For People Who Are Far Busier Than I Am

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Just click on the "Subscribe" thingy over on the right.

A shout out to Andrew for helping me with this. I am so far from tech savvy, its just embarrassing.

I Fought the Law

Okay, not the law.

The PPA.

For those of you not from around these parts, that's the Philadelphia Parking Authority. You may have seen them featured on a terrible show called "Parking Wars" on A&E.

They're dicks. There is no other (polite) way to put it. They take absolute pride in issuing tickets to meters that have expired only seconds before. They find insane joy in booting cars (sometimes even in front of the person's own home-ahem). They LOOOOVE to tow cars to the impound lot and then stare blankly at you when you provide 5 types of proof that your car was parked legally.

They are notoriously nasty, cruel, indifferent, miserable human beings. I'm not kidding or exaggerating. Ask anyone who lives in Philly.

So a couple weeks ago, when I had to drive to an appointment in the rain, I brought 3 dollars in quarters with me for an hour appointment (note: in this particular part of the city I was in, 1 hour of parking equals one dollar. But its different everywhere. Another reason the PPA sucks.).

Anywhooo, I park at a meter and put in my first quarter. The meter reads 15 minutes. I put in my second quarter. Nothing. I put in my third quarter. Nothing. I put in my 4th quarter, it gives me 15 more minutes! I put in my 5th quarter. Nothing.
So it goes on like this. I put my ENTIRE 3 dollars of quarters into the damn meter and ended up with a little less than 1 hour (after I had wasted 6 minutes or so fussing with quarters).

So I write a note to the PPA man and leave it on the windshield. It reads " Dear PPA Man, I just put 3 dollars in quarters into this machine and it only gave me an hour of time. Time now 4:15, back in 1 hour.
I then return 1 hour and 4 minutes later and on my windshield, right under the note, is (you guessed it!) a TICKET!
I said every curse word I could think of and got in my car (pissed as all hell) and drove home.

But instead of just paying it like I would have maybe 3 years ago, I called the damn PPA to report a broken meter. The woman on the phone advised me not to pay the ticket. She said they would send someone out to investigate my claim and let me know of their decision in writing.

I was about 98% sure I was effed. Because, really, these people are evil and it would be totally easy (and like them) to just tell me that the meter works fine. But then, about two weeks later, I got this:

THEY AGREED WITH ME! I WON!!
It was pretty much the most exciting day ever.

It can be done, folks. At least the administrative side of the PPA is honest.

But I still HATE the stupid PPA ticket writers. They are total jerks.

Swine Flu, Maybe?

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I think I'm getting sick. It always starts in my throat, with that weird phlemgy, scratchy feeling. And then it moves on to aches, and that god-awful symptom where your skin kind of hurts (does anyone know what I'm talking about?)

Anyhow, I didn't get a flu shot because I never get flu shots (my immune system is a beast!) and this whole Swine Flu pandemic (or whatever it is) doesn't actually concern me that much since I'm not a toddler or pregnant. I'm not worried that I'm getting Swine Flu (even though it has been discovered all over Philly and at some local schools). I'm just super pissed that this cold-potential-flu threatens to ruin my camping trip this weekend!!!!
'Cuse there's nothing that sucks more than shivering through a fever in the wilderness.

I even got new hiking shoes!

So, right now, I am chugging herbal tea and Emergen-C, and munching handfuls of echinacea drops (like cough drops, but better) to ward it off. Tonight, I'm staying in and taking Nyqil...just in case (and also because it makes me have the coolest dreams!)
I'm going to run today but I may skip lifting tomorrow so I don't take any energy or resources away from my immune system.

Please, pleeeeease, PLEASE don't let me be sick on this trip! Ordinarily, I would welcome being a little sick. I never mind having an excuse to curl up on the couch with tea and watch Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Usually, when I'm getting sick I just ride it out, take some Nyquil, start a bubble bath (ooh I should do that, too!) and call out of work for a day or two.
But I REEEEEALLY want to go camping this weekend! (said while running upstairs for a glass of OJ)

I hope all my attempts to fight this off work! Anything else I should be doing (drinking/eating/sniffing)? Do you fight it when you know you're getting sick, or do you just go with it, put your cell phone on silent, and cozy up with the remote?

Let's Just Pretend

..that I was doing something TOTALLY amazing instead of just plain old not blogging.

It's been a month and a crap load of stuff has been going on, so I'll try to keep this brief and as interesting as possible.

1) I Overtrained
A few weeks ago, my body had a total breakdown. I did some research and determined that I was more than likely over training. I was actually starting to put weight on and my workouts were becoming a lot less effective. Turns out, its not a great idea to do an intense cardio workout before an intense lifting session. That seems obvious, bu for some reason I thought that I was "kicking it up a notch." I wasn't. So I backed off a bit, added in an extra rest day and separated intense cardio days from intense lifting days. I feel much better, my workouts are far more productive (except yesterday, but I was just not feeling it).
I don't know about you guys, but when I get into a workout routine, I get a little obsessed. I bug out if I take more than 2 days in between workouts. Its a problem because I never give myself enough rest. I think I'm really pushing myself if I workout everyday, but it really isn't doing me any favors. There are a bunch of competing theories on rest and how much is appropriate, but everyone in the interwebs agrees that rest (at least 1-2 days) is essential to great workouts. So I'm trying that now and it seems to be working. My performance is improving and I've been able to really stretch out my cardio days and do a solid hour of running or elliptical a couple times a week.

2) We Went to Some Weddings
We have been to a lot of weddings recently. I love weddings! (Going to them, not planning them).
We have had way to much to drink and have consumed far too many calories. But we danced! Oh, how we danced (and fell. And danced some more).







Only one more wedding to attend and then OURS! That means I have only one more chance to try and catch a damned bouquet! Ever!







3) I Have Been Working Like a Crazy Person
This time of the year is SUPER busy for my work. This means I have been running all over the state of Pennsylvania attending various events for my organization. I have probably had way too much coffee and have over done it on the free meals. On top of the craziness of my job, I have to find time to schedule in surgery on my elbow, attend various community events, be a coach for a seminar we have coming up, and find time to see friends (I know you're out there!).

4) Guests, Galore!
We also had some house guests. First, Matt came for a weekend (Hi, Matt! Look! A new post!). We did a power hour, ate pizza and watched movies. Totally unproductive. But fun!
Then Andrew's brother came for an entire week. I will not elaborate on this week other than to say that it was very, very, very long.

5) I Had Some Fun!
*We went to see Allison's show for the Fringe Festival and it was great! Hil. Arious.
*We attended a seminar on "Reimagining Vacant Land" wherein the city of Philadelphia took some pointers from Flint, Michigan. A sad day when Flint, Michigan is doing better than Philly. (No offense, Flint. Actually, props to Flint. They are efficient and effective. At least when it comes to vacant land. I was impressed.)
*We went to a fundraiser for Neighborhood Bike Works, complete with a happy hour!
*I had my first MRI. It was awful. I guess this shouldn't be under the "fun" category...
* We went to open mic light at the comedy club. The first acts were terrible but the later ones were GREAT! And it was free!
* I got a massage. It wasn't great but it made my mind feel better.
* We got an honorable mention in the City Gardens Contest! Not bad for our first year! It also gets us free tickets to the Flower Show! Score!
* I have had had some delicious Oktoberfests, and pumpkin beers, and apples! I LOOOVE fall!

Soooooo, that's what I've been up to. What about you?