Yoo 335 - On Being A Space Nerd

It's no secret that I wanted to be an astronaut growing up.

(mucho thanks to the katiefriend for photoshopping that one years ago...)

Ever since I saw Apollo 13 on Christmas in 1995. I was eight. And it changed me. That next summer I proceeded to read every space book in the library and turned my room into a mock solar system, complete with note cards filled with "Planetary Facts" taped to the walls. I assembled a model space shuttle that I convinced my mom to buy me at a garage sale. (oh was that ever a find!). I drooled over space camp brochures. And read that book/watched that movie more times than I will admit. I also owned a star projector.

I was truly captivated.

But how could I not be?? Space exploration is so cool! And Apollo 13 is an amazing story...so many emotions! These astronauts, filled with dreams of walking on the moon and exploring another world, suddenly found themselves stranded in a bleeding ship hundreds of thousands of miles away in space. They had to work together with a team of men, average age of 26, to solve problem after problem and mitigate risk after risk, just to get back home. To this planet.

We're talking about being in space, here. Outer space.

!!!

That "Successful failure" aside, I still think the Apollo program is one of mankind's shinier achievements. Fueled by Kennedy's "man on the moon by the end of this decade" charge (delivered just weeks after Al Shepard's first 15-minute spaceflight, no less), we built and tested the technology, developed the procedures, and overcame all the obstacles.

Men have walked on the moon!

These are the things you get excited about and ponder on as a space nerd. I can't look at the moon without thinking "we've been there!". I wonder what it would be like to hop around in that environment. To see the brilliance of the stars while orbiting the dark side. To explore its craters and mountains. To stand there and look back on earth.

How trivial would my day-to-day problems seem? What kind of perspective would I gain? How much more thankful for my home on this beautiful, sustaining planet would I be?

Somewhere along the roads of life, I lost sight of my astronaut dream. Other things replaced it. But I never lost my passion for space exploration. I still read every book and biography on the subject. I still visit the space centers and museums with unbridled excitement. I still try to imagine what it would be like to walk on the moon. I still go a little paparazzi when I see astronauts for reals. I even trekked across the country to watch one of the last space shuttle launches.

Also, my living room might be decorated with space pictures?

True story.

A few more confessions. Alan Bean is my favorite artist. All of my coffee table books are space picture books. (there's one fighter jet book in the mix). I think it's stupid that New York City got a space shuttle. And DC. (they already have one!). And I once skipped out on work to watch a piggy-backing space shuttle make a refuel stop at Lackland Air Force base in town.

(that is cool, admit it)

But the biggest of all? Apollo 13 is still my favorite movie and I can't watch it without crying. <-- big confession, be nice...also this might have been reconfirmed this weekend

(and now i will be really sappy and cheesy at the same time. here i go!)

Apollo was over 40 years ago. I think it's time space nerds of this generation had something to get excited about again...

Jim Lovell's character says it all. "I look up at the moon and wonder, when will we be going back, and who will that be?"

Space nerd transmission complete. For now.

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 334 - Gracing the Kyoofeet

I spent 4 1/2 hours biking and running yesterday. That was 4 1/2 hours of temperatures in the upper 90s, steady winds of 15-20+ mph, and not-so-gently rolling hills.

And STILL the worst part of my day was the 2 hours I spent clothes shopping.

Nothing beats me up physically/mentally/emotionally like clothes shopping.

Apparently it shows too. At least one of my coworkers questioned the other day, "Didn't you wear that shirt at least every week on your internship...4 years ago?"

"Ummmm...possibly...."

So maybe it's a little obvious that I never buy new clothes. At least clothes to wear during the day. Clothes for running and biking?

Different. Story.

Here's what the Kyoofeet are loving nowadays:

CEP Compression socks
All the cool athletes are wearing them...
I'll admit, these aren't miracle workers. But they do help. I wear them on my long runs and for several hours after to prevent my calves from being so darn tight the next day. (especially since i'm training in the newtons...). I have noticed a difference. They're pricey, but if you do a lot of running and can get them on sale, it's worth it.

Newton Gravitas for Women
These have changed my running for the better. It's been a long 2+ month adjustment and buildup, but I'm getting there. I run more efficiently and faster, longer now. Seriously. I just love these shoes! Again, pricey, but you can get last year's model at a decent discount and they last longer than most running shoes if you run in them correctly.

DryMax Socks
Best. Socks. Ever. At least that I've ever worn. These keep the feet dry and pampered. AND! I swear you never have to wash them. I mean, you could probably wear them on every trail run for an entire week and not have them stink one bit. Not that I've actually tested out that theory...ok, I've tested out that theory! And it was true. I love these socks!

Shopping for gear trumps shopping for clothes any day. Now if only my spandex and dri-fit somehow met the dress code at work...

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 333 - Thoughts of a Troubled Sleeper

 I spent most of today (all of the workday) trying to keep my tanger (tired anger) in check. It consumed me. Coding problems that I excitedly tackled yesterday seemed completely insurmountable today and pushed me down. Project deadlines that usually spur me to action made me want to scream and collapse on the floor in a full tantrum. Coworkers I normally revel in spending the day with were pesky moths trying to dive bomb my open door.

Except my door was closed, people. Headphones were on!

I hate being like this. I am a happy person! I'm grateful for my able body and my challenging job with a great company and for my own little condo and for the many, many people I love that love me back. I usually remember these things. They make each day exciting and spontaneous. They remind me that all the ups and downs of this life are experiences I need. They're experiences I wanted from the very beginning.

It's mortality, yo! We're here! We're in the game, being tested and (hopefully) slowly growing into better, more component beings. Proving that we can love and obey and help others do the same. Faithfully striving with the hope that we'll one day be worthy of a pretty terrific hereafter. If you believe in that sort of thing. I sure do.

Oh but this mortal body. Such a strong and able blessing, yet with a myriad of homeostatic balances so easily broken.

(unbalanced house...? it's an attempt at a picture simile...)

It's a constant struggle of different struggles. Right now I'm battling sleep. Sleeping used to be so easy for me! Bed time? Ok, Kyoo was out like a light.

But something has changed in the past month and my body does not know when to sleep. Every other night or so I'll either lie in bed for hours trying to fall asleep, or I'll wake up at 2 in the morning unable to fall back asleep.

I'll try everything, too.

I'll put on soothing music.

I'll eat a small snack when I realize how hungry I am.

I'll drink warm chamomile tea.

I'll count sheep.

I'll count sheep again.

I'll avoid my computer and other light sources.

And then when I get really desperate, I'll turn to books.

Books never used to fail. Especially textbooks and other non-fictions. (non-fictions is unfortunately synonymous with "scriptures" here, sad but true). All would have me heavy-eyed and head-bobbing in less than 5 minutes.

But nothing works anymore.

Last night I was unable to drift back into dream state until after 6 this morning. And then I was a tangry zombie, cursing that 7am alarm and my now unwelcome dreariness.

"Oh, NOW you want to sleep body?? Nice."

It bothers me that something as simple as not getting enough sleep can have such a drastically negative affect on everything that is Kyoo. My mood, my outlook, my motivation, my desire to do and be all things that are goodly, lovely, and praiseworthy.

It's like nothing matters when I'm tired except getting more sleep.

It shouldn't affect me so much, but it does. I guess that's just where I am on my progression to perfection. I get to keep trying to master this mortal body and one day, I'll look back on days like today (and soooooo many other days...) and think "Wow, look how far I've come!".

DISCLAIMER: I did not do anything particularly horrendous today! I just felt horrendous and had a bad attitude that I couldn't shake.

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 332 - The Final DC Photo Dump

The Gregbeau threw a little tantrum yesterday. Ok, I throw tantrums. He made an observation.

At least this text popped up on my phone screen mid-morning:

"2 blogs where I'm not mentioned??"

A bit incredulous, it does seem, yes?

Honestly, the boy has been working overtime and has a full class schedule approaching finals. There hasn't been a whole lot of Gregnews for this network! Maybe there would be if we'd gone on a date last night. But alas, he wanted to take the Jeopardy! qualifying test for funsies and I fled my sorrows and loneliness on a bike ride.

Real life for ya.

So, since the Gregman is feeling a bit neglected and I just got the other half of our DC pictures, here's a dump of my favorites (with a heavy gregdosage).

The lovey-doves.

The Gregbeau-post-half-marathons:

The post-race-reunions.

(yeah yeah, i look terrific, i know. running nerd.)

The funnies.

And this.

It's an activity picture like "Where's Waldo?". Except you have to find my big bum.

There. That should pacify my Gregman for now.

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 331 - Thanger

Sometimes your day "ends" with a little cry tantrum in the car because you're stuck in construction trying to get to Costco before they close to get a piece of pizza.

You really want that piece of pizza.

In fact, you've been fixating on it for 24 hours. And you just finished a bike ride and decided your world cannot continue until you eat that for dinner.

*whiney voice* "I just want a piece of pizza!" *whimper* *rest head on steering wheel*

And then your day really ends when you kick yourself and say "Buck it up, soldier, if this is all you've got to cry about then you've got it pretty good."

But only after you've eaten that piece of pizza...

If you've never seen thanger before, that's it. Tired + Hungry resulting in Anger. Not the shiniest moments in my life.

Here's to hoping my Thursday will be better fed and rested! (and yours, too).

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 330 - 7 Questions My First

I like this picture. I've been craving peanut butter and honey sandwiches. And maybe a good camping trip?

In other news, I kind of had a "I love everyone and everything!" day yesterday. On a Tuesday?? Yes, on a Tuesday. I don't know what spurred it. Nothing extraordinary happened. Actually, it should have been a downer day. But I woke up with really good perspective and it was like nothing could bring me down. No matter what the day threw at me I was the most optimistic and amiable of beings!

Rarely does this happen.

If I figure out what I did right, I'll let you know. (i did sleep up-side-down on my bed that night to be closer to the fan...i repeated this last night and am testing out that possibly theory today).

And finally, I've been wanting to do the "7 Questions" link up for a while. Nicole, seeing the questions on your blog spurred me on!

It's Gentri Lee's 7 Questions!

Starting with the silly photo.

One of my favorites of me and the Alishafriend right now. Straight from the park restroom at Goose Island. We're rocking our signature "hair on top of the head for bed" style. Ok, it's her signature, I just copy it now. But it's more comfortable to sleep with it like that! It doesn't get in your face and you don't have that awkward ponytail lump! But of course we combined this here with the "duck face" for extra cheese.

1. You are stuck somewhere you really don't want to be, do you- walk home, call a friend, or stick it out?
Hmmm, that depends. If I have to be there, I'll stick it out. I'm not opposed to walking home and I've called friends more than once in other situations. When I'm sitting at work not wanting to be there (i will not admit how often that happens...) I'll go on a walk to clear my head. (and kill time...)

2. Do you like to PLAY sports?
Absolutely yes. I get so bored watching sports. Unless it's basketball. I've never loved playing basketball. If it's basketball then I'd rather sit there playing on my phone and pretending to cheer someone on.

3. Everyone has that one "different" song that they secretly love- what's yours?
Tony Chestnut and Mousercise. I used to be a lifeguard and helped teach swim lessons during the summers of yesteryear. We'd always make the younger kids warm up on the deck to one of these. Think "toe-knee-chest-nut" and "eye-lean" and "skip". I still think that song is brilliant. And Mousercise? Mousercise. Mousercise is a motivator, don't dog it. If everyone did Mousercise every morning, the world would be a better place. (disclaimer: i don't actually do mousercise every morning. but i should.)

4. What is one thing you feel you are really good at?
Procrastinating. But who's not good at that? I'm a good eater, too. As a kid, the Kyoo mom never once had to coax me to eat. Filled with pride over that one she is....

5. A dog is running in your direction and barking loudly- what do you do?
Probably yell "Puppy!" with my hands outstretched waiting to receive it. Unless it looks like it wants to eat me. Then I'd be bracing myself to fight back.

6. Star gazing or cloud watching?
Star gazing. I'm a space nerd.

7. What time of the day do you feel the most productive?
Hands down in the morning. I wake up with a "Seize the day!" attitude. Nothing can stop me! Except early afternoon. That hits and my attitude turns to "Cease the day!". Sometimes I'll catch a second wind at night and be really productive then, too. But I never feel productive in the afternoons. If a presidential candidate was running on the platform of implementing siesta, he would firmly have my support.

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 329 - A Note From the Training Section

It's been a longish kind of while since I've delved into a really good endorphin-inspired post. Do you miss them?

I didn't think so.

But I went on a run at Government Canyon last night so brace yourself.

First, the glorious:

Second, the not-so-glorious (unpictured). BUGS. There were invisible swarms of those miniscule gnat creatures EVERYWHERE. I definitely choked down more than one [handful]. When I got back they were stuck to my arms and face and neck like some kind of trail glitter. It was in that moment of rugged beauty that I realized there is a certain amount of passion involved...

It was a great run.

And I did some thinking about how different my approach to training is now, compared to last year. Let's compare.

Kyoo training for last year's marathon:
Detailed mileage plan for everyday
Multiple workouts a day
Early morning workouts
Calorie counting
NEVER skipped a run or workout

Kyoo training for this year's Ironman:
No daily training plan
Max one workout session a day
Sleeps in until, well, until she wakes up sans alarm clock
No calorie counting
Skips a workout when needed

I've eased up a bit. Not really in intensity or amount of time spent training, but in how anal I am following a "plan". I don't have a training plan for this Ironman. Running, biking, swimming, and lifting weights are a stress release for me. I want to look forward to doing them (almost) every day. I want them to be sustainable, life-long activities.

I'm an avid planner. It's a strength and a flaw. Sometimes plans kind of suck the fun out of life though, me thinks. And they usually get changed at execution time anyways. When I have a specific workout planned, it becomes yet another thing I have to do, instead of something I want to do.

Now, I have a general idea about what I should be doing each day, and I try not to deviate from that much. But not having specifics really makes each session more spontaneous and enjoyable.

And I usually end up doing more. Because I want to.

Also, did you know that getting enough sleep at night can change your life? Ok, we all know this. I've put a priority on sleeping more and it has made a huge difference. Maybe it's a luxury I have right now, this time for sleep thing, but I'm going to take advantage of it as long as I can.

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 328 - Keys and Flat Tires

So, this dude had a birthday today.

And I now have some redeeming to do.

Let me preface this: I DID NOT FORGET HIS BIRTHDAY.

Exclamation point.

But I did forget my keys on his birthday. Which might have added a little tension to the day?

Storytime!

We spent the weekend with some of his family in Houston. There was swinging.

An attractive Gregcyclist in all his garb.

A dorky Kyoo riding his nephew's mountain bike in jeans. (spandex is so much more functional...)

Food.

Football.

And other general havings of a good time.

But on to the story. We decided to drive back early this morning to make it to church. We were right on time too. Right until I realized that my house keys were in my car at his house, 30 minutes across town. And my roommate was already at church. I needed to change so we drove to church to borrow the roommate's keys, back to my house, and then back to church again.

No big!

I mean, if you're going to pull something like that (and on a birthday, no less) right before church isn't a bad time to do it. Something about sitting in spiritual meetings with friends has a way of soothing the agitated soul...or maybe 3 hours is just enough time to forget?

Either way, it's not a good idea to pull the real doozy AFTER church AFTER a fiasco to get to church ON their birthday when you're both SUPER HUNGRY, having not eaten all day.

Common sense, right?

"Ha! Forget about common sense!", my subconscious must have said.

So, after church, we drove over to his house for a big birthday dinner with his family. Only, WHEN WE GOT THERE, I realized that my car keys were back at my house. I kind of needed them to drive my car home later so...back we went to my house, 30 minutes across town to grab the keys, (no, i did not almost forget them again as i was walking out...), and then back to the Gregdude's house.

He was so happy!

Only not really. But he handled it waaaay better than I would have. He's getting really good in these situations...should I stop testing him so often? I surely will try.

Now for the BEST story of the day.

Bike ride to a picnic at Memorial Park this weekend. Quite enjoyable. Weather was perfect. We made it the 7ish miles there and then most of the way back.

It was at about half a mile from our home base for the weekend when from behind me I hear the Gregbiker proclaim:

"I finally made it on a bike ride with no flat tires!"

"Don't get excited yet, we're not quite home!"

My pessimistic response. Don't count your chickens before they hatch, after all!

And how right I was.

A quarter of a mile later, but what do my wondering ears hear? Oh but the whooshing of air resurrecting my dude's abandoned fear!

Flat tire.

No joke. We had to get off and walk the bikes home. One of these days we are going to finish a bike ride without a flat tire!

Happy Birthday to the Gregbeau!

I'm still glad you were born.

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 327 - Send Something Good

I think I'm one of the last people to link up for this...but I'm getting it done now!

Send Something Good! Is a project I heard about on the blog of Gentri Lee. It's basically like "drawing names" for family Christmas gift giving except with a bunch of bloggers and not at Christmas time.

I signed up because, who doesn't like getting packages? And also, I thought it'd be fun to expand my blogging horizons.

Essentially, this is me being social in blogging land.

This is a gummy worm tied to a fishing lure.

And this is a squirrel.

But back to me being social in blogger land.

There's been a link-up going on to meet each other and also give ideas about what we'd like in a package for whoever has our name.

On that note, I love the color green and rice krispies. And running and biking and swimming. But that's probably not much help! I'm not really picky and I would super love to just get a package with fun, unique, or random things. Something cool from your local hopping ground for my condo? The craziest toy you found the last time you went into Wal-Mart? A craft you love to make?

Just some ideas, but don't stress out about them. As long as my package doesn't contain a letter from my HOA or credit card solicitations, it's going to be one exciting trip to the mailbox!

And that's that. Check out all the other participants!


Have a great day :-)

Yoo 326 - Rampage Game

No, your eyes do not deceive you. That there advertised concoction is really cheese-covered Cheetos.

Unfortunately the refs were breaking up all the good fights before they really got going.

Kind of an interesting assembly of flags, don't you think?

This lady. Was awesome. Pounding on the glass at every opportunity and yelling "Your mom" jokes at the opponent's goalie.

Ok, maybe she wasn't really yelling "Your mom" jokes. But in my mind she was.

San Antonio's own green men.

Gracing the penalty box with their usual antics.

The Gregdude scored some sweet free tickets to a Rampage hockey playoff game this past Thursday. The game was fun and we won, but the refs were breaking up all the good fights! I mean, why else do people go to hockey games if not to watch heavily padded men duke it out on skates?? Kind of a bust from that angle but still a good game.

It was at the AT&T Center. Remember what happened the last time I was there? I didn't take my new phone in this time...

Also, I was starving all evening. We went to a hockey game several months ago when I won tickets at work. Except we were spoiled then with suite seats and free access to an open buffet.

This time we were demoted back to the good ol' normal concessions, starting at $3 for a small soda. And by that I mean, we were going hungry because I wasn't shelling out that kind of money. (even with free tickets. am i cheap or am i cheap?)

I think we all need to start a revolution. A revolution were we don't buy anything from the concessions unless we are paying for it in dimes and nickels. Pennies are also acceptable. Just think about it! If EVERYONE pays in dimes and nickels, we can at least take pleasure in being an annoyance while we're getting robbed. And also, maybe the prices will come down.

I'm game if you are.

Until then, I'll be starving at those games. Or I guess I could just eat dinner before...

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 325 - He Stares At Me

This greeted me, upon venturing downstairs yesterday morning:

I've lived in my condo for almost two years now and have never seen a cockroach! Why now?? The nasty dude was huge too.

Now, had it been a snake, I'd be moving. But I can stand cockroaches...as long as they're just crawling on the floor. And not next to me.

However, I didn't feel like touching it at the time. So bustle about the condo, looking for ideas, and then this happened:

I didn't want him getting away! (though i'm fairly certain he was dead). Here's too hoping the Gregbeau will come over and take care of it for me...*batting eyelashes*

(kind of like those times when he's super amazing and fills up my water pitcher in the fridge, without ANY complaining, whatsoever...) <--don't miss that hint of sarcasm

I just realized the title of this post could be referring to that there cockroachy bug. But it's not. There's more. (always...)

Sometimes, (on very rare occasions) I'll get all emotional for reasons other than being hungry or tired. It's usually when there's something I'm not particularly looking forward to that is approaching. Like a grueling run or giving a presentation at work or making a phone call (i hate making phone calls). I'll dread and fret and stress and "My world is ending! There will be no more happiness in my life until this is over!" outburst.

It's rather dramatic.

The funny thing is, the "thing" really doesn't bother me. It's just the waiting. The knowing about it and not being able to just get it over with. The time I have to play it out in my mind until it is this terrible monster that is the bane of my existence.

I've always been like this, too.

Case in point: 10ish-year-old Kyoo on summer vacation.

I had a chore list I'd have to complete everyday before I could play. Thursdays were bathroom cleaning days. I HATED cleaning those darn bathrooms. It was the worst part of my week! Every Thursday I'd wake up just dreading the looming task and usually spend most of the day procrastinating it and feeling tortured because I couldn't play.

But that all changed one Thursday. One Thursday morning I'd had enough. For some reason or other, I woke up around 4am and couldn't fall back to sleep. Dread from the worst chore day ever consumed my young mind. It weighed heavily. Something had to be done! Before I could stop myself, I was up and cleaning the bathroom.

"I'll show them!" I thought to myself, referring to my parents. "They'll wake up and the bathroom will already be clean and I can do whatever I want all day!"

Sure enough, I finished cleaning that bathroom in record time (though i don't think my parents appreciated the vacuum running at 4 in the morning...at least that's what they told me later...), went back to sleep, and was able to wake up, on a Thursday no less, without anything to worry about.

It was blissful.

So I guess there are two scenarios here: the scenario in which I am dreading something and procrastinate it, hoping it will go away, and the scenario where I am scheduled to do something and have no control over when it can be completed.

I hate both. And both can turn me into a rather unpleasant being. I'll whine and pout at any opportunity and basically just suck the happiness out of every surrounding living thing.

(i'd like to say i'm exaggerating but the gregdude would probably differ).

Lucky for him, I usually cope with this natural tendency by running and meditating. Reminding myself that these are barely even blips on the radar of my life and that all will be well.

But unlucky for him, that's not always enough.

So what does the Gregaid do when he's around me in these lowest of low situations?

He stares at me.

He stares at me with his mouth turned just so and his eyes opened wide like a puppy. It's the most ridiculous of looks. And I hate it.

Oh I hate it!

He does it every time and every time I'll buckle every restraint I have in my body to not look at him and to not break "Woe is me!" character and to not, heaven forbid, show any crack of a smile.

And I never last longer than 3 seconds. No matter how down in the dumps I might be.

It irks me so much! I'll try to ignore it for the first 3 seconds. And then I'll spend the next 2 seconds displaying these awkward "I'm smiling but I'm trying to hide it" face twitches. And then I'll just give up and start laughing and tell him he's dumb. But I'll be bitter for the first 20 seconds of that because his stupid approached worked, yet again.

I hate it.

But if I could keep just one picture of my Gregbeau, forever, it would be a snapshot of that face. Because it is the most caring, reassuring, "Quit being ridiculous" look I ever did spy.  And I actually love it to pieces.

And him.

Have a great day :-)