2:32:40

That is how long it took me to run (and sometimes walk) 13.1 miles through Atlanta. It was a hot day, I am glad the race started at 7am! We go to see the sun come up at we were running through the 4th ward, then headed into the shady area of Inman Park, through Little Five, down Freedom Parkway (that is a lot of concrete and was very boring), through Va Highlands (always entertaining and also shady), through Piedmont Park (what a good idea!), around midtown (not sure why we looped Juniper) and then down Peachtree (or should I saw up Peachtree) to the finish line. I was glad to take part in the inaugural ING Half-Marathon in Atlanta. It feels like quite an accomplishment - especially to finish in 2:32:40 - I was hoping to be under 2:30 but was a little slow on Peachtree. There was a point during the race - mostly when I was on Peachtree - that I thought I might die. It was everything I could do to go past 14th, 13th, 12th, etc streets. I did put on the iPod about that time and it got me through to the finish line. The cheering crowds throughout the race definitely helped. I will say that I haven't felt just right all day which kind of stinks but the face that I can say that I ran 13.1 miles is kind of cool!

Freakonomics by Levitt and Dubner

Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner is a very entertaining intellectual read. The book doesn't really have a theme according to the authors and I would agree that there is not one common thread throughout the book. Each chapter could stand on it's own. The chapter titles themselves are very entertaining - Why do drug dealers still live with their mom? to What do school teachers and sumo wrestlers have in Common? The book attempts to look at every day questions and apply math to figure out causality or correlation. The book has supplied me with great work lunch conversations and has made me think outside the box on certain topics. For example, the authors explain the decline of crime on the legalization of abortion. This has proven to be a very controversial topic which surrounds the book. This argument at the very least leads one to realize that maybe we should dig deeper when given an explaination for a particular situation. Maybe the Brady Bill or more police doesn't really help reduce crime. Maybe there is something out there that happend 40 years ago that later caused crime to drop. So next time you hear the news or listen to a politician, stop and think about what they are saying and what really may be the cause of the problem. This is definitely a good read if you want to be entertained while learning something.

The Oceanaire Seafood Room

I went to the Oceanaire Seafood Room this weekend in the ATL, it's roughly at 14th and Peachtree. It is actually a chain - but what isn't these days. The menu changes daily because they fly in fresh fish every day. We kind of took a tapas approach to the menu even though it isn't a tapas place. We had the shrimp and grits appetizer (too yummy!), crab cakes, spinach salad, and lobster bisque. Had I saved room, we would have had the baked alaska. They light it on fire and it looks really cool so I will have to do that next time. So if you are in need of a fancy place to take a date (the place is fancy but you can wear business casual or even casual), then this is your place. This is restaurant #12 in my New Places to Eat category. I am doing well in this area:)

When God Winks by SQuire Rushnell

I just read When God Winks by SQuire Rushnell on my flights from DCA to ATL. I have actually started 2 books in between this book and my last read Everyone Worth Knowing but I am still working on them. This is a very quick read - it just takes a prolonged flight of about 2 hrs. The full title of this book is actuall When God Winks: How the Power of Coincidence Guides Your Life so really it is no coincidence that I am now writing this book and no coincidence in the timing of my life and reading this book. This book has some good insight into how life really has a path and that God has certain coincidences planned to let you know that you are on the right path or to let you know that He is thinking about you. The book gives many examples of winks in other peoples' lives and encourages you to think about all the winks in your own life. While I didn't have anything to write down my thoughts while I was reading (which the book recommends), here's one that I don't mind sharing:

When I started grad school right before the orientation, I was standing in the hallway with all of the other students. No one was really talking - I am guessing because the folks didn't know one another and some didn't even speak English well. The girl standing next to me strikes up a conversation and through a series of questions we find out that not only are we both starting the PhD program, we both lived in the same area of town, and in the same apartment complex. This girl is now one of my good friends and was there for me throughout grad school when I needed a good friend. Ironically, a lot of our evenings were spent watching Friends together and just haning out. Looking back, I know she was placed in my life for a reason and the fact that we started talking that first day of school and that we lived in the same complex was God's way of saying I was on the right path.

So if you have been wondering about all those coincidences in your life or wondering if you are on the right path, I would encourage you to read this.

Everybody Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger

My latest review is for Lauren Weisberger's book Everybody Worth Knowing. This book is by the author of The Devil Wears Prada. If you are in the need of a good girly read about a girl, a hot PR job in NY, and love then this is your read. It won't stretch your imagination but it is entertaining. Not much else to say other than it was entertaining and a good way to pretend you are part of the NY night life!

Men and Women Can't Be Friends Part 2

So again my theory that men and women can't be just friends has been proven true. I do think some married men and women can be friends and even single people and married people of the opposite sex can be friends but that is getting off the topic. Men and women can't be just friends because eventually someone will want something more. And once the line is crossed - whether by action or words - you can't go back. Things will be wierd. You can try to make it not be wierd but it will be. Because now you wonder what each and every action means. You try to interpret it, analyze it, beat it to death. Of course this is where us women should realize that actions mean NOTHING to men. They don't think, they don't plot, they don't scheme, they just do. They mean nothing by anything that they do. But us women ALWAYS want it to mean something so we try to figure it out. So once that line is crossed and one party isn't interested or doesn't want to pursue things, then please do us women a favor and shut the door. Don't leave the door open or even cracked because then we will wonder, ponder, analyze. If the door is shut we will just think you are a jerk but the good news is that we probably think you are a jerk anyway so either way you lose. I know that I am personally guilty of not shutting the door - you say "sure we can go out again" but really you don't want to and you don't return calls or avoid the person because you don't want to hurt their feelings. I have done this - guilty as charged. But being on the other side of things, please hurt my feelings. Just tell me how you feel and what you think. Either way, I will think you are a jerk and I will be mad, hurt, upset but I will get over it. And I will still think you were a jerk.

After all that bashing and channeling Meredith Grey from Grey's Anatomy, I feel like I should leave on a positive note. Here is an article that my mom sent me about How to Choose a Man to Marry.

Why?

Why is it that some people ALWAYs have a boyfriend or girlfriend? You know the people I am talking about. They get out of a 2 year relationship or a 6 month relationship and next thing you know they are seriously dating someone else. Or if they aren't seriously dating someone else, they are serially dating - one guy/girl Fri night, a different girl/guy on Sat, etc. The bigger question is why can't I be one of those people? I think I was that girl in college - I always had a steady boyfriend - maybe a few months of singledom here and there but I was alwaysdating someone seriously. Then somewhere between a year out of college and now, it has been nothing. Well, not nothing but not anything to be excited about. I think I lost my mojo, I need the eye of the tiger again. I don't know if it is because I am content doing my own thing, I am not in the right place to meet people, I don't seem available. I just don't know. Someone send me the eye of the tiger!

I know you have missed it - I am getting all SATC on you again. I must admist my last few posts have been boring and pretty poorly written. I will vow to do better! I guess now that I have material, I am more inspired to write something interesting/funny and of course related to being single!

Kimpton Hotels

I highly recommend Kimpton Hotels. I have ben staying at the Topaz Hotel in DC for several months and they are the nicest people. I almost feel like I come to a second home here which I think they strive to make their guests have that feeling. Today, I even have goldfish in my room - like 3 real goldfish - a white one, a gold one, and a small one. They are so cute. I have pets in my hotel. How great is that! The staff here definitely take care of me. They give me the same room every week that I like, they have my key ready when I get to the hotel on Monday, they have passes to the nearby Y so it is like working out at my own gym, they put apples in my room, they sent me a Christmas gift. If you have to travel for a living - give the Kimpton Hotels a chance.

Home Depot

I was driving near a Home Depot this weekend - it is actually a closed Home Depot but has always been a spot where folks hang around waiting to pick up work. I watched a mini-van drive through the empty parking lot and the van was literally swarmed by people. If I had been inside, I think I would have been more than a little bit afraid. Apparently the folks in the mini-van weren't looking to pick up day laborers and continued to make their way through the parking lot. After witnessing this, I thought why does this group of 20+ men stand and wait to see if they might get work day after day. It was already lunchtime by then and I don't think too many people would start to look for workers after lunch but maybe they do. How could you live day to day, hoping to get work and being so desperate to beat out your neighbor for work that you would swarm a car? I can't event imagine a life like that. I suppose they do it becasue they are illegal immigrants and can't do legit work. But how sad.

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

I just finished Nicholas Spark's latest book Dear John last week. It was the 3rd book I started this year but the 2nd one for me to finish. I am still working may way through the 2nd book. I think I have cried at the end of every Nicholas Sparks book. His books really are all the same - he makes you fall in love with the characters and then some tragedy happens and it makes me cry. The ironic thing is that I am not a cryer - I didn't cry during We are Marshall and that movie was really touching given it was based on real events. So I was pretty mortified when I am on a plane crying because I just finished the book. I wouldn't even say this was my favorite Sparks book. Of course I fell in love with John and Savannah the main characters but really only Part 1 of the book was good. Part 2 and 3 didn't really give a lot of detail and hear I am crying anyway. The first book I ever cried while I was reading was The Notebook - another of Sparks books. I have actually read it twice and was able to keep my eyes dry during the 2nd reading. I watched The Notebook on Friday night and luckily made it through with dry eyes - I still love that story though. So there is my not-really-a-review of book #2 in 2007.

Ban Smoking Govenor Purdue

My friends and I went out last night and what I learned was that NY, CA, DC and many other cities/states have it right. Smoking should be banned in all restaurants and bars. I don't want to smell like smoke or inhale smoke when I go out. Please ban smoking in all bars in Georgia.

I LOVE Grey's

Grey's Anatomy has to be the best show on TV. Every week I watch, the show somehow tunes into something relational that I can related to. This week Derek and Meredith show that when you are in a relationship and fight, you still show up. You still love each other even when you disagree. Kristina learned that you don't have to win - sometimes just running the race is enough. Addison and Kereve learned that just because a kiss happens - it doesn't have to change anything. And Richard learned that life will pass you by if you wait to long. Such good lessons. I love it.

It is Friday

I don't really have a cohesive idea for this post so it is really just going to be a bunch of random things that I just want to put out there in the world. First thing is that my new favorite song is I Don't Feel Like Dancin' by the Scissor Sisters. I listen to the song like 4 times a day and it is always in my head. It has a good beat - kind of reminescent of the Bee Gee's. Definitely good times!

Last night I watched Grey's Anatomy. I think I have figured out why the show is so good - it is because we can all relate to the storylines and these storylines sometimes hit straight into our heart. For instance, last night when George was having to decide to let his father go and then say goodbye - I was actually crying because I have been there before (never had to say good-bye - not yet - but I have still been in that hospital room when you don't know if this could be good-bye). I am not a crier either so you know it is touching if I am crying! I also like the simplicity of the struggle on how to sleep between Meredith and Derek. After the intial excitement of the relationship, what makes the relationship stick or come unglued is the everyday - the living together and compomising. It is good to see that part of a relationship on TV and not just the lustful/romantic parts. These parts are real.

Since I was on a plane last night, I watched another episode of 90210. I thought that show was good when I was a teenager/early 20s but now it is almost laughable. Maybe the later seasons get better but the first season is weak and full of bad hair, bad slang, and bad outfits!

That's all for now. Happy Friday!

Music - Social Networking

A friend of mine just introduced me to this new website that will track what music you are listening to called Last.fm. It is pretty cool because it shows you what you listen to, gives info about the artist you are listening to, compares your musical tastes to your friends, and lets you make friends with folks that like the same music as you do. It is sort of like MySpace centered around music.

It is kind of scary that I am freely letting someone track what sort of music I like. I think if you are smart enough and have access to enough computer databases, you could probably put together a file on everything I do from where I eat the most, what music I listen to, when I go to the gym, etc - everything we do nowadays is tracked so if someone wanted to map out my life then they probably could. Very scary.

Red Flags for Dating/Relationships/Marriage

A co-worker and I were discussing dating this week and came up with a list of red flags for dating and once you have moved into the relationship. And while neither of us have been married, we know some things that could be very damaging once married if you don't pick up on them before you get married. So in no particular order and mixed together, here are the flags (ie the things you should stay away from):

1. Be of the opposite sex (as in if you aren't of the opposite sex then it is a red flag)
2. Smoking
3. Have a crazy religion (individual's can define this on their own)
4. Short (too short for a girl and not tall enough of a guy)
5. Bad teeth (sure you can fix this but if they haven't noticed by now, they don't care about dental hygiene)
6a. If your date/boyfriend/girlfriend tends to morph into you. In other words, their likes are now your likes and they don't seem to have their own individual likes. From the movie Runaway Bride, know the kind of eggs that you like don't just like scrambled eggs because I do.
6b. In a relationship, if you are always doing what one person wants then that is bad. Have your own likes and don't follow what he/she wants to do. Stand up for what you believe in and like to do. It is fine to do things you don't like because the other person likes to do them but don't give up your personality for the sake of them. This is similar to #6a so I put them together.
7. Beware of folks that seem to have a hidden side. You don't want to marry them and find out that this whole time they were hiding something from you or didn't disclose everything. This is tricky to identify so just be on the look out for strange behavior.
8. They are an only child - only children seem to be selfish so just beware. On a related note, if they have a crazy family or seem extra attached to their family/siblings then try to digger deeper about what is causing that connection and see if you want to be a part of it. It is always good to ask "Do I want these people to be my child's grandparents, aunts, and uncles?"
9. Overweight- at this age, we should be in the best shape of our life and should eat/exercise like it
10. You don't want to eat breakfast with them for the rest of your life (ie you can't imagine waking up to them everyday and having to talk to them at breakfast).

I will end on 10 because it is a nice round number. I may add more later but that is all for now.

Old School 90210

My sister gave me the greatest Christmas present this year - the first season of 90210 on DVD. I just laughed and laughed when I got the present because it is so great. In college, 90210 reruns would come on at like 4, 5, 6 and 11 and I remember sophomore year just watching the show over and over again. I remember when Dawson's Creek came on the air and the young-ins in the sorority wanted to take over the house TV to watch that and us old folk wanted to watch 90210. We were so into the show that one of my boyfriends said "Brooke, you know that Brenda, Dylan, Donna, Kelly and Brandon aren't real people!". Very funny memories.

So I have begun watching my new prized possession lately. So far I have watched the first 2 episodes of 90210 which by the way came out in 1990. I cannot believe how bad they dressed - I mean pants up past their waist, yellow leggings with a pink skirt and a print top, ripped jeans with plaid fabric behind it - it is just crazy stuff! The hair is bad too - especially Shannon Doherty's in the 2nd episode because she has hideous bangs. They even say old school stuff like “nimrod” – who even says that today?

I am not even sure that I ever saw the original premiere of 90210. I did notice that they must have taped the premiere and the 2nd episode a few weeks/months apart. Here are my observations of the first 2 episodes. First, Brenda's hair color and style is different - that is the most notable one. Second, the front of the Walsh's house is different looking and same with the interior. Third, Dylan McKay (aka Luke Perry) isn't even in episode 1 - he was definitely my favorite character. Fourth, Dylan lives in a hotel in the 2nd episode and I am pretty sure when he is college age/after college that he goes back to living in a hotel - that is when he was dating Valerie and Vanessa Marcil's character. Fifth, there are a lot of guest stars in 90210 that are famous in their own right now.

The Camel Club

I just finished reading The Camel Club by David Baldacci. It is a fiction book centered around a mystery involving The White House, Secret Service, the NIC, and some guys who meet to discuss conspiracy theories and call themselves The Camel Club. The book is long - about 560 pages in paperback. Not only was the book a good story, it also gave me a lot to think about culturally and how folks outside the US view Americans. The story includes context of real life events like the war in Iraq and the struggle between the radial Muslims and the US. One character is a women who has moved to the US for the sole mission of sacraficing herself for Alah. She view Americans as excessive - excessive weight, excessive car size, excessive "stuff". She hates everything Americans stand for because she grew up with bombs falling all around and she lost all of her family members to violence. By the end of the story she does find herself envying the peace of American but still ends up sacraficing her life for the great cause. The book also talks about how Muslim countries are afraid of the US because of all of our fire power - this makes senses because they are surrounded by violence. As Americans we don't believe our country will resort to nuclear weapons but as a person growing up in this radical countries, they don't know that because all they know is violence. The book gave me a lot to think about as to how the world views Americans and while we take for granted our lifestyle, we really do have it great and should appreciate the little things in life and not live to excess. We should also take the time to understand the other cultures and viewpoints of the world - understand the history of those views and what has shaped their views for 100s of year. If you want a good read, I would definitely recommend this book because it tells a good story and leads you to think introspectively about our culture. Incidently, it is Book 1 of 29 on my 2007 list!

Corteo

I just saw the Cirque de Soleil show Corteo this evening in Atlanta. This is the best Cirque show that i have seen (I have seen Allegra and then knock off Cirque show called Cirque Dreams). This show is not to be missed. The music is great, the acrobatics and performances are awesome, the story is interesting, the acts are funny and the costumes are cool. As I was sitting there I thought back to ancient times when performances would entertain kings and thought this was surely a show fit for a king. It was amazing what some of the performers could do. I think my favorite was the trampoline/acrobatics but they also had performers hanging from chandeliers, balancing on ladders, rolling in rings, jumping from bars and even playing a song with just glasses. The funniest thing was the midget attached to huge balloons and she just jumped from hand to hand in the audience just floating - too funny. It was a good mix of entertaining acts (ie the midget and balloons) to amazing physical feats (ie the acrobatics). Here is an official list of acts from the website: Adagio Duet, Bouncing Beds, Chandeliers, Cyr Wheel, Juggling, Ladder, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Paradise, Teeterboard, Tightwire, Tournik, Helium Dance, Glasses, Teatro Intimo, and Puppet Artist. Upcoming shows are in the following cities: Dallas, Houston, Columbus and Denver. Book now because the show sold out in Atlanta. If you don't want to take my word for it there is a min preview of the performances on the website - definitely check it out.

The Year of the 29

This year I turn 29 and to honor my final year in my 20s, I have decided to theme my "Things to Do in 2007" list towards the number 29. Some of these "to do's" may or may not be achievable but I think it will be fun trying. So to supplement my usual list, I now have a 29 themed To Do List. So to kick off 2007, here are some of the things that I want to do this year...

29-Themed To Do's

• Meet 29 new people
• Read 29 books
• Visit 29 cities (this may sound crazy but I travel with work now and think this is doable)
• Eat at 29 new restaurants
• Save at least $2900
• Give at least $2900 to a charity
• Do 29 hrs of community service
• Go on 29 hrs worth of dates - and this will not be a continuous 29 hr date:)
• Work out at least 29 mins a day/4 times a week
• Play 29 holes of golf
• Fly on 29 flights
• Spend 29 hrs at the beach
• Spend 29 hrs skiing
• Run 29 miles (okay, 26 miles in a marathon)
• Lose 29 lbs (No worries, not going to do anything unhealthy and I already started counting against this number in Fall 2006)

Places to Visit:

• Phoenix, AZ to see Callie
• Syracuse, NY to visit Mindy/Andy
• Austin, TX or Puerto Rico with Jane
• Boston, MA to visit Andrew
• Prague, Czech
• Ski somewhere
• Beach somewhere

Things to do:

• Go/Be in Weddings: estimated 5

Carryover's from 2006 list:

• Steeplechase in Atlanta
• Art Walk on the First Thursday or Castelberry Hill Art Walk
• Complete a sprint triathalon
• Take a dance class
• Skiing in Chile

You may ask how I plan to keep up with all of this but have no fear, I have an Excel spreadsheet and will post what I can at the end of 2007 so you can see how I did. I will also probably add to the list as the year goes on so stay tuned for updates.

Best Kept Secret in Atlanta

I have found the best kept secret in Atlanta - Castleberry Hill. It is a very transitional area but has great trendy restaurants. I went to No Mas Cantina last night and not only does it have great Mexican food and great margaritas, the atmosphere is unlike any othere Mexican restaurant in Atlanta. No where else can you order a lounge chair along with your tacos. They have a warehouse right next to the restaurant with eclectic furniture and some of that furniture is advertised right in their menu. The area also sports a sushi restaurant - Wasabi - and a pizza place - Slice (the original). Definitely an area of town worth checking out.