A Quick Defense for Valentines Day

I know what you're thinking.  "Am I reading the right blog? Megan, you don't even celebrate Valentine's Day."

Correct, I myself do not do anything out of the ordinary on February 14.  In part this is because I have always found romantic gestures generally suspicious, plus I'm a cheap thrifty person who becomes irritated when money is wasted on frivolous things I don't need (or even want).  Also, I'm lazy and not a fan of feeling forced to do ... well, anything.

But hear me out.  Though I roll my eyes and groan at contrived diamond commercials, though I throw up in my mouth a little when women gush and coo over so and so's bouquet, cheap chocolates, tacky cards, etc. - what I'm always taken back by are the hoards of nay-sayers.  What gives, haters?

Sure, I remember in grade school when there were always a couple gloating kids with hoards of candy and cards on their desks, usually sitting right next to the poor schmo who had one or two.  I know it's frustrating to "be reminded" that some people are happier than you.  (Or so they would like to have you believe.)
"Megan, you just don't get it.  You're happily married.  Once a year us poor oppressed single people are left like starving puppies out in the rejected rains and sorrowful sleet storms while being forced to gaze inside warm homes where attractive couples are cozied up in eternal bliss that we have never known!"  PUH-LEEZ.

If you're single, my guess is someone out there loves you.  It may be your Mom or your AA sponsor, but someone cares.  I promise all those 'perfect happy couples' aren't going to get together and stare at you from the corners of their eyes wondering if you are a secret carrier of leprosy.  There is really no excuse to knock a holiday that only aims to celebrate love.  Plus, quite frankly I'm a little tired of being made to feel guilty for having a +1.  As for it being a "fake" holiday, these days V-day is really no more commercialized than say, Christmas or Easter.  There's candy, there's a lame mascot, a color scheme, the works.  It has all the working of a legit holiday as we've come to expect in America.  You are free to choose your own degree of obligations and traditions (or lack there of).


Valentine's Day is quite simply whatever you make of it.  If there is pressure on you as a guy in a relationship, I'm all for you sucking up the whopping 10 minutes of effort to do something cute for what is basically a guaranteed happy ending.  I mean seriously, if you can't bother to make or buy your special lady a little something you know she is going to appreciate, you should do her a favor and just kick yourself out.  (Meanwhile ladies, some of ya'll need to calm the frak down.)

I for one will continue to shrug and shake my head when asked "So what are you guys doing for Valentine's Day?" - but I'm simple like that, and I know not everyone feels the same way.  Who am I to judge what makes others happy?  I don't care if you have made a date with your sofa, a bad movie and a pound of pink and red candy corn (wtf?), but pretty please, you don't have to tell the world about it.  (That goes for all the intimate mushy stuff that I've seen popping up too ... wisely mitigate your over share!)


All that to say, I would like to simply encourage everyone to show some love today - to someone, anyone, in a gesture grand or small.  Yeah, maybe we should do that everyday, but lets face it, sometimes we could all use a good a kick in the pants.


<3

The Call to Adventure

 “It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” – Bilbo Baggins

A dear friend of mine recently boarded a plane and literally knowing nothing about what he was doing, jetted off to Romania.  (Kudos again, mi amigo.)  Several of his first stories involving packing, airline hassles, and pre-journey jitters brought back a flood of memories from my own excursions in far off lands.  That whiff of a thrill, that mysterious beyond; it made me recall how much I love and miss it.

I can’t help but believe that everyone needs to find a way to keep that sense of adventure in their life.  For true adrenaline junkies, the thrill may come from extreme sports and the occasional skydiving trip.  For others, maybe buying different fat contented milk is all the variety in life they need.

“The call to adventure” is usually the first phase of any good hero story.  Something happens, be it a tragedy, a given quest, or a simple idea run amok, inevitably in any good tale something occurs that wakes a character out of their daily stupor and calls them to something grander.  If you are like me, you maybe wonder your entire life when your adventure is going to find you.  And again if you are impatient like me, sometimes you make your own adventure.

I don’t want to say that I intentionally seek out trouble (though it happens occasionally anyway) and I don’t want to say that ho-hum happy life leaves me discontent.  There is, however, something about the daily grind, the blah expectations in behavior and mannerisms that I simply can’t stand and often feel obligated to reject.  Some of these rejections are subtle; pushing the rules slightly here, tweaking this stereotype just a bit, removing this or that old habit completely - it all makes me feel like life is worth the effort.

The appeals of stability are undeniable, but I can't help but think that sometimes the thrills of instability are their own reward.  Not so much seeking out hardship as much as giving yourself a new challenge, a consistent inability to get too relaxed and lazy.

As a child I longed for nothing more than my own adventure story, but when I really take a moment to think about it, this is a terrible desire! Frodo Baggins, for example, faced death, misery, pain and suffering at every turn of his long journey to destroy the ring of power.  He was hunted, constantly hungry, cold, lost, and weary.  Why would this seem so appealing to me as a reader? You hear over and over again that all Frodo wants to do is go back home to his pipe and fluffy bed.  But something between all that still hooks me – there is appeal and horror in the thought of my character being tested, my resolve stretched wafer thin, my foundations challenged. There is excitement in that sense of purpose, that frightening call to something so much bigger than myself.  I know that is a huge part of why I love fantasy books and epic video games and movies.

The 'great outdoors' deserves its own chapter in this discussion. The power of nature and humility that comes in putting our own small selves in perspective with the world as a whole and the abundant miracles on the planet are staggering.  I have recently tried to 'get out there' more often, and the results have been refreshing and rejuvenating in so many ways.

Is adventure what modern cushy American life attempts to constantly strip away? Or is it present in such small ways that we miss it?  It is all too tempting to stay in our homes, not talk to our neighbors, shut our eyes and ears to opportunities that are constantly knocking.  Maybe I will do this or that someday.  Next year.  Next week.  Not now, I'm tired from my long day of sitting.  At least for me, there is always that call ... a whisper in the wind beckoning me outside, to try something new, to risk my heart in love, to have faith in flawed people who don't deserve my trust, to test my strength and resolve in sports and good habits, to challenge myself to be better, stronger.  A little spontaneity goes a long way.

Can it be boiled down to a pursuit of novelty? Or what Chris might call the need to have a "project"?  Are we obsessed with novelty as a part of our culture? A study on Rhesus monkeys gave chimps an option between assured reward and gambling for their meals.  Time and time again, the animals preferred risk over regulation.  The primates preferred to gamble, and the unreliable result provided constant novelty.  I'm honestly not sure what decision I would make in such a case, but I find it interesting.

What I do know is I want to feel ALIVE.  What does that mean to you?  Maybe it changes - sometimes all I want is to feel like the things I do matter; other days I want my breath taken away in wonder.  People face chances to take more risk every day, be it financial, emotional, physical, or creative.  Whatever the case, it seems to me that it's an essential part of a healthy life.  So don’t be surprised if the next time you step outside your front door you find adventure is sitting there waiting for you, wagging its tail.

When the call to adventure comes, will you go?

Web Master

On the sojourn back from Catalina (oh yes, you remember that epic tale, don't you?) before all hell broke loose, my coach asked if I would be willing to take over the outrigger team's website.  She had seen a few of my videos, which in her mind meant that I knew everything that could ever be known about electronics, computers, and the universe.  I knew (and currently still know) little to nothing about creating a website, but lucky lucky me that technology has progressed in recent years in my favor.  Making a new website is not only easy, but pretty fun.  If you have any interest at all in checking out the new Ka Nai'a webpage, you can click here.  Still some kinks to work out, but I'm pleased with it.

Curtains Close on 2010

Despite how packed my schedule felt this summer, fall turned out to be just as cluttered with activity between off-season outrigger workout commitments and paralegal school.  I took two classes this quarter, Business Law and Civil Litigation (got A's in both - yay!) and am signed up for two more starting next week, Legal Writing and Real Estate Law.  Should be fun...?

I have been getting up consistently at 5:30 AM to hit the gym.  One year ago I would have balked at that idea, but oddly enough it hasn't been nearly as rough as I thought it would be.  A big part of it, I think, is doing it every day.  Plus, the results are addicting!

Update on the pull-up goal: just about there.  I had set the goal of 3 pull-ups for myself by Christmas, and I'm proud of what I have done.  (You can see a bit of the success at the tail end of my most recent video.)  At the end of the paddling season, despite how uber strong I believed myself to be, I could not even do ONE measly little pull-up. I started by doing negatives, that is, jumping up to the bar then lowering myself down slowly.  That eventually made it possible for me to do 1.  I then invested in a pull-up bar for the house, which soon resulted in a squeaking, squealing, painful but legit 2 on a good day.  As of now, I can do what I am calling 3 "cheater" pull-ups - that is, I don't quite go ALL the way down on the return, but hey - I'm happy with the progress so far!  In the meantime my maximum bench press went up 15 lbs as well, so hurray for hard work paying off!  I'm so grateful for the encouragement of my teammates, who are superstars.

I ran my first ever half marathon.  It wasn't exactly on my bucket list, but you can put a check next to it anyway!  (In case you are wondering, a full marathon is also NOT on said list.)  My goal was to finish in 2 hours, and I was pretty dang close with a finishing time of 2:00:44.  My Dad ran it with me (always my hero!) and the weather could not have been more beautiful.  The course was along the Silver Strand from Coronado to Imperial Beach; the ocean was literally glittering in the November sunlight, not a cloud in the sky.

I am also now an honored godmother to baby Katie, daughter of my beloved BFF Becca and her studly hubby Luis.  She was baptized the day after Christmas (pictured) and it was a wonderful thing to witness.  Christmas was the usual mayhem of climbing the gift mountain with Chris' family.  There was a ton of food and many laughs.  It is always a delight to see the clan and my little niece, Kylie, who recently turned 1, and is developing an addictively spunky personality.  I was doted upon generously, though I did receive one gift that was NOT on my list: poison oak!  It has been something of a struggle dealing with that for the past week, but I think the steroids are helping.  Just in time for a New Years Resolution 10k tomorrow.  Yay!

Speaking of resolutions, this is the first year in a very long time where I have one.  I am going to try and intentionally save a chunk of our household income every month consistently this year.  I have kind of been doing that anyway, but I was not keeping track of it and I think I can do more than what I originally thought.  We'll see how that goes.

Overall I'm excited to see what 2011 has to offer.  My video making and blogging will hopefully fall back into routine, as well as maybe my cooking experiments and writing.  (Yes, I WILL finish my NaNo story!)  In the meantime, I love you all and hope you have a fantastic New Years!

NaNoWriMo 2010

It was fun, it was ridiculous, it was so rewarding.

What am I talking about? National Novel Writing Month, which I participated in once again and am again victorious, by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin.  It was a much busier month for me than last year, and I really had to crank at the end.  Not only did I bring my laptop along with me over the Thanksgiving holiday, I stayed up almost exactly until midnight last night making sure my words were up to snuff. 

 And now, I have half a story.

 Half? What? Yeah, that’s what happens sometimes.  I got going and realized the novel had a life of its own, taking me crazy places I had not anticipated, and am still a wee bit unsure of where exactly they will lead.

I am, however, very proud of what I have, and am even confident enough to share the first part with whoever would like a sneak peak.  (Just let me know and I will email it to you.)  The title is under construction, though currently it is called "The Scent of Sincerity" and is a fantasy story set both in modern day and a fictional world (think Narnia / Harry Potter) about a young girl named Althea who can smell lies.

Thank you all for your loving support and enthusiastic feedback!  It is much appreciated.

Epic Mud Pics

Finally, got some good race shots posted. So fun!

The Mud Mash 10k

For those of you who do not remember the circumstances surrounding my last 10k, you may want to catch up on your history here.  If you don’t want to read that saga, you should at least know that the last time I ran a 10k, I didn’t even finish.  Yeah…

That little fact, however, wasn’t about to stop me from attempting a new and exciting challenge, the San Luis Obispo Mud Mash that took place on Halloween morning.  Eric caught a last minute cold from his lab mates and was unable to participate, but the mighty legend Bruno and my office side-kick Matthew made the trip.  Quite honestly, I had no clue what I was getting into. 

I had seen the course map and read the descriptions of the obstacles, but the reality was something entirely different.  The loop was 3 miles long, so 5k runners only had to do it once, but 10k runners had to complete it twice.  (I hope the real pictures get loaded soon, but in the meantime here are some weird stills from my video camera, thanks to Danielle for her efforts in capturing the day.)

Despite the fact that costumes were highly encouraged, we didn’t want anything to be unnecessarily cumbersome.  The morning weather was lovely, an almost perfect fall day complete with shining sun and a cool breeze.

The Water Walk

Not even a quarter mile from the start line, we veered from the perfectly pleasant paved bath directly into Laguna Lake.  This, my friends, was not puddle jumping.  No, no.  This was a waist deep wade through lake water.  If there had been any sort of lingering hope in anyone’s mind that they may be able to walk away from this race with minimum wetness, those hopes were dashed immediately here.  Slogging through the chilly water, many were likely already wondering what they were getting themselves into.

The Rope Crawl

Once you get through the waist deep wade, runners were directed under a bridge to another section of lake that was laced with ropes to help pull yourself across.  I made the decision to go for it, and used only my arms for this section.  The strategy paid off, despite the fact that I was now head to toe soaked.  I flew past a couple of the guys who were trying to trudge it ahead of me.

We excited the muddy bank for a brief, squishy trail bit, until we hit…

The Swamp Stomp

Back into the water we went, but this section was much more bog-like.  I leapt in to avoid the hazardous looking slope down, but soon regretted the decision as I felt my shoes sink into the ooey-gooey muck at the bottom.  I quickly chose to simply swim, freestyle at first then breaststroke later, simultaneously hoping to kick out some of the pebbles that had found their way into my shoes.

Exiting that bank brought us into a small forest of tall reeds.  Taller than me, that is, and very dense; a narrow path had been tromped out for us to make our way throught.

At long last, we reached open field.  It felt good to actually be able to just run for a bit, thought my shoes were making that horrible “squish squish” noise and weight about 10lbs each.

Low Wall (about 6 ft.)

Our next obstacle was a fence that was easy enough to hope over.  The volunteers on this course were incredibly cheerful and encouraging, and I tried to thank them between gasps for their support.

Over Unders

These were literally spike pits, which were supposed to make it very obvious which parts were for over and which parts were for under.  (“Avoid death at all costs, please!”)  Some of the under bits were really low, and the volunteers got super excited when folks would do a “full body roll” for them through the mud at the bottom.  I complied happily enough.

Apparently these were more of a challenge for the men than the ladies, since straddling a small pole poses a unique threat to their anatomy.

Cargo Net

Keep in mind that by the time we reached the Cargo Net, we had probably barely gone more than a mile.  This part proved a unique challenge to some, but I have always had a talent for cargo nets (which I attribute to many years of training at the pirate playground at Sea World).  This net went up a good 12 feet into the air, and some folks had mild panic attacks at the top.  I more or less recklessly tumbled down the back side and moved on.

High Wall

This, sadly, was the one obstacle that defeated me.  It was a 12 foot wall which you were supposed to use a rope to climb up and over, but the rope had no knots and was wet from previous slimy racers who had used it.  I gave it a good attempt, but slid half way down and gave my hands a wee bit of a rope burn.  I got scared that I was potentially going to fall and hurt my back or my leg, so I decided to go around the obstacle.

Hay Bail Hurdles

Thus began the steady incline.  It began pleasant enough, following a narrow rocky trail towards the mountains, but said pleasant trail quickly turned steep and uncomfortable.  I sadly was unprepared for this portion, having done pretty much no hill training.  On the first very steep bit came a series of four large hay bales which runners had to climb over.

I admit, I walked quite a bit on this section.  It was a brisk, long stride dignified walk, but a walk all the same.  My breath was coming in short supply, and I had to place my hands on my hips for support.  I still managed to smile at the fact that there was candy all over the hay bales so runners could “trick or treat” as we went.  The bales themselves weren’t difficult, and actually something of a nice break to distract me from the cursed incline.

Next came the mountain trail, which was by far the most difficult.  It was not listed as an obstacle, but I was amazed at how much I struggled on the hike the top of the peak.  Yes, I think it qualifies to be called a peak.  Up, up, up it went, and once I thought I was at the top I realized there was yet another hill to mount.  The view was beautiful, and it was a good feeling to know you were coming to the end of the evil hill.

The trail down was incredibly treacherous, and though I tried to keep my pace up I was terrified at any moment I was going to do a full on face plant.  As I tried my fancy footwork among the boulders, you could hear the song of a bagpiper atop one of the nearby ridges.

This may seem incredibly nerdy, but I completely felt like William Wallace prancing down to my awaiting army of Scots.  The bagpipe song put a new spring in my step, and though my hips began to ache with the impact of my momentum, I was eager to be rid of that mountain.

Once I hit the bottom, it felt incredible to be on flat ground again.  My legs felt alive again to be doing the motion they had been trained for: flat road!

The Mud Pit

Just behind the starting line and in front of the announcers booth was the mighty mud pit.  It was probably about 20 feed wide and 30 feet long, and they had lines of flags across the surface which you had to go beneath, and you couldn’t touch them (or the announcer would mock you ceaselessly).  The point of course being that you had to basically dive face first into the mud pit in order to cross it.

Face first I went; with great enthusiasm.  (Yeah, that's me in the picture going under the last flag of the pit...)  I have to admit this part was incredibly fun, if nothing else because it was so ridiculous.  Rocks scraped my elbows and knees, I couldn’t see a dang thing, and I could feel a hunk of sludge take up residence in my sports bra.

Awesome.

But what was even better? The fact that I was now only done with my 1^st lap, and I now had to do it ALL OVER AGAIN.

The second lap actually went much smoother.  I relished the lake section in which I was able to wash off the majority of the mud, and I knew roughly where all the obstacles were up ahead.  I zipped through them all, ignoring my still very heavy shoes and nasty dripping hair. 

I also got a charge when one of the volunteers called out to me saying “You’re the 4^th place girl! Keep it up!”

A couple more ladies passed me when I got back to that crazy fraking hill, but at that point I didn’t care.  I was doing my best, and having a blast.  The overall challenge had been unexpected, and the joyful spirit of the event was contagious.

Blazer the Viking

As one final obstacle, after the runners went through our second splurge into the mud pit, we were faced with defeating two gladiator Vikings who stood between us and the finish line.  Armed with plushy maces, they took out knees, the gut checked stomachs, they pummeled and battered the run down, muddy runners as one last insult to injury.  (They were noticeably nicer to the lady runners, though that didn’t stop me from slinging as much mud as I could carry at them.)  I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but that's Bruno charging for the finish line past the helmed beast.

The results came in, and soon Bruno and I accepted our first place awards for our age divisions.  (Bruno was also the 4^th overall finisher, I ended up as the 6^th female finisher.) 

Of course, once it was all over I realized just how much fun it had been.  I would certainly do it again, and am excited that I have no officially finished a 10k race.  Next time I'll be sure to add some hill training into my regime, and never again will I take for granted dry, fluffy socks.