Magnificent

Saturday was the Komen Race for the Cure here in Raleigh. My mom and I walked in the early, women-only race that preceeded the "big" race.

The picture above was our vantage point as we got underway -- the balloon arch in the distace is the starting line.

We had over 20k people involved and raised almost $2 million. This is the largest race of any kind in NC and ranks #25 out of 120 RFTC events held annually. I love being a part of something so big -- it makes me feel a little less small.

Sunday Morning

First things first: Rebecca -- this is not at all directed at you -- but your recent post did give me the idea.

I am not a morning person. I think that if I could do my job at night I could do it in half the time, not just because no one would be bugging me but because I have more energy and am more focused. I'd really never need to see the light of day. During the crazy year I spent in the dorms at SSU, my regular time for sleeping was 3am to noon -- it just worked for me and there was no time clock to punch or deadline I couldn't work around. That year I really slept well.

Sleeping is always an issue for me. I used to have a borderline-phobia about sleeping on Sundays -- Monday always felt like the first day of school and I'd get very anxious. That finally went away but I still have nights where I spend more time awake than asleep. I'm sure that's why mornings are just so hard for me -- if I truly slept than maybe getting out of bed wouldn't be so hard.

I think being a morning person is a little like being a vegetarian or a Yankees fan -- there's a little bit of self-importance that goes along with it. I know all that "early to bed, early to rise" stuff, but as a relatively late sleeper and late stayer-upper, I don't think I'm any better or worse than someone who wakes at 5am every day. I don't think everyone has that attitude -- I'm surrounded by these people in my life -- but there is enough of it out there to annoy me.

Please don't hate me because I like to sleep in. I'm not a bad person.

Nobody's Diary

A friend recently said she had considered shutting down her blog and it made me kind of sad. She said Facebook is really where everyone is these days and while she's completely right, it's not the same. I love all the people that I have found again and the actual repairing of relationships long since thought dead and gone that can be attributed to that magic spiderweb.

It is true that that's where "everyone" is these days, but it's only the soundbite version of what's going on in people's lives. You can keep up with the day-to-day chatter -- what they're watching on tv, what they're doing this weekend, and see a status change from "In a Relationship" to simply "Single."

What you don't get are the stories about the real things, big and small. Stress over a loved one who is sick. The funny things kids do and say. The story behind a breakup. The challenges in a new marriage. The wonder of a walk on a beautiful day.

I'm sure it's not the same for everyone, but it's an outlet I think I need. I know there are only about 4 of you out there and while I appreciate every one of you, most of this is either stuff you've already heard me say, something you already know, something mundane that isn't important in the scheme of things, or my own passive-aggressive attempt to get a message out into the universe to see if it comes back to me.

By the way, that last one doesn't work.

So, I'll keep writing my little thoughts and maybe once in a while you will read them and be happy because you know something about me that only a few other people know. Things I would never put in the wide open world of Facebook.

Answering Bell

Ding-a-ling-a-ling.

I wasn't a texter.

Ding-a-ling-a-ling.

I thought it was one more noise in an over-orchestrated world.

Ding-a-ling-a-ling.

I don't realize I've been holding my breath until I hear it.

Ding-a-ling-a-ling.

Somewhere out there -- someone is thinking about me Right This Minute.

When it's silent, I know the opposite is true as well.

It's magic and yet.....

I wish I'd never turned it on.

I'm Little But I'm Loud

I've been listening to music with new ears lately. A couple of weeks ago I went out to karaoke with friends and while I didn't sing (and really never plan to -- I think I'd be sick on the spot) I did have fun trying to figure out what songs were "good" for that. Which would be the least embarassing if put on the spot? There aren't many, and to my horror they all seem to be country songs.