See Diva Run

Our roof has been in need of replacement for a few years. Mr Diva replaced the garage roof a couple years ago, but it took him 2 years to complete the project. This led to the occasional outbreak of marital hostilities until the job was done. At which point it became my job to find a roofer. Last year, roofers were so buy they didn’t return calls. This year, the roof started leaking, but I was so busy, I wasn’t making the call. This week, a roofer left a business card on our porch. He lives on our street and business has slowed because of the economy, so he did a little networking by leaving cards on porches. I e-mailed him late that evening, he came by and gave us an estimate the next day, and the following day the roof was replaced. The whole process was amazing to me because if the house were on fire, Mr Diva would probably still wait until the last minute to get up and leave. All of this quickness was impressive. Fast, professional and well done. If you are in the Seattle - Everett - Snohomish area and in need of a new roof, I highly recommend Allways Roofing. Leave a message if you need their contact info.

Last week I went to boot up my laptop, but it never got beyond the HP screen. This happened to me in 2004 right before the hard drive failed. I learned a valuable/painful lesson about taking backups. I decided it was time to start looking for a replacement, and decided to go with the Dell XPS M1530, preloaded with Ubuntu. For you non-geeks, Ubuntu is a variant of the Linux operating system. Diva doesn’t do Windows I’ve installed Suse Linux on my last few laptops, which has worked well for the most part, with the exception of being able to play DVDs or use my wireless card. I’m happy to report that my new laptop does those things quite nicely. I also bought a Western Digital My World Book hard drive which is accessible over the network, so I can back every computer in the house up to it. We have a lot of computers, so this is a good thing. I’ve successfully moved all 10,000 digital photos to my new laptop, and to the backup drive!

This was my second week of Focus-N-Fly. I got into trouble on Tuesday when I didn’t check the schedule and ran 3×7:00 instead of 3×6:00 at maintenance pace. I wasn’t feeling great to begin with, and that didn’t help. I ran 3×6:00 on Thursday, but was feeling good on Saturday so I opted for the 3×7:00. Next week calls for an increase, but I think I’ll do one more 3×7:00 before I move up. I’m being overly cautious, but I really don’t want to start over again. Better to be careful.

Today was a beautiful day. I walked downtown to have lunch at Grilla Bites with my friend Michelle. She gave me a ride home just in time for my walk with Cherl. Where did we go? Back downtown. I got 8.5 miles of walking in today. Right now walking is much more satisfying than running.

Wishing you all a good week. I promise I’ll use my new laptop to visit your blogs soon!

Last 7 Days

* You exercised 10 times on 6 days, for 7.1 hours, and a total of 31.38 miles.
* You did flexibility 1 times on 1 days, for 0.2 hours.
* You did other (rowing) 2 times on 2 days, for 1.1 hours.
* You ran 3 times on 3 days, for 2.1 hours, and a total of 11.28 miles.
* You did strength training 2 times on 2 days, for 0.5 hours.
* You walked 2 times on 2 days, for 3.2 hours, and a total of 10 miles.

To try to get back on a healthy diet, regular exercise or adequate sleep!
I was up early Monday and rushing to Arlington to let my son’s dogs out. I had to take Mr Diva’s car because my ignition wouldn’t turn. After work I had to rush to Mr Diva’s office and pick him up so we could rush back to Arlington to let the dogs out. I was up even earlier on Tuesday to see Mr Diva before he left for the airport. Tuesday after work I finally had time to have my car towed to the dealer. Wednesday was the last day of class and I had to finish up my project and turn it in. I got in a 30 minute rowing workout at 9, but then had trouble getting to sleep. Jasmine woke up with a wicked eye infection on Wednesday, but I was so busy at work I couldn’t take her to the vet until Thursday after work. Was home by 7 and could have run on the treadmill but chose to eat dinner instead. This morning work called on the “Diva phone” at 5 something while I was still asleep. Big trouble, save us Diva. It was an epic battle, but the world was once again safe for databases at 9 tonight. I hear the sun will come out tomorrow

I hope your week was better than mine!

I like to keep my life organized into neat compartments. There is work life, which I may kvetch about here on occasion, but I don’t give details, and I don’t name the company. I have my running life, which I live on the treadmill, the trail and here on the Internet courtesy of my blog, your blog and a few other favorite running sites. I have my friends and family who may also hear the occasional complaint about work, and possibly even a few details. They hear very little about running except for the location of the next race. Sometimes Mr Diva politely asks “how far?”. I don’t share the address to the blog. If there are photos I want to share with friends & family, they go to Kodak Gallery, and get linked here. It’s weird I know, but I’m sure it dates back to my youth when my mother read my diary and found out someone made it beyond first base. That was a really unpleasant experience which she had hoped would keep me from playing baseball, but it only kept me from writing about it

This week I made a shocking discovery. My son is following me on Twitter. My first thought was “oh dear, what have I said?” This is pretty funny, because in 25 years, he has pretty much heard it all. We have a great relationship. I’m sure there is nothing here that would shock him. He knows I run. He knows I’m sometimes cranky and impatient. He knows that I’m worried about the old dog. Still, I think I’m more reflective here than I am in daily life and this may take him by surprise.

My friend Cherl recently asked me to join Facebook and be her friend there. I did, but was reluctant to provide any links to the rest of my life. I’ve since decided that work will remain in it’s own little compartment, but the rest of my worlds are free to collide. I’ve added links to my blogs to Facebook. I’ve also discovered some fun, new, geeky toys for my blog. It started when I saw an unfamiliar name in MyBlogLog. I checked out her profile and wondered what is Lijit? It is a search tool that allows you to aggregate all of your content, including blog, flickr, twitter and other sites for a single search. This means you can search for “mardi gras” and find my blog posts, Flickr photos, Youtube videos and other relevant links. Pretty cool. My favorite feature is the explore link, which allows me to explore my friends blogs, and their friends blogs, etc. Check out the Lijit search in the sidebar.

While exploring the Lijit site, I discovered FriendFeed, which is another cool service that allows you to keep track of your friend’s various content sources. It’s like RSS for everything, and you only have to go to one place to keep track of everyone. I’m looking for ways to make it easy to keep up with my blogging friends. I seriously don’t know how people stay up to date. I’m sure you aren’t reading blogs at work!

While visiting the blog of another Lijit employee (they get to read blogs at work!), I discovered the 12 for 12K Challenge. Their goal is to raise $12,000 per month, with the funds going to a different children’s charity each month. I love it when the social networking and social responsibility worlds collide. The blogging world is huge. If 1200 of us give $10, we can help them make their goal. If you can’t afford to contribute money, you can help spread the word. Let’s be viral, but in a good way.

Do you have any fun, geeky web toys that I don’t? If so, leave a comment and let me know about them!

Any story can have a happy ending if you stop telling it while things are still good. The happy ending for this tale occurred in the middle, when our daughter Cassi and grandsons Kane and Dominic were reunited with our son-in-law Nate.

Nate is a Sea-Bee, and he is back in Mississippi after a year in Iraq. He got back late last year, and was able to take a 2 week leave to visit Cassi & the boys in Anchorage for Christmas. He also got a 2 week leave in July. His timing was excellent, and he was there for Dominic’s birth. But 4 weeks out of 15 months puts a strain on any family. Our goal has been to get them back together as quickly as possible. When Cassi asked if we could do it in early February, I started planning. Our first hurdle was that the person I spoke with at the airline told me that she could not fly alone with 2 children under the age of 2. I searched the FAA rules and found nothing to indicate this, so I called the airline back and was assured that it would be no problem if they were both ticketed. The next problem was getting to Mississippi. We got around this by flying to Dallas and driving to Meridian. Three one-way fares from Anchorage to Dallas using miles was a good deal. Our round trip fares from Seattle were also reasonable.

In order to be on the 7:00 flight, Cassi & the boys were up at 4:00 Anchorage time. How she got all of that luggage and two little boys through the airport is beyond my comprehension. It took more than 10 minutes to get the boys and the carry on off the jet. With 3 adults, it wasn’t much faster! She cleverly attached Kane’s car seat to a luggage cart, and was able to tow him around while carrying Dominic in his car seat. But there were still 3 carry on bags, and it all had to go through security. We met her at her arrival gate and helped her to the north satellite. Our flight was boarding when we got there, and since she really needed that extra time, there wasn’t even a chance for her to use the restroom.

The boys were surprisingly well behaved on the flight. Kane is a pretty high energy kid, but he sat in his car seat for the second long flight of the day without complaint. Dominic is a very happy little guy. He giggled for most of the flight. It was nearly 6pm in Dallas when we arrived. We picked up our luggage and rode a shuttle bus to the rental car facility. She had checked 6 very large bags in addition to the car seats and carry on. It takes a lot of luggage to relocate a family! It took every inch of cargo space in our Toyota Highlander, but Mr Diva is a genius when it comes to packing. We headed for our hotel for dinner and a little rest before the next leg of the journey.

The boys were still on Alaska time, which was 3 hours later than Dallas time. This meant a late night followed by a late morning. It was 10 before we got out of the room. Poor Nate was calling every couple of hours to find out where we were. The waiting really is the hardest part! The boys were just as good for the 10 hour drive as they had been for the day of flying. The meltdowns were few, and mostly late at night. It was nearly 10pm when we arrived at their home in Meridian. We stayed for a few minutes, then headed for our hotel so they could have some time alone.

We met for an early lunch on Saturday at a new sushi place. It was very good. We spent the rest of the day shopping for things to help them get settled in. We spent the evening playing with the boys, eating pizza and watching movies, and then it was time to leave again. Leaving the boys is incredibly difficult. They are so young, they don’t always remember us between visits, so each time we see them, we have to rebuild the bond.

We woke up Sunday morning and started the long drive back to Dallas, happy in the knowledge that they were a family again. If there is one thing I’ve learned from aging, it is the importance of family. Our trip across Mississippi and Louisiana was largely uneventful. We stopped in Kilgore, TX for dinner at Bodacious Barbecue. We stopped there on our last Meridian-Dallas commute and really enjoyed it. They had built a new facility since our last visit, but the food was still good. It took close to two hours to get from Kilgore to our hotel in Dallas. As we were getting close, I noticed that Mr D’s breathing was a bit labored. He looked pale. When I asked if he was OK, he said he needed to get to a bathroom. As soon as he had a room key, he was rushing for the elevator.

In our 20 years together, this was only the third time he has ever thrown up, and the first time that it didn’t involve too much alcohol. Whatever was wrong, I could tell he wasn’t enjoying it. After about 2 hours in the bathroom, he crawled off to bed, where he discovered that it gets worse if you lie down. He sat there propped up on pillows, trying to relax. About that time, I started to feel funny, but not in a way that made me want to laugh. Soon I was racing for the bathroom. Let’s just say that 2 sick people who are launching pyrotechnics from both ends in one hotel room with one bathroom is not a good equation. We were still in “launch mode” when it was time to leave for the airport. We couldn’t have made it to the elevator without launching something. There was no way we were going to make it to the airport. Alaska Airlines was very understanding. They put us on a later flight for $100/each, and even gave us aisle seats at the back of the plane in case we hadn’t fully recovered by then.

Things finally settled down about 9am. At 10:00 I took a shower. By 11:00 we were walking very slowly down the hall. We stopped at Target for a bottle of Pedialite and some peppermint Lifesavers. We sipped about 4 ounces of the Pedialite before tossing it to get through security. We sucked on a Lifesaver each hour to stave off hunger pains. We slept through much of the flight, and I’m happy to report that we did not need to take advantage of our aisle seats near the lavatory. By this time we were just very, very tired. We survived the long walk through the airport, the bus ride to the parking lot and the long drive home in traffic. We made it in time to pick the dogs up before closing time. They were very happy to see us, but we just wanted to go to sleep. We are still tired today, but very happy that everyone is at home, even if that home is far away.

Lot’s of photos of grandchildren can be seen at The Kodak Gallery (No photos of pyrotechnic grandparents)

But wait, Grandma has gone high tech. You will need to tilt your head to the left in order to watch this video. I didn’t say Grandma was good at high tech!

My run around town Thursday really wore me out. I was still feeling tired today, but I did take a little walk up the trail to see how the horses were doing. To my surprise, most of the water was gone. There was a big puddle in the pasture, but the rest of the water on the river side was gone. Water that pooled up on the other side of the trail had nowhere to drain. It will be around for a while. The water was also back within the banks of the Snohomish River downtown, but Highway 9 remains closed.

[Show as slideshow]

The water may be gone, but the memory remains. I found this video on the Beyond90Seconds.com site. It is hauntingly beautiful, like a tragic ballet.