Up, Up and AWAY!

Yesterday was the Run the Republic stair climb in downtown Denver. The event happens ever year and is a benefit for the American Lung Association of Colorado.

I've been wanting to do this event for years...since it was "Run the Register" (the Register is another cool building in downtown) and this year, I finally did it! It is on my list of Five Things To Do In 2009 and was definitely worth it!

I ran with three of my friends - Chandra, Tarynn and Ashley. Tarynn, frankly, had way more energy that any person should have at 8am on a Sunday, but as that's pretty typical for her, it did make it more fun for the rest of us! The three of them had been training pretty intently for a while and because I've been so busy with school, etc. the only "training" I ever did was walking up and down the stairs at my apartment. Ah well. Stairs is stairs, right? Sure.

Chandra and I showed up around 730am to pick up our bibs and t-shirts (which are pretty rad-tacular and I intend to wear mine on Friday for casual day) and then just sort of dinked around for a while and the three of us (me, Chandra and Todd, who was there to cheer me on and take photos) until Tarynn and Ashley arrived.

Our start time was around 830am and by 824am, we were all on our way up the Republic! Woo hoo! I started out pretty strong and hauled ass up about 5 flights before I reconsidered that strategy and slowed to a run...I mean, the thing is 56 floors, which equals 1100 stairs. There's no way I could run for that long. Not a chance! So I slowed my pace a bit and took about 5 breaks just to catch my breath. By the time I reached the top, I was convinced that my lungs were going to explode out of my chest! Seriously...it felt like I'd just smoked a pack of cigarettes (oh the irony). But the view from that high up on Denver was worth every stair...oh my word. The city is just breathtaking with that mountain backdrop we're so lucky to have! And the sky was bright blue and sunny...couldn't have asked for better weather!

Chandra made it up first, me second and Tarynn & Ashley came in behind me...we did awesome! And we all got funny little Republic medals from the Mammoth cheerleaders at the top, which was hilarious and rad all at the same time (I didn't even know a lacrosse team would HAVE cheerleaders!). We fiddled around at the top for a little while then headed back down to meet up with Todd and get our SHWAG!!!! Man, I'm gonna run more races just for the free junk at the end! We got tiny Powerades, tiny CLIF Bars, tiny recovery salads, 6" sandwiches from the Spicy Pickle (mmm!), bananas and oranges from The Sunflower Market, granola bars from ... someone, there was a photobooth...I mean, the free crap was practically ENDLESS! I loved it!

They posted our times right before we left:

Chandra came in around 13:30

I came in around 17:30 (a woo hoo!!!)

Tarynn & Ashley came in around 23:00

So we all did really really well!

And no, my quads do not hurt...yay!

Update on the Get Fit By Brit plan: going smashingly! Losing the excess poundage and gettin' me some muscles!

Thinking thinking thinking...

Well what a week this has been for the ol' brain. Work and school both took it's toll on me and required far more than I thought I had to give to either. Fortunately, all of my classes continue to stimulate the brain which is something that I've been longing for for quite some time. None of my classes at Metro really offered the mental challenges that CU-Denver is appearing to give to me. It's probably not entirely the fault of Metro so much as I'm beginning the end of my college coursework which means that I'm taking some pretty heavy duty classes from here on out.

The class that's intriguing me the most so far is my on-campus course about Globalization. My professor is a frickin' GENIUS. It's the only time in my entire (lengthy) college career that I can remember thinking that I'd rather just hear him lecture for three solid hours. The man has SO MUCH information stored in his head and I just want to hear more and more about everything he's talking about.

I think there are few things that really stick with a student during their college education. Really, we don't remember diddly about what our professors say, hoping instead to pass the course and try to come out of it with some sense of understanding.

But sometimes, rarely, there are those things that a professor will say that will stick with a student forever. My globalization prof is that person for me (ranking with only one other professor, Todd Slechta, from CBC).

My professor is John Whitesides, just in case you wanted to know.

Anyway, a couple weeks ago, we were talking about maps and geography (something I'm actually quite good at) and he brought up a photo of the class Rand McNally map we've all seen in all our elementary schools. (click on the map if you can't see the whole thing here)


He proceeded to point out some very interesting things, that any of you may or may not have also noticed (there was only one that I was aware of):

1. There are NOT, in fact, two India's in the world;
2. Alaska is really only about the size of Texas, not the size of half of the continental US;
3. South American is actually approx. 8 times larger than Greenland; and finally
4. The United States is not, surprisingly, the center of the world as this map would suggest.

But what is really interesting is what Whitesides said next:

When the United States is the center of your world, you HAVE TO deform the rest of the world.

I had to actually take pause when he said that. I mean, it's kind of true, isn't it? So often, Americans are so fricking entho-centric, it's appalling. I won't get into it too much here, but take the Iraq War for example. Is worldwide democracy REALLY the best way? America has really only been doing this for about 200 years. Do we REALLY have the very best option? Especially considering that so many nations around the globe are, in fact, theocracies it seems a bit absurd to waltz on in there and proclaim that WE ARE THE BEST!

I digress.

This class just continues to remind me that whatever we do, nationally, has huge impact on the rest of the world. I think this goes for all major and industrialized countries the world over.

To paraphrase a portion of the President's inauguration speech, we will not apologize for being a wealthy country, but we will take responsibility for how this affects the rest of the world.

Because it's important, that's why...

Last night, during our Valentine’s dinner at the Hard Rock Café in downtown, Todd and I began talking about music, specifically, that which we think is important.

We’ve longed discussed that we want our children (whenever they come into the picture) to be well-versed in as many genres of music as we can possibly expose them to. This brought up the topic of what can be classified as “important” music. For me, that list includes….SEVERAL artists. Todd reminded me that while some music maybe important to ME (Lisa Loeb and The Indigo Girls), it’s not necessarily the prime example of music from our generation, so should be kept out of the “Important Music” category and placed in the “Important Music to Me” category.

That said, here are the beginnings of my two lists:

Important Music (spanning several generations

Count Basie

Glenn Miller & Band (a personal favorite)

Benny Goodman

The Rat Pack

Frankie Vallie & the Four Seasons

Elvis Presley

The Beatles

Lesley Gore

The Beach Boys

Jimmy Hendrix

The Who

The Doors

The Rolling Stones

Donna Summer

ABBA

The Bee Gees

CCR

Simon & Garfunkle

Fleetwood Mac

Diana Ross

Stevie Wonder

Janis Joplin

Metallica

The Jackson Five

Michael Jackson

Tiffany

New Kids on the Block

Nirvana

The Beastie Boys

Rage Against the Machine

Pearl Jam

No Doubt

Britney Spears

Celine Dion

Mariah Carey

Justin Timberlake

New Found Glory

Eminem

Kelly Clarkson

Fall Out Boy

Panic! At The Disco

….just to name a few

Important Music to Me (all in addition to previous list)

Lisa Loeb

Sarah McLachlan

Fiona Apple

Sixpence None The Richer

Michael Bublé

Selena

Indigo Girls

Jennifer Knapp

*NSYNC

Tim McGraw

Faith Hill

Kanye West

Jem

Matchbox 20

Godsmack

Ace of Base

DC Talk

Michael W. Smith

Plain White T’s

Beck

Waterdeep

Oasis (but only so that I can reference SNL from time to time)

Jason Mraz

The Fray

Jump, Little Children

Rihanna

Regina Spektor

Fergie

The Black Eyed Peas

Paramore

Imogen Heap

…just to name a few

So with all of that said, what are some of YOUR important artists? Or what are some over-arching artists/musicians that you think I’ve missed and should definitely be heard? To make it onto the overarching list, remember that it should be generally important and history-making music…it doesn’t have to be music you necessarily like (I don’t particularly care for Nirvana, but it’s important that future generations know their music and their impact)...

[Karla, I know that Radiohead will be the top of your “me music” list :o))

All you need is love, love is all you need.

I used to be one of those people that was adamantly opposed to the notion of Valentines Day. Truth be told, I have no idea why. Probably because, for the longest time, I never really thought for myself and hating Valentines Day was somewhat of a trendy thing to do. Again, I have no idea why. I always wore black, head to toe, and I perpetually bitched and moaned about this "ridiculously over-commercialized holiday" (which it may well be, but I don't think that's my point).

The truth, I think, is that I hated the day only when I had no one to celebrate it with. The only real joy I got out of the day was a) seeing the flowers my mom got from my day and b) getting those chalky candy hearts from my parents (yes, I love those candies!).

But I suppose, now that I have someone (permanently), I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Valentines Day! I love the ostentatious displays of flowers that Todd gets me, I love going out to dinner and being all doe-eyed at each other, I love giving and getting gifts for each other and I love, more than anything, being continually and madly in love with this one man.



It kind of drives me nuts that, when I get these gorgeous bouquets at work, some people just roll their eyes or make gagging noises (which didn't happen this year, but certainly has in the past). Maybe it's selfish of me, but I refuse to let someone else's misery dictate how I react toward Valentine's Day anymore.




I'm happy and we're in love.

For the love of....

'Tis the time of year that love is (apparently) in the air.

Valentines Day is upon us and I've nearly forgotten because I've had no time to "decorate" the house for the holiday...I have dish towels and candy bowls and stuff that I usually set out, but this year, it went by the way-side.

I'm pretty excited about Valentines Day this year, to be honest. I won't wear black, as is my usual attire. Todd and I have some fun things planned and part of the day includes the pups, which will be way more fun than I think we could possibly imagine. Those two are just weird and fun.

Todd and I have already exchanged gifts...he got me a big bamboo plant that I've been wanting for my office (and decorated the bowl it came in with Disney princess stickers!) and I got him a gift certificate for indoor skydiving since *actual* skydiving is on his resolutions list for 2009. We exchanged the other night after I came home from the movies with Meg and found a giant bamboo plant awaiting me on the kitchen counter...yay!

I gotta say, though, that I am incredibly lucky to have Todd.

And so I leave you with this:

♥ What are your middle names?
Todd David and Micah Dielle

♥ How long have you been together?
Together? Since July 2005. Married? Since October 2007

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
About a week, I guess

♥ Who asked who out?
Nothing was ever "official" but Todd initiated everything (which is out of character for him)

♥ How old are each of you?
28

♥ Whose siblings do/did you see the most?
Hmmm....probably Todd's sisters since my sister is in Seattle and my brother is in Japan (for now) and Todd's brothers are way far away too

♥ Do you have any children together?
Nope, not yet. Eventually, but nothing in the works for quite some time (so please don't ask)

♥ What about pets?
Leo and Suki!!!

♥ Did you go to the same school?
HAHAHA! Not a chance

♥ Are you from the same home town?
See above

♥ Who is the smartest?
We're both very smart about different things

♥ Who is the most sensitive?
Me. Without a doubt. Just ask Todd how he felt about pets before we got them

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
anywhere that's not a chain. We haven't been anywhere more than two times in probably 3 years. We try to eat somewhere different every single week for date night...it's one of our favorite things to do together.

♥ Who has the worst temper?
We're both pretty volatile when we're tested. I wouldn't push us.

♥ Who does the cooking?
Todd, probably. He enjoys it more than I do. I do all the baking 'round these parts, but I can make a mean stew. I don't suck in the kitchen, but because Todd likes it more, he gets to cook more often

♥ Who is more social?
Me. Todd can be, but generally prefers alone time

♥ Who is the neat-freak?

Both of us are, but Todd is more active about it. I don't really have the time to be as neat and tidy as I'd like to be

♥ Who is the more stubborn?

TODD TODD TODD. He is very hard-headed when he makes his mind up.

♥ Who hogs the bed?

Ummm....me. The covers are always on my side in the morning.

♥ Who wakes up earlier?
Todd. I don't get it. Sleep is awesome! He'll get up around 5am every single day, including weekends. I believe he would actually go without sleep if he had the option and it wouldn't kill him.

♥ Where was your first date?

The Sandy Station in Sandy, UT. Very classy.

♥ Who has the bigger family?

Todd...two brothers and two sisters, countless neices/nephews and ever more aunts/uncles.

♥ How do you spend the holidays?

We split custody between Denver family and Utah family

♥ How long did it take to get serious?

Whenever our evening date in the park happened...I think it was September 2005

♥ Who does the laundry?

Both of us, but Todd probably does it more than I do.

♥ Who’s better with the computer?

Todd, by default. It's what his degree is in. I hate computers with the fire of a thousand suns...and yet, people at work STILL ask me about them. I'm not sure why.

Stereotypes exist for a reason...

So one of Todd's "resolutions" this year was to go to a real science fiction / fantasy convention and he happened upon one that was held this past weekend in Colorado Springs.

It was definitely more sci-fi than fantasy but one of Todd's favorite authors was there - George R.R. Martin. One of Todd's friends informed him that Martin is one of very few authors that directly resembles his fan base. I wasn't sure what that meant until I saw both the attendees and Martin himself on Saturday morning. Martin is a spry older man with plenty of years of experience under his belt, both in literature and film and he was incredibly interesting to listen to (even if the interviewer reminded me of a Will Ferrel SNL sketch). But yes, George R.R. Martin looks like the majority of his fans:


At any rate, the weekend was interesting and fun for both of us. We enjoyed getting out of town for a bit, the drive there and back was beautiful, we ate amazing food for lunch and dinner on Saturday and definitely took advantage of the indoor (very warm) pool at the hotel. We also had some pretty lively discussion regarding horror movies with the bar tender at the hotel.

All in all, a good weekend.
Next month, we'll be doing something on my list of "resolutions" which is to see a Broadway show. Exciting!

Girl Power!

On this day in 1849, Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman in US history officially recognized as a physician.

Madeline Albright was sworn in as Secretary of State on this day in 1997, becoming the highest ranking female official in US history. She is succeeded by Condoleeza Rice and Hillary Clinton. Isn't it kind of amazing that the last three, yes THREE, presidents have chosen women for this prestigous position?

Sasha and Malia, we're so excited to see what you do!

Women are pretty fantastic creatures.