Run to the Water

by Live from The Distance to Here

Hello again after yet another long break from blogging. It seems amazing to me that I used to blog once a week a few years ago. Ah well. So what's been shaking this past month. Well the big news is that I did the Pacific Grove relay triathlon a few weeks ago. I was on Team Baconator along with Percy and Matt. We ended up placing third out of all the relays. As for the swim, it was as difficult and as cold as I expected. Thank goodness I practiced the week beforehand. Good idea Doris. I don't know what my time actually was because the timing system didn't catch my second split. But the first lap I swam off course a bit and then second lap I was stuck in that position where you want to pass people but you're just not quite fast enough to do it so you end up in a pack. Other than being tired, I was alright except for really bad strip of chaffed skin on the back of my neck. Unfortunately, I didn't put lotion or body glide on my neck so my wetsuit ended up clinging to it. Therefore for the next day, I ended up squealing like a little girl when I put aloe or lotion on it to treat it. Now that the triathlon is over, I decided to lighten up on the exercise routine but I am still doing my more healthy diet.

As for work, I decided to submit a case study for CHI. I was originally going to submit it for CSCW but the feedback I got was that it was not a good fit. So I thought I was going to submit it as a note, which meant its due date was two Fridays ago. So I diligently spent revising it based off feedback and was ready to submit it. But then I found out it actually is more of a case study so I didn't need to submit it until this Friday. Yeah, CHI could have been clearer about the difference between a case study versus a note. Yeah when I left SI , I was pretty content with leaving academia behind. But I guess if I want to a well-rounded practitioner, I should contribute back to the field. Plus it doesn't hurt the ole resume to have a publication on there. So yeah it will be my first ever conference submission. Best of luck to me!

More recently, I had I think some of the most productive weekends in recent memory. I did laundry, cleaned the kitchen/bathroom, vaccumed, went to the farmer's market, and worked out. Plus I went to Shannon's house warming party and the SF Library annual book sale. That was a pretty awesome book sale. I made a promise not to buy any more books until I finished the stack of unread ones I currently have. But paperbacks priced at 2 bucks and hard covers priced at 3 bucks were too much attractive to pass up. I ended up getting 7 books for 16 bucks! Talk about a deal. Needless to say, the selection wasn't the most up to date. But if you wanted best sellers from yester years (or two dozen copies of the Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood), this was your place.

I also went over to CWP$ and DJC's place to watch the presidential debate. As probably everyone who reads this blog knows, I am supporting Obama, because well he is the far better candidate than Mccain, who I have lost almost all respect for. He is not the same guy that ran in 2000. But one of the major reasons I want to see Obama win (of course of the history making prospect of seeing the first black president) is to make sure Sarah Palin never leaves Alaska. For the record, I cannot stand Sarah Palin. I cannot stand her so much I actually blocked a "friend" on Facebook who kept on posting Foxnews and other conservative flattering profiles of her to his feed. I hate it how reporters and political pundits (who pretty worthless to begin with), say she relates more to the average person than Obama does. Excuse me? For some reason, when Republicans or anyone involved in politics say "average American" for some reason that doesn't include people like me. Apparently only "average Americans" live in small towns, are dumber than shit, have families, drive pick up trucks, work as farmers, go to church, and have prize winning pigs in county fairs. Yeah, because if that is "average American" that Palin appeals to, leave me out. I am really tired that for all the effort that both parties put in to reaching soccer moms, security dads, or whatever hot demographic they make up, they never include the millions of single young adults who in live in urban areas. Apparently we don't count as average americans. Oh I am sorry that I work in a knowledge based high paying job at a high-tech company. I am also sorry that I bothered to get a masters degree. Oh yeah, I am sorry that I didn't get married way too young just because I knocked up some equally moronic girl in the process. Yeah, I guess doing that stuff makes you more average Americanish. Oh yeah and for the record, more people live in urban areas than small towns and more Americans are single than married.

Just another wonderful example of how our news media completely fails us. I found it really sad when the news media reacted to Obama picking Biden. They said that picking someone like Biden would undercut his message of change and admit that he is lacking in experience. On the flip side, these same people said that if Obama picked someone like Tim Kaine, he would be vulnerable since Kaine didn't have experience. I mean shit, what's it going to be? I have been thinking about this for a little bit. Remember those kids in school, you know the ones that would always participate in class discussions but had really uniformed opinions and really crappy logic? You remember at least a few. Every school had them. They usually were stars of the Speech and Debate team. I think a large number of them ended up in the news media, where being opinionated apparently is the only qualification.

Anyway, enough ranting for tonight. Have a good week everyone. Peace.