It was my take on a more specific version of the ever-popular “bucket/life/to-do” lists, the following items representing what I had on my heart and mind for 2010: places I wanted to be, people I wanted to see, challenges I wanted to hog-tie. Ultimately: personal growth I wanted to foster, momentum I wanted to keep creating throughout the entire year ahead.

My mantra for 2010: Be brave, Kerri.

Throughout the past year I traveled. First to China, then to Korea, and then to Maui. I spent a lot of time with dear friends, both in Seattle and in Portland. I spent a lot of time alone, happily. I spent a lot of time brainstorming and writing stories. My hands shook and my heart raced as I entered poetry contests and received helpful criticism and feedback. I fell in love with acupuncture. I read more than I have since I was in college, and watched myriad (good and hilariously bad) movies. I found a church family again, and get to hang out with dear friends once a week, and a slew of awesome kids once a month. I found new and old music to inspire and move me. I let someone in for the first time in years, and watched him hurt me; I picked myself back up and kept moving forward. I remembered how to run, and how much I love to move. I lost twenty-five! pounds, and counting.

I grew by leaps and bounds, even while I was kicking and screaming and fighting my way through the official ending of marriage, and the official beginning of a new life, traipsing slowly but surely back to a woman I had almost forgotten, and forward through the haze to a stronger, confident, more faith-filled woman I’m still learning to recognize.

Throughout the past twelve months as I hit certain milestones and accomplished specific goals, I also updated the master list below on the page of my site I’ve been calling A Year Complete. For anyone interested, I’ve copied my entire list from 2010, and the corresponding updates below. (I’ve bolded goals on the list I didn’t finish this year, or goals that changed for me throughout the year.)

I’m currently working on my list for 2011, which I plan to post here in the next week or so. And while some of the goals will remain the same (For example, I want to keep reading two books a month whenever possible), I’m making this year’s list a bit simpler, and even more specific, all the while feeling endlessly excited and oh so hopeful about all that lies ahead.

————-A Year Complete: 2010———–

Jump into the Pacific Ocean at midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Take my first solo international flight.

Hike and photograph The Great Wall of China.

Wander around Beijing by myself and see how many times I get lost. (Zero times, surprisingly!)

Finish both stories I’m currently writing. I didn’t finish a single story, but I started at least five, on top of two that are moving toward novel-length manuscripts, and I’m genuinely excited about (and challenged by) all of them.

Take the streetcar to work while I still live near it. Or just get my parking paid for, thereby eliminating the guilt I feel for needing to commute.

Spend ten amazing days in South Korea with babycarrot sister and Will.

Kayak along the Columbia River; Kayak along the Columbia River during a full moon; Kayak along the Oregon Coast. I didn’t make it kayaking this year, and really really want to next year.

Kayak with Jen! on Lake Washington. No kayaking means this didn’t happen this year, despite our best laid plans. What did happen was me spending more time in Seattle with Jen (and Sizzle and Andrea and Terrell!) then I have any other year. To me that quality time means more than time spent kayaking.

Be an encouragement to as many people as possible. At least, I’m hoping I accomplished this. Note to self: Try to list goals that are a bit more…measurable.

Move into an apartment or house where I’m paying less rent. This didn’t happen this year (Newsflash: I hate! moving), but it’s going to the top of 2011′s To Do list.

Run, run, and run some more (specifically)–
In the rain on the beach.
In Forest Park.
Shamrock Run (5k), March 14 with Rhi! and Kali! (Finished!)
Columbia River Crossing (10k), October 3 Update: I registered for but didn’t run this race. No excuses; I just wasn’t ready. I plan to be ready next year.

Successfully turn Iggy into a running pug. Despite my best efforts, Iggy was not a fan of this plan. He can hang for a mile or so, and then is fond of sitting down mid-stride and looking at me like I’m crazy.

Journal daily (which is going to be great fun thanks to this little guy). Update: For the first time in my life I journaled daily from January 1-May, and then realized I didn’t want to journal daily anymore. I don’t always have a lot to say. And you know what? That’s OK.

Write letters on real paper to friends and family for no particular reason.

Tell people “I’m a writer” and mean it. This was harder, and felt more awesome, than I could have ever imagined. The best part were the times people introduced me as a writer without me having to say a word.

Take the train to Seattle to visit my rad Seattle friends. I drove every time I visited Seattle this year, which was Many A Time. I really do want to take the train one of these trips. I just have to get over how much longer it takes via train vs. how fast I like to drive.

Volunteer in my community, maybe helping with an after-school reading program. Update: I’m currently in the process of getting hooked up with two elementary-aged kiddos who need reading help, and I also signed up to be a whale watching volunteer, which, I’m not going to lie, sounds like the coolest volunteer gig ever.

Get back in the pool. (Specifically: swim 2-3x/week.) Update: I actually traded this goal for running 5x a week, and I’m really glad I did. I love the pool, (all caps!) LOVE to swim, but I (all caps!) HATE the gym, and realistically (right now anyway) that’s what swimming regularly would mean. I can’t do the gym. So I took to the trails instead, and swam as much as I could when I was visiting my parents up at the lake.

Visit the Portland Chinese Gardens (pictures here) and the Portland Japanese Gardens (pictures here).

Read at least two books a month:
January: The Wild Things; The Help.
February: Treasure Island; Notes From a Small Island; How We Are Hungry.
March: The Tale of the Unknown Island.
April: Whoops. (That’s not a book. That’s me totally blowing my reading goals in April.)
May: Dead In The Family; What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.
June: A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.
July: The Dread Crew: Pirates of the Backwoods; Linger.
August: The Red Pyramid; The Hunger Games; Catching Fire.
September: Mockingjay; The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.
October: God is the Gospel; The Lost Hero.
November: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
December: Lolita; Moby-Dick.

Spend a few days in New York in August, with a plethora of lovely, hilarious ladies. Update: This wasn’t in the cards for me this year, and as much as it initially hurt, it was one of the best financial decisions I’ve ever made, and instead of New York I was able to visit Maui for the first time and swim (and see a shark, and get stung by a Portuguese Man-of-War), and laugh so hard my stomach hurt with a dear friend who was as excited about impromptu vacations and shaved ice as I was.

Re-read Moby-Dick. It has begun.

Bungee jump, here. Somewhat surprisingly, no one was super psyched about doing this with me. Which isn’t to say I can’t do it alone. Because I still very much want to.

Spend more time near the ocean. Exhibit: Quality Coastal Time.

Enter at least one writing contest every two months. Update: Four poetry competitions entered in July, 2010.

Spend two days in Vancouver, B.C. in April. (Recap here.)

Try out for the Rose City Rollers. I have skates, and a helmet, and wrist and elbow and knee pads. I even have a mouth guard. What I’m not sure I have is time. High on 2011′s priority list is figuring out if, and how, roller derby might be in the cards for me.

Plan and finish at least three scenic Pacific NW hikes; I’m thinking:
Pacific Coast of Washington
Cape Lookout (to go whale-watching) Update: I’m potentially doing this this upcoming weekend as it’s happily grey whale-watching season once again on the Oregon Coast.
Harts Cove

Watch one documentary a month. Update: You know? A good documentary is hard to find. But I’m still moving this goal to 2011.

Show Jen a Pacific Northwest Good Time when she visits PDX in June October. Done, done, and done.

Bake a pumpkin pie with a homemade crust. I did not bake any pies this year. I did, however, eat some homemade pie. I’m good with that.

See Percy Jackson in February, Eclipse in June and Harry Potter in November, with a friend as excited to see all three of those movies as I am. Updated to add: Movie dates with Kali have become a monthly routine I enjoy immensely, no matter the movie we’re watching. For list-making’s and posterity’s sakes, beyond what’s listed above, thus far this year we’ve seen: The A-Team; The Sorcerer’s Apprentice; Step Up 3D; Scott Pilgrim vs. The World; The Expendables; Easy A; Morning Glory; Burlesque; to be continued…

I actually saw Harry Potter on opening night by myself, and it was AWESOME. The movie, and watching a movie was big as Harry Potter on opening night by myself, at midnight. With a room full of teenagers and grown men who know the answers to ridiculous HP trivia questions like, “What’s the license plate of the Weasley’s car?” A GROWN MAN stood up and recited the correct answer without hesitating. I was impressed. And a little scared.

Get my buttercup tattoo. Updated to add: I have three new tattoos I had done in 2010, none of which is the aforementioned buttercup tattoo. I have “I love you” in Korean in my sister’s handwriting on my lower left wrist, and a feather and a fern on my right inner forearm, all done by Silje at Icon in Portland. I can’t recommend Silje, or Icon, enough. Cutest, cleanest, most artistic tattoo shop I’ve ever visited.

Make a plan to be college-loan-debt-free by the end of 2011, and continue growing my savings every month. Update: This is in the works! And I’m excited!

Attend an event at OMSI. I was all excited about OMSI at the beginning of the year, and then soon realized I was more excited about everything else I was doing than I was about OMSI.

Research graduate programs for English Literature/decide if I want to teach at the collegiate level when I grow up. This is going to the top of 2011′s list, along with taking the GREs. If going back to school is in my future, that future starts this year.

Take a page from Sizz’s book and create a soundtrack for the year.

Tell my friends how amazing they are and how much I love them on a regular basis.

Laugh, a lot.

—————-

So tell me, what’s your favorite accomplishment/trip/moment from 2010?

Spokane, Washington, this time of year often doing business as The Season of the Truck.

Yes yes, very pretty. It’s just…well I suppose it’s beginning to be a well-known fact that I hate the snow. I moved to Portland to avoid it and make fun of it from a distance.

So when I say I’m so excited to go home for Christmas that I’ve been packed since Sunday night, rest assured it doesn’t have anything to do with the white stuff. (It may have something to do with The Right Stuff*, but that’s another story altogether.)

My excitement (is palpable, yes! and) does very much have to do with the fact that I get to see my sister! And Will! And everyone on my mom’s side of the family (Aunts and Uncles and Cousins, oh my!) is going to be together on Christmas Eve for the first time in…five years? Ten years? a really long time. I’m already anticipating the laughing, and the ridiculous picture-taking, and the re-gifted nonsense someone will keep just to re-gift next year.

Happy! Christmas, friends. I hope that wherever you find yourself this weekend it includes climates of your choosing, cozy fireplaces (or cozy air conditioning), and people you love to love.

*You’re welcome.

Originally aired: October 1993.
Watched by Kerri Anne: When I was 11, and then again October 25, 2010.
Courtesy of: YouTube, in seven (or eight) parts. (What? I was determined.)
Because: I distinctly remembered watching this movie as a kid, but until Monday night I couldn’t remember what the movie was actually called, and couldn’t remember a single character’s name, or much beyond the fact that it featured a group of friends, a skeleton costume, and Mexico. So naturally, I Googled something like, “Animated movie with skeleton costume and Mexico.”

(Google’s amazing ability to actually know what my nonsensical memories are trying to tell me is probably the number one reason I will always love the Internet.)

Enter me watching The Halloween Tree for the first time in over SEVENTEEN years.

Based on: A 1972 fantasy novel written by Ray Bradbury. TRIVIA ALERT! Bradbury actually won an Emmy for the screenplay adaptation of his original story. Um, yeah. I nearly fell out of my Halloween tree when I read that.

Starring: Ray Bradbury narrates, a crew of young actors (including Andrew Keegan) voice the animated young’uns, and Leonard Nimoy voices Mr. Moundshroud, who does business as the “children’s guide,” which really means “the undeniably creepy, kindly sinister skeleton-looking guy who routinely makes inappropriate comments (when he’s not speaking in riddles).”

Protagonist’s name and story: This story is a bit strange in that I think spunky, red-haired, freckle-faced Pip (described as “the greatest boy who ever lived”) is supposed to be the protagonist, but really his four friends go through more of a transformation within the movie. Pip is on his way to being dead when the movie starts, and his four friends (Jenny, Wally, Tom, and Ralph) have to suffer Moundshroud’s condescending Halloween history lessons while traveling to far-away places and long-ago times (Think: Egypt, Greece, Somewhere In The Woods With Witches, the Notre Dame Cathedral, and Mexico) to rescue Pip’s soul, before Moundshroud can collect Pip and his spirit pumpkin for his Halloween Tree, which is a tree of hanging pumpkins filled with the souls of the dead. (Is this sounding enough like a Halloween acid trip yet? Because it gets better.) The reason Pip is a ghost, time-traveling with his (freckled) spirit pumpkin in tow to avoid (death, and) Moundshroud? Appendicitis. Um. Yeah.

What the what? moments: 1) The (time-traveling) kite-building scene, involving old circus posters and scary animals, and you guys, I can’t even tell you how weird it is.

2) The part of the Halloween history lesson where Moundshroud expounds upon witches, and basically says there weren’t ever any real witches, they were JK, LOL about all that magic stuff, and instead were merely groups of women who wanted to be left alone to be “wise” and play with cauldrons.

3) At the very end of the movie, Jenny, Ralph, Wally, and Tom each offer a year at the end of their lives to Moundshroud as payment for Pip’s soul. (RIGHT? I TOLD YOU THIS MOVIE IS CREEPY.)

Questions left unanswered: Oh, so many. But mostly, what was Bradbury drinking when he wrote this screenplay?

Memorable quotes: “It’s gargoyle language. He can only speak when the rain comes out of his mouth, or the wind blows over his teeth.”

“Ah yes, Joe Pipkin. Some say that on the day he was born, all the soda pop bottles in the world fizzed over. Pipkin who could yell louder, sing better, and eat more popcorn. Pip, the greatest boy who ever lived.”

“Tell me, why do you wear bones, Skeleton?” “Because, maybe if we face death eyeball-to-eyeball, it loses it’s power over us? It can’t scare us!”

The verdict: Visually stunning for sure, and a very interesting (albeit very crazy) story, though definitely a bit heavy-handed, thematically speaking, for even the most fearless kids.

Though maybe kids don’t care about pumpkin trees filled with lost souls? Because I’m pretty sure I found the story even creepier as an adult than I did as a kid.

Also: I’m finding myself interested in reading the original story. Moundshroud, I just can’t quit you.

————————-

So you may be wondering (or perhaps you’re not wondering at all, but I’m going to tell you anyway) what makes the cut as my all-time favorite Halloween movie? That would be Hocus Pocus.

No, really. If you haven’t seen it, NO JUDGING. It’s AWESOME. Totally cheesy, and campy, and full of (big hair, and) hilariously quotable lines and general Halloween AWESOMENESS. (Randomly enough, Hocus Pocus was actually released the same year as The Halloween Tree. 1993 was apparently quite a memorable year for Halloween movies.)

———————–

Table-turning time!

Did anyone else watch The Halloween Tree (ever, or) as a kid?

Any personal favorite Halloween movies, or do you shun the holiday, and the holiday-themed movies, altogether?

I love wearing jackets and sneakers, and watching football, and the way the loss of sunlight in the evenings makes me want to curl up in a blanket (Snuggies always welcome here) and read and write and wake up with the dawn.

Portland has one of the longest fall seasons I’ve ever seen, and while I’m waiting for the leaves on the large Maple outside my window to change from green to brilliant reds and oranges and yellows, I thought I’d share some of my favorite pictures from this summer I hadn’t yet posted, and more pictures from Maui, too.

Paia Beach, on the road to Hana in Maui.

Apparently falling coconuts are no laughing matter. Though of course I still did.

My sister after I took this shot: "Did you get my bicep?" "Totally."

T and Uncle Ken, retired Air Force colonel and starter of some of the best family shenanigans.

I know this is blurry, but I can't help but love it. That's Grandma Ladish walking hand-in-hand with Theresa at my cousin Derek's wedding in August.

"Talks with Hands" would probably be my sister's Indian name.

Geek in the pink.

T and Gramps.

Lense play. At dinner our first night in Maui.

This was my favorite of the self-take outtakes from Rhi and Bill's wedding.

At Deer Lake with Nelle, T, and Ezekiel.

Paia Beach, Maui. Some of the bluest water I've ever seen in my life.

]]> http://kerrianne.org/2010/09/waiting-for-leaves-to-change-me/feed/ 19 http://kerrianne.org/2010/08/where-am-i-going-where-have-i-been/ http://kerrianne.org/2010/08/where-am-i-going-where-have-i-been/#comments Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:07:31 +0000 Kerri Anne http://kerrianne.org/?p=6429 This week I have been:

Writing, editing, and organizing grant proposals, and preparing gargantuan-sized grant budgets feverishly, to meet deadlines both old and new.

Snuggling with my pug and enjoying any downtime I have been able to muster.

Writing! I’m so excited about three different stories I have in the works, and thanks to a recent prompt by Danny, I’ve been sitting down daily to translate my excitement into actual words on a page. (Not unlike snakes on a plane. Only better. And with less Samuel L. Jackson.)

Ruminating on some writing feedback I received from a poetry competition (Spoiler alert: I didn’t win), and from friends regarding the first chapter of one of the three aforementioned stories.

Sucking at email. I’m sorry! I promise next week will be better. (I think!)

Editing photos from last weekend’s sisterly homecoming in Spokane. These are a few of my favorites:

Cleaning my apartment to an anal-retentive degree in preparation for Kristin! staying with me this weekend.

Absolutely riveted by the first installment of The Hunger Games. After a gentle prompt from Kali (It went something like, “Have you read these?”), I skipped over to Powell’s and bought the first book, not thinking I was going to be into the story, having read the back cover before and convinced myself I wasn’t interested. By page five Collins had completely hooked me, and I gave the Jiffy Lube attendant the stink eye when he interrupted my reading to ask me to pay him for my oil change. (And yes, I verily realize I’m late to the proverbial party, being that the first book was originally published in 2008, but I like to pretend I fall in love with series when they are basically over so I don’t have to wait years/months/days in between installments. See also: Patience is for suckers!)

Using the note I found on my car after leaving an apologetic note for the person I parked way-too-close-to (There is construction in our parking garage! It is a nightmare!) earlier this week as a bookmark.

Not getting much sleep.

This weekend I am going to:

Have way too much fun with Kristin.

Eat at Andina for the first time.

Introduce Kristin to Hans, and watch hilarity ensue.

No doubt cry as I watch Rhi walk down the aisle toward Bill, and then back again holding his hand, happily married.

Dance my face (or maybe just my feet) off with Kali, and Amanda, and Kristin, and a slew of other people who are in town to watch Rhi and Bill begin their happily ever after.

Take Way Too Many pictures, especially more ridiculous hand-held group shots.

——————-

What are YOU going to do this weekend?

(Whatever it is, I hope you enjoy it.)

*Title is a literary hat tip to Joyce Carol Oates’ Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

*For the record, 90 is much too hot for my delicate (pasty white skin, yes, and) sensibilities. I’m a huge fan of moderate-to-cooler temperatures pretty much always, hence me (loving) living in this particular city in this particular state.

Stay cool, kids.

My mom got pregnant and for awhile they thought I would be a little boy. My name was going to be Jason. When they realized I was going to be a girl, my mom wanted to name me Melanie. Or Melody. Something I can’t imagine my name being. Melanie or Melody. My grandma liked Melanie. Or Melody. My dad said no, she’s Kerri. Kerri Anne. And so they agreed. Mostly. My grandma still likes the name Melanie. Or Melody. But she mostly calls me Sweet Pea. Everyone’s happy. Especially Sweet Pea.

I was born in 1982. On June 15th in 1982, in fact. At 5:15pm. In a hospital. My mom was there. And my dad. And some doctors. Also, my grandma and grandpa (my mom’s parents). My grandpa was wearing his cowboy boots. My grandpa was always wearing his cowboy boots. He is a man born to wear cowboy boots. At one point during the delivery they lost my heartbeat. Tha-thump. Tha-thump. Tha-thump. And then: nothing. Alarms sounded. A doctor rushed in and flipped my mom one way or another and found my heartbeat again, having successfully and efficiently removed the cord from around my neck without actually touching me. I didn’t rush out. It took me thirty-six hours to say hello to everyone who was waiting for me. I didn’t actually say hello, of course. That took awhile longer.

They took me home and hung a plaque in my room that I would learn to read years later. It said I was a Gemini. And it rhymed. Dual personalities are born to this sign. You’re lovers of nature and sweet. Brilliant types and loads of laughs. But watch those eyes, and restless feet! I couldn’t forget that plaque if I tried. There was something else hanging on the wall, an artistic version of my very own “Today in history.” Behind framed glass it preserved June 15th 1982′s top song, popular news headlines, the price of a gallon of gasoline. It didn’t rhyme. I didn’t memorize it.

Apparently quite a few great, and hilariously not-so-great things happened in 1982. Instead of taking my word for it, I’ll just show you. After all, I’m nothing if not a loyal fan of visual learning.

I Like You, 1982, The First: Eddie Money’s Shakin’ Video

A tip o’ the birthday party hat to my friend Danger, for sharing this gem with me last month so I could happily share it now. Dedicated entertainer, or actually having a stroke during his solos? It’s a mystery!

I Like You, 1982, The Second: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial

E.T. was released four days before I was born, and ended up being hugely successful, nabbing nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. It didn’t win any of those, but it did take home four Oscars, including one for Best Original Score. It also made an entire generation of kids long for bikes that could spontaneously lift off and take us soaring over our respective neighborhoods.

I Like You, 1982, The Third: Hey Mickey!

In December of 1982 Toni Basil’s “Hey Mickey” topped the best-selling singles charts, and so not only do we have this, but years later we were also gifted the musical entertainment featured as part of the end credits of one of the more hilarious movies I’ve ever watched. Yes, I’m totally talking about Bring It On. You’re either totally with me, or totally laughing at me right now. Either way, I will never forsake The Toros.

I Like You, 1982, The Fourth: Prince William

While just this year learning that I share a birthday with (Ms. Jamie Varon! and) Neil Patrick Harris, I’m also exactly six days older than Prince William of Wales. I remember my mom smiling and telling me how she felt a kinship with Princess Diana, as they were pregnant at the same time (William’s younger brother, Prince Harry, was also born the same year my little sister was). Maybe that doesn’t make a lot of tangible sense, but I totally get it, and I loved hearing my mom talk about how much she liked Princess Diana. My mom also told me she cried when Diana died, two years after my dad did. I still remember watching Prince William suffer the loss of his mother while all the world watched, wishing I could somehow save him from the grief I knew he felt, save him from how publicly he had to endure it.

I Like You, 1982, The Fifth: Knight Rider

There was no shortage of hilariously horrible TV shows premiering in 1982; Knight Rider just happens to be the most hilariously photogenic. I will never stop loving this picture of David Hasselhoff. It’s just impossible.

After contemplating sprinting through the large marble arch separating the U.S. and Canadian sides of the border crossing station, or just doing cartwheels on the grass, we decided instead to blast the Glee soundtrack and sing to pass the time. I had my window down, because it finally decided to be gorgeous outside and the fresh air felt amazing, when over Lea Michele’s stellar pipes I heard “Can you turn that up? I like it!” from a woman occupying the passenger side of a large maroon Ford Expedition in the lane next to us. “Oh, sure!” Cue to thirty seconds later and Jen giggling as we noted the woman was totally singing along and happily bopping her head to the beat. (I may have been dancing in my seat the entire time.)

The rest of the waiting passed similarly, with more (bad) singing by yours truly, and more giggling, and a very agile group self-take that Cayly (Hans!) managed to snap from the backseat.

When we finally arrived at the guard booth, we were met by two steely-faced blond men wearing sunglasses, one of whom tapped on my windshield and asked me to remove my sunglasses (“You just got told!” Jen says from the passenger seat, laughing), while the other asked for our passports. Alas, it was time to turn down “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

“What were you doing in Canada?”

“Visiting friends.”

“How do you know your Canadian friends?”

Me, thinking: Pretty presumptuous, Mr. Border Patrolman, that we even have Canadian friends, though of course in this case we do, but is this some rule I wasn’t aware of? That to come to Vancouver you have to be invited by Canadian friends?

Realizing I haven’t actually answered the question, and Mr. Border Patrolman is still waiting for an answer.

“Through…blogging?” I more ask than tell. Jen and Cayly start laughing.

“What do you do for work in the U.S.?”

“Ummm…” I say, again wondering why this question is relevant and how specific does he want us to be, and how would he be able to verify that we work in the U.S. at all; is that why this line is so long?

Cayly decides to go first.

“I’m a student.”

“Is that why you have so much time to blog?” quips Mr. Border Patrolman, without hesitation.

“Oh, BURN!” I can’t help myself. It just comes out, with a slew of giggles from Jen and Cayly, and finally a smirk from Mr. Border Patrolman.

After Jen and I answer the question, he seems less than interested in our respective professions, and we are apparently not deemed enemies of the state, we go on our merry way.

Miles later we are still laughing, and Cayly is thinking of retorts she wishes she could have uttered to Mr. Border Patrolman’s snarky assumption that she spends all of her free time online, no doubt writing about what she ate for lunch.**

“I’ll blog your face” was definitely my favorite of her potential retorts, and is also my new favorite go-to phrase.

————–

*Twenty bonus points and a high-five to anyone who knows which movie (and movie quote) I’m referencing here.

**The best part of this assumption is how utterly wrong it would be, seeing as how Cayly spends less time online, and even less time blogging, than anyone I know. Anyway, Cayly would never blog about her lunch. She only blogs about really important global issues. Like Mariah Carey.

a. Lack of sleep

b. Amazing amount of fake (and very real) mustaches

c. Amazing amount of fake (and very Ed Hardy) tattoos

d. Hilarious border crossings

e. Poutine

e. All of the above

I am hereby leaving you with a teaser of my time in Vancouver for TequilaCon*, wherein “teaser” mostly means “my favorite pictures, that I have thus far looked at and managed to edit and upload before falling asleep sitting up at my desk I’m not even kidding right now.”

Brandon! (one of the founding fathers of TC) and Jen! (and Brandon!). This might be my favorite picture of Jen that I’ve ever taken, and my doubly favorite part is how she exclaimed, “Why do I always do that? I look like I’m having a seizure or something!” after noticing that she tilted her head for the shot (which happens to be my favorite part of the shot).

This picture makes me “Awwwh.” (Angella! & Vahid!)

This is Hillary! Hillary is fantastic.

LIKE BUTTON.

This is Dayna! Dayna is related to Angella, but she would be awesome even if she weren’t.

Where do I even start with this photo, and the story behind it? Suffice it to say this picture pretty perfectly embodies why I love Cayly (Hans!) with the fire of a thousand suns.

*I do not drink tequila. Ever. You can trust me on that being a very good thing, for everyone. I do, however, love to spend hours with great friends who make me laugh until my stomach is literally aching and then we all dance and sing to (highway to the) “Danger Zone” and “Footloose,” amen and the end.

The end, that is, until I come back to tell you more stories about this weekend, like the story featuring a U.S. border patrolman who (was a very big fan of himself, yes, and) dissed blogging. Oh no he didn’t. (Did you just picture me snapping my fingers while moving my arm in a downward zigzag motion with a very incredulous look on my face? OK, good.)

Oh, yes. He did. And it was hilarious.

Yesterday morning I revisited the crazy that is signing up for a race on an early Sunday morning, with friends as (awesome! and) crazy as you are, and then freaking out for 48 hours before said race because you are extremely adept at concocting ridiculous scenarios in your head that will never actually happen. (I do this for job interviews, too. It’s the neurosis that keeps on giving!)

“But what if I can’t run like I want to; what if I have to walk the entire race? Or what if I break my leg or something, or I’m too nervous to even start the race, OR the officials think I’m not running fast enough and tell me I should have just signed up for the Shamrock Stride, and what am I doing thinking I can run 3.1 miles anyway? What if they kick me out because I’m not wearing any green? OMG, what if I’m the very last runner across the finish line?”

Yesterday morning Kali and I galloped our way from the start to the finish of the Shamrock Run, and while it quickly became very apparent I need to be fitted for running shoes that don’t make my feet ache and throb and oh hey, fall completely ASLEEP while running, I felt better than I ever have at that distance, and I knew I could finish, and finish strong. I was bummed we couldn’t find Rhi before the start (it was madness down at the waterfront), but it was hard not to grin at the sheer energy bouncing around like the runners who were gearing up to put their feet to pavement on a crisp but clear spring Sunday morning.

It seems a little nuts on paper: paying money to get up way too early on a weekend morning to join throngs of strangers to run a distance you could run without worrying about packet pick-ups, nerves, crowds, parking. But the second I was standing in Waterfront Park, freezing and bouncing and stretching, I remembered why races are exciting, why they sell out year after year. It’s the energy, electric and contagious, bouncing off every single person who made the commitment to show up and participate, radiating to the friends and family members (and complete strangers) who line the route and clap and cheer as people pass by, pushing themselves to reach a finish line that is as much mental as it is physical.

Kali was an amazing running partner, and we laughed at the ridiculously chipper race announcer and his affinity for calling everyone “Leprechauns,” and watched people running in bright green tu-tus and huge hats and even saw a guy jogging while playing a banjo.

I was nervous about the distance and about doing it sans iPod, and about the incline up Broadway around mile two that was admittedly pretty brutal, but once we rounded that corner and started the last leg of the race heading downhill, I had to fight the urge to start laughing, because I was DOING THIS and feeling awesome (despite not really being able to feel my right foot, whoops), and I had forgotten how hard you can push your body and see it respond favorably. I had forgotten how far you can go even when you think you’re not ready.

I know to anyone who runs distance regularly 3.1 miles is a walk in the park.

To this girl it was one of the best things I’ve done with my body for years. And I’m admittedly excited to do it again. You know, when my legs stop screaming obscenities at me.