Thursday, July 26, 2007

Movie Night: The Holiday

After Krista cooked me dinner tonight, she finally talked me into sharing her favorite chick flick with her. I generally resist typical chick flicks on the big screen, but have no reason to refuse from the comfort of a La Z Boy. I think I'm going to change my habits.

Nice movie. Not too formulaic, and seemed to end well. A good amount of romance, without a lot of sappiness and cheesiness. The plot and the writing even made me think a bit, and I came away with a new Facebook quote. Memorable to say the least. No, my problem isn't with the movie itself. Rather, I run into the same discomfort as with The Breakup; that is, I relate simply too well with the characters and the plots. Perhaps this shows good writing, or good psychology in knowing what the female audience wants. For me, however, it just bums me out.

No more romance flicks. Simpsons, anyone?

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Three Love Songs?

When my iTunes is showing all of my music in alphabetical order, three unlikely songs are played one after another: My Heart is Broken (Ryan Adams and the Cardinals), My Heart is Filled (Elmbrook Worship), and My Heart Will Go On (Celine Dion).

The artists should get together and counsel each other.

Monday, July 09, 2007

I Would Like to See At Lifefest...

  • Aaron Shust (W)
  • Toby Mac (W)
  • Newsboys (F)
  • MXPX (F)
  • Skillet (F)
  • Jars of Clay (S)
  • Third Day (S)
  • Superchic (S)
  • Chris Tomlin (Su)
  • Annette Busalacchi (W,F,S,Su)

Sunday, July 08, 2007

Newsflash!

Caffeine's not bad for running?

Yeah, I Rocked Out

Summerfest did indeed live up to expectations.

At Skillet, I remembered how to headbang from my middle school years, complete with drowned-rat style hair. Only complaint: mediocre fireworks that went on entirely too long.

Ska Day on Wednesday was a whole different sort of fun. I witnessed a Skank Pit and all sorts of other shenanigans. Reaching Scarlet tickled me pink, especially that adorable bassist. Less Than Jake was a bit rough around the edges, and I couldn't see very well, but I was getting warmed up. The sounds of Reel Big Fish made me glad to be out and about on a work night, and it amused me to see them play the crowd favorites multiple times. Only complaint: not putting sunscreen on my back.

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Lowered Expectations

I haven't been to Summerfest in at least two years now, since Pete Yorn failed to impress me. I'm going tonight to see Skillet, a band I know very little about, and I'm managing to get pretty excited about it. I don't know if it's the prospect of a night out, dressed up just a little, with some great friends, or the fact that I have free passes and no work tomorrow, but I'm not at all stressed, and really looking forward to getting going.

So basically, the band can suck, as long the shuttle gets me to the lake front, and there's fireworks. I hope my giddiness lasts the night.

Sunday, July 01, 2007

A Brand New Goal

So the past few months I've set goals for a certain number of miles to be fun over a 30-31 day period. This is all well and good, but I'm ready for more.

Providing I don't injure myself, here's my goal for July and August: To run the Lake Country Half Marathon on September 2. That's right. I'm making it public, because that's how goals come to fruition. I have a training plan, and it looks doable on paper. In practice, it might be tricky, if only because of time management, and fitting in an hour or more of running 4 days a week. It may also be tricky getting myself to rest on those other 3 days, when I'm in the habit of going out for shorter runs every day.

I'm crazy excited about this. You know you're obsessed when you spend your run thinking about running, and I've been thinking about this half since I got the flyer on my car a month ago at the Bravado Challenge.

If anyone would like to do it with me, or train with me, I would love that.

60 Miles in June

Another one bites the dust... Running goal completed, sticker chart filled in, and I'm satisfied. I wasn't too sure I was going to make this month's goal, since I kept hurting my foot and needed to take quite a few days off to rest. But some hard work and dedication, and a couple of double runs at the end of the month, paid off, and I managed to finish off in style.

Some highlights and musings of the jogging month, for those who care about my new obsession:
  • I've managed to plot out very nice routes ranging anywhere from 1/2 mile to 6 miles all over the city, near my house, my work, downtown, church, and friends' houses. This really helps to keep up variety.
  • Running on vacation or while camping is a great addition to the trip. It's such a wonderful way to get out and see different scenery, and makes for a refreshing beginning to your day.
  • It's also become my biggest stress relief. Pounding the pavement when I'm ticked off at the world does so much more than moping ever did.
  • I've noticed that once you start running, you start to make a lot of friends who run, too. This is fun, but I feel like an outsider, not having run track or CC in high school or college. Am I a faker?
  • Lastly, what do I do with my keys and ID? I switch between clipping my keys to my shoe (very annoying jingling sound) and carrying them, and I sometimes tuck my ID in my shorts, but I'm not satisfied with any of those options. Surely there's got to be a good solution out there to run in safety.


And as usual, I've rewarded myself with a treat from REI. Well, I bought myself a treat from REI, and decided that since I met my jogging goal, I could excuse the purchase by calling it a
reward. Meet my Arc Teryx Bora 75 pack. I need to stop shopping at that store...

Ouch!

This is belated, I know, but it's taken me this long to recover from last weekend's fun in Crivitz, WI, where paintball was played and funyaks were paddled up and down the river. Well, mostly don the river.

You know you're living a great life when you have a chance to go into the woods with eleven of your closest friends, and shoot them. Paintball might be my new favorite sport. And for those keeping track at home, I only cried once, and my bruises have almost faded.

Also, Taco John, wherever you are, you're my new hero.