The joys of POF

I can only assume that this is one of three situations.

1) He's one of those guys that thinks sending a fishing email will start a conversation between us. 

      -His email,

      - I email back with something like, "Oh, that's not me. I think you have the wrong person."

     - To which he responds with, "I'm sorry but hey you're cute. Let's chat."

   *This won't fly with me.

Or

2) He guenuinely has the wrong person.

Or 

3) Some one has hacked my account. 

And trust me, his screen name is a lie! And I can assure you I do not send pictures of my ONE cat to anyone unless asked for them (MOM).

Wonderful Days

I spent all of last week in Jamaica.....and it was AMAZING! I was down there for my sisters wedding which turned out gorgeous. The day was perfect and the setting was crazy awesome. The pictures from people with real cameras (not like my iPhone) look like they are photo shopped. They were not. The ceremony and reception after went wonderfully well. I even stayed up late to party with everyone after hours.










I must have partied hard because when I woke up the next morning I was missing the shellac polish off of ONE toenail. I don't even know how that is possible.




I didn't realize how tense and emotional I have been this year until the day after the wedding when I got a 90 min deep tissue massage. The masseuse even asked about all the knots in my should blade area. To be fair, I always get knots there, it's not strictly related to the wedding. Being back to my real life now I feel completely relaxed and different than I felt before I left. It may be that I was just in need of a great, wonderful, and happy wedding/vacation.

I'm so happy for my sister and NOW brother-in-law. They're perfect together and I can't wait to watch them go through life together.



This last bit is just a great article and if you didn't know which way I leaned politically, you do now.
It probably should be separate from this post because it is about the single woman but.....I read the article while in Jamaica. I actually read it while drinking coffee on my balcony one morning.

Vaccines and Promiscuity

I haven't written much about my sisters upcoming nuptials. It's not my story and it doesn't have anything to do with running or dating. However, I am going to share a little story about something that just happened.

As you may or may not know the wedding will be taking place in Jamaica (YAY!!) shortly. Last week I called my doctor (after sitting in my 2nd Parasitology class this semester) to ask for a prophylactic anti parasitic drug to take with me. Just in case I ate/drank the wrong thing. When I told the receptionist where I was going and why I was calling she informed me that I needed to get vaccines for the trip. I was in disbelief. It's only Jamaica, not India or Pakistan (not that those are terrible places just a little more war torn/3rd world).

While waiting for the receptionist to talk to the doctor I quickly got on the CDC website and found that sure as shit I needed vaccines! Two in fact. Hepatitis A and Typhoid. I made my appointment! Then informed my family, who promptly laughed at me. Well, we'll see who's laughing when they are laid low with typhoid fever! I mean, we are talking about a bacteria, Salmonella typhi, that has played a role in wars! I may be the at the top of the food chain but I know my place with respect to bacteria and parasites.



My appointment was yesterday and I must say I love my doctor. She did refuse to give me and anti parasitic but sat and talked to me about the up coming trip. We went through the vaccines and what each was for and how long I'd be immune. I do need to get a HepA booster in 6 months if I want immunity for life (I do). In the process of talking she asked if I had any intentions of getting pregnant any time soon....Uh, no. If it had been yes she would have advised me to not go to Jamaica. The Zilka virus in running rampant in the Caribean and not enough is known about it yet. My Doc then kind of smiled at me and gave me a sly look and asked if I was thinking of taking a Jamaican lover while there. My reply was to laugh and say my sister thinks it's an option for me but I'm sure that would require a couple more vaccines! And it would. She just wanted to cover all bases and make me safe.

I am now GOOD TO GO! Both arms are a bit sore, 0.5ml typhoid vaccine in one and a WHOLE ml HepA vaccine in the other. I was shocked when I saw the HepA and fully expected a bump on my arm.

On a side note: The healthcare system that my Doc belongs to has started a new service, a healthcare coach. The "coach" came in to talk to me before my Doc and briefly explained who and what she was. She then asked me if I needed any coaching for my healthcare. I don't even know what that would involve! I said no and waited for my Doc. When the doctor came in she asked me about the coach and if I had excepted the coach. I told her I found it ridiculous and ranked it up next to "life coaches." I mean really? You need a coach for life? She laughed and said that was her opinion too but you know...the system wants it.

Goodbye 2015

Before

Or, as I like to refer to it, "The laziest year EVER!!"

I did nothing last year. I barely ran, did Crossfit, or cross train. I accomplished one house update and one race. It's been a struggle to keep the house clean, to cook, to eat healthy. To basically live my life.

ENOUGH is ENOUGH!

It's time to get my life in order. To train like I want. To eat as I should. To race to the best of my abilities.

After

As I type this I am laying on my couch trying to breath through my nose. I have a terrible head cold but I am using the down time constructively. I have written a training schedule. I have listed a few races I want/will do, including a 1/2 IM. Training begins January 11!

An odd day to begin, right? Why not January 1st? Because I had some work done. And by work I mean INK. In 1997 at the tender young age of 18 I got my first tattoo. A purple poison dart frog. After 18 years it was in bad shape and I had decided to get it recolored.

Also, I have always wanted another but I never knew what. Or where. About 3 years ago I knew I wanted one that some how tied me to running. But I didn't want the typical, "26.2" or "1/2IM".  Then I saw the molecular structure for met-enkephalon on Pinterest. It spoke to me. It is related to the runners high. It ties my science life to my running life. So I looked into it.

It wasn't solely responsible for the runners high and I wasn't satisfied with using PERMENANTLY on my body. My next option was dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. I had it all played out. But the more I thought about it the more I knew there had to be a better option. AND THERE WAS!

ATP

ATP, or adenosine triphosphate. ATP is responsible for transporting chemical energy within cells for metabolism. It is basically the only reason you can do anything. You want to run? Need some ATP. Want to go for a swim or just breath in the sun? Definitely need ATP. It is the most basic "food" needed for anything you want to do. An it was perfect to tie my science life to my running life.

Hopefully the new tattoo with light a fire under my ass....

Put a Ring on It

Now that my sister's wedding shower is over I can share this gem of a texteration. I'm not going to go into the shower cause this is not that kind of blog. Suffice it to say it was beautiful, fun, and everything I wanted and she hoped it would be.

Now, this is a textertion between myself and one of my best friends of about 20 years. We met in 1993 to give you a scale of the friendship.

So Long George

When I left off with George I was getting ready to go to his place for an evening. And I did. And it was pretty fun. Yes, he made innuendos and played the "let's watch this movie in my room" card. But I kept it all PG and had a great time. He even quoted Friends which DID score him some brownie points. However, I did not like his persistence on the whole sex front and I did not appreciate what he said to me about my clothing. The clothing comment boiled down to no girl wearing what I was wearing would come over expecting to ONLY watch a movie. It sniffed of victim blaming. I would like to point out that I was wearing leggings and a tank top.

I brushed this off, thinking maybe he doesn't hear himself. And the fact that we got along in every other way. We had the banter down. The teasing. The chemistry.

And then he came over to my house.

I saw him pull in but it was 5 min and he still hadn't come to the door. What was he doing you ask? Pulling the weeds/grass out of the cracks in my driveway. "No girl who is a friend of mine is going to live like the Clampets." Then he asked where my mower was cause my grass was not to the height he felt it should be. I will say that I haven't mowed in awhile and the grass was a bit high. But not so high that it was obnoxious.

After I talked him out of mowing, we went inside to discuss dinner and the evening. I was in the kitchen and when I turned around he was gone. Where could he have gone? Mind you, this is the first time he's been in my house. I found him sprawled out on my BED! WTF dude!? Ok, maybe he's just overly familiar. I rolled with it.

Dinner. He didn't want what I had prepared previously, so we went to Whole Foods and he picked up some prepared foods for himself. I ate what I already had. After dinner, though, we were relaxing on the couch watching Breaking Bad and bantering back and forth.....

and then he says, "Lets go in your room and watch this."
Well, we can't do that. I don't have a working tv in there, so the ploy is not work able. Then he says he just wants to go in there and cuddle, talk, and just relax together. I didn't see why we couldn't do that on the couch.

After a few back and forth like this he says, "If we don't go in there I'm going home."

DONE! See ya!

He left and I haven't talked to him since.

Brownie Points

I am dating (in the loose sense of the word) George Clooney!

Ok, not the real George but close enough he could pass for his pudgier brother. According to him I am not the first person to think this. On the first date George wanted to take a selfie. I find this odd, my friends find it cute. The date itself was ok. Obviously, he's attractive. He's funny. Attentive. But the date itself had an interview feel to it with rapid fire questions. He kisses well, though.

48 hours later found me on a second date with him. Let me say that again FOURTY EIGHT HOURS!!
On a Tuesday. So many reservations... Maybe it was a strike while the irons hot sort of thing.

 Now, you know me. I'm old, I have a routine. I wake at 5-510am to go to the gym, so I'm in bed around 9-930. Week day date nights are not my favorite but he wanted to go to FIRE and I've been dying to go there for 8 years.

Then he wanted to pick me up. More reservations! Second date, he now knows were I live. If the date goes bad I can't escape to my car and leave. The date is no longer on my time table.

Ok, breath. I can give up a little control. And I did. He picked me up. We went to dinner. I found out he has MS (not sure how I feel on this). He hasn't had a consistant job. He's still bitter about his divorce (rather fresh). He has children. That is the extent of what I know. I feel like I know nothing of substance from him. He jokes a lot, to the point where I don't know if he's joking or for real.

The real point of this post is this gem:

When we get back to my house (8:45), he pulls ALL the way up my drive and parks in front of my garage. Guys I dated for 6 months and actually stayed the night never did this! He proceeds to act like he's coming in at which point I ask what he's doing..
"aren't you going to ask me in?"
"No. It's almost 9oclock and I need to go to bed for the gym in the morning."
"oh"
We sit in the car for a few minutes, talking with the occasional kiss. He then says:
"I would just like to point out that I think I should      get some brownie points."
"You do? For what?"
"I haven't touched your boobs or grabbed your ass all night."
"So, you think you get brownie points for being a decent human being, doing what normal people would do and not being a douchebag?"
"Yes, I've been a gentleman."
"No, you're being normal and asking for "points" kind of takes away from the whole "gelntleman" thing." I hope he thinks about this. Not sure it hit home.

He then asked me to spend an evening with him sometime this weekend. And by evening he means all night, but he'll sleep in another room if I want. I've agreed to see him again, like I said I feel I don't know the true George and observing him in his natural habitat may help. I did not agree to the sleep over. The only way that is going to happen is if I get VERY drunk or he drugs me. I'm taking pepper spray.

Stay tuned!
 PS. In rereading this I'd like to make a point. In telling/asking me to stay the night ahead of time he has basically cock blocked himself. Had he just let the night play out he would have gotten a lot further. That's the trouble with some guys that I've talked to. They want to know ahead of time if they are going to get "any." That is a turn off and makes the outcome 100% no. Had they just taken me for drinks, and played the night out and been a cool decent person then the odds are 50/50.