So I finally saw the last five minutes of Monk. Randy/Sharona shippers got a nugget, and I tried my best to cringe. It was...actually really adorable. Damn them. Anyway, she's not going to be back, so we can assume it was just burning off some residual UST.

I spent way the hell too much money on books. I don't need books, dammit. I need to buy clothes. *siiigh* one of these days.

Me and my shipper goggles are over here feeling really happy and really stupid for missing the last five minutes of Monk.
Meanwhile, I'm really quite finished with the thought of exit wounds of any sort going through the knees.

1001 great scenarios for my Monk ship, and not a decent story among them. I wish I could draw. They'd make a delightful comic strip. Stupid well-adjusted, cheerful protags. *siiiigh* Now I have to dig through other fandoms for reference material. The upshot of the angsty kids (Especially Perry/Elliot in Scrubs fandom. It writes itsself.) is that all you need is a bottle a bummer and a bedroom. Then it's just the matter of finding just the right IKEA terminology, and you're good to go.
Depending on where my brain wanders, I'll either be writing about going fruit picking in EFO realm or working more on turning my fanfic plot bunnies into full-grown harebrained drabbles.

In reality land: I like suggestions and questions. They show that one is engaged and interested in what's going on. However, when you're halfway into a project, it's probably a good idea to commit to something instead of changing it. Otherwise you create either lots of extra work for your coteacher, or lots of resentment for yourself. Neither is fun. Especially when your coteacher starts plotting your demise.

I saw two more little black squirrels in the woods along the bike/hike trail yesterday. Welcome to the neighborhood, Claudia and Nipsey!

Brb...classes to take, and demises to plot.

We did full-body outlines on some kids today, and then let them add features like clothes, a face,etc. When I went around to see what everyone had done, one little boy had drawn a frown on his face. He'd had a Murphy's Law kind of day yesterday, so I asked him "Why does he look so sad?" The boy looked up from his drawing and announced "He's sad because he has a spider in his tummy. See?" And he pointed, and sure enough, he had also drawn a fairly detailed spider in the stomach region. So I asked if I could help him write about that at the bottom of his drawing, and he said "sure!" While I was writing, he talked to himself a bit. I heard him say that the spider "got fired". So I asked him "What do you mean, he got fired?" and he pointed to his drawing again, and said "He got fired. See, there's the big ball of fire." The fire, by the way, had a very friendly smile on its face. We wrote about the spider "getting fired" too. Unfortunately he scribbled over the spider and the fire with another marker, but the original still shows through a bit.

There's a little black squirrel that lives in the neighborhood. Or...lived, rather. I found him in the road on the way to work. He wasn't there on the way back though, so I choose to believe that somebody at least tried to save him. I should really stock my trunk with rodent-rescue supplies. RIP Edgar.

I am maxed out like a credit card. I was so tired today that I couldn't even come up with plot bunnies in math class, and I still have a newsletter to amend, and I am in desperate need of a shower and fluids.

I know this, because I keep envisioning little thought bubbles above my head that say *perk*.
In math class, I was bored and my thought bubbles said *fidget* and "...lame." Who knew that multiplying shit by ten was such a big fat hairy deal?

The Great Preschooler potty-training experiment is underway! We had two successful dry days last week. One hit and one miss today. Not quite sure whether the "miss" was a genuine accident or attention-seeking behavior. Will add extra break tomorrow.
We did get one Awesome Moment of Assertive Behavior today. I was so proud! We have a couple of kids who have a hard time keeping their hands and feet to themselves. It's not a malicious thing, more of a need for that sensory input, but annoying as hell to the kids that have a concept of personal boundaries. So, one of these kids had another boy in a headlock, and the other boy looked him in the eye and said "STOP IT!" in a voice that even startled me. Sure enough, the kid released his hold. It didn't last long before he started pushing the bookshelf, but at least he stopped bothering the other kid. Go other kid.

I went running with my dad and a friend of his the other day. This particular friend is a textbook type-A. He was pretty sure that if I *really* wanted to, I could be running 8-minute miles. His justification was that I could still talk comfortably at a 9-minute pace, and am in reasonable shape. Yes, I've lost weight, but I haven't really gained a great deal of strength. Most weight machines are not short-girl friendly. Hell, most aren't slightly-under-average girl friendly. As such, strength training is a total drag. As for the talking...I can also sing at a reasonable volume with almost no air in my lungs. I've had lots of practice, on account of that whole "actor" thing. Ability to talk is not really the best indicator of aerobic exertion, anyway.
There is a race in November. I intend to stealth-train and beat the pants off the bastard.

New season of project runway started. My favorite people to hate are all gone as of this week! *approves* and the girls I like (the boys don't impress me as much this cycle.) are still there.

Natalie and Monk remind me of my boss and her little son. Like a lot. I've counted at least three times each episode this season, where Natalie is trying to bolster Monk's confidence, or Monk is whining about something, and I get this flash of recognition. My boss uses a lot of the same tactics to get the boy to cheer up when he's grumpy. The "demanding" side of his personality is eerily similar to Monk's. (There are some major differences. The kid has no qualms about hugs, public restrooms, or the fact that several of our posters don't hang straight.)

Also, as of 4:30 today I am FREE FROM RETAIL!!! NO MORE TACKY-ASSED LAB COAT! NO MORE JABBA, NO MORE FREEZER, NO MORE BENCH-PRESSING 30 POUNDS OF GROUND BEEF! NO MORE RIB GUY, NO MORE SCHIZO GUY! NO MORE ICKY INSTOCKS BOYS! NO MORE GARGOYLE BITCH, NO MORE IDIOT, NO MORE NEW MANAGER WHO EVERYONE HATES! NO MORE CASHIERING, NO MORE 5 AM WAKEUP! I made an announcement to a few of my co-workers when I had only 90 minutes left, and Jabba the Hutt was all "that's really kind of rude"...and so I tried to act contrite, but in my head, I was like "I just told you I have 90 minutes left. What are you going to do, send me home?" I also played catch with some people in the backroom, with some plastic wrap for the last ten minutes of my shift.

Bakery Minion and I talked about going out dancing with some people she knows to celebrate. I kind of want to just stay in, but I also kind of hope she calls, because today she told me she was mad at our eye candy, for the same reasons that I was confused by the eye candy, and I kind of want to break it all down. Who was too drunk? Who got too mean? Is there something going on in somebody's head that needs to be laid out on the table? (My head is staying firmly under lock and key, until I see somebody else's cards.)

I need a haircut. Desperately.

So far so good on school. They're unusually focused in the morning. It tends to all go to pot towards the end of the day, when we're waiting for moms and dads. I think our biggest goal for the year will be impulse control. As opposed to doing whatever we want, whenever we want, regardless of what anyone else is doing, or what they may have gotten to first. But they've all been very precise when we've set them to a specific task, and we've almost mastered walking down the hall in a single line. Someone eventually gets fed up when they have a slowpoke in front of them, and gets out of line to zoom around, but so far, nobody's run down the steps screaming. Academically, they're all pretty impressive. Yesterday, one of the kids meticulously traced the words "pancakes" and "go to the museum", and we've got one who's really quite handy (if obsessive) with the scissors.
They had a blast making fingerprints and handprints first thing in the morning, but nobody was too keen on examining them up close. *sigh* Fingerprints are cool. Maybe tomorrow I'll get our art project done in a big group, and then move over to show some kids what to look for.

Things finally got under way yesterday, as far as Retail Hell people getting together. At first, it was just me and the eye candy and one of his buddies. It was a little weird, seeing as how we're both closer to the person who told me to show up in the first place, than we are to each-other. I forgot how much of a sanctimonious know-it-all bastard the guy can be sometimes. His friend was cool though. We all bitched and moaned until Michele finally decided to come out to the bar, and then another Friend of Eye Candy showed up...the kind of deformed weirdo who people always try to set me up with, when they try to set me up. It's like Nice Guy Syndrome in reverse. Luckily, I wasn't being set up, so I didn't have to be too mean. Good thing, too. You try thinking of snarky remarks when you're also trying to figure out where in god's name your feet went. The one drink I had was some insane vodka-gin-liqueur combination, called a Purple Haze. It can't be too far off from a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster, because I was still being punished for it well into the afternoon. Good stuff, though.
I haven't run in days. Boo, school.
I KNOW there's something I need to do on the computer. Like for a class or something. It'll occur to me around midnight, as I'm drifting off to bed.

We have our very first Drama Mama. We introduced ourselves and talked about our backgrounds at the parent meeting. Twice, even. So today a dad called my boss and demanded to know why his Little Precious was in a classroom with teachers with "no experience." So Boss Lady very patiently explained our credentials and reminded him that she talked a bit about each of us when she introduced us, and that we introduced ourselves again in the classroom, and talked a little about what we'd done previously. That wasn't the message that that father had received. Our current working theory is that the mother simply neglected to tell him anything to rile him up, so he might come down and bully us, just to make sure we know how Extra Specially Wonderful their kid is. In any case, Boss Lady is preparing herself for a massive headache tomorrow. I feel bad for the kid. Mom had her in Sunday School and said she was a very nice little girl. We met her briefly on Child Visit Day yesterday, and she seemed like a good kid...but how long is that going to last with that kind of manipulation going on in her home life? Boss Lady is ready to tell the family to take a hike if they're going to be such constant shit-disturbers, but I'm really hoping we can keep them, so their kid might learn some good habits from being around sane persons. For my part, I'm remaining optimistic that it's mostly a case of Mommy desperate to be the Mommiest, and the stress and craziness that causes. Competitive mommies are cured easily enough with a little extra love. Either way, this should be an interesting ride.
In Home news, dad broke the sink last night. Like, big gaping hole where a ceramic basin used to be. He was trying to rinse off a salt block, because they always have a bit of surface dirt, and when you go to put it in your water-softener, the dirt goes right in with it, and eventually it accumulates and fucks up your system. So he set it on the counter, and began to spray it off a bit with the attachment-thingy, and it must have been set on the counter just oddly enough that it tipped over the edge and went WHACK! Right through the left side of the sink, taking a bit of drainpipe with it. When I was filling the dishwasher last night, it seemed okay, but mom tried to do some dishes today, and we found out that the drain on the right is unusable as well. We may be looking at some major repair work. *cringe*
The Eye Candy is back for a visit. Bakery Minion said she'd call me about getting people together for drinks. Of course, people in my life are notoriously flaky about that sort of thing...that is, when they're not the ones that are the most boring people in the whole universe. *Pickets with Unfair sign* I'll have to leave her a voicemail to remind her.
Tomorrow will probably end up being Homework Day.
Last full weekend of Retail Hell! Yay!

The classroom is almost set up. I still need to run to Spencer's to get some toys. Not THOSE kind of toys...They have those funny hourglasses where the water comes down in little droplets, and ones where it's goo instead of sand. They have some other kid-safe things there too. I think I scared my teaching partner when I reminded her of the other kinds of things Spencer's has. Actually, the one in the mall here doesn't carry nearly the array of grown-up toys that some other ones do.
That stupid asshole that taught my Bias Free Classrooms class is teaching Foundations of Education. This ought to be entertaining.
I auditioned for this semester's shows at UNO. I didn't get a callback, but I'm cool with it, because I know I did my best, considering I had exactly two hours to prepare, and I was in class for one of those hours. The monologue I keep at the ready isn't the kind that shows what you might be able to do for The Miracle Worker. I have no idea what the second play, Hippie Doctor, is even about, really. But, no, it's been a long time since I've read the Miracle Worker, but most of Durang's work has kind of the opposite vibe. I always want to do something *differently* with The Marriage of Bette and Boo, but I can usually walk away feeling like I did my best.

I have to wonder if any of the worms crawling out of my woodwork are crack flavored. That would make everything at least sort-of right with the universe. Tomorrow we'll go see if they attract any plot bunnies. Right now though, I need to clean things and sleep. I have to be at retail tomorrow at 6 in the morning, and then I have my first class. *twitch* I ran almost 6 miles today. My thighs will hate me in the morning.

All that Doing The Right Thing, and I don't even get a lousy R/N Shipper treat? Look, Deity, I even friended the fundiest fundie on facebook! And I promise I'll be good unless it bites first. I want that hour of my life back, USA network. Normal people don't sit in their rooms muttering "do not want, do not want" at their television screens. Especially not forty times in a row. (Mr. Monk needs to keep his legs the hell TOGETHER when he's not starring in a Liv Original, KTHX.)
New season of Project runway started. I don't know who I like yet, but I'm glad the esoteric hippy chick is gone. I don't think I could sit through another sixteen hours of "my gown is polymorphic! and I go whoshwooshwoosh and it's a pinata, or wooshwooshwoosh and it's a ball gown! I Dance for the Moon King! I dance for the Sun King! I'm laughing Wild Amid Severest Woe" That was some good crackfood, but it's one of those things that's only funny once. After that, it's icky. I need to find a copy of Laughing Wild and pick out the best bits.
School starts Monday. Uni school, not preschool. bummar. I wonder if I'll think to bring the paper with me that has where my classes are. Also, I need to put on my new parking pass.

What the fuck, Karma? No, Karma, seriously? What. The. Fuck? So I was totally nice to the fundies and tried really hard not to be offensive without being a phony, and we all have a fine time, and you repay me by haunting me with the hopelessly uncool part of my past? I'm filing an official complaint and seeking reimbursement for my trouble. Did I mention that I stopped sticking my fingers in my ears and going LALALALALALALA...like three months later than was necessary, but still. That was some serious Do Not Want.
I have to wonder if this new source of stress doesn't have anything to do with me, specifically, and I just got caught in the path of someone else's Karmic Mac Truck. If so, please excuse me. I have to go see someone about acquiring a truck of my own. I'd use this opportunity to grab at the proverbial Big Brass Ring...The really big one, but we'll see how it goes with the little rings for starters.

Oh, what the FUCK? Why is it the people I stopped talking to trying to get in touch with me, and not the people I was crazy about? This is epically unfair. Lucy's gonna have some 'splainin to do, and I do *not* have time to come up with a good cover story, or to deal with the guilt of doing the wrong thing and flat out saying go away.

I went to a cousin's wedding this weekend, on my dad's side. It's kind of like going to summer camp. At first you stand there thinking "Holy shit these people are corny. We'll have to muddle through" and then later on you find out that everyone in your cabin brought the same brand of shoes, or knows all the words to some song and then you're, like Bestest Friends Forever. Only, it was more like a couple of my cousins are into the same fandoms as I am. My cousin Katie is fluent in Lolspeak, and when we all went out to lunch together she was like *pssst. My parents watch South Park. Teehee!* The younger cousins seem to have all had the Personality beat out of them, but my cousin Philip didn't immediately disown me upon learning that I read slash, so that was something. I demonstrated my Gollum impression for them, and they said I was "disturbing" and that it pleased them.
The bride was absolutely adorable, and a theater person! Woot! She and her sister sang For Good at the reception. Sweet moment. Their friends seemed nice enough, but not especially outgoing. We had a good time anyway, shaking our asses on the dance floor. (Well, I shook my ass. They mostly flailed their arms around, except for this one gay guy and his date, who actually had some technical skill.) My uncle Bob is fucking creepy. He kept trying to dance with all the girls in my age group. Not like slow-dance, but still.
The actual ceremony was pretty depressing. It was the kind of service that explains very neatly why so many former Christians run screaming to Atheism. The gist of the sermon was basically "Hey, congratulations on getting married. By the way, you're all a bunch of sinners, and probably you won't measure up, and you'll have to deal with all of each-others sins. Also, God loves you no matter what, but he won't seat you without the proper attire." It was based around a parable in Matthew about this king who threw a wedding for his son, and the real guests were too stupid to show up, so they invited people from wherever, only somebody sneaked in without proper wedding clothes (symbolizing hypocrisy, or half-assed participation to get at the fringe bennies or something) and they kicked his ass out. Way to choose the most depressing way to look at it, Mr. Preacher!
But the vows they wrote were lovely, and all their friends were really happy and having a fun time, so other than the downer Official Guy, it was good stuff.
Tomorrow we have a big meeting for school. I got zero sleep last night, and the nap I took this afternoon was totally unsatisfying, so it is now time to try to remedy the sleep-dep situation.

I finally got new running shoes, and I talked myself into a nice pair of boots for when it gets colder. The running shoes have terrific ankle support, which is critical in a shoe for me.
It is well over 90 degrees outside, and it's humid and windy. My hair has quadrupled in volume. Also, because I had to set foot outside in this weather I have developed a massive headache. Ibuprofen took the edge off, but I'm still kind of woozy. It did not help my thumb, which I smashed between a stockroom cart and a wall. That hurt so much that I didn't even curse. I didn't actually say anything at all for a great many seconds after. It's actually kind of hard to type.
Plan #1 is to go swimming tomorrow, even if I don't get any real exercise. It's too hot to not go. Plan number two is to make a damn eye doctor appointment already. This Needs To Be Done. (like, badly.) Plan number three is to investigate a new-to-me hair salon. I'm curious to see what the pros might do with my color. I would kind of like to try properly-done highlights. When I've done them on myself, I've always ended up overdoing one of the front strands. Not a flattering look.
Plan number four is to type up my notes for crackfic, over at hannahbanano

Plot...Monk had a plot. As much as it ever does. I guessed the lady was faking almost right away, but then I took it back, thinking the assistant did it. (for a moment I thought the actress' assistant was Idina Menzel. Way to get my hopes up, USA.) It didn't surprise me that Monk judged the lady a whore. Monk's prudery is epic. I maintain that Natalie did too know whatever it was Monk thanked her for not knowing. I'd lie my ass off to him about what I did and did not know, unless I had a good afternoon free to warp his mind. (see: Sweeny Todd Fandom) I also have theories on what it was that she and Randy were speculating on whether it was even possible. My shipper goggles say that Natalie tossing off the book to Randy as she walked away, without either of them looking at each-other speaks volumes about how in tune they are. My shipper goggles also say that the way Monk hugged his TV daddy speaks volumes about his hang-ups.

We got the basic layout of the classroom set up today. We still need a bunch of tables and a bookshelf, but the positioning of the centers is pretty much perfect. We've arranged it so it's easy to flow from one center to another and integrate materials between them. For example, the block center is right next to the science table, so one day we could build a little cave for the toy creatures, and go exploring with our flashlights; and the dress-up center is near the art center, so if you need a particular costume, you can go grab a paper bag and some scissors and make it yourself.
I'm going to try to carve out time to post some crackfic notes this weekend, and double-check websites for auditions. Right now I have a bedroom that is a serious biohazard, and some lesson plans to outline while my head is still full of ideas. I also need to hit the gym in a big way. Yesterday I found out just how many calories are in my beloved giant bakery cookies. Holy Shiz!

Dad was discharged from the hospital yesterday afternoon. He was bummed all weekend that he was deprived of cheeseburgers, but the doc said he could have a low-fat Sirloin burger without cheese. We have strange things in the fridge now too, though, like cucumber and lettuce and grapes. *happy* He's definitely much happier now that he's out of the hospital. Oooh, he just told me his cholesterol is down to a reasonable number for the first time in like, ever. Yay! It's always been high, even when he was younger and doing triathlons. He's not allowed to drive yet, so in a little while we're going to go look for a sports watch for him.
I ran six and a half miles today. Mostly sprints. It was hard, but it was good for my brain. My poor brain is going to have to take a math class this semester. Boo.
Seven more weeks of Retail Hell!

Just got back from the hospital. My dad had a heart attack. He's fine now...relatively speaking. He was awake and talking the whole time, but he's going to be staying in the hospital probably through the weekend. The doctors knew he had a blockage in his artery pretty much the second they saw him. They didn't even bother to take him to the emergency room, and went straight to the cardiac lab to put a stint (stent?) in.
I've been pretty much of a wreck since we got the phone call from his work. Mom's doing better than I would've thought. I think the WTF-y suddenness of it and my award-winning hysteria has kept her grounded. I screamed every time the phone rang between our house and the hospital. Startle reflex. I has one.
But for now I'm thinking positively, when I can form a coherent thought. Mostly they involve hoping that at least one of my parents will start to believe me when I tell them that "healthy lunch" means "includes at least one food from the vegetable family." and that Jelly (that's Jam to almost everybody who reads this.) is not a fruit...as much as I wish it was.
We're going back to the hospital again pretty soon to bring him his cell phone. They say to do things like "relax" after you've had a heart attack, but my dad's about as good at that as I am, which is to say, not. He'll probably be ten times better once he's got his phone glued to his hand again.
Will provide further updates in the near future.

First of all, I got myself a shiny new job!! Starting in September, I will be a preschool teacher! The director has been given permission to take over this absolutely HUGE room that is currently serving as a nursery once a week during Sunday School hours. I get to write lesson plans and play with three-year-olds and help rearrange this room to be all preschooler-appropriate. It's insane right now. They have like a hundred of every baby toy ever brought into existence. Far more than they need for the dozen or so babies that occupy the space for an hour on Sundays. It would be way too many things for even 50 babies.
The best part is, I'll only have to do retail on weekends, at most! 14 weeks and I will be nearly retail-free. It might even start to be enjoyable if I only have to be there twice a week.
Second: Two out of two of my parents have had surgery this week. Mom had a knee replacement today. That was planned for weeks ago. She's out now, and in really terrific shape, considering. She's getting all kinds of awesome drugs. *envy*
My dad had a couple more vertebrae in his neck fused on Wednesday. He'd been having pain and numbness in some fingers, as well as his neck being sore. They did an MRI and found out he had another bulging disk, so they decided to fix that ASAP. He's home now, and at the moment he's sleeping. He's been really fidgety, because he absolutely HATES to not be busy. We're a little related like that. Before his surgery, he was working from home/not working, per Doctor's Orders. So on the days I was home, we ended up walking, like eight miles a day. There's a Nature Preserve not far from our house. Last week we got up at about 5 in the morning to go walk around. We saw several deer, a pheasant, a young hawk, a muskrat and a black squirrel, plus several fish jumping out of the lake. It's been nice, because between him working all day, and me working mostly nights, and being at school, we hadn't had a proper conversation in months.
Jewelry making has practically become a compulsion for me. I've even perfected the tassel earrings. I keep blowing like half my paycheck at Hobby Lobby. Next step is to figure out where to sell jewelry. I don't have a good camera to photograph it, so Ebay is unlikely. I'll scope out upcoming local craft fairs to see what signing up for that entails.
Speaking of pictures, I finally got the ones from my run developed...the good ones that my mom took. I'll upload them next time I think to bring my purse down with me. I also have to pester my brother's GF to send us the dress-up pictures from that weekend.
Still haven't seen the new Star Trek movie, but Sci-Fi has been showing Next Gen reruns. It's funny, I was just sitting around going "umm...why did I think Riker was a slammin' hottie?" and then I turn on the TV, and there he is, and about two seconds into the episode, I was like "oh yeah, *that's* why." (It's the whole big strappin' renaissance-man thing) Also, Brent Spiner is fucking funny. I can't believe all the faces he pulled, that I missed in my Trekkin' heyday.
I was never all that interested in Original Trek, but I seem to think the new Scottie in the movie was in something else I've seen and approved of. Also, Jennifer Morrison is in it, as Momma Kirk. Which brings me to the other fandom ramble.
I *heart* Cameron. Like tons. Girl is just so delightfully deranged. Especially that bit where she turns to her soon-to-be husband and is basically like "OHAI. I has mah ded husbands spermies. Mah ded husband's spermies, I haz them." I'm pretty sure we've never seen her make one decision that was based even a little bit on logic. She's kind of like House's perfect opposite.
In addition to jewelry, I've also spent far more than necessarily necessary on books. The other day, I found one called Severance. I was hoping it was the novelization of the movie, but the truth was equally good. It's a collection of essays, containing the thoughts that might have passed through a mind after decapitation. Most of them are a little more creative than "OW! OMG HOLY FUCK OW!". They kind of assume that the heads would still be conscious and at least kind-of coherent for a bit. The characters include Anne Boleyn, John the Baptist, Nicole Brown Simpson, a dragon (and St. George), and a chicken. The dragon one in particular makes a great monologue. After purchasing this delightful bit of gratuitous gore, I had to use considerable force to drag myself away from the bookshelves at Target. Target has almost nothing worth reading, but they never fail to have a healthy supply of the memoirs of gay men. Specifically, Augusten Burroughs and David Sedaris. David Sedaris's latest will be in paperback next week, and it will be MINE! His sister Amy's cookbook wins at life. It contains a biscuit recipe, which we used last week for the shortcake part of strawberry shortcake. Biscuit recipe = far superior to spongey yellow prefab shortcake.
One of these days I need to actually spend some time on the various instant-messaging devices at my disposal. I also need to do things with the few good folks from retail. Rumor has it some of the eye candy is returning to visit us.

pfew! Long week! I did the half-marathon in St. Louis on Sunday. Finished in 2:34:31. Not exactly breaking the sound barrier, but it's better than I thought I'd do. My aunt shot off an email today. Two words "do another" and a link to a Lewis and Clark trail one in September.
The ride home was insane. There was a bad traffic right on our route, and we had to find a way around it. What is usually an 8-hour drive took over 10. It didn't help that we stopped every 90 minutes or so to stretch. I could barely move by the time we got home. On Monday I couldn't even move my right leg enough to stretch it and I had a marble-sized blister on my left foot.
The race itself was way too much fun, though. It was warm, but not too hot, and rainy. There were thousands and thousands of people there, and they had pace groups you could run with. I went with the 11:27-minute-mile group for most of the race. I only ended up walking one mile, because my breathing went wonky and I was already going to make my 3-hour goal, even if I had to walk the last two miles. But I recovered, and scurried along my last mile. I'll post pics once we order them. They're not at all flattering, but they'll do.
The rest of the trip was fun. We ate Greek food and tried on dresses and went to a Ming Dynasty exhibit at the Art Museum, and a glass-blowing place. Good stuff.
My dad did another race in Illinois. He did something to his neck, so he's been working from home all week. Mom had to take him to the ER yesterday, so I got to sub. There was a clown there that day, so we all got little balloon flowers and monkeys, and we painted flowers. We've got one kid still working on bathroom habits, and one who I'm pretty sure is coming down with something atrocious which will be spread to most of the rest of the class and me. The next time I have a day off is Tuesday. Yuck.