Best troubleshooting ever.

I just bought a little coffee pot for work. (Now that I'm the boss I'm taking care of the IMPORTANT stuff).
The directions are hilarious.

 I love the solution to "The coffee is not brewing": "Wait for the power to be restored".
BUT I WANT MY COFFEE NOW!
Also a treasure? "The coffeemaker only brews water". Solution, of course, is to add coffee grounds to the basket.

I personally think that people who require these troubleshooting tips are probably dangerous when caffeinated.

Étouffée 5k - Or, "I failed"

Saturday morning I ran a 5k kind of last minute. Our busy lives, dealing with Alfred's passing, my new job, etc has distracted me from the running scene, and I missed out on two 5k's I could have run. Suddenly this one appeared. It isn't hosted by the track club so I didn't get the usual email notification, thus I didn't find out about it until last Wednesday.
I decided to run it. Remember, I had a goal to run a 5k under 21 minutes. Well, here was a 5k! I had not started to train to increase speed at all (or distance for that matter - I've been majorly slacking) but I am running out of 5k options and the heat is increasing, making my chances for speed even worse than they are naturally.

The medals are crawfish...cute.

Turns out that the race is really fun. It's hosted by the Junior League and had all kinds of post-race food and entertainment. The only problem is that 5ks are so short, who wants to eat jambalaya and have a beer at 8:30 am? Anyway, they did a great job putting the race on and a great job advertising, too. There was a big turn out, so I guess I was the only person who didn't know about it! The course is entirely in Audubon park, so it's very pretty (although you have to share the track with regular runners and walkers).
So. I ran the race. I started too far back and too slow; then I sped up and did a good job of checking my Garmin for pace, but after that I fell into pace with another runner for a mile and too late realized that he was gradually slowing (and so was I). I finished in 21:26, almost exactly my last 5k time. It was good enough for third female and first age group award, although I didn't stick around for awards.
I'm disappointed that I have not improved my 5k at all. I know you can't expect to get faster without actually doing the speedwork (duh), but I should at least be able to apply my experience from my two previous 5ks. I failed at my goal.
What I want to say about this is, it's ok to say out loud that you failed something. Failed is a "bad" word, I know.. But we can't always give ourselves a break or we'll never improve. I read a lot of articles and blogs and books that excuse failure. People declare a specific time goal, don't make it, and declare that their goal was unrealistic. Books tell you to set goals, but recommend you have A, B, and C goals. Stories end with, "I didn't finish the race, but I did run farther than I've ever run before!". Articles encourage a positive spin on a bad race: "Every finisher is a winner".
But let's face it. We're not winners all the time. We set goals because we think they're valuable to achieve. We shouldn't devalue those goals just because we didn't attain them. The goals are still valuable: WE fell short.
I failed to achieve my goal in Saturday's race. I probably failed because I didn't prepare. That means I need to work harder and try again. If I excuse this failure, and tell myself that I should be pleased with placing or content with a free bowl of jambalaya, I bet you the bank I'll never run a faster 5k. Instead I'm admitting and accepting a failure and using that failure to motivate myself to improve.
Do you find that we no longer like to admit when we fail? Am I making any sense at all? Or is this just the MSG from dinner talking?

I'm not the world's worst sister!!!

A few weeks ago, I came in from a walk and picked up my phone. I saw a missed call and my heart sank. It was from Joey, my little brother who joined the army. Right before they took the recruits' phones away for good, the boot camp directors (I'm pretty sure there is another term for that...you would never guess I was a military brat, I'm so uninformed!) allowed one last phone call. Joey called me, and I didn't answer. I felt like a jerk listening to his message ("Don't call me back, they're taking our phones away after this,") and cried for a week.
Today I stepped outside for a minute to - OF ALL THINGS - spray-paint some cheap earrings gold because the plating wore off, and returned to see a missed call from a number I didn't recognize. I listened to my voicemail and couldn't understand a word, but I heard Joey's voice! I could not believe I'd missed his call again! I tried the number back, and it was busy. I tried four more times and each time I dialed I heard a busy signal. I decided to wait a minute and try once more, and to my surprise the phone rang and an unfamiliar voice answered. I asked for Joey, and the voice said, "Um, he'll call you back." Click. I waited, confused, but a few minutes later my phone rang. Joey was calling back! It turns out the guys got turns on a pay-phone, and when I called back a surprised soldier answered. True to his word he fetched Joey, who called me.
Joey and I caught up a little. He's doing well, although he's completely exhausted, and as it turns out is a crack-shot (oddly, since he's half blind. His glasses are helping now, but it's not like he's had any practice!). I asked about his knees, since he has an old and severe knee injury, but he told me they haven't been hurting him. He's made some good friends and is "avoiding the losers" (his phrase). One of the non-losers is the chaplain, which can't hurt, right?
I feel so much better after the conversation. He sounded cheery and upbeat and boot camp doesn't seem to be wearing him down at all. He said it was hard, but no harder than he expected. I know he's physically very fit, so I was mostly worried about his mental stamina and his old knee problem, and I was reassured on both points.

Joey, wondering why his family won't answer his phone calls

Best of all, I'm no longer the world's worst sister.

I love this - Dollar Store Cleaner

How can you not love something called
"MEAN GREEN...

...Foaming bathroom disinfectant cleaner".
Just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?

I chose a career in pharmacy because....

...the drug reps feed you lobster.

These crappy Blackberry pictures are why I'm not a food blogger...that and the suspicion that you'd get sick of seeing granola bars scarfed in lieu of lunch.

Dinner at Drago's was charbroiled oysters, salad, lobster, and cheesecake.
Mmmmm.

Question of the day: Do you eat the lobster liver? Because it's the best part. All juicy and full of toxins.

Morning Run

Since my new schedule started, I've been trying to follow a strict regimen: Upstairs by ten (generally asleep by eleven - I just need a set time to start getting ready for bed, reading, setting out clothes for the next day, etc), wake up at six. The goal is to workout before my work day starts at nine and so far, so good. I haven't been very good about getting in longer runs, especially since I'm still trying to figure out the fastest route to work and want to give myself time to play with new streets and "shortcuts". Today is my short work day - just 6 hours, since I work 9 hours on other days - so I did ten miles this morning, and it felt good to get a longer distance in.
My only problem with this schedule is that I just don't like running in the morning. I feel sleepy and sluggish. I have been running on an empty stomach, even though I know coffee would help. I just don't want to have to make two pots (obviously I HAVE to have coffee after running, too,  to get me through the work day!).

Maybe I need this mug.

So, thoughts on morning running...

Do you have to have coffee or food first?
How far do you run on work days?
Why does morning running suck so much...or is it just me?

It's been a long decade.

I hope Bin Laden's death brings closure to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11, and brings a sense of safety to all of us in the free world.
And thank you to our armed forces for protecting us during this long decade.