Crazy Legs

On Saturday morning, Christie, Trevor, and I drove out to Madison for the 8K Crazylegs Classic. It was an adventure. And even though the details on paper make it sound like a collection of misfortune, we had a great time. But I'm not sure if we'd do it again.

We began the day with some slightly stressful driving around the city as we realized that I had no idea where registration was. Go figure, I thought it would be somewhere near the starting line. Nope, about a mile away from the start. We made it to registration with about 15 minutes to spare. Luckily, we had 60 minutes between registration and the start.

The sun was out, and it looked to be a beautiful day for a run. We made our way to the capital, which was the starting point. No directing signage, so we ended up at the end of the last wave - of walkers. Even after our wave finally began running (35 minutes after the start of the race!), we had to get past all of the walkers and slow-poke runners. We started with about 20 runners behind us. That left about 14,980 in front of us. As Trevor pointed out, we spent the entire race passing people. Not one person passed us. (Except for when that girl dropped her phone and Christie accidentally kicked it while trying to pick it up.) We're not that fast. We were just placed at the back of the slow people.

Despite all of the people that we passed during the running, we apparently didn't get to the finish line early enough, because they RAN...OUT...OF...BEER! Come on! That's how I made it up the hill on Mile 2. I kept repeating, "beer (pant, pant) beer (pant pant) beer" on every step of my right foot. How can they run out? That's the most important part of the race - the rehydration. They don't run out of beer during the Beer Run of Riverwest, or of sausages during the Sausage Race of Miller Park. Unacceptable.

Well, with morale at a low (but not the lowest, that was yet to come), we made the long trek back to the car, which was at the registration area - nowhere near the finish line. Upon seeing the car I reached into my pocket for the car keys, and found out that they were no longer there. Perhaps I had given them back to Christie because it was her car? Nope. I dropped them. We did not panic, which greatly helped the situation. Sure, we were in a strange city, without any certainty of our exact location. Our cell phones - in the car. Our identification - in the car. Our money - in the car, except for a sweaty $15 in Trevor's shoe. We knew no phone numbers, nor anyone's address in the city. The best option was to take the walk back to the stadium and look for the keys. We were fortunate enough that it was still open though we had to ask the staff's permission to look around. Eventually, we went to the Lost and Found. And lo and behold, someone had turned in the keys! Yea! No call to a locksmith!

We went to a bar for a lunch of beer and burgers. I was introduced to Mac-n-cheese wedges. Who knew that one could deep-fry macaroni and cheese into a wedge shape? It was ok, but I'd prefer my mac-n-cheese in a spoon-friendly form.

Music Talk

While in Europe, Charley spent a good deal of time listening to his iPod. At one point he told me that he was listening to Mika, and he recommended that I should give him a try. I remembered this when I was in the music store the other day and noticed that Mika's album had recently come out. I bought it, never having heard a single song on the album.

Within the first few songs of the album, I realized that Life in Cartoon Motion would easily take the position of Gayest Album in my music collection. This, of course, upset those artists whose albums previously had held this position - namely Rufus Wainwright and the Scissor Sisters. While Rufus just had general feelings of hurt and confusion, the Sisters took a much more agressive approach when dealing with the interloper, Mika. I tried to capture their conversation, which includes comments from my other CDs, in the following lines:

Mika: Everybody's gonna love today! ...love me.

RW: (to Donny) [But] I'm only the one you love.

SS: I don't feel like dancin' no sir, no dancin' today.

RW: I don't know what I'm doing / I don't know what I'm saying...

Mika: [Maybe you're] Suckin' too hard on your lollipop. Love's gonna let you down.

SS: ...you're filthy / Oooh, and I'm gorgeous.

Ray Lamontagne, concerned that neither side was listening to the other foresaw problems.
Ray: Trouble. Oh, trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble.

Corinne Bailey Rae, the other newcomer to the group threw her support behind Mika, and so did the soundtrack of Wicked.
Corinne: Girl, put your records on, tell me your favourite song.
Wicked: Popular. I'll help you be popular!

Some other albums were against Mika, however.
Thriller: They're out to get you, better leave while you can. Beat it. Just beat it.
Dixie Chicks: I'm not ready to make nice / I'm not ready to back down.

Poor Rufus pressured me to make a decision.
RW: I don't know what it is, But you got to do it...

Luckily though, someone stepped in and silenced everyone.
Black Eyed Peas: Shut up, just shut up, shut up. Shut up, just shut up, shut up.

And until someone stops me, I will continue to listen to any of my CDs as frequently as I wish.

Donny at a Crossroads

Some day I may look back at this week and think, "Yes, that was when everything changed." It's not often that someone realizes he's in the middle of a turning point. It's difficult to recognize the change of the tide. There's too much movement of the waves to notice that the entire body has changed directions.

Of course, my actions this week have been quite deliberate. I'm not being swept away, but choosing my own path.

• This morning I took the PRAXIS I exam. This is the first test needed to become a certified teacher. Last week, I submitted my application to MTEC, a program in the Milwaukee Public Schools, for people of other careers to become teachers. I am giving it a try, because my current career is not right for me. The money is great, but I want fulfillment. If things go as planned I will be teaching math in a high school classroom come September.
• This weekend I led my church's committee in hiring our permanent pastor, who will start in July. My church is going through some rough times, but the pastor will bring an extensive skill-set. She will either turn us around from our struggling financial situation, or drain our savings and cause us to have to close our doors for good. As the chairman of the Staffing Committee, I am in the position to receive the praise or blame for how the appointment plays out.
• I received a call from military this week, as they are doing a background check on Ray. They had many questions, and I managed to know many of the answers. How many of you can remember your dorm room numbers or even your addresses from 7 years ago? I have talked to Ray a few times on the phone now since he got out of basic training. He sounds happy. I hope he is.
• On Saturday night, Christie, Trevor, and I went to a pre-developed housing development outside of the city to watch the stars. The neighborhood we visited only has paved roads and water hook-ups. The land is flat so that we are able to see the stars close to the horizon. We had a nice talk, and I appreciated my friends - even if they have strange senses of humor.

I have been watching the PBS documentaries America at a Crossroads. If you can catch an episode this week, I highly recommend it. The program is about post 9/11 America and the difficulties that we face. One episode I watched focused on Jihad and the people who join it. I don't think I learned anything new, but it was good to see everything told in a narrative and for the pieces to be placed together. Another episode I watched was called "Writing the Wartime." It took the writings of soldiers and made a documentary of it. There were poems, narratives, and essays. It was very moving.

Oops

I'm at the library studying for my next exam. However, I now realize that I have forgotten to register for my exam. Fantastic.