100K Before My B-Day

I don't usually set goals, especially time based ones, but here goes!  I decided that I will run 100 km in the month before my birthday, May 24 to June 24.  I know some crazy runner folks knock that out every week without breaking a sweat, but since I only run three times a week max and I'm not that good, this should be a real challenge. Also, since I took today off, I'm already behind.

I'll be keeping track of my runs using Map My Run's app on my phone, so everything should be tracked pretty well and I won't be able to cheat.  Not that I would.  This goal of course is dependent on my not getting injured or really ill in the next four weeks.  I'm obviously not that hard core.

You, dear Internet, don't have to do anything. I'm just putting this out there as a little motivation. But, if you want to try to set a goal, running or otherwise for the next four weeks, we can try together!  (Let me know if you do!)  Luckily, I happen to be in one of the "top cities for runners", so I won't be alone on the trail.

If you do make a goal, remember to make it "SMART" - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely.  You'll have a much better chance of succeeding if you make your goals that way, and if you don't make it for some reason, you will more easily be able to determine why.

Just needing to bitch a little

So, it's five 'til seven, and I really should be getting out of this coffee shop, getting something to eat (even though I'm not really hungry) and heading to swing dance practice. But I don't want to. I just want to sit here, with the sun streaming in through the old window panes, listen to the murmur of the random conversations surrounding me, and just be. Be lazy, I suppose would be more specific, but I'm not gonna get picky here.

I did my taxes last night and realized that my taxable income was below the poverty level. I also had to pay self employment taxes on the little bit of money I made from teaching and gigging swing dances. Lame. Yet somehow I still have my condo, even though it literally takes all of my money to do so. Interest rates are still good, but you can't refinance without a decent job. (Which is kinda ironic - you'd think they would like to give poor folks who are still making their payments the chance to lower that payment and increase their chances of *not* going into foreclosure or walking away, but that's not the way it works.)

I can't seem to better my situation lately, and it's really discouraging, but I guess I'd better keep trying. I've got a cover letter to write for a project engineer position at another nameless company that I found on Craigslist, but based on the last x number of cover letters I've written, this one will be another waste of time.

Oh well, I guess I'll get back to that cover letter and head to practice now. Just needed to bitch a little.

Creating Some Content

I was thinking earlier today about content creation versus content consumption and the hardware needed best able to do each - specifically that the horribly named iPad is really just a large, awkward device to consume the content that Apple wants you to - and I came to the conclusion that I need to be a better content creator. I know I say this pretty much every time I let my poor old blog languish for a few months without a post, but this time I'm thinking in a more general sense.

But, as it's been nearly four months since I've last created any content over 14o characters long and doesn't say "Jumpin' JiveCats" on it, I figured a quick update was in order.

Thanksgiving was good. Christmas was good. I crocheted this cool and extremely warm Santa hat that somehow sheds white fuzz like a cat.
I also learned how to make this amazingly good and super simple artisan bread.
The only problem is that whenever I make a loaf, I eat half of it within a couple of hours and then there isn't enough left to share. I suppose I should just make two loaves at once.

I also took this fun picture of myself drinking a homemade latte out of this sweet mug that I won playing bingo at Everyday Joe's a couple of years ago.
Since I am still out of work and don't really have much better to do with my Fridays, I have been volunteering as a barista at there since October. Needless to say, this has not tempered my coffee habit one bit. In fact, it has increased my level of coffee geekdom to the point that I worked - er, volunteered - at the Mountain Regional Barista Competition over Valentine's weekend as a machine maintainer and a technical judge.
And I suppose that it goes without saying, but I am still totally over-committed to my swing dance troupe, the Jumpin' JiveCats and spend way too much time being co-director, PR person, social media guru, email answerer, teacher, and performer with them.

Well, that's about it. I've officially created some content. Hopefully this content won't be to contentious. ;)

Now I'm off to pick up some Girl Scout cookies I forgot I ordered and find somewhere to make a gigantic print of this picture that I took this morning.

Things that make me happy, things that make me unhappy.

Well, since I just can't neglect my blog any longer (it's been nearly three months!), and since I'm pretty sure I don't have any regular readers anymore, this post is all about me. What makes me happy and what makes me unhappy.

First of all, since I was passively watching TV and this commercial just caught my eye, I love the music they use in the Lincoln car commercials. They always have some really sweet remixes of classic songs, and that makes me happy. They need to release an album.

I've kinda gotten into the AMC show "Mad Men" this fall, and while I am way behind on the plot and don't really watch with any regularity, I'm really intrigued by the setting and props used on the show. I love the old houses, appliances, clothes, furniture, and especially the cars that make their way into the show.

Anyway, what I wanted to share is the "Mad Men Yourself" page on the AMC Mad Men blog. It's pretty awesome. You start by selecting your gender, body type, skin tone, and facial features, then you move on to your clothes, accessories, and setting. And all the while there's a swank, loungie theme song playing in the background. The best thing is that you can download the results in several different sizes and the results can be pretty spot-on.

This "wordle" also makes me happy. They take your most common words from your Twitter tweets and turn it in to a picture. The larger the word, the more often it has occurred. The shape is pretty random, but I like the way this one turned out. Since the whole site is a java app, you can't directly save the image, but you can link to is, so go check it out. Make your own; share it.


The fact that "for a limited time" you can get 155 Mojo Nixon tracks for free from Amazon mp3 makes me happy. If you're not familiar with his music, it's pretty much as trashy and lowbrow as it gets, but it's quality rockabilly goodness just the same. Go here for the deal.

This doesn't make me very happy. In an article on MSNBC.com asserts that "higher jobless rates could be the new norm" and quotes a really good economist to back it up.

"This Great Recession is an inflection point for the economy in many respects. I think the unemployment rate will be permanently higher, or at least higher for the foreseeable future," said Mark Zandi, chief economist and co-founder of Moody's Economy.com.

With unemployment headed to 10% and no real relief in sight, it's kinda discouraging.

Well, there's a review of the things that are currently making me happy and unhappy. It's too bad that the bad thing is so bad, but at least there are more good things. Let me know what's making you happy in the comments.

Also, my hornet sting from Monday still itches like hell. Not happy about that.

I Blame Twitter! Kinda

I've been a bad blogger lately.  I only have one post since May, and that was just a YouTube video of Obama's teleprompter falling over.  And while funny, there was no real thought there. 

A few monthes ago I even signed up for a service called "Plinky" that is supposed to prompt you with interesting questions to answer / ponder on your blog.  I've done a grand total of one of those.  When the email comes I just hit delete and move on. 

The other think that I blame this lack of blogging on is Twitter.  Twitter has seriously made me lazy.  If I can just bang out 140 characters at a time from the status bar of my browser with TwitterFox or from my BlackBerry with UberTwitter, why would I spend the time to go to my blog, think of something thoughtful, carefully word it into something semi-coherent, think of a good headline, and finally post it?  Who knows, but apparently that's what i've been doing, since I have nearly 700 Tweets since last fall. 

The other thing, and more likely to be a the root of the problem, is that since I haven't had a real job in, oh, almost eight months, I have had a serious lack of ambition and motvation to do anything creative.  I don't even take pictures anymore.  I used to cary my camera around litterally all the time, and now one of them sits in my office and I'm not even sure where the other one is. 

But speaking of no real job and no motivation, I do have a ton of work for my psuedo job to get done today that I have, of course, been putting off all week, so I'd better get to it. 

What did you expect?  Some sort of revelation?  ;)