Corporate Servitude

Am I a nerd now?

2009-10-14T03:54:08Z

My old mp3 player, which Mark gave to me a while back when he upgraded his own, broke on Saturday. So, I bought a brand-spanking new one...

An iPod Nano, 5th gen, in blue!

I also bought the Nike+ sensor and synced my first run their website on it tonight.

Only 2 more days until San Francisco! Yay!

The nose knows

2009-02-16T04:02:07Z

I went to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts with Mark today, and when I was in the bathroom, I blew my nose. A little girl who was in another stall with her mom asked her, "Mom, what was that?" The mom answered, "That's just a lady blowing her nose." Then the little girl said, "It sounds like pooping."

Yes, ladies and gents, when I blow my nose, it does make noise. Most discerning ears can tell it from a fart. My dad says it sounds like a tuba, and Ken Hodgson found what note I blew on the piano during Concert Choir rehearsal once at UMM.

I haven't written for a long time, and it feels great to be back.

Yes we can!

2008-11-09T20:47:10Z

First of all, I want to say how incredibly excited I am that Obama will be our next president. I hope and pray that he will deliver on his promise to change the country for the better.

And now, because I don't update this thing nearly enough anymore, here's the low-down on what's been going on in my neck of the woods:

--Seth's 3rd annual Halloween bash was a blast. Mark and I went as characters from the British TV show Spaced; he dressed as Mike from episode 6 (the clubbing one), and I dressed as landlady Marsha. Wearing my oversized red sweater, long auburn wig, carrying a bottle of wine and smoking a fake cigarette made me feel like a 40-year-old washed-up hooker the whole day. I received the best chuckles and looks from my co-workers when I went to work dressed like that.

--I went to a Holy Spirit retreat on Nov. 1 and it was powerful for me. I thought a lot that day about being confirmed as a Catholic when I was a sophomore in high school. When the bishop anointed me with oil on my forehead, I felt like crying. This time around, I really felt like something holy invaded a portion of my body. As Jody and Kim prayed for me to receive the holy spirit, the palm of my right hand felt as if I was holding a racquetball. The pressure almost made my hand feel as if someone was holding it, too. My right arm felt tingly and warm, and my right hand trembled a bit like a Parkinson's tremor. Also, the muscles in my right butt cheek were twitching. God must have a sense of humor; Jody commented that the Holy Spirit was giving me "love taps."

--God has been changing my heart little by little over the past few months, and I can now say that I'm thankful for the direction my life took this summer, even though it was difficult. I'm in a better place, but there are things that still need to be worked on. I'm getting more involved at Mercy Vineyard; I joined the prayer team recently.

--Mark and I started dating again, and so far, it's going well. This time, it's different. I'm looking foward to seeing where this goes.

--If you have a chance to see a show at the Guthrie before the end of the year, I highly recommend Shadowlands. The play concerns the courtship and brief marriage of author C.S. Lewis to his American wife Joy Gresham. If you're looking for reflections about love and suffering, this is the play for you.

Being sicky is icky

2008-10-08T21:14:47Z

I ran the TC 10 Mile on Sunday, after spending the days prior to that hemming and hawing and wondering if I had lost my mind. I wondered if I should even try to run that race, as my right knee was still healing. It seemed like my nervousness was causing a little added pain to my knee. But, I'm glad I didn't concede to the fear I had been feeling. I had tried to run this race for the previous two years to no avail, so was very thankful to finally do so this year. I finished with a respectable time of 1:37:52, according to my timing chip (1:41:52 gun time). Mark was there at the finish line, cheering me on, and letting other spectators squeeze in beside him under his golf umbrella to avoid the falling rain.

Unfortunately, I now have a bad cold, caused partly from the rain that started falling as I finished my last quarter-mile of the race, and also because half my office is sick. I came home from work early today, and though I should be resting, I figured an update on the life and times of me might be desired by you, the fine readers of this LJ.

The previous weekend, my cousin Bill got married to his first serious girlfriend, Julie. Theirs was a pretty wedding, and I enjoyed seeing my relatives and parents. I also came back to the Cities with a bunch of produce from my parents' garden. I haven't had to go grocery shopping, save for the occasional trip to Target to pick up a gallon of milk, for the past three or four weeks. Rock on!

I had my two-year review at my full-time job a couple weeks ago, and it went well. I also got a raise. Now I can really quit my bartending job. The verdict is still out on that, however. I keep going back and forth between the extremes. The worsening economy is definitely influencing my decision, though if the banks fail, my hard-earned money might disappear.

Mark and I toured the Leinenkugel's brewery in Chippewa Falls, WI the weekend before Bill and Julie's wedding. Nothing beats being able to purchase beer on Sundays. :)

Now, it's time for a nap!

"In the still of the silent dawn, another day is born"

2008-09-16T01:55:11Z

I update this thing less and less as time goes on, it seems. I don't have a whole lot to write about. Mostly, I'm just trying to figure out stuff... where I'm headed in life and what my purpose is, moving on, reconstructing the past to fit new revelations. Perhaps I should elaborate further... with an update:

--I saw my primary care doctor regarding my knee, and she thought physical therapy would be beneficial for me. I've had two sessions so far, and they've greatly helped. My exercises strengthen muscles that have a tendency to get ignored when running, and also make sure the kneecap stays in alignment. I started running again, but short distances (e.g. 3 miles) and only once a week. I ran/walked 6 miles this past Saturday, and my knee hurts a bit today.

--I discovered that Ryan is now in a relationship with someone else, and honestly, I'm pissed off and hurt simultaneously. He never gave me a decent explanation for why he broke up with me, but now it all makes sense. All those lines about how he was "messed up" and "needed to work on his issues" were just a load of bullshit. Guess he found what he wanted... someone in Spokane who loves kids as much as he does. She has two of her own, so they're built into the relationship--an instant family. Honestly, I feel sorry for her because he'll probably put her through the same crap he put me through, and in the process, will hurt her two kids as well. I feel utterly deceived. He led me on, thinking our relationship was going to be more than it ended up being. He fooled my friends and family into thinking he was a great guy and a good fit for me. And now I wish I never met him because this whole ordeal just wasn't worth it. I hope one day he's sorry for the way he treated me (i.e. something easy to discard when she's lost her usefulness). But through this, I've realized that I can do so much better than him. I am worth more than what he did to me. And now I have closure.

And now for more upbeat news...

--I went to the MN State Fair and the Renaissance Festival during Labor Day weekend and had a great time. I tried the chocolate-covered bacon at the Fair... it wasn't bad, but not a combination that really fits together. I also got my fill of cheese curds, hotdish on a stick, Sweet Martha's cookies and milk, and a strawberry milkshake. RenFest was also enjoyable; I love dressing up in my costume, perusing the shops with my friends, and drinking mead. :-)

--Still liking Mercy Vineyard Church a lot; it challenges me. I hope to be more involved this fall by joining the prayer or worship teams.

--On Sunday afternoon, I toured the Chateau St. Croix winery and vineyard in St. Croix Falls, WI. The winery is like a European estate, with a slate chateau nestled in Western Wisconsin's slightly rolling and fertile farmland. I sampled five of their wines, bought a bottle of their 2007 Golden Harvest white wine and a slab of cheese with merlot mixed in, and also received a wine glass as a memento from the tour. I'm thinking of checking out another winery this Sunday, if anyone's interested. I just need to find another relatively local one...

Looking for inspiration...

2008-08-16T06:13:11Z

I haven't updated in a while, and thought it was about darned time I do so:

--My orthotics seem to be helping my right knee, as the pain as decreased, but I still have slight twinges of pain. I ran for 15 minutes on a treadmill last Wednesday, and my knee hurt worse afterwards. I plan to try running again next week, but am worried that my knee will still continue to bother me. I'm down to the wire concerning the TC 10 Mile and training for it, and I really don't think I'll be able to participate in it this year. I could walk it, but it wouldn't be the same. Bummer... I thought I'd be able to this year after missing out the last two years. I think I may need to change my stride when running, as well, in order to prevent the knee pain from flaring up again.

--Misty, my beloved cat whom I had had since I was nine years old, died last week. She was almost 18 years old, so her death wasn't unexpected, but my parents said she had been eating well as of late. We thought she'd be around for a few more months. I drove up to LF on Sunday (the 10th) so my parents and I could bury her. She was a great companion, and I miss her terribly. When I was hanging out with Seth on Wednesday, I was petting his cat, Magenta, and I suddenly teared up because I missed Misty so much.

--I saw a career counselor last week, and am thinking about various career paths. I also took a spiritual gifts test at church, and discovered that counseling was on my list of manifest gifts. I've been thinking about grad school lately (which is a bit of a surprise, considering I've told many people that I just want to work), and may consider going for counseling. However, more research is required, plus I need to take a few more assessment tests.

--I religiously watch the Olympics (both Summer and Winter Games), and have been enjoying the 2008 Summer Games. That Michael Phelps sure is something; I hope he does win eight golds (he has seven racked up as I write this). Watching the Olympics, especially during this uneasy and difficult time in my life, has been truly inspiring, and gives me something (and some people) to cheer for.

--Speaking of cheering for people, I volunteered at the Urban Wildland Half-Marathon, which was the HM I was going to run this summer if I hadn't been stricken with knee pain. I was a course marshal, located between miles 12 and 13. At that point in the race, runners want to be finished running, and so they need encouragement to keep on trucking through that last half-mile. I enjoyed cheering for the runners, and hope that the runners got the extra boost they needed. It was also a pleasant surprise to see a familiar face in the pack; Kristen (kudafish ) ran the UWHM as part of her training for the Twin Cities Marathon.

--I'm so tired of trying to put on a brave face all the time.

--I need to clean my bathroom.

A good poem for hard times

2008-07-22T05:07:46Z

The Forest

A dark forest surrounds me
Closing in around me
Blocking out the light
Concealing my path

Calamaties have befallen me
A love abandoned me
Fear creeps into my heart
And I feel broken, angry and alone

Trust me, a Voice says,
You will be okay.
How can I trust you, I ask,
When everything is falling apart?

Just trust me, repeats the Voice
And a light permeates the darkness
Illuminating the path in front of me
Enough for one step

I take the first step
And another step of the path is lit
Step by step I follow the light
Compelled by its warmth

I climb a steep grade
The journey seems unending
Weary and winded I walk the lighted path
Keep trusting me, implores the Voice

The hill flattens out
And the light expands all around me
Mountains, trees and valleys come to view
As far as my eyes can see

The light continues to envelop me
And I'm aware of another presence
The body of the Voice hugs me
See, I told you everything would be okay.

©Richelle Maciej, 2008

Bullets

2008-07-15T01:15:11Z

--I finally got my car back last Tuesday. I'm so happy to have "Miss Pinot Noir" back, even though she has no A/C and has a little over 100,000 miles on her. I can tell that she's been around the block a few times, literally speaking; she's getting old. I hope that she will continue to be reliable.
--I'm still having issues with my right knee, although it doesn't hurt as much as it used to. Perhaps it's slowly recovering. However, if I step funny, I'll feel a sharp pain. I have an appointment to see an orthopedic specialist on July 22, so hopefully he'll be able to tell me what's wrong with my knee and what can be done to fix it.
--I miss being able to run. I will not be running the Urban Wildland Half-Marathon on August 2, but I hope my knee will have healed enough so I can still run the TC 10 Mile on October 5.
--To stay in shape, I've done some strength training, stationary biking, and swimming. Saturdays or Sundays, I walk over to Richfield's outdoor pool to do an hour of lap swimming. The weather was really nice on Saturday, but unfortunately, I sunburned the entire backside of my body.
--I miss Ryan, and I can't wait to see him August 14-18.
--I'm proud of Seth and Kristen, who are training to run the Twin Cities Marathon on October 5. I'm so proud of you both (and Kristen, I'd like to make a donation for your cause, but I'd like to do so in person; therefore, we should hang out). I just wish I could join you.

"And I think I think too much"

2008-07-05T16:35:22Z

Update concerning the aftereffects of my car accident:
--The accident was deemed the other driver's fault, so her insurance company will be paying for all the repairs to my car and the deductible. I'm so glad I didn't have to use my stimulus check to pay the deductible.
--However, my car is still in the shop. I should hear on Monday whether or not LaMettry's is finished with it, but they're certainly taking their sweet old time fixing my car. By the time Monday rolls around, they will have had my car for three weeks. I wanted to have it back when I returned from Alaska.

In other news, my right knee has been bothering me for the past week to week-and-a-half. My knee is suffering from similar pain I had when my left knee had patello-femoral syndrome last fall, so my right knee probably has the same thing. I haven't gone running since Tuesday (both runs last Saturday and Tuesday were painful), which pretty much nixes my half-marathon training altogether. I registered to run the Urban Wildland Half Marathon on August 2, but now it looks like I probably won't be running it at all, and that greatly disappoints me. I'm not sure if my knee pain is a result of the car accident, especially since it didn't start hurting until last Thursday, Friday or Saturday. I just hope my knee will heal quickly so I can get back to running. I love running and am frightened when I sustain an injury that threatens to prevent me from participating in one of my favorite activities for the rest of my life.

On a lighter note, I will be going out to Spokane again for a long weekend in mid-August. I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with Ryan. :-)

A Trip to the Last Frontier

2008-06-28T06:43:22Z

This is a long LJ cut, but worth it. :)

Wednesday, June 18, 2008 – DAY 1

Judy took Seth and me to the airport. Our flight took off around 9:00 in the morning, and it was a long flight (5½ hours), but at least Sun Country had a direct flight to Anchorage. Most of it was uneventful, although during the first hour of the flight, there was a good half-hour of turbulence. I felt fine, but Seth felt nauseous. Once the turbulence stopped, he felt better. We were served cheeseburgers during the flight, and in an era where rising fuel costs mean that you have to pay for food on flights now, being served a complimentary hot sandwich was nice.

We arrived in Anchorage around 11:20 a.m. local time (2:20 p.m. back in MN), and once off the plane, headed to baggage claim. We met up with Lucie (my aunt) and Betty Anne (Lucie’s long-time roommate), and wow, it was great to see them again. I don’t ever remember meeting Betty Anne, and it’s been two years since I’ve seen Lucie. They’ve both had exciting lives full of travel, though they’ve lived in Alaska for the past 25-30 years, but they are still adventurous. Seth and I picked up our bags, admired the variety of stuffed wildlife adorning the airport’s north terminal walls, including the world’s largest caught halibut, and then we went on our merry way.

Our plane had flown over Alaska’s mountains, but we didn’t realize how close those mountains were to Anchorage and other cities. They were merely off in the distance a ways, and they were huge. Clouds obscured the peaks of some of them, but they were gorgeous.

Lucie and Betty Anne took us to the Long Branch Saloon, located on the outskirts of Anchorage, for lunch. The Saloon was very much like your local, small-town, pole-shed-like bar, but their food was good. Seth and I split a Mushroom Swiss burger, and we each had a pint of an Alaskan Ale (Alaskan Amber for me, Alaskan Summer for Seth). When we all were first served our beers, Betty Anne toasted the two of us when we raised our glasses, exclaiming “Welcome to Alaska!” I could think of no better way to start out our trip.

On our way to Wasilla, where Lucie and Betty Anne live, just an hour north of Anchorage, we stopped in Eklutna to view a Russian Orthodox cemetery. This cemetery, only one of maybe four in the whole state, is different than most cemeteries. The graves are buried under small wooden shelters called “spirit houses” that are thought to house the spirit of the dead person for a year until the spirit moves on to the afterlife. Each spirit house is painted in bright colors representing their family’s clan or name. Some houses were simple, some were elaborate, and some only had rocks and blankets covering the graves if the family was too poor to build and paint a spirit house. Smaller houses usually denoted the bodies of infants or children that died, and a spirit house within another one symbolized a pregnant woman who died. Fences around a house symbolized a chief (many Native Americans in Alaska practice Russian Orthodoxy) or leader. These spirit houses were cool; I’d never seen anything like them before.

Also on the cemetery property was the original Russian Orthodox church from the area—the oldest church in the state, dating back to the mid-to-late 1800s—and the new one. These churches have no benches or pews; congregants stand close together throughout the whole service, generating enough body heat to stay warm during the winter.

Grandma Manka (my maternal grandmother), visited Lucie in Alaska back in the 1990s, and had seen this cemetery. She had found it very fascinating, just like I did. I’m glad I was able to visit a place she had visited a long time ago. I felt a sort of connection with her there.

From the cemetery at Eklutna, we headed up to Wasilla, where we first stopped at the Iditarod Race Headquarters. The Iditarod is a sled dog race commemorating the mushers and dogs that transported the diphtheria serum from Seward to Nome to prevent the illness from wiping out the entire remote community of Nome back in 1925. We rode on a short trail in a sled cart led by dogs. Boy, those dogs go pretty fast, at least 20-30 mph, but we were probably going 10-20. We also held little Alaskan Husky puppies that would one day grow up to be strong, champion sled dogs. They were so cute and soft. A visitor’s center provided a video about the Iditarod. Did you know that it costs $1,850 to even enter the Iditarod? Wow!

Next, we went into the circa 5,000 population city of Wasilla and toured the farmers’ market going on in the “Old Wasilla Town Site,” where Wasilla’s historic buildings are. We saw and walked into the town’s oldest schoolhouse, build in 1917. We also went to the Dorothy Page Museum, which contained historic artifacts of the city, pertaining to mining, settlers, the Alaskan gold rush, Native populations, and the Iditarod.

Lucie and Betty Anne took us home after that. Their house, located seven miles outside of Wasilla, is nestled among many trees on ten across of land. Seth and I stayed in their old motor-home, where all their guests stay, which was a little like roughing it, I guess. They made us brats, baked beans, and grilled potatoes for supper, which we gladly washed down with a couple glasses of wine. Later on, Betty Anne took Seth and I out for a walk, and we enjoyed hearing stores of her and Lucie’s travel and work experiences.

Thursday, June 19, 2008 – DAY 2

The sun was still shining when I went to bed last night around 11:00. In the summer, Alaska is the Land of Midnight Sun, as some extreme northern areas (i.e. north of the Arctic circle) experience 24 hours of sunlight. Lucie said that around the time of the summer solstice, Wasilla experiences only four hours of night each 24-hour period, and even then it’s not that dark—it’s more like dusk. The sun sets around 11:30-11:45 p.m. in Alaska around the summer solstice and rises again about 4:00 a.m. Unfortunately, the flip side of this is that during the wintertime around the winter solstice, Alaska only experiences four to no hours of sunlight. That would be hard for me. Nevertheless, it was very weird for me for the sun to still be up when I went to bed and be up for at least a couple hours when I got up in the morning.

Seth and I, not completely used to the time difference, were up at 6:00 a.m. We went for a five-mile run around the area, then returned to the “main house” for a breakfast of sourdough pancakes topped with strawberries and sour cream, made by Lucie. Yum! After we all took showers and changed clothes, we set out for the day’s adventures.

Lucie and Betty Anne ran a couple errands right away in the morning with Seth and me in tow. As we drove to the Matanuska-Susitna Valley (a.k.a. Mat-Su Valley) visitors’ center to pick up brochures and postcards, Betty Anne saw a moose off in the distance, so she pulled over so Seth and I could take pictures of the moose in the flats. We would see another one along the roadside later on in the day, and Betty pulled over once again so we could take pictures.

After the visitors’ center, we went to The Reindeer Farm, located seven miles south of Palmer, AK, not too far from Wasilla. First, though, we drove past a house that had a sunken cabin in the yard. Half the house/cabin is below ground level to improve insulation and cut down on building costs. Seth and I had our picture taken in front of it, and it was weird standing in front of a house that was barely taller than I was.

Anyway, back to The Reindeer Farm. Visitors to the farm got to feed and pet the reindeer, take pictures of and learn about them. The only difference between reindeer and caribou is that reindeer are domesticated and caribou are wild. At this point in the year, the reindeers’ antlers still had fur on them, but we were advised not to touch the antlers because the nerve endings in the fur, which they have until the fur is shed, make the antlers sensitive to touch. If you would have grabbed onto their furry antlers, it would have felt to them like it would feel having a car door slammed on your fingers.

We fed the reindeer, a new experience for Seth and me. Reindeer, like cows, have no upper teeth and have similar digestive systems (e.g. they chew their own cud). As I fed the reindeer, the reindeer’s bottom row of teeth would graze my palm as he scooped up the food with it and his tongue, and I was left with a hand covered in reindeer slobber when the food was gone. And, most of the time, the reindeer would want another handful of food and would inch closer to me, nudging me with his nose or antlers, especially if I had turned my back on him (he’d then go for my butt!). I usually gave in and fed him again.

Along with reindeer, we also saw horses, two moose, and a few elk. Both elk and reindeer had little calves in their respective pens. They were so little and cute. We could feed the elk grass, which we did, and one particular elk, Ernie, loved attention and having his picture taken. In the background off in the distance were the rolling green Chugach Mountains, but the cloudy day obscured the tops of the tallest peaks in the range, like Pioneer Peak. Oh well.

From The Reindeer Farm, which both Seth and I enjoyed, we drove into Palmer, a small town originally started as a Colony Town during the Great Depression when FDR encouraged a couple hundred farmers and their families from the Midwest to move to Alaska (at that time a U.S. territory) to work the land. The families were given money to convince them to move. For many families, this helped them escape the deteriorating conditions of the Depression. We went to a small museum in Palmer that contained Colonist artifacts, and a small conservatory/garden nearby containing vegetables and perennials. Alaska, like basically every other U.S. state, has had a late spring, so their crops were a month behind.

We at lunch at The Noisy Goose Café in Palmer, considered an eating institution for the area. The Noise Goose serves your typical small town café food, like hot/cold sandwiches, burgers, meat and potatoes. Stuffed birds, moose and deer heads, wildlife artwork, and sarcastic signs like “Trespassers will be violated” covered the interior walls. The café’s big picture windows provided gorgeous views of the Chugach Mountains. Our food was delicious; I had a tender, juicy club melt with a side of cottage cheese that I ravenously ate.

On our way to the musk ox farm a few miles north of Palmer, we stopped at a breathtaking lookout of the Matanuska river—wide, muddy and silt-filled. Mountains (from the Talkeetna Range or Chugach Range, I believe), rose up in the distance. Seth and I had our pictures taken at the lookout. If you looked carefully enough in a certain direction, focusing far away, you could also see Cook Inlet.

Next on the list was the Musk Ox Farm Tour. Musk ox look like oxen and bison, but they are actually more related to reindeer, cows and goats. They have four stomachs and chew their own cud. Our tour guide took us out into the paths alongside their pens/pastures, providing interesting facts about the animals as we looked at and took pictures. Musk ox are well-adapted to arctic climates. Their soft undercoat, known as qiviut, is eight times warmer than wool. They shed it annually, and it is spun into qiviut thread so Native cooperatives can make scarves, hats and blankets from it, selling those items to benefit their communities. Musk ox also have spiral nasal passages. The cold air goes through the outer part of the spiral first, warming up as it reaches the center of the spiral—and the ox’s lungs. Our tour was really fascinating.

On our way up to Hatcher’s Pass and Independence Mine, we stopped at a gas station for ice cream. This station sold 32 flavors of soft-serve ice cream! Wow! I had a cone of cheesecake soft-serve, which tasted just like cheesecake—sweet and creamy. That was probably some of the best ice cream I’ve ever had.

We also stopped at a lookout over the Little Susitna River on our way up to the mine. Water poured and gushed over rocks, creating rapids of clear blue water with white foam. A mountain rose in the background—stunning. I took a picture of Lucie and Betty Anne in front of the river, and then a nice Alaskan took a picture of the four of us.

We kept climbing in elevation as we approached Independence Mine, and stopped at a couple lookouts to take pictures of the Talkeetnas and the Mat-Su Valley (from where we came) way off in the distance. By the time we reached Independence Mine, we were 3,500 feet above sea level, and there were still a few mountains surrounding us, like Granite Mountain and Skyscraper Peak. These mountains were probably at 5,000-7,000 feet above sea level. We passed by Hatcher’s Pass Lodge, a small restaurant and lodging complex with a few cabins available for hikers and tourists. The little chalets and cabins made a nice picture-perfect scene nestled in the mountains a few hundred feet below the mine.

Independence Mine State Historical Park, an area that was dedicated as a state park in 1981, was originally part of the Willow Creek Mining District, formed in 1898 to keep track of the various gold claims staked in the area, caused by the 1897 discovery of gold there. Thousands of miners came to Alaska, and most miners panned for gold, but in 1906, a hard-rock gold claim—mining underground in the mountains for gold contained in quartz, was created. In 1937, construction of the mine’s buildings, like the mill, offices, bunkhouses and mess hall began. Eventually, the mine became the second largest lode gold producer in the Willow Creek district. WWII and rising costs forced the mine to close in 1951. Many of the mine’s buildings are still there, though some, like the Mine Complex, are in considerable disrepair (e.g. buildings have collapsed, the wood is rotting, and the area is considered unsafe to walk on or near). The Independence Mine camp was fascinating to take a self-guided tour of (tours were no longer being given by the time we arrived at the mine); the strength and perseverance of the miners, especially in harsh winter conditions, impressed me. However, I was even more impressed by the scenery, and how hard it must have been to build the camp buildings on the mountains.

Once we returned home to Wasilla, Lucie and Betty Anne made quesadillas and tacos for us for supper. Lucie gave me an extra ulu (carved cutting knife) that she had on hand so I wouldn’t have to purchase one.

Friday, June 20, 2008 – DAY 3

Lucie made sourdough pancakes with strawberries and sour cream once again for breakfast. Around 9:00, we hit the road, headed for Portage, AK, with a first stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. One the way there, the highway followed the Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet. Mountains from the Kenai Peninsula and the Chugach National Forest rose up from the shoreline, creating a beautiful drive, despite the overcast skies. We stopped at a rock outcropping called Beluga Point to take pictures.

Once in the Portage area, we went to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC), which is a non-profit rescue and refuge center for Alaska’s native animals. We saw and took pictures of moose, sleeping black bears, a red fox, a bald eagle, elk, musk ox, caribou, and wood bison. The grizzly (brown) bears weren’t out, but we saw some of the other animals up close. Busloads of tourists kept coming in, so we headed out for our next destination, but not before I saw one of the grossest things I’ve ever seen wild animals do. There was a wood bison urinating, and another bison came up behind him, lapped up some of the urine falling from the other bison, then looked away in apparent disgust. Eww!

Next on the list was Portage Glacier, located right in Chugach National Forest. First, we stopped and took pictures of another glacier along the way. These glaciers are basically sheets of ice that form in the crevices between mountains and recede and approach with the changing seasons and weather patterns. Because the ice is so dense, the only color refracted when light hits it is blue, so that’s why glaciers appear blue in Alaska. Portage Glacier leads down to Portage Lake, where we also saw blue icebergs. We stopped at the Begich-Boggs Visitor Center, located right on the lake, to read more about glaciers, then we headed to Whittier.

In order to get to the tiny (population approx. 163) port town of Whittier, we had to drive through North America’s longest highway tunnel, called the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. The tunnel is two-and-a-half miles long and goes right through a mountain! Since there’s only room for one lane (train or car) through the mountain, traffic through the mountain runs one way for a half-hour, then the other way for the next half. Traffic lines up in lanes on each side until it’s their side’s turn to go through the mountain. Going through the tunnel was cool. Lights ran overhead, but it was still pretty dark inside, save for vehicle headlights. Seth joked that the drive through the tunnel was the “darkest” part of our tour, due to the prevalence of the “midnight sun.” Rock completely surrounded us inside the tunnel, creating a damp, cool feeling.

Whittier, a town with probably more fishing boats and small yachts than people, and few city buildings and streets, was just a mile ahead once we emerged from the tunnel. Most people there live in their boats or in the one large apartment complex in town. I saw only a couple houses. I could not possibly live in a town so small; I need more people around and things to do. Anyway, we ate a seafood lunch at Varly’s Swiftwater Seafood Café, one of Lucie and Betty Anne’s favorite spots in Whittier. I ate a basket of their “peel and eat” shrimp, which were juicy and tasty, and washed it down with a bottle of a Fairbanks, AK-based brew called Silver Gulch Coldfoot Pilsner, which was a good beer. We stopped at an ice cream sop afterwards for dessert, browsed a few more shops, then went on our way back through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel.

Next, we drove to Alyeska Resort to take a tram to the top of the ski resort’s main mountain (about 2,800 feet above sea level). It was fun watching the resort get smaller and smaller and seeing more rivers and lakes as the tram ascended the mountain face. There was still plenty of snow at the top, so Lucie, Seth and I threw snowballs at each other. There was a café and little visitor center at the top, but I had a heckuva lot more fun watching parasailers take off and float through the air as they weaved back to the resort area to land. They looked so graceful in the air. I should try parasailing sometime to get the experience of a “bird’s eye view” of the land.

We hit the road again, heading back to Wasilla. Betty Anne, our driver for the drip, took us to an overlook of Anchorage. We could see the city’s few “skyscrapers” in the distance and also Mt. Susitna, a.k.a. “The Sleeping Lady.” It was a pretty view. We also stopped at the Harley-Davidson shop near Wasilla so Seth could pick up a t-shirt for his dad, the Harley fiend.

At home, we had cornbread and watermelon for a snack. Betty Anne showed us videos of moose that were grazing in their yard.

Saturday, June 21, 2008 – DAY 4

This morning, we saw a mama moose with twin babies in Lucie and Betty Anne’s yard. I love the frequency of wildlife sightings, especially at such close range, in Alaska. You can in certain areas of MN, too, but not quite to the extent that you can in Alaska.

Lucie, Betty Anne, Seth and I spent the day in Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, spread out over probably a couple dozen miles in each direction, and home to around 300,000 people. We first went to the Alaska Native Heritage Center (ANHC), a museum dedicated to sharing and preserving the culture of the five major Native cultures of Alaska: the Eyak/Tlingit/Haida/Tsimshian, the Aleut/Alutiq, the Inupiaq/St. Lawrence Island Yupik, the Yup’ik/Cup’ik, and the Athabascan peoples. The museum was set up with a visitors’ center, and then five “village sites” around a small manmade lake. Each village site was devoted to one of Alaska’s Native groups, with a replica of their traditional housing structures, and artifacts inside. What really impressed me was the ingenuity of their housing to withstand Alaska’s brutal winter conditions. Many huts were built right into the earth and covered with sod and vegetation. Some communities had tunnels connecting families’ homes. A good portion of Alaska’s Native communities were also matrilineal, meaning that hunting and property rights were passed down through the mother’s side. I wonder what it would be like to live in a culture like that.

From the ANHC, we drove to downtown Anchorage. The city reminded me of a larger version of St. Cloud mixed with a smaller and less sketchy version of Vancouver. Anchorage has only a few tall buildings. Sometimes, it didn’t feel like were in the downtown area—it wasn’t congested. But, of course, it was Saturday and we didn’t have to contend with rush hour traffic. And, we traversed along the streets devoted to tourists, with shops, restaurants, and street vendors. Anchorage is a small “big city.”

At Big Al’s, a little shop/café with a hot dog vendor out front, we ate reindeer sausage on buns. I fed the reindeer a couple days ago, and now the reindeer fed me. The meat was flavorful, with a little kick to it, but that may have been because of the spices put into the sausage.

Matroyshka dolls are plentiful throughout shops in Alaska, due to the country’s proximity to the state and influence on Alaskan culture, and at Big Al’s, I saw a set of dolls for Russia’s and the former Soviet Union’s leaders, like Putin, Yeltzin, Gorbechav, and (the smallest doll) Stalin. I took a picture of the set, but didn’t purchase it. What would I have done with a bunch of dead Russians? I thought.

After lunch, we continued walking along the streets in Anchorage, browsing the shops. We stopped at the Alaska Mint, looking at commemorative medallions, coins, and Alaskan gold jewelry. We went to the Ulu Factory, and although factory workers were only making the curved cutting boards instead of the knives, we had fun browsing the products for sale.

Next, we went to the Anchorage Market and Festival, where on weekends during the summer, vendors sell arts, crafts, Alaska-made products, and food. We had a great time checking out the wares. One pretty guitarist played music for the passersby, with a cardboard sign in her open guitar case stating “College Tuition.” Seth tried salmon kabobs, and I met cartoonist Chad Carpenter, an Alaskan who created the comic strip “Tundra.” The Star Tribune started running the strip in its comics section a month or two ago, and I enjoy it a lot. Carpenter was nice and easy-going, and I bought one of his books, which he signed, including a drawing of a cartoon dog.

On our way out of Anchorage to head home, we stopped at the Alaska Wildberry Products Company, eyeing the big chocolate fountain and chocolate bars with delight and sugar hunger, and sampled some of the chocolate products. The weather—rainy this morning—had cleared up while we were still in Anchorage, and we could see the mountains in the distance that had been obscured on previous days. We even saw—very faintly—Mt. McKinley. Magnificent! It’s estimated that only 20% of travelers to Alaska get to see the tallest mountain in the U.S.

At home, we drank lots of wine, and ate crackers with brie and smoked salmon. We tried homemade raspberry and coffee liqueurs Lucie and Betty Anne had made while they shared hunting stories.

Sunday, June 22, 2008 – DAY 5

Let me just write a few words here about Alaska’s weather. Lucie had advised Seth and me to pack layers for the trip, and boy, did we use them! High temperatures for most days only reached to the mid-60s, and it was cloudy, too. I wore two or three layers of shirts (t-shirt, long-sleeved tee, and hoodie) every day, sometimes adding a fourth layer (jacket) if it was raining. The weather was also unpredictable; it can change after traveling only five miles. I don’t think I could ever live in Alaska; it is way too cold and remote for me, and the weird sunlight hours during the summer and winter would be hard for me to get used to.

We were hoping it wouldn’t rain today because we were going up to Talkeetna, considered one of the best places to see Mt. McKinley if we weren’t going to Denali National Park. Even when it’s cloudy, mountains in the distance can be obscured, so rain was bad news for us. I kept hoping that the rain would clear up by mid-afternoon, but it didn’t. Bummer!

We headed up to Talkeetna around 11:00 this morning after an egg/potato/veggie skillet breakfast, made by Betty Anne. Talkeetna, population approx. 873, was a railroad town in the early 1900s to 1950s, and is the “home base” for mountain climbers hoping to summit McKinley (a.k.a “Denali,” which is the preferred name for the mountain, according to Alaskans). The town is a definite haven for tourists, as gift shops and eateries line its main drag. But, Talkeetna is also a weird little town, and the slight remoteness of it, and the fact that it’s so close to Denali, must have some effect on its people. Lucie and Betty Anne told us that two teenagers held up a group of trick-or-treaters by gunpoint just to steal their candy. Crazy—and just plain stupid!

We first stopped at Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, located a couple miles outside the main part of town. The resort provides a nice view of Denali—if weather conditions allow you to see it. We saw nothing but clouds in the distance, and the confluence of the Talkeetna, Chulitna, and Susitna Rivers. I was very disappointed that bad weather prevented us from seeing Denali, but you can’t predict the weather. At least we saw it faintly the day before, but I was hoping to get a closer view of it.

Lucie was in the mood for pie, so we stopped at the Lodge’s restaurant for dessert and coffee (hot chocolate for me). They only had key lime pie, so she got a moose-themed Swiss chocolate cake, which Seth also had. Betty got crème bruleé, and I ate a slice of delicious cheesecake with an Oreo cookie crust and whipped cream and raspberry sauce topping.

Once in Talkeetna, we put on our rain gear and started browsing the gift shops. None of us would purchase anything, except munchies for my aunt. We went to the Talkeetna Historical Museum, where we viewed a room-sized “to-scale” model of Denali and the surrounding peaks, as well as gold-panning and railroad equipment, a trapper and hunting cabin, and town artifacts. We split a pitcher of Alaskan Amber Ale at the Historic Fairview Inn, which used to be a hotel. Now, it’s a tavern (at least on the first floor) with rooms for rent above it. And when I say it’s a tavern, I mean a tavern—wood floors, walls, chairs and tables, with stuffed animal heads and old tools displayed for decoration. Drinking there kinda felt like going back in time. All I needed were cowboy boots and a frilly dress.

Back in Wasilla, we ate supper at the Great Bear Brewing Company, a brewpub with excellent barrel-brewed beer and tasty burgers. Seth and I split a spicy burger with pepper-jack cheese. Once back at our “home away from home,” we saw the mama moose and one of the baby moose much closer than we had thus far. They were probably only 40-50 feet away. Seth and I started packing.

Monday, June 23, 2008 – DAY 6

Lucie made grits for us for breakfast. Seth and I gave her and Betty Anne chocolate we had purchased in appreciation for their hospitality and all the driving they did for us while we visited them.

We headed to the airport around 9:00, and saw the mama moose and her calf again on our way out of the driveway. One of the most memorable parts of the trip has been the insane number of wildlife we’ve seen, especially the moose we’ve see in Lucie and Betty Anne’s own backyard. And the moose were so close to us! I’ll miss seeing the mountains in the distance on good (i.e. not cloudy or rainy) days, too.

On our way to the airport, we stopped at a lookout near Earthquake Park, which used to contain houses, but during the 1964 Good Friday earthquake, a portion of those bluffs broke off and fell into Cook Inlet, wiping out many homes. The area where the park is now is a dense forest of trees. By the Park, we snapped a few pictures of the Anchorage skyline.

At the airport, Seth and I checked in, then said goodbye to Lucie and Betty Anne. I don’t think I’d ever met Betty Anne before this trip, but I really liked her spirit and sense of humor. I will miss how clean and crisp the Alaskan air is. But, I have certainly slept better now that I’m back at home due to the fact that it gets dark at night!

We had an uneventful flight home, though the flight attendants offered us extra cheeseburgers. We took a cab back to my place once we got our baggage from the claim. It’s good to be home and relay our trip’s adventures to interested friends, family and co-workers.

A Case of the Mondays

2008-06-17T19:37:28Z

The past two weekends have been busy and exciting for me. On Friday, June 6, I saw Stone Temple Pilots in concert at Roy Wilkins Auditorium. It was an awesome show, and the crowd loved the band. For most of the show, I could hear the audience singing along with the songs. This past weekend, Mom and Dad drove down to the Cities and stayed with me Saturday and Sunday. We went to the Stone Arch Festival of the Arts, and I took them out to eat at Kikugawa. They really liked the food they ordered (shrimp tempura for Mom, chicken teriyaki for Dad), and Mom even tried my sushi (but she didn’t like it nearly as much as she liked her own order). Mom and Dad stuck around to watch me bartend, too. On Father’s Day, we went to church at St. Joan of Arc, and though I was worried they’d find SJA too liberal for their liking, they liked how refreshing and encouraging Mass was. As they put it, “As long as it has the Eucharist, we really don’t care what the rest of it is like.” Kevin joined us for Father’s Day brunch at my house, and the four of us had a pleasant afternoon together.

Unfortunately, this week did not start out well. I was in a car accident yesterday (Monday) on my way to work, my second one in two years’ time. I wasn’t hurt, but my car sustained damages. I was driving along 66th Street in Richfield, not even five to six blocks from my house, heading east where I would eventually pick up Hwy. 77 to head to Burnsville. Annoying construction projects in the area reduced the normal two lanes of traffic in each direction down to one lane, so there were plenty of cars on the road. As I approached an intersection, a tan van suddenly pulled out right in front of me, turning left onto 66th St. so she could head in the same direction I was going. I swerved to avoid hitting her, and plowed into the 66th St./Columbus Ave. sign, knocking it right over. I don’t know if the driver of the van saw what happened; she just kept on driving.

After 15-30 seconds of sitting, completely stunned, in my car, I got out to assess the damage. My right front headlight was knocked completely out of its “socket,” but at least the glass didn’t shatter. The right front bumper bent downwards, nearly touching the ground, and the front side panel, located above the tire and ending at the headlight, was bent like asphalt heaving upward. At least my car was still drivable.

A witness gave me the number for the Richfield Police Department, who sent out an officer once I called and explained what happened, stating that I wanted to file a report. Two more witnesses, bless their hearts, confirmed that a tan van hit me and that a woman was driving it, and the older gentleman of the duo wrote down the van’s license plate number and gave it to me, along with his business card if the police needed to contact him for further information. The accident was not my fault, although the police officer told me that it would have been better if I had actually hit the van because the driver of that vehicle could contest my statement as it currently stands, stating that “Oh, she had plenty of room” or something like that. The whole thing happened so fast, and I didn’t want to hit the other vehicle because I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I had hurt someone else. So, I swerved to avoid her and took out a street sign instead.

Later on, once the officer left and I had called my insurance company, I drove my car over to La Mettry’s Collision so they could do the necessary repairs. An employee estimated that my car sustained around $1,700 worth of damages. At least my car wasn’t totaled. Progressive will take care of all expenses except for the $500 deductible. They also arranged for a car rental for me, and an Enterprise representative picked me up, taking me over to their Bloomington location to fill out paperwork for the rental. So, I’m driving a brand new 2008 Chevy Cobalt, black in color, until tomorrow morning when I head up to Alaska for six days.

I arrived at work about 10:30, two-and-a-half hours later than I wanted to, and I forced myself to focus on the day’s tasks, but I kept thinking about the accident, and was still on edge because of it. I’m thankful that I wasn’t hurt, that no one else was, that my car wasn’t totaled, that some good Samaritans helped me out and kept me in good spirits despite the terrifying nature of the ordeal, and that I get to drive a new car for a couple days. The accident could have been much worse. But I don’t like the fear of driving that has taken hold of me, the nervousness I feel whenever I get behind the wheel of a car. I feel 10 years older, and less confident than I used to be. Plus, the accident happened two days before I head up to Alaska, but of course, accidents never happen at opportune times. I know it will take some time to get my courage back, to feel less vulnerable after having had a brush with mortality, but I hope the fear won’t take too strong of a hold on me, grabbing on with all it’s got and never letting go. I just want to be okay.

I’m definitely looking forward to my much-needed vacation even more now.

Why I don't watch TV

2008-06-15T20:26:34Z

Here's the link to the Minnesota Women's Press article I wrote:

http://www.womenspress.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=2&ArticleID=3088

How to get out of a speeding ticket... Jesus-style

2008-06-06T19:39:37Z

As you know from my previous entry, Ryan (from Spokane) visited me in the Cities two weekends ago. I took him to many of my favorite places, but the weekend almost started off on a sour note.

On our way to Gasthof’s that Friday night, I drove us through downtown Minneapolis. We were chatting, and I wasn’t paying much attention to how fast I was driving. As we crossed the Hennepin Ave. bridge, I noticed a cop car parked along the right side. I looked down at my speedometer, and noticed that I was going fast. I hit my brakes, hoping that I could slow down in just the right amount of time, but it was too late. The police officer pulled up behind my car, and once I turned onto University Ave., he put on his lights, and I pulled into a parking lot.

Mentally, I was kicking myself. Remembering the humiliation—and the sticker price—of my previous ticket in October 2007, I internally berated myself for not paying closer attention to how fast I was driving. Here goes another $142 down the drain… and the end of a fun evening, I thought.

“Good evening, ma’am,” the officer said as he approached my window, “do you know how fast you were driving?” I answered that I didn’t, that I was conversing with my passenger and watching out for other cars and hadn’t noticed my speed. He then told me I was going 45 mph in a 30 mph zone. I reiterated how sorry I was for going so fast, and that I didn’t know how fast I had been going. The officer asked for my driver’s license and proof of insurance, which I politely handed over, and he headed back to his vehicle.

Immediately, I thought the worst: He took my ID. I’m definitely going to get a ticket. I just got a ticket in October. I can’t afford to get another one! What if my license is suspended?! Ryan held my hand and mostly stayed silent, letting me mentally and verbally vent my frustrations, although he did apologize, saying that he shouldn’t have been distracting me so much through our conversation. He didn’t need to apologize; I should have been watching my speed.

The officer returned to my car, and showed me his radar gun, which had indeed clocked me at 45 mph. “You do know you deserve a ticket for this, don’t you?” I answered yes, and told him that since he had taken my license, I was convinced he’d give me a ticket. He asked if we had come from downtown (no, we had come straight from my house) and where we were headed (Gasthof’s, because Ryan was from out of town and had never been there before). Then, the officer surprised me: “This time, I’m just going to give you a warning. But if you’re caught speeding again, you will get a ticket.” Dumbfounded, I thanked the officer, and so did Ryan, and he gave me back my ID and insurance card and wished us a good night.

After the officer left my window, Ryan turned to me and said, “We have to pray. We have to thank God.” When I asked why, Ryan replied, “The whole time I was holding your hand, I was praying that you wouldn’t get that ticket.”

I probably had a deer-in-headlights expression on my face. I was just speechless. I completely deserved that ticket, especially because I was going 15 mph over the speed limit, and yet I didn’t get the ticket. Wow… God did that for me! I hadn’t even thought of asking for God’s help, but Ryan did. I thought at one point that maybe Ryan had a better “in” with God, that he was a member of God’s special posse or something. Nevertheless, astonishment turned to gratitude as Ryan and I thanked God for sparing me. And then I thought that maybe this is just the tip of God’s love for all of us, just the tip of God’s abounding grace.

"Leonardo da Vinci couldn't have sculpted something so immaculate."

2008-05-28T01:13:56Z

The past couple of weeks have been extremely busy for me... at least on the weekends. Three days after I left Spokane, Ryan decided he was going to return to Minnesota to visit his family for three weeks. During his time here, he drove down here to the Cities and spent a weekend (May 16-19) with me. I took a day off, so I'd have more time with him, and took him to some of my favorite places, which included:
--Polka dancing at Gasthof's (Friday night)
--Running around Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet (Saturday), and Minnehaha Falls (Monday)
--Lunch at The Bad Waitress (Saturday)
--Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Loring Park, and Lowry Park (Saturday)
--Kikugawa (Ryan hung out at my bar Saturday night when I was working. He ate sushi, asked me to make a few cocktails for him, and wrote me notes)
--Psycho Suzi's after I was done working Saturday night, where he met Seth, Ruth and Ruth's roommate, Zoe
--Church at St. Joan of Arc and Destiny Christian Center (Sunday)
--Lunch at The Happy Gnome (Sunday)
--Minnesota History Center, martinis at Moscow on the Hill, walking around Cathedral Hill, Common Good Books (Sunday)
--Lunch at Galactic Pizza, ice cream at Sebastian Joe's, and browsing the shops in Uptown (Monday)
--Meeting Scott at the Happy Gnome for beer and food (Monday)

I visited my parents in LF this past Memorial Day weekend, and also had the opportunity to see Ryan again. He accompanied us to church on Sunday, made his famous chicken fettucine alfredo for us for lunch, and saw all sorts of embarassing pictures of me from when I was in high school. I also saw where he grew up in Royalton, and rode a four-wheeler for the first time. Dan, his best friend and my cousin, hosted a bonfire with Steve and Bill (Dan's brothers/my cousins) and their significant others Sunday night, and invited us to come over. There's nothing quite like sitting around a campfire, drinking beer, eating s'mores, and reliving memories.

I think I've had too much fun the past two weekends because I'm now feeling under the weather. My throat increased in soreness as the day went on. Let's hope it's just a mild cold. I hate being sick.

Oh, and Minnesota Women's Press will be publishing an essay I wrote in an upcoming issue. I will post it when it's available online. :)

Heading Home

2008-05-23T04:36:23Z

Struggling to find you
Wanting to feel your arms around me
Knowing I’m safe
Knowing I’m loved
Knowing I’m saved

Help me to stay focused on you
Pursuing you
Asking questions
Seeking the answers
Only you can give

Voices taunt me from
All directions
Trying to keep me down
Trying to keep me scared
Trying to keep me from you

Inside, they remind me of my past
Tell me I’m worthless
That you could never love me
That I’ve tried to find you before
And failed

Outside, they say I’m foolish
Stupid for following you
This is a mindless sham
Coercive, discriminatory, hypocritical
Why don’t you rely on yourself?

But only you can
Make me whole
Take away my pain
Heal my heart and
Fill it with love

Only in you can I find rest
My soul is leading me towards you
Knowing I will be complete then
Only in you can I
Truly be home.

©Richelle Maciej, 2008

Smitten with Spokane

2008-05-11T21:18:23Z

Friday, May 2, 2008
     The first third of my flight out to Spokane was turbulent, setting my nerves on edge. But the winds died down, and the rest of the flight was smooth. The plane landed in Spokane a little after noon, and my friend, Ryan, met me in the baggage claim area with a bouquet of yellow tulips. No one had every given me flowers at an airport before, so receiving them was incredibly touching. Ryan was so ecstatic that I was visiting him; he had a grin permanently glued on his face the whole weekend.
     From the airport, Ryan drove me into Spokane, taking me to an overlook of the whole hilly city so I could take pictures. Spokane is full of a mix of newer and historic buildings, and in the distance, you could see small mountains, like Mt. Spokane. From the overlook, we headed over to Manito Park to walk around the gorgeous Japanese gardens. The pond water was so clear, it was easy to see the weird-colored koi swimming. Beautiful trees and plans surronded the water, as well as a few pagodas. We also went to the conservatory, where I thoroughly enjoyed taking close-up photos of the unique flowers and plants.
     After we finished walking around the park, we headed to downtown Spokane. Ryan and I stooped at the Spokane Convention Center to pick up our Bloomsday race packets, and then stuck around to browse the vendors at the Race Weekend Expo. The featured guest this year was Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to legally enter and finish the Boston Marathon back in 1968. She gained notoriety when a race official tried to forcibly remove her from the race. Since then, she has been instrumental in creating running programs for women and girls. Switzer was signing copies of her new book, Marathon Woman, so I bought a copy. She signed my book with a personal message ("Richelle! Here's to your 1st Bloomsday! This is a victory forever! Always run! K. Switzer"), and I had the opportunity to chat with her. She's so down-to-earth and friendly, and she even gave me a hug before I left. What a fun memory for my first Bloomsday! I used some of the birthday money I received from Mom & Dad to pay for the blook, as well as a "Tiger Tail" self-massaging stick, to be used to loosen up and warm up muscles and work out knots. The woman demonstrating the device at the vendor booth enjoyed using the stick on slightly unsuspecting, yet willing, participants.
    Ryan and I ate a late lunch at The Elk Public House, a pub/restaurant Ryan frequents. Afterwards, Ryan showed me the Bloomsday course. It looked very manageable, even "Doomsday Hill" after mile 4. Ryan then took me to his cozy and spacious apartment up in the north side of Spokane. This area--where he lives--reminded me of St. Cloud: streets lined with chain stores and malls. We hung out for a couple hours, listenening to music, chatting, and looking through his old photo albums. He grew up with my cousin Dan in Royalton, and so I had fun looking at pictures of the two of them when they were younger.
    We planned to go out dancing the first night I was in Spokane, so we dressed up and went out. First, we took at "Salsa 101" class at the Spokane Dance Company. The class lasted about an hour, then a dance at the company was held afterwards for the people attending the class and any others that wanted to practice their salsa moves. Ryan and I stuck around for the open dance part for another hour, then decided to grab a very late supper at a sushi bar. We went to Ichiban Sushi Lounge, and split three rolls (Spider, the Bomb, and Tanoshi). Their sushi rivaled Kikugawa's. We were still in the mood to go dancing after supper, but not salsa, so we went to a dressy club called Studio 23 for some "club" (i.e. hip-hop and R&B) dancing. We had a good time out on the dance floor.

Saturday, May 3, 2008
     Around 9:00 this morning, Ryan and I headed to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, for church. Ryan's church, LifeSource Community Church, is affiliated with Seventh-Day Adventism, meaning that they celebrate the Sabbath on Saturday. On our way out there, driving on I-90, we saw a car in front of us suddenly veer to the left and hit the meridian. We think that the car blew out a tire. I hope the driver was okay. We stopped at the side of the road, debating whether we should go back to help, but the woman emerged from the car unscathed and a police car arrived shortly thereafter. The whole thing happened so instantly that I couldn't help but think of how random life can be--how everything can change in the blink of an eye.
     I was quite excited when we crossed the Idaho border. I'd never been to Idaho before, and now I only have two states left to visit (Alaska and Nevada) before I rack up all 50. The upper part of Idaho, where Coeur d'Alene (CDA) is located, is much like Eastern Washington--rolling hills and small mountains.
     We stopped for breakfast at Java on Sherman, a cute little coffeeshop, before church. They seriously have the best chai tea ever--very sweet and velvety. A cute little girl, about 3-years-old, came in with her dad, and everyone turned to watch her because she was so adorable, walking around in curiosity at everything.
     Every year in May, LifeSource holds their worship service on Lake Coeur d'Alene on a ferry pontoon boat. Luckily for me, I visited Ryan the weekend they were doing "Church on the Lake." We walked along the lake's boardwalk before people started boarding the boat, taking pictures of the lake. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. Ryan's church friends wanted to meet the "friend from Minnesota" he'd been talking about. Soon after, the worship service started, with praise and worship music first, then a sermon by Pastor Phil. Once worship ended, everyone enjoyed the cruise around Lake Coeur d'Alene. I called Mom on my cell phone to say hi, tell her I was in Idaho, and was having a fun trip. Ryan, Pastor Phil and I also conversed about faith and God's grace.
     After the cruise, Ryan and I walked around the city of CDA, population a little over 40,000. CDA is a touristy town, and its business district contains lots of shops and art galleries. We browsed in a few of the small galleries and stopped at a couple gift shops. We ate lunch at The Iron Horse Bar & Grill, sitting at an outside table while eating.
     We headed back to Spokane mid-afternoon and drove to some nice lookout points of the Spokane River so I could take pictures. There were some gushing rapids at one point--perfect for adventurous whitewater rafting. The late winter cause the snow to melt off the mountains later, creating the heavy rapids we saw which would have been less spectacular in normal years. In the evening, Ryan took me to a Spokane Spiders soccer game. The young team lost to the Yakima Reds 0-3.

Sunday, May 4, 2008
     The 2008 Bloomsday Run was this morning. Over 43,000 runners would complete the 12-kilometer (7.46 miles) course. Bloomsday is one of the largest road races in the U.S. The weather was perfect--sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and comfortable temperatures that would top out at 70-degrees in the afternoon. It was a warm run, especially with all the runners present and the weather.
     Though the race didn't start until 9:00, we wanted to arrive downton early enough to find decent parking. But even 7:30 was too early, so we walked around Riverside Park and the downtown area. Pastor Phil and his wife, Debbie, met up with us. Phil ran Bloomsday as a training run for the Coeur d'Alene Ironman Triathlon. Eventually, the runners lined up on Riverside Avenue, filling in the streets, grouped according to bib color. The race officially started at 9:00, but the color groups took off in waves, so ours didn't start moving until about 9:15. With all the people running, our pace was slow for at least the first mile or two, but then we picked it up. Ryan and I ran the same pace naturally--and he was worried he'd be too slow for me!
     The course wove through historic Browne's Addition neighborhood for the first couple of miles, then followed the Spokane River to Doomsday Hill. The Hill wasn't that bad; it reminded me of the second hill of the Omaha Half-Marathon, but not as long of a distance to run. The "Doomsday Hill Vulture" (a guy wearing a bird costume) met runners at the top of the hill and gave high-fives to those who conquered it. I had a bad side cramp after finishing the Hill, but I adjusted my breathing, and the side ache went away.
     There were a lot of people line along the course cheering on runners. Spokane really knows how to provide good crowd support for its biggest race. It seems like the whole city comes out in support one way or another. Live music entertainment was located along the course at every one-fourth to one-third of a mile, which greatly motivated us runners. There were some belly dancers and an Elvis impersonator playing the accordion! A few runners wore costumes for the run. I saw plenty of wigs, some '80s getup, two guys wearing 1970s-era polyester suits (with running shoes), and a man wearing a tight-fitting French maid outfit.
     Ryan and I both felt exhilirated after finishing the race on the Monroe Street Bridge--what an accomplishment! Bloomsday was the biggest race I'd ever been a part of, and it was a lot of fun to run. I enjoyed the scenery mix of city neighborhoods and nature, and the energy of the crowds and runners. We finished the run in 1 hour, 9 minutes and 22 seconds (1:09:22), a 9:17/mile pace. We made good time! I was the 8th runner from MN to finish out of 22 fellow state attendees.
     After disposing of our timing chips in the bins, we picked up our red finisher shirts, which had a cool abstract design of stick-like runners running. Most runners, including us, would wear them the rest of the day as a badge of honor. Then, if we saw other runners in Spokane later in the day, we'd ask them how they did.
     We went back to Ryan's apartment after the race to showerand change into our finisher shirts and more comfy clothing. Then, Ryan took me to his workplace, Cyan Worlds (a video game company), located on the outskirts of Spokane. The company's two buildings were nestled amongst trees and rocks. We went back into downtwon Spokane where there were still plenty of runners milling about post-race. Ryan and I ate lunch at O'Doherty's Irish Grille, one of his favorite places, enjoying burgers and beer. O'Doherty's also sponsors the running club Ryan is a part of (The Flying Irish).
     After lunch, we walked around Riverside Park, admiring the various sculptures, including a giant red Radio Flyer wagon, and a garbage-eating mechanical goat. We took pictures of the gigantic Monroe Street Bridge and the Spokane Falls, which gushes underneath. The Spokane River divides the city in two, and the spring runoff from the mountains made the Falls even more spectacular. Gondolas go underneath the bridge to give viewers unafraid of heights the best view of the Falls. Spokane has other beautiful bridges spanning the river.
     We also browsed in the various touristy/gift shops downtown. At the Chocolate Apothecary, we sampled liquid chocolate, satisfying my sweet tooth. We also stopped in a store called Boo Radley, where I picked up a button that says, "God knows when you don't tip." I plan on wearing that when I'm bartending to see if my tips improve. ;-) Later on, we played pool at Far West Billiards, and went to an underground restaurant called The Catacombs to split an order of s'mores. With the s'mores fixings came a small cauldron set afire with kindling so you could roast the marshmallows at your table. Sweet! Ryan and I spent the evening back at his apartment relaxing from the morning's race and chatting.

Monday, May 5, 2008
     Ryan made us breakfast in the morning, and after I packed up all my stuff, we headed to the airport. Before heading there, Ryan stopped at a Christian bookstore to buy me a Bible (NLT version), as I had been looking for a new one, and had grown to like the NLT version through church readings. It meant a lot to me that he bought me a Bible; it will help me on my faith journey. I found it difficult to leave Spokane; I had had an amazing weekend while I was out there, and really fell in love with the area. But, I returned, back to the Land of 10,000 Lakes on an uneventful flight.

In other news, I ran the TC 1 mile on Thursday, finishing it in 7 minutes and 25 seconds (7:25). I think that's the fastest I've ever run. Wow! I pushed myself hard!

Also, I broke up with Mark recently. Mark is a great guy, but I realized that he wasn't the right person for me. I just knew in my heart, despite the fact that he is a good person. I hope he finds himself a woman that's deserving of him. I take full responsibility for what happened.

Teaser

2008-05-10T05:42:43Z

Here's what I did on May 4 during my trip to Spokane:

http://www.krem.com/video/bloomsday-index.html?nvid=241962 (You'll need to turn the volume up on the video after the 15-second ad finishes)

Another one takes the plunge

2008-05-02T01:39:36Z

This past weekend, one of my best friends, a woman I've known since the eighth grade, got married to a great guy. If you've looked at my Facebook profile lately and perused the pictures I posted, you'll know that Roxy (lilrox16) got married on Saturday, on a snowy, blustery day at Camp Ripley Chapel in LF. The weather may have been crappy, but the wedding was absolutely beautiful. Throughout the wedding, memories of my friendship with Roxanne flashed through my mind--meeting her in Mr. Hanowski's social studies class, watching her perform at high school speech meet finals, the countless plays we were in together, choir concerts, prom, graduation, weekends when she and Mary would come visit me in Morris while I was attending college out there. What a friendship we've had! Reliving those memories made it hard for me to believe that she was getting married. It's weird to think about--you're friends getting married, that is--but that's life. We all grow up and enter into new life experiences. Congratulations, Roxanne! I know your marriage to Jake will be strong and wonderful. And I hope you two have lots of kids!

Highlights from the wedding:
-Roxanne's dress was gorgeous--long, flowing, a bit sparkly, and lacy. The veil was also long and lacy.
-The wedding ceremony (duh!). I liked that when Roxy and Jake kissed each other for the first time as a married couple, they rushed each other so furiously that the Jaws of Life couldn't tear them apart.
-During the dinner, Beth (one of the bridesmaids) and I kept clinking our glasses to make the happy couple kiss. At the end of dinner, Jake came over to us and asked, "Alright, which one of you is on the automatic timer?"
-Roxy's brothers performed the beautiful instrumental tune they played for the couple's first dance together. If I get married, I should ask them to play at my wedding dance.
-For the Father/Daughter Dance, Roxy and her dad danced to, I kid you not, "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy." Gary Block, the DJ, commented at the end of it that that was the best Father/Daughter Dance he'd ever seen. They certainly had a lot of fun out on the dance floor.

Tomorrow, I leave for a long weekend trip to Spokane to visit my friend, Ryan. We're running the 32nd annual Bloomsday Run, and going to Idaho on Saturday to attend the church he's been attending the past few months, but other than that, other events for the weekend are tentative. We might check out a sushi place, a bar named The Viking, and go salsa dancing (you know me--I love to dance, and tore up the dance floor at Roxy's wedding). I'll update with the highlights of the weekend upon my return.

For the past couple weeks, any weeknight excursions involved seeing films at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival. Mark and I saw three films: the Danish film Clash of Egos, the Czech film Empties, and the Israeli film Jellyfish. We liked Clash of Egos the best--its storyline was the most entertaining of the trio. Luckily, some of the films that we didn't see during the festival will be shown at some of the independent theaters in the Cities in the coming weeks. I'm looking forward to seeing The Unknown Woman and Then She Found Me. Oooh... I should convince Maggie to see the latter with me. She loves Colin Firth. :)

Spokane, here I come!

I already do!

2008-04-23T23:52:11Z

You Should Live in a Big City

You don't want anything in particular out of life... you want it all.

You crave new and exciting experiences. And you get bored fairly easily.

Only very big cities can keep you entertained and stimulated.

Where Should You Live?

"Little kids act like they're on LSD." - Alex

2008-04-15T02:46:44Z

In the past two weeks, I celebrated my 24th birthday. I'm one year away from hitting my quarter-life crisis. ;-) j/k!

Actually, I had a great birthday. It was on a Saturday this year, and although I have two jobs, I wanted the entire day off. So, I didn't work my bartending job. I started out the day participating in the Run the Valley 10K in Golden Valley. I took almost three minutes off my previous best 10K time by finishing in 53:08. But the best part of the event was when I got a text message from Mark two minutes before the race started, stating that he had a hard time finding parking. He got up early and drove to Golden Valley just to watch me run and cheer me on as I crossed the finish line. :) What a sweetie!

Later on that morning, after a shower and change of clothes, Mark and I drove up to the Surly Brewing Company in Brooklyn Center. Mark was hoping to treat me to a brewery tour, but they're not being offered until May. Luckily, the gift shop was open, and Mark bought me a 64-oz growler of Surly Bender and a Surly pint glass. I'd say those gifts fit me quite well, being a bartender and a small-time beer snob. :)

Mark took me out to lunch at Genghis Grill in Eagan, then we spent the afternoon hanging out together, going for a walk in a park close to my house to enjoy the beautiful 60-degree weather. Later on, Seth hosted a dinner party for me at his apartment. He made his famous chicken alfredo, which my fellow seven guests and I devoured ravenously, and we drank a lot of wine and played Boxers or Briefs. I'm so blessed to have such great friends. Thank you to all who attended. :)

I'm very excited that spring is finally here to stay. It's hard to believe that just a few days ago, a good chunk of MN was hit by a snowstorm. I drove up to LF Thursday night, as I took Friday off and had rescheduled the final bridesmaid's dress fitting from Saturday to Friday. When I woke up Friday morning, LF was blanketed in 12 inches of snow. My car was covered with so much snow that I could only see the license plate and bumper. Luckily, Dad woke up early to plow out our driveway with the tractor, and the main roads had been plowed, so I was able to go to my appointment. Later that day, I went to St. Cloud for Roxanne's bachelorette party, which was a lot of fun. We all purchased lingerie for her, which we separated into brown paper bags. She had to guess who gave her each item, and if she guessed incorrectly, she had to put the item(s) on over her clothing. At the end, she had on three thongs, two or three panties, two nighties, a bathrobe, and some underwear on her head. I got a great picture of the bride-to-be in all that get-up!

Tonight, I'm enjoying a rare relaxing evening at home, enjoying the two free iTunes songs I received for ordering tickets for the June 6 Stone Temple Pilots show at Roy Wilkins Auditorium. Score!

"You don't like Pearl Jam? What's wrong with you?!"

2008-03-26T03:55:22Z

Last night, I went to see Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin and Seether perform at the Target Center with Jess and Kelly, two of my old VF co-workers and friends. I hadn't been to a concert since Tool last June, and because I left that one disappointed, I was hoping that this one would, in a way, make up for it. I'm happy to report that even though the acoustics suck at the Target Center (my whole body reverberated with bass riffs and drum beats), the concert was great and I had a good time with my friends.

Neverset, a band I'd never heard of before, opened up the concert. I don't care to ever hear them again, they weren't that great. Seether took the stage after that and got the crowd more pumped. A favorite from that set was when the lead singer from Three Days Grace joined Seether's lead singer for a duet of "Broken."

Breaking Benjamin followed and really got the crowd moving. They played "Polyamorous," a favorite of mine and the first song I ever heard by that band, towards the middle of their set, as well as their other radio hits. The lead singer dropped the f-bomb one too many times for my liking, though--every sentence had at least one. But, I enjoy bands that love to perform for crowds, and Breaking Benjamin was no exception. Besides, the whole band just jives so well together. Their fireworks and large-scale sparkler visual effects were awesome.

The main floor, where my friends and I were, really got packed when Three Days Grace took the stage. They certainly showed up Breaking Benjamin with the visual effects--HUGE flames shot up at fixed points on the stage periodically. We could feel the heat emanating from the flames where we were standing. Like the other bands before, they performed their radio hits, but my favorite part of the night was when the lead singer played an acoustic version of "Rooster" by Alice in Chains. Anyone who knows me well knows that Alice in Chains is one of my favorite bands, and hearing "Rooster" made my night.

Jess, Kelly and I hit up Brothers Bar & Grill in the Warehouse District for a couple drinks after the show. And just like when I went clubbing during my 2006 spring break in Newfoundland, I got hit on by an older man. Eww!

Step #1: How to piss off your bartender

2008-03-19T04:01:13Z

This past Friday night was a busier bartending night for me. I had a few "tables," including an older couple where each person had run over 200 marathons. Wow! Around 8:00 or 8:30, a blonde woman walked up to my bar, having come from The Times. She was very talkative and as time wore on, I noticed she was a little inebriated, too. She ordered a glass of chardonnay and a spicy tuna roll (the man she was dating was going to pick her up, so I wasn't worried about serving her an alcoholic beverage), and chatted up the other people sitting at my bar.

After drinking part of the glass of wine, she went outside for a smoke break, then came back in. 10 minutes later, she went outside for another smoke break. At first I thought that was peculiar, but I figured she was a heavy smoker, and besides, I had other people to wait on, so I didn't think too much of it. A few minutes later, the valet from Picosa, the restaurant next door, came by, stating that the blonde woman had left her bag at the bar and wanted it. I knew she hadn't paid for her tab yet, and her sushi had just arrived, but she had come back the first time, so I thought she would return. Perhaps she was really overpossessive of her belongings. I was busy helping my other customers, too. I gave the bag to the hostess who was working tonight, who in turn gave the bag to the valet.

She never came back. And I was pissed off.

I'd never had a person walk out on me without paying before. Granted, it could have been a lot worse. Her tab was only a little over $12, she didn't even touch her sushi (we could reuse it again), and she drank only half the glass of wine. I would have felt more awful if her tab was $100, but I still felt like a bad bartender.

But there is more to the story. On Sunday, Shoko (one of our hostesses) called me and said the woman had called the restaurant, stating that she had lost her bag. After Shoko said that the woman never paid her tab, the woman apologized, said she was really drunk, and would drop by to pay the tab. I'll believe it when I see it.

Other than that, my weekend was good, but full of more ups and downs. Actually, the only other downer from the weekend was doing my taxes on Sunday. After filling out my 1040A and the Minnesota state tax form, I discovered that I owed the government money this year, a stark contrast to the nice refund I got last year. I had to pay the feds a little over $200 and the state $49 even. I'm thankful I didn't have to pay more... but I'd have rather kept that money for myself. The government takes enough out of my wages. Oh well.

Maggie, Jon and I went to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts Saturday afternoon to view a special exhibition of a private Japanese art collection. Although the artwork reminded us of all the other Japanese art already on view in other parts of the museum, it was still beautiful. We liked the scroll paintings of the courtesans the best. I took them to Kikugawa for a late lunch after that, as I wanted to show them where I worked. They seemed to like the restaurant, and said the food was good. Maybe in the near future, they'll stop by when I'm working (hint hint.... j/k!)

Seth and Elizabeth hosted a fun St. Patty's Weekend party at their apartments Saturday night. I got my green on! :)

Pictures from my day trip to Duluth with Mark have been posted on Facebook. Please feel free to check them out--there are plenty of nice ones in there. :)

"All you really want to know is that you're okay."

2008-03-13T05:50:23Z

I thought I would be much better at updating this thing upon discovering I had internet access here at home. Nope... guess not. So, here is another list of what I've been up to for the past two weeks:

1. Going to the Food & Wine Show paid off. Not only did I try new wines and cheeses and get a buzz going (haha!), but I won two free tickets to see Peer Gynt at the Guthrie Theater. Usually I'm so unlucky at drawings; I don't win a thing. I took Rachel (paninogirl) with me on March 2, as she'd been having a rough week and I thought she might like a diversion. Neither of us thought the play was fantastic, but at least we saw it for free. $48 tickets... for free. We ate at The Old Spaghetti Factory afterwards.

2. I went to the first of Roxanne's two bridal showers this past Saturday up in St. Cloud. Roxy, Mary and I had a joyous and hug-filled reunion, as I hadn't seen them for at least a year-and-a-half. I also visited with Roxy's parents, who were also there, and Mary's mom, and Jake (the fiance) of course. After the shower, I had the opportunity to see Roxy and Jake's house. It's an older house with brightly colored walls and high ceilings--very charming. Their wedding is on April 26 in LF.

3. Mark took me on a surprise trip up to Duluth on Sunday. He had wanted to take me to a specific church up there, and also show me the Duluth he remembered. We had a fantastic day. Upon our arrival, we had a little time to spare before church started, so we stopped at Amazing Grace Bakery & Cafe and split a chai tea latte. We then went to the 11:00 a.m. service at Hillside Community Church. Everyone there was so friendly, and the pastor's sermon was engaging and relevant. I met some of Mark's friends, but then I was shocked to see someone that I knew--Erin, a friend of mine from UMM that lived on my floor freshman year. It was great to see her again; I hadn't seen her since graduation, and she was in Guatemala on a mission trip for a while. Seeing her was one of those pleasant coincidences that make you feel like you're exactly where you're supposed to be. Mark and I ate lunch at Beijing Restauarant, where you get a heaping plate of Chinese food for a reasonable price. We bummed around Park Point, then drove up to Gooseberry Falls State Park and toured the falls. The best park of Gooseberry was walking on the solid ice covering the river; at points, I could hear the river flowing beneath the ice sheet. We stopped in Two Harbors on the way back to Duluth to check out their lighthouse, then ate at Fitger's Brewhouse Brewery before heading back to the Cities. Plus, we stopped at Tobie's in Hinckley and picked up a half-dozen of their world-famous caramel rolls. What a fantastic day! Pictures will be posted soon on Facebook.

4. I am one of the first 600 to register for the TC 1 Mile in May, and so I have guaranteed entry into the TC 10 Mile race in October. After two years of trying and failing to register for that race, the third time was finally the charm. Yay!

5. Godfather, Part 2 night with Seth and Elizabeth, which was mentioned in the replies to my last entry posted, was a night we couldn't refuse. Nothing beats hanging out with friends watching a good movie, eating great homemade food, and drinking copious amounts of wine. :) I am looking forward to their St. Patty's Day party this Saturday evening.

6. This post's subject line is a paraphrase of a line from March's Books & Bars selection, Geek Love by Katharine Dunn. It was such a bizarre book that I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened. Come on... you know a book is going to be great when by page 20, there's an albino midget stripping.

An update on what's going on in my little corner of the universe.

2008-02-25T03:46:26Z

I haven't updated for a long time, so it's time to bring out the list format.

1. I'm going to Alaska in June to visit my aunt Lucie. I'm super excited to see her, and to go to an area of the country that is reputed to be absolutely stunning in its beauty. Seth, my favorite traveling buddy, is accompanying me, and we will definitely have a fantastic time. We're going around the time of the summer solstice, and it will be bizarre to see the sun in the sky for over 20 hours.

2. I'm also going to Spokane in May to visit my friend Ryan and run the Bloomsday Run with him. Bloomsday is a 12-kilometer run that attracts over 50,000 runners to the Spokane area, and tests their strength and courage on the grueling "Doomsday Hill." This will be a fun weekend getaway.

3. I went home for a couple days last weekend to visit my parents. My dad's birthday was on the 19th, and so I wanted to give him his birthday present. Besides hanging out with my folks, I also hung out with my friend, Paul, which is always fun. I'll be going home again in a few weeks.

4. I spent my Valentine's Day working both of my jobs. Kikugawa was busy, but it didn't seem as busy as last year. Two of my bar customers were upset that they had to wait so long for their sushi, but I couldn't help that the sushi bar was backed up with orders. I was surprised they even tipped me at all.

5. I ran my first 5K of the year on Feb. 16--the Marathon Sports Valentine's Day 5K at Lake Harriet. There must have been at least 1,000 runners there. The weather was mild for winter, at least 20-degrees. If it gets below 10 degrees, I don't run outside. I felt like I ran strong the whole time. Stay tuned for more races!

6. I've been sick a lot lately. I had a sore and scratchy throat a few days before Valentine's Day, and it was more annoying than anything. I felt at about 75-80% of my usual self--not enough to miss work, but enough to make me cranky. The soreness went away before V-Day, but reared it's ugly head again during my weekend at home and turned into a full-blown cold by Thursday. Thursday and Friday were my worst days, but Saturday I started feeling better. Plus, I stayed in bed watching movies all day that day before I had to report to my bartending job. I'm almost 100% well... just a little nasal stuffiness left.

7. I went to the 14th Annual Twin Cities Food & Wine Experience (a.k.a. the Food & Wine Show) with my aunt Jan and her daughter-in-law Rebecca today. They're big winos, and had gone last year and loved it, and in order to increase my wine knowledge (and drink all the wine I wanted for $60), I accompanied them this year. We had a great time. I enjoyed sampling various wines, and learned that I like syrahs. I normally prefer white wine to red. The cheese was spectacular, too. Mmmm... Everyone received a free wine glass, but I managed to get two! :) I hope to return next year.

8. I discovered that my house is close enough to Minneapolis to get the free city-wide wi-fi connection. So, I'm updating from home. Unfortunately, I have to sit at the kitchen table to use the internet, and not upstairs where I do most of my "living." But beggars can't be choosers; I'm happy to have internet access again!

9. How are you all doing?

I changed my mind

2008-02-04T03:02:51Z

I'm not the greatest cook in the world. I burned macaroni and cheese once when I was younger. I do try to eat as healthy as possible, opting to eat sandwiches for lunch with an apple or carrot sticks and yogurt, or pasta that I cook the night before, like those Lipton Pasta Sides. However, I've been noticing lately that some of that packaged, preservative-filled food hasn't been sitting well in my stomach.

So, for an experiment, I'm going organic for a little while. I stopped at Valley Natural Foods in Burnsville Monday night after work, and bought organic cheese, turkey breast, cereal, canned soup, spinach, arugula, juice, milk... even organic Ben & Jerry's ice cream. I have been purchasing my bread from Great Harvest Bread Company for the past few months, so I already had that sandwich staple.

Granted, I'm still eating what I usually do (sandwiches, canned soup, etc.), but I've been feeling much better this week by the changes in my diet that I've made. I feel like what I'm eating is beneficial for my body, and helps local (if not regional or national) food producers. In order to get the full benefits of completely going organic, I'll have to make more of my dishes from scratch, but at least this is a start.

If anyone wants to share a pint of organic Ben & Jerry's with me, let me know. :)