Comments (13)

By kilax, December 9, 2016 6:17 am

After class this morning, I was talking to the owner of the studio and he mentioned that he saw my picture on the Frosty Foot race brochure, and commented on how it is now a 2 mile race.

Um… what?

Rachel is on there too!

When I sent in my registration form for this race, it mentioned the race would be at a new area, but said it would be a 5K. This is my goal 5K each year, and I have already started training with it in mind and, so to hear it got changed to a 2 mile race made me feel upset. Which I realize is completely silly – it’s just a race.

So I guess now I have a few options:

1. Train for the two miler
2. Find a different 5K to train for and still do the two miler
3. Find a different 5K to train for an ask for a refund on the two miler
4. Ask for a refund on the two miler and train for nada! Ha!

Blah. It’s a crappy move on their end to switch up the distance after registration has been opened. I wish I had a copy of my original registration form! I can see online that they switched it to a three miler, before it became the two miler.

And now it’s listed as being an all-terrain course, so, yeah… meh. But there’s worse things in life so whatever! At least the people who work there are super nice – they actually called when they got my registration form to confirm my new address. Hopefully they’re as nice when I call this time just to see what’s up with the switcharoo.

Comments (15)

By kilax, June 11, 2016 9:55 am

A couple of years ago Runner’s World had a hot off the press tip for one of their “use running to lose weight” articles – during your runs, swish your sports drink in your mouth then spit it out to save calories! Recent studies show the sugars trick your brain in to giving you a boost without ingesting it!

Sigh.

Yes, let’s encourage disordered eating (drinking?). It’s not enough that you’re running – don’t you dare think of swallowing (ew)!

They’ve included this tip in their magazine every few months since then. Each time it makes me ragey. I can see encouraging skipping caloric beverages when not running, when not running for a long time, and spitting out during a run if your stomach is upset, but come on. I’m a runner who almost always needs to lose weight and I’m excited I finally found a caloric beverage that my stomach can handle on long runs – because it REALLY helps me get through my run. I’m swallowing it.

I drank and swallowed ALL of this Vitamin Water!

Ugh.

The funny thing is, the article in the July issue that made me think of this is actually an article I like, because it’s about a topic I wrote a draft post about a few months ago and never posted – decision overload (I’ll have to post that once this article is up on their website). And this time, they are giving the tip to do it for a boost of energy when you are NOT running, and to actually ingest the drink if you do need to replenish your glucose stores during a run. So… maybe progress?! I don’t know. I bet we’ll see it show up as a running “weight loss” tip again in a future issue – it seems to be a favorite of theirs.

Comments (23)

By kilax, January 15, 2016 6:34 am

Er… I mean, train.

So CHILL the eff out.

Stock train photo from riding in November with my mom – on another day with crazy delays!

When it gets really cold out here, as it has this week, the commuter train switches start to fail and the trains are late. It’s been like this for years. I’ve come to expect it.

So a few times before I commuted on Wednesday, I told Steven that my train home would probably be late (because, you know, it’s always on time GOING to work, ha!).

I get to Union Station after work on Wednesday and it’s a mad house. All of the switches are out going north, nothing is coming in or going. People are everywhere, pushing and shoving.

Okay, be calm, Kim. You expected this.

The train I wanted to take isn’t even there yet. But I see a train going to a different area by our rental house, that was supposed to leave before I got to the station, is still there, sitting on the tracks, with the doors closed.

I talk to a conductor on the train next to it, and he sees if the train with the closed doors will open for me, since we’re all sitting and waiting anyway. I appreciate his help. It doesn’t work immediately, but eventually, the conductor opens the doors and a few people get on.

I expect the train to be full and to maybe have to stand. I don’t care – I just wanted to get out of the cold and on to a train.

But luckily, I see lots of seats with only one person in them!

One person, and their FRICKIN’ bag taking the seat next to them.

Sigh. I hate it when people do that. But sure, the doors were closed, they thought that was everyone that was going to be on the train, give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they waited and put their bag on the seat after the doors closed (riiiiiiiiiiiight).

I find a seat and ask the woman if she minds moving her bags so I can sit.

She snaps. “You know this train isn’t going anywhere, RIGHT?!?!”

I almost lose it. “Yep! I just want to get out of the cold and sit down.”

Geesh. AYFKM?! Whether or not this train moves, I obviously want to sit down. So move your sh*t.

The train sits there for quite some time. After it gets going, she makes lot of comments (she seems to know the other people on the car) about being worried the train will make extra stops because of “the extra people that got let on it,” and stupid crap like that (the train stuck to its original schedule, so GFY and STFU). She complains about how ticket prices go up and the switches still fail. And so on. Whiney whine whine (I guess like I am, now?).

Every time the trains are delayed due to cold, I am always surprised that regular commuters are, well, so surprised. This is what happens when it’s hella cold. It sucks. Deal.

Now, I AM lucky I don’t have to commute every day like some people. If this happened to me day after day, I would be much more frustrated. But still. I wouldn’t be a jerk to someone who wanted a seat, then make nasty comments the entire ride home. You’re just making it worse for yourself.

That lady and I were both going to the last stops. I think hers was one out from mine. The car cleared out as we rode, and there were lots of open seats, but I stayed next to her the whole time. Yeah, I can be passive aggressive, too, biznatch.

Ha! Talking about trains reminds me how unreliable/unpredictable they were in Italy. I wonder how these people would deal with that! Sometimes you just have to go with the flow, folks. Prepare. Bring your drinks and snacks. Bring the book you’re reading and the thing you are knitting. Make sure your phone is charged. Use the toilets on the train. BE NICE TO PEOPLE. It’s all gonna be okay. We all just want to get where we need to be. Let’s cooperate.

And this train ride was not all bad. I got a lot of knitting done. As we got close to my stop, I got up to stand in the vestibule and then we were stuck in place for about 10 minutes, during which I had a very nice conversation with a stranger. 

Also, I wrote this post early yesterday morning. Mid afternoon, Metra actually sent out an apology letter about the situation (you can read it here). Wow!

Comments (34)

By kilax, January 14, 2016 6:51 pm

And that folks, is why the nail technician thinks I should have kids.

I don’t normally go around asking people why they think I should or should not have kids, but she asked me so many times during the pedicure and manicure why I don’t, that I figured I should just ask her the reason she thinks I should.

Ha ha.

Sigh.

My nails and toes look nice though.

And man, I thought deciding on insurance was hard… look at all these colors! Ha!

I was talking to someone the other day (I can’t remember who! Ack!) and they mentioned that they always get asked why they don’t have kids when they go to a nail salon. Funny that it happened to me.

Comments (22)

By kilax, January 24, 2015 11:56 am

As I mentioned yesterday, it’s warmed up enough here to melt some of the snow and ice, so I decided to see how clear the trails were for my long run today. I knew there’d be snowy/icy spots where there’s tree coverage (there was) and that it would slow me down (oh, it did), but it was worth it for the change of scenery (there are only so many miles I can take running through my hood) and to get off the roads.

I don’t feel safe running on the roads (and to an extent, sidewalks), especially alone. It may seem counter intuitive that I feel safer on a potentially secluded trail, but you know what’s (usually) not on trails? Vehicles. Distracted drivers. People furious you’re using “their” road.

So I really enjoyed running on the trails and being able to daydream a bit, and not be so super observant, during the run. But there were a few road spots.

So few that I’m surprised this even happened. I was running on the shoulder, in to traffic, on a quiet road, when I see a car pull out of a neighborhood up ahead. They come my way so I make sure I’m far from the road. I notice the passenger has his arm out the window. That seems odd – it’s not that warm out!

Oh. They have their arm out the window so they can flip me off. Nice.

For a split second I was super pissed – “I’m not even in the road! I’m running against traffic! I’m getting off this road soon.”

But then I immediately snapped to “at least they saw me.” And “at least they didn’t try to run me off the road,” “or throw anything at me” (that happened to me and Bobbi once).

If someone needs to flip me off to let me know they’re mad I’m running in the street, it’s certainly better than them texting while driving and not seeing me and hitting me. Or getting close to me and pushing me farther in to the shoulder.

It alarms me how much I notice people not paying attention when they drive (while I am running for the point of this post, but also, when I am driving). So many are looking down (at their phones?), or not looking at all. Do you ever notice how people backing up their cars out of their driveways only tend to look at the direction of traffic coming at them, to see if it’s clear? Apparently “look both ways” (and “use turn signals,” in general, but we won’t get in to that), isn’t a thing for people.

I was running this week when I stopped in the street because a driver was about to back up and come toward me, and never looked my way. I don’t think anything of stopping anymore, but he actually rolled down his window and apologized! Wow!

Anyway. I just wanted to vent. I know this is what this time of year is like, and it’s like this every year (two years ago, it was the ad flyer guy trying to run me off the street). People aren’t gonna change. We just have to continue to be on watch. And to expect to be flipped off from time to time, it seems.

Comments (26)

By kilax, March 6, 2014 6:23 am

Ha ha ha, despite mentioning I was writing this, I forgot it was in my drafts folder!

For my birthday last summer, Valerie gave me this super cool tank with the NYC Marathon course on it.

I don’t think any race will ever surpass NYC as my favorite marathon, so this was a very special gift. And I love maps (and map graphics), so having one on a shirt excites me. Ha ha. 

Since I loved the idea of this type of tank so much, I decided to get one for Erin, either for Christmas or her January birthday, of her hometown marathon course, from the company that made this tank, Runskin. I remembered when Valerie posted about Runskin on her blog, she mentioned they will add a new course, even if they don’t have it. I saw that they already had a sticker with Erin’s hometown course on it, so I figured it would be feasible to add it to a tank! And if I contacted them early enough (Valerie had told me how long they took to send the NYC one), they’d get it done in time for either Christmas or Erin’s birthday !

No.

Here is when I contacted them:

• November 28 (Thanksgiving) – I fill out the form on their website. It’s Thanksgiving, so I expect it will take a week to reply. I hear nada.
• December 13 – I send them a Facebook message and ask who I can contact about the custom shirt. Hear nothing back. 
• December 14 (getting too late!) – I reach out to Valerie and ask for her personal contact at the company and email him. I never hear from him.
• December 19 – Try Facebook again. 

Note – there was no phone number on their website, otherwise, I would have called them. 

I was kind of disappointed. I felt like I did everything I could to reach out to them, and heard nothing back. 

But, eh, consumerism, not the end of the world, right? There are a million other things in the world to buy. And when I shop online, I don’t want it to be a pain, like this. 

This just made me think “Why do I have to chase you down to give you money?!” This is NOT the first time I have encountered this, AT ALL… but I won’t list every instance, out, here. 

Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like you had to “chase someone down” to give them your business?

Funny thing, I clicked on their website today and saw this:

Ha ha, you can email them, but they probably won’t respond. 

I wonder what is going on. The last time they updated their Facebook page was December 2nd. I really hope all the people that placed holiday orders with them, actually got them! And that they are more responsive when they open up shop, again. 

Note: unresponsiveness makes me NUTS. Maybe this just bugs me. If I email you with a question… please respond. At some point. On that note, I booked a venue for my snister’s bachelorette party yesterday and the lady was SUPER responsive and helpful! I thanked her for that a few times. 

Comments (26)

By kilax, November 1, 2012 7:02 pm

I try to keep negative thoughts to myself, but I had to write this in hopes it would make me feel better. Hopefully I will be in better spirits tomorrow… or after I hit publish!

Oh! Look! It’s raining boxes in our neighborhood!

Wow! Some ended up in the marsh! That’s odd…

Hmm, how did these boxes get here? What a fun game to find them all!

Sigh. 

Steven usually works from home every day, but was gone yesterday for meetings. Today he noticed that FedEx said they delivered a package yesterday, but he didn’t get it. “Why don’t we look in the marsh,” I suggested. 

We found some of our stuff, and boxes for three other houses. Someone took the boxes from all the houses facing the street, and opened them destroyed some items and scattered the rest around. We still don’t know where some of our stuff is. 

I know that this is not a big deal. This week has been awful for many people dealing with Hurricane Sandy (and other real problems). I shouldn’t be upset. But this really made me sad. One of the packages for someone else was fresh pears from Harry & David. I bet those were a gift. One of the boxes for someone else had a food mix in it that was opened. 

I didn’t put our Halloween pumpkin out, because I was afraid someone would vandalize it. Now I feel less crazy. But, I still feel sad. 

Anyone have a good story from their day to cheer me up?

Comments (17)

By kilax, November 1, 2011 12:54 pm

Have any other Google Reader users noticed you can no longer “share” items or follow people? Google Reader was updated yesterday, and the share post button is no more. Now we are supposed to +1 or add items on Google+. Here’s a short article about the changes. And here’s an article that thinks it’s a good thing, overall.

Basically, in the old version of Google Reader, you could click on an article to share it with people who signed up to follow you. Then you could comment back and forth with them, all within Reader. When they shared something new, it popped up as an unread item. Now, Google want us to use Google+ to share things. It’s easy enough to hit “share” at the top of the screen to put items on Google+, and within certain “circles” but I no longer get a feed of the things my friends are sharing. I have to go to Google+ and look for it. It was better when it was all in one location.

Image from here

Basically… I had a lot of fun sharing things with my friends on Reader, and now they’ve just made it more difficult. I don’t want to use Google+. It’s not intuitive to me, and gee, I already use Facebook. For awhile Steven and I have been talking about how they should incorporate circles in to Reader, so you can only share with certain groups in Reader. We got it the other way around. Maybe I will get used to it. Or maybe enough people will sign the petition to bring it back that Google will! Doubtful.

This is funny. Just yesterday I was thinking about how much I love gmail, and gcal and gdocs… then they do this stupid crap. Oh well. If this doesn’t make sense, or you don’t care, I am happy you don’t waste as much time on the internet as I do!

Comments (25)

By kilax, June 14, 2011 7:48 am

I have not been in my office to use my salad dressing since I wrote this, and look at it this morning:

I knew it! I knew someone was using it. Sigh. I put the bottle in a brown paper bag and stapled it shut. Hopefully that will deter people from using it without asking. Or maybe I should measure out a serving each morning and bring it to work in a plastic container.

In other news, my two nephews sent me these drawings in the mail (the two sheets with lines on them below):

They have drawings on them and Star Wars stickers all over both sides. And look at what my older nephew wrote:

Ha ha. Too cute!

Also, I left my bike at the train station this morning to ride home. I hope it’s still there when I get off the train!

Maybe if I like riding my bike today I will do it more often… then Steven won’t have to get up at the buttcrack of dawn* to take me to the train station.

*Or as my mom said once, and we won’t let her live down, “the crack of buttlight.”

Comments (30)

By kilax, June 6, 2011 12:38 pm

I’ve never had my lunch stolen at work* but people use my salad dressing without asking all. the. time. Honestly! Just ask me! I will share! But I get annoyed when I buy a brand new container of salad dressing, and the second time I use it, more than a third of it is gone. That happened to me last week – I used it once, even measured out two tablespoons** – then went to use it the second day and a lot more of it was gone.

So… I started marking where the salad dressing is at when I am done using it.

Yes, I am crazy. But when I went to use my dressing today it was at the same level where I left it! Yay!

And really, I don’t care if people want to use it. I will share! Just please, ask! It says my name on it… I am usually at my desk… why don’t you ask me? And you should know, sometimes, when it spills over the top I lick it off the bottle, so maybe you don’t want to use it? Just warning you…

(Really, this isn’t a big deal to me. I actually think it’s kind of funny. But, we do have a camera in our lunch room because people steal each other’s food. Isn’t that ridiculous?)

*Seriously, who would want my salad and leftovers?
**Because I am trying to be good and track my food and ugh BORING.