Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Travels and Travails


Now that the snow and slush have receded, it's time to move beyond fire and ice. A lot has transpired... two weddings and a move to be precise. My cousin, Andy, was married on the 5th of March in Cincinnati. My roommate through school, Ryan, was married on the 13th in New York City and we packed everything into a 17' UHaul truck (with the help of my folks) on the 19th and drove it to Cincinnati. It was exhausting. It still is. We're knee-deep in the house hunt. I think we've looked at 15 houses in four neighborhoods across the area with several viewings scheduled for this week.

I always thought this would be a bigger deal than what I feel it's turning out to be. There's a code amongst my demographic that dictates the biggest and most important events of your life. You're told from a very young age (via media outlets for the most part) when and where you'll feel the most overwhelming feelings you'll ever experience. I hate that. It's stupid and predictable. It's a house... an object. If buying a house turns out to be a defining moment in my life, then I want to quit now.

I haven't taken pictures in a long time. I need to think of a better way to carry this camera around without non-verbally screaming "I have a camera and plan to shoot candidly because those are the best shots, right!?!" I shot some with the mini digi at the ceremony in NYC which I'll share once they've been downloaded, but for now all I've got is the groom holding an Emmy that he owns. I touched it and felt famous. I was able to take advantage of this rare photo-op because of a canceled flight while trying to return home. The extra night turned out to be a really good time even though we smelled like a terminal. Many thanks to the gracious newlyweds for opening their doors after such a tumultuous weekend.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Fire & Ice

With the warm weather, it's hard to imagine that less than two weeks ago, we were on the frozen waters of Rocky Fork Lake warming ourselves around a bonfire. That's right... a fire on a frozen lake. Seems counter-intuitive, I know, but all present were adults and more importantly, men. The photos are courtesy of Brad's Uncle Steve. We had a blast and it will definitely go down as another night to remember down at the RFL.

I even had enough left in me to wake up early the next morning and gut out an 18-miler that I'm aptly naming, "The Butcher." This is only the second running route I've ever named but rest assured, it's deserving. I'm honestly thinking of making this my last long run before I taper for the Flying Pig. My 21-miler the following week felt like a walk in the park comparably. And since you asked, the only other named route is in Cincinnati and is known as "The Grizzly." Let me know if you'd like to run it sometime. It's a kick in the pants.

But it's back to packing. We'll officially be in Cincinnati full-time on the 22nd of this month.