Over the weekend, I did another half marathon! Yes, yes, I’m all kinds of badass. This time, it took place in my beloved hometown.
After weeks and weeks of lovely weather, Saturday dawned gray and foggy.
The allure of this race is getting to run across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. I had imagined the spectacular views I would enjoy, the sparkly blue water stretching for miles…
Um…yeah.
The “view” turned out to be a couple hundred yards of shoreline. In the middle of the bridge, you were in such a fog ball you could barely see the water.
Not exactly what I was picturing. It was also doing that unique to the PNW, heavy spitting mist thing, where it’s not really raining but you’re soaked anyway.
Nevertheless! I kept a really good attitude throughout, and just tried to do my best, despite the conditions. Being in T-town was fun because Officer Sister was directing one of the intersections and it’s always entertaining to passersby when one runs up and hugs a cop. A couple of her friends were wo-manning other intersections, so I got high-fives from them, as well. We even got to run inside Cheney Stadium and see ourselves on the big teevee.
I felt like I was going lots slower than last time, so when I saw the race clock reading 2:30 as I approached the finish line I was SHOCKED. Subtracting another 2 minutes for a potty stop, I shaved FIVE WHOLE MINUTES off my previous time! Yay me!
I think I mentioned that we participated once again in The Grand Cinema’s 72 Hour Film Festival? Well, we did! And our movie kicks ass! It was even Honorably Mentioned at the big screening.
I stole this bit from Erik’s blog. Am too lazy to type.
The requirements for the film include:
* a map
* something breaking
* the line of dialog “Should I know what that means?”
* and in the first minute, someone has to find a bag that contains something important to the film
These things all prove that you made your movie in the allotted time. We came up with our idea on Thursday night, secured locations and costumes on Friday, filmed on Saturday, and edited on Sunday. It all went really smoothly! Due of course, to my TacomaFunPals and their awesomeness.
It’s a hoot, and it’s only 5 minutes long! Oh, and BTW, that foxy lady at the end? Marilyn Strickland, the Mayor of Tacoma.
Okay, maybe this proves I’m ready to become a mommyblogger, because this will be my first ever post about Target. But DUDE. Have you ever been to a fancy Target? I had no idea such a thing existed. Last night after work, I went to the Target in Redmond (where Microsoft and it’s Money lives). It was SO DIFFERENT from the one in Tacoma. The first thing I saw was the Starbucks, much different from the greasy snackbar ours has. Next, I grabbed a basket, and even THOSE were fancy! They weren’t the standard square, red, plastic kind we have, these were bean shaped and had a fancy, padded handle! As I ventured further in, I felt like I was in some alternate universe. Everything was familiar but SO MUCH BETTER. You know how our purse section consists of two crappy aisles with mostly old lady bags? This Target had a whole Purse Area and they were CUTE. Like, proper bags, that did not look Target-y at all. And the clothes section was at least twice the size of ours and had way cuter stuff. WHAT THE HELL?
I feel like Target is unfairly judging Tacoma. Why can’t WE have a fancy Target? It’s not like ours is small, it’s your standard Anytown, USA giant complex thing.
Anyway, if you happen to be a connoisseur of fine Targets like I am, I recommend checking out a big city’s or rich suburb’s Target ASAP. It’ll blow your mind.
Last Thursday, I was fortunate to be one of the 80 Love Tacoma members who RSVP’d quickly enough to get on their free cruise around the Sound. It was a LOVELY night, and our beautiful city looked smashing.
The fair Murray Morgan
Pretty Boat
Our Beautiful Bridges
Everyone taking pictures with their phones of the Bridges
Salmon Beach
Boat with Mountain
Ye Olde Castle
Oh, Elks. *sigh* What will become of your beautiful old bones?
Ahhh…Tacoma. How she sparkles! The weather is supposed to be spectacular this weekend, may you all get out and enjoy her!
Have you ever heard of freecycle? I thought it was pretty well known, but some recent conversations have me thinking otherwise.
From their website:
“The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,334 groups with 4,872,000 members across the globe. It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills.”
The first time we used it, we had this table that someone had given us, that was perfectly nice, we just finally got to have something WE picked out. (an important milestone in adult furniture aquisition) I had it up on craigslist for a week for $100, then at $50, than at ‘make an offer’ and we got nothing. Nothing! Why didn’t anyone want our perfectly good table?
I put it on freecycle, and within a couple of hours, I had at least 30 people offering to come get it RIGHT NOW! Since then, we’ve cleaned out the basement and freecycled a bookshelf, a microwave, a giant mirror we couldn’t use, and an old TV. It’s so awesome! Someone who needs what you have to give away, comes and PICKS IT UP. How cool is that?
There are two kinds of posts, either OFFER or WANTED. People post all kinds of random shit. I’ve seen spare building materials, boxes, old electronics, and even empty plastic laundry soap containers and someone, somewhere will have a use for this stuff. Likewise, someone will post, “WANTED: Boys 2T clothes” or something like that, and someone will pipe up with an offer.
Last week, I posted my first WANTED post.
“WANTED: Bowling Ball 10-12lbs – Tacoma – I’ll put your ball to good use, if you’re not! Thanks for considering it.”
And look! Not only did a nice lady respond, saying she had one and needed to get it out of her attic, she had a men’s ball too!
Aren’t they the coolest bowling balls ever? And check this out, mine’s name is Sharon.
So, if you need something or have something to give away, go sign up for your local freecycle group. You can make it so you get just a couple of summary emails a week of what is wanted and offered. GO GREEN TEAM!
My dear, Superfit friend Tina asked me to do the Y Run for Kids on Saturday morning. I put it out of my head for as long as possible, then of course, started power-worrying. Not worrying, just anxiety, I guess. Mostly rooted in an identity battle. I WANT to be the person who gets up early on a Saturday and does a 5k, but the person I AM is more likely to sleep in and go out for breakfast.
I made the choice to be the person I want to be, and I set the alarm and left the house by 7:30AM, ON A SATURDAY. Please be impressed.
Superfit Tina and her Superfit Dad set a pace, and I kept up for the the first half of the run. But then my lungs felt like they were on fire and about to leap from chest in protest. I HAD to stop and catch my breath for just a minute. Once I did, though, I was able to keep my own pace for the rest of the run, finishing at 32 minutes, which is not amazing, but roughly a 10 minute mile, and nothing to sneeze at. Yay me!
Look at me in my dri-fit shirt and my number and whatnot. Yeah, I’m a runner. I run.
After the race was The Daffodil Parade! Yippee! Here are some of my favorite shots:
The ole’ alma matter. They looked great!
As you can see, it was a lovely, unseasonably warm day for the Parade, so I am expecting those flying pigs any minute.
Tina convinced me to go to the Zumba class at the downtown YMCA a couple of weeks ago and it’s SO FUN.
They don’t really cut new people any slack, and I like that. You just have to jump in and keep up as best you can. If you like dancing, especially latin-inspired aerobic bastardizations, Zumba is for you! I’ve been to class three times now, and I almost have the moves down.
Of course I have a total girl crush on the instructor. She’s just so HOT. And HAPPY. And not in an annoying way. You can’t help but smile because she’s so excited. If you go, I recommend just watching her in the mirror, and doing what you can to mimic her moves. I DON’T recommend watching yourself in the mirror, because listen, you DO NOT look like her.
Luckily, you have to be doing Zumba to see Zumba, so everyone looks as silly as you do. Except of course for last week, when the sound system was broken in the room, and we had to do class in the gym. There I was, doing some silly ass-shaking move, goofy grin plastered on my face, when we did some spin, and there, right behind me on the respectable treadmills were Erik and Mary. Yeah, um, hi guys, don’t mind me, I’m just doing fake latin dance moves in running shoes. I’m SO cool.
I even saw a total blog celebrity there this week, but I did not say hi. If you’ve got a Y membership, come to Zumba! All the cool (ha!) kids are doing it.
After so many posts about exotic Hong Kong adventures, it’s nice to be back posting about my beloved Tacoma.
Remember when I asked if anyone else has noticed Zombie Cheese Girl? Over the weekend I found myself at Metropilitan Market once again, and I was pleased to discover that, yes, she is as scary as I had previously observed, and that yes, I also had my camera with me.
Behold, Meti Mart’s idea of an attractive cheese spokeswoman:
Do you need a closeup?
Scary!
In less terrifying news, check it out!
Almost a year ago I reported that something was afoot at the corner of S.19th and MLK, a stone’s throw from my house. I speculated then, as I do now, that the presence of a drive thru at this particular developement is a sure sign of COFFEE. Since then, we’ve watched NOTHING happen, our coffee dreams remaining just that. But look! Them’s the beginnings of a proper building!
The presence of Coffee remains unconfirmed, though I noticed on a walk with Freya this weekend that a nearby home for sale boasts about it’s proximity to a future Tully’s. Anyone know anything more concrete than news gleaned from a real estate flyer?
There are more tales of adventure and intrigue in Hong Kong to come, but I must pause for a couple of T-town notes and observations.
Firstly, has anyone else noticed the scary zombie cheese girl displayed above the fancy deli stuff at Metropolitan Market? Seriously. Look up at your own risk.
…………
Next, a small funny. The following conversation took place at my house during the Oscars last night. SB had just gotten up to get beverages as they announced the winner of the honorary tribute Oscar.
SB (from the kitchen, over the loud TV): Did they give him a standing O?
Me: What?
SB: DID THEY GIVE HIM A STANDING O??
ME:….Sparkling Water?
SB: (laughs really hard)
ME: Sorry. I just didn’t want to say “what” again.
…………
How stinking cute is this? Well done, Erik and Mary. I loved the envelope and the cool address label, and this is just awesome, with the sweet colors and printing? Nice.
I’m pleased to have this adorning my fridge for the next nine months.
…………
Lastly, are you aware, Tacoma residents, that there’s a big fat festival of plays going on right now? The Northwest Playwrights Alliance is putting on a bunch of shows through the weekend. SB is directing one, and roped me in as a last resort. We had our first performance last night and people seemed entertained.
We have another performance this Thursday at 7:30pm if you’re interested. Below, SB prepares one of our props, just before the performance.
Last friday night at the Suite 133 party, SB and I were sipping some tasty brews and chatting up Erik and Mary, when the Tacoma Gnome popped over and introduced himself.
We were immediately immersed in serious conversation about his experiences thus far in Tacoma.
At first he held back, but once we plied him with a little Harmon glog, he opened up.
I'm Jenny. I'm in my 30's, I live
in Tacoma, Wa, and I've been married
to SB since we were children. We added baby Clark to the family in December of 08. This
blog really has no point, it's just
about me trying to live as zestily
as possible while sharing observations
and rants with you all. Speaking of
which, you should start a blog.
Blogging kicks ass.
