT related to 21 (see below).

19. What is one totally irrational fear you have?
All of my fears are completely rational.

20. Do you have a favorite training tip?
Ice...the miracle cure. If you're sore after a run, ice, ice packs, ice baths, cold pools are wondrous...who knew?

21. What's your most embarrassing moment?
Recently? OK...that would be yesterday...I share an office with another instructor. We have a cubical wall divider between us, so we can't see each other unless one of us stands up and goes around the wall. Yesterday afternoon, I was on my side and walking over to his, and I tripped over my briefcase. I knew I was going to fall, and had this moment of clarity in which I knew that if I tried to stop the fall, I might hurt myself, so I just decided to go with it, and I literally did a ski-roll into his side of the office.

I wish I had a photo to capture the look on his face as I was lying on the floor (really...I rolled on my side, and ended up on my back)...it must have looked like I was doing a side-roll, summersault or something like that. He just looked at me and said

"Oh my...are you OK?"

I just stood up pretty quickly and said something like "oh yeah. I'm fine." Then I think I said something about being pretty clumsy at times, and that I'd probably do THAT again some day, so stay tuned."

Class and elegance...that's me...

22. What is your dream job?
Anything where I don't have to walk (JK). Seriously, wouldn't it be great if I could get paid to blog? But then again, if I got paid to do this, then maybe it would become a job, and a chore, and then I might not enjoy it so much...but one day, I'd like to write a book...or at least I'd like to have time to sit down and write every day, something that would end up in a book.

23. What should you be doing right now besides answering these questions?

Grading papers...yeah, the stack is not getting any smaller.

24. (The question I added) What's the last song you added to your running playlist?
Mad World - Tears for Fears...I saw that Adam-guy do his rendition of the song on American Idol (which is DramaGirls latest obsession...) and I thought...what a great running song! So I downloaded it and added it. Yep, another 80's tune for the list.

So...I'm tagging whoever wants to play...I love these things! I hope that all of ya play along.