Running Ruminations

Apparently I completely spaced on writing a non-running banter-related post for the month of November, so it seems high time to do so now.

1. One year Californiversary! I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone ever say “wow, time sure does seem to move by slowly,” but seriously–it’s really effin’ weird to think that my family and I have been here in CA for nearly an entire year already (12/21!). It’s especially weird to be here right now, in early December, because behind me our patio door is open, and in front of me, a bedroom window is open, and I don’t think we’ve ever turned on our heat yet… yeah. Suffice it to say that you can take the girl outta the midwest but not the midwest outta the girl. I keep thinking that one day, I’ll look outside and there will be white stuff on the ground and temps south of 50…

 

2. RAIN. Related to the aforementioned Californiversary is that I’ve learned quite a good deal about this state and its weather over the past 360ish days. Talking about the weather is about as exciting as molasses, yet I’ve quickly surmised that December/”winter” here is apparently the rainy season. It’s too little, too late, since we’re in the throes of a three-year drought and apparently the worst drought in 1,200 years (one-thousand two-hundred years, people), but it seems to be helping things here at least a teeny tiny bit.

 

 

3. Friends! I love having folks over, so when Midhun, a DePaul friend, got married up in Wine Country in early November, I was elated that a flurry of my DePaul undergrad gals were able to come in for the wedding weekend. Teri took a pause from her Central American exploits, Kel came down from Portland, Traci flew in from Michigan (after stopping in Portland for an interview), and Areeg flew up from LA… and it was faaaaaaabulous. Only wish the rest of our little contigent back in the Midwest could have made it.

 

 

 

4. Books. I saw Caffeinated at the library a few weeks back and tore through it pretty quickly. I actually don’t consume a lot of caffeine (mostly just a tea drinker), but the author had a really captivating way of describing many Americans’ (and many people’s) proclivity to consume caffeine day in and day out–and for some, all day long–and while it seemed like the title and sub-title were a bit alarmist, the book was informative and a bit eye-opening. Suffice it to say that my infrequent diet soft drink consumption is becoming even more infrequent.  Here’s a quick glimpse of some of the stuff Carpenter talks about in his book, but really, the book is worth a read in its entirety. It’s pretty interesting stuff and calls into question not only issues of use but also, probably more important, issues of (de)regulation and the industry’s (deleterious, IMHO) effects on its children and young adult populations. Some of the stuff I read about struck me as being downright insidious, but maybe that’s my Mom Alert buttons getting pushed…

5. Thanksgiving! Christmas! New Years! Family! This time of year, from early November until New Years, is my favorite because it includes all three of my top fav holidays: dia de los muertos, Thanksgiving, and New Years. For Thanksgiving, the three of us decided to take a very last-minute trip down to Disneyland in Anaheim, and it was a lot of fun and actually pretty low-key. Someone didn’t make it to dinner…

C’s family will be joining us for Christmas (awesome!), and the day they leave, the three of us will be flying down to the Dominican Republic to meet my parents and my sister and her family (more awesome!). We’ll be in the DR for New Year’s, which, funny enough, C and I have done before, and I’m pretty sure my heart might explode from happiness from seeing both sides of our family in a two-week period (if only my brother and his family were joining us in the DR… damn you, brother!). It’ll be a veeeeeeeeeeery long day (days?) of travel from SJ to the DR, involving one red-eye, but hey, it’ll make the vaycay taste even better, right?

 

6. it’s that time… Another post forthcoming, but by the time I post this, it’ll be (50k) race week, baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy December! How’s yours?!?