Make a Decision, Already!

The awkward, repetitive, tedium makes this video fantastic. Don't worry, around minute 4:25, you're rewarded with a girl in a bikini.



Sort of reminds me of the process my bathroom is going through the past 6 months.

Customer Service Doesn't Have to Be Awful

This makes me happy, especially knowing that I have to deal with Sprint one of these days and tell them they messed up my phone bill. Again.

20 Miles Short of Success

As I look back on Martin Luther King Jr day, I look back on my goal set back in an optimistic October. 300 miles between October and Jan 21. I knew it would be hard once the snow fell, but I somehow thought I could accomplish it. In retrospect, I'm surprised I made it as far as I did. It's really hard running in the cold and snow!

Here's some improvements I plan to make, in order to meet my spring goal of training for and running the Madison marathon on May 25th.

• Underarmor. Some people advocate it in the heat; I won't go out without my turtleneck if it's below 35 degrees.
  
• Smartwool socks.
• Running tights.
• A fleece hood that covers my face.
• 2 pairs of gloves.
• Some sort of energy bar. I'm still looking for the right one, if anyone has any recommendations.

I've tried running at the Y and at the Pettit, and I'll still keep those as an option, but I just get bored to tears when I'm not outside. If the pros can run in blizzards, so can I!

Netflix On Demand: Chalk

I've discovered that the ability to watch any movie I want, right this second, is both a blessing and a curse. This is especially true when I'm not feeling well, which is when I'm most likely to utilize the instant feature and watch movies by myself.

After a few false starts with indecisiveness, I discovered Chalk, by director Mike Akel, a fictional documentary about a group of 1st-3rd year high school teachers. The style reminded me a bit of Spellbound or Best in Show, but had me in tears laughing. The combination of character development and proximity to home in regards to the trials of teaching made this a fantastic movie. A great mix of hilarity and seriousness combined with Office-like writing that just makes you uncomfortable for the characters, made me forget that this wasn't actually a true film.

Favorite bit: the Spelling Hornet, where teachers spell slang words that the students quiz them on.

An effective case study of the early years in a teacher's career.

Catching Up

I listened to a great sermon this weekend on pacing one's life. Part of what I learned is that Americans suffer from overload syndrome. Debt overload, commitment overload, stress, decision, choice, hurry, expectation, possession, activity, fatigue, information, noise, people, technology...

Since then, I've made it my goal to become less overloaded. I think I've become fairly famous for my Jessie Nights, but honestly, I've forgotten what those are like. I can't remember the last time I've sat on my couch by myself, done enjoyable things alone, or gone to bed before 10pm, without some sort of commitment or expectation.

So here's how I plan to spend the next two evenings:
Listening to the new Magnetic Fields album on MySpace, at least two more times, before forming any opinions.
Laying in bed with a stack of books, and NOT Book Club ones.
Writing a letter to Swaziland.
Folding my laundry.
Making "Thank You" phone calls for Christmas gifts.
Putting photos in frames.

I will also be going to bed obscenely early.