A ride or a place to stay

It anyone needs a ride or a place to hang out until our meeting please let me know soon. Can't wait to see everyone.!
Lori

i ran today!

yay!
haha even though i felt soooo out of shape, it was lovely to run!
i'm not sure i'm totally healed, but i think i'm close enough.
yay!
can't wait to come home!

-j

WooHoo!

Wow I'm so exciteeeeed for camp!! But umm anyone know what I should pack for it? Cuz when I fly down to Daytona I'm pretty much only bringing camp/running stuff and my mom is shipping down my nice school clothes :)
What was the name of the place where we were training again? lol I was gonna show my mom what it looked like...but I don't remember what it's called, I just know that it looks nice.
Running has been going good for me and I'm actually injury-free! woo! Well see all you girls soon!

~Kaz

5 more days!!!!

so im so excited for thursday...its finally here! i just wish i was out running. i tried the other day and it did not go so well. i just want my leg to get better faster, but it will take time. ugh...im always so impatient. i am going shopping tomorrow for some stuff for my room...wherever that is. i have yet to hear from housing but now ive kinda just figured ill find out thursday. fun fun. do you think its best if my parents drive me up to daytona...or should i drive and leave my car? idk...what do yall think? so apparently i am allergic to my deoderant...and let me tell you that is NOT fun!! haha well some chips and salsa are callin my name. talk to you soon...and see you soon too!!
safe travels :)
~Baleigh

add one more to the gimp list

or was that the Pimp list ;) teehee

not a big deal, just a bit of a pull or a hyperextension of the hip flexor area. all the same i'm playing it safe and not running for a few days to a week. foward, that is. backwards is just dandy! lol. It took like 15 minutes to go a mile, but at least it's cardio! and it's not the pool!
Dammit though, I'm determined to make it through 1 pre-season without being injured! lol.

oh, Matt Conyers is going to be our trainer again :) yay. i do like matt. he's a good guy. shy, but once you get to know him, he opens up. plus we have twin trucks. hahah sorta. maybe more like distant cousins, twice removed or something. okay, they're not even close. but he does drive a pickup!

-j

The best and only two weddings of my life! lol

So the weekend before last I was in my cousins bridal party for her wedding up in Chico California. (There is nothing there except the brewery she got married in, lol) Anyway, I had the best time ever, I went for a run in the morning and wished that I could run all day because I didn't realize just how close the foothills were, oh well. Then we got our hair and make up done (yes, not really my style, but it turned out good I thought). Then we took a million pictures with my cousin and her fiance and all the bridal party. The wedding took place not too long afterwards and it was amazing!! My whole family was out on the dance floor and we had the best time! Then the bridal party took off to a bar after we got kicked out of the brewery and I had one of the best nights! It was amazing!!

Then, this last weekend I went up to Chicago for my friends wedding. I got to stay at his really neat house out in the farm lands about 40 mintues from downtown Chicago. It was really neat and I went running next to the soy bean fields and corn fields lol. People kept making jokes about me eating the soy beans, (i'm alergic to soy, lol). Anyway, the ceremony was fantastic and the reception was amazing, they held it under this big tent with light right in their yard next to the soy bean fields and barns and their 1918 house. I loved it!! I ended up dancing until 4 in teh morning when I had to leave to go and catch a flight. It was amazing! I got to spend time with my friends that I haven't gotten to see in such a long time.

Running last week didn't go as well as I would have liked, however, my run today was fantastic! I'm so excited!! Cross country is so close I just can't wait!!
Happy trails everyone! Be safe!!

Lori

nightmare

haha so my rediculously horrible last week just got worse. it's actually kind of funny at this point.
my really nice ipod, adidas track jacket, cell phone, and house key all got stolen at the race this morning.
fun! and honestly this one wasn't a classic case of me losing my stuff, it was more along the lines of homeless people stealing things.

so i went to cancel my phone, and my dad didn't put my name on my account, which means i can't do anything until i get ahold of him. sadly he's in the boonies with no reception, so i'll be phoneless for a while :(

luckily i can afford a new ipod now, but i can't bring myself to get a nice one anymore, which is sad since my last one was amazing.

oh. i went 20:30 in the race. it sounds slow, but considering the course and the trainers i ran in, i can't complain too much. it's also the 4th time i've hit my PR exactly :(

-j

::edit::
i decided to be spontaneous, so i bought a new Ipod off ebay. i feel like i should punnish myself for being irresponsible and letting the last one get stolen, but i feel like it is a good time to buy these sort of things now that the iphone just came out and people will be selling their old ipods. i bought a 30g video one with some accessories for $150, which is about the going rate of a new 8g nano, so i feel okay about it. i thought abuot just getting an iphone for $200, but it's too big for running.

of course...

So...in my previous post I was talking about my knee hurting. Well I decided to go out for a light jog the other day and I oculdnt make it around the corner without it hurting!! I started freaking out so the next day I went to the doctor...he first said it was a meniscial tear, meaning surgery and therapy for 4-6 weeks. BUT after X-rays and MRI's they came to the conclusion I had Iliotibial Band Syndrome. The outer band running from the bone in my knee up my is inflammed. They gave me a shot of cortisone and I am on medicine to help that I have to take 2 times a day. But the doctor said I will be able to start running again in 6 days. Ugh...so I was out of really training 2 weeks before seeing the doctor and now another 6 days!!! But i should be able to run at camp. He said I have to start slow just so I dont reinjure it. So this will be fun :)

Hope all is going well with everyone!!
See you all soon
~Baleigh

bethie poo

talked to beth today. she went on an impromptu 14 miler this weekend, which is her longest run of the summer, but she was silly and did it in the middle of the day so it was miserable. she's been running on hilly trails in hopes that it will help her prepare for xc courses. she has been training hard, but it feels like a different "in shape" than other summers. maybe that's becuase it didn't really start till july. she's been helping some of her new friends get into shape too, which is cool. she is sad that this is her last week of work, but happy that she bought a new bible with cheater tabs to say where all the different books start. hahah i'm just giving her a hard time about it. she sent me a letter last week that cracked me up, so i have to share. it began like this:

To the roomate of my life,
o roommate, o roommate, what thou should do with no room. b/c you know , room and mate go together...

hehe. <3 i love my roomie.

masses of glasses

so, it doesn't look like i'm going to have new frames by the time i get back. which is a bummer cause i look rediculous with only 1 ear thing. but it's not my fault that my glasses company is retarded and they don't have any offices in hawaii, and they won't mail them to me at home. i've been to 5 places here looking for a new frame, but of course it's a rich tourist city so all they have is stuff like prada and versace. which aren't my style in the first place, but even if they were, they're about five hundred dollars too expensive.
i wonder if i could weld my old ones back together with the equipment in the civ lab... haha that could be fun!

-j

scary!

i had one of the most nervous days ever at work today...i gave my final presentation to the lead observatory commissioning engineer...basically, he's the guy that decides if i should be invited to come back next year or not. so let's keep our fingers crossed that i sounded impressive enough to merit another summer with them. the only bummer, is that my boss was not present for it, so i have to do it all over again!

therapy is going well. i never realized how bad my hips really were, but they've been giving me all sorts of strength exercises to do and what not, and i've been sore, so i have a pretty good feeling that it is having an effect on me.

and i don't kno if i mentioned this yet...but i get to see the titan rocket on the launchpad at VAFB next week, so i'm pretty excited.

hasta luego,

salinas

well, i just went through the hardest day of my life thus far. but i learned a lot, and i think it's made me a better person, so i'm glad it happened.
then i almost got injured today, but it turned out okay after some stretching. some wierd side hip flexor thing that started hurting on the way home from work. but i was able to do a speed workout, so it must not be too bad.

in other news, i have a race on sunday that i'm pretty excited about. but of course since i want to go fast, i'm pretty sure i'm going to be girly. which totally blows. hah. i'm 3 for 3 now if you include nationals. seriously, i couldn't have planned it better. or worse, depending on how you look at it. i'm gonna go with better.. glass half full sort of thing.
i do have 2 friends running with me, so if by some miracle i can run, i'm thinking they'll be able to drag me under 20. or at least 20:30.

man. that was fairly depressing. there must be something good to share... hmm... well, it's 2 weeks till pre-season! i'm also going to get rid of my lepracy soon. oh! i'm getting new glasses as well, since mine are currently broken. i think the best news of all though is that the dinner buzzer is going off, which means food! yay!

love, me

This is why I would sck at keeping my own blog..

Haha ok...So I'm quite horrible at keeping journals as you can tell..but here's what seems like my annual entry...

Yesterday I went for a REEEALLY long run...I mean really!! It was kind of due to the fact that I won't admit to being lost...ever...so I just say that I went exploring. I decided to make up a new route, and about 4 miles into it took a road that I recognized but forgot where it came out to...so I just kept following it and it never seemed to end! But there's just something inside me that won't let me turn around because I'm just too curious to see where it leads. So anyway...My long run ended up being 22 miles and I stopped at 4 Dunkin' Donuts (might just be a New England thing) for water and ran past like 6 others...it's kinda ridiculous how many there are around here...in my city alone there are 7 Dunks'...and my city isn't that big....
But anyway ya...I don't plan on running that far again anytime TOO soon...but i do want to run the marathon! And it wasn't that bad considering it was a brand new route...I get bored if I run the same route too many times.

But hmm let's see...Oh! I don't think I described my camping trip and hike to Mt. Washington yet! I went with some track buddies and it was SO MUCH FUN and i saw the BIGGEST MOTH EVER!! Really...it was kinda scary...the wingspan was like 7"!! We walked down to the ranger station late at night to pick up firewood and there was a light on and sooooooo many moths...and on the wall there was this one that we thought couldn't be real...and then someone dared a friend to touch it and then it started flying and it was sooo funny because we acted like it was a monster and ran away from it. And the hike was awesome too...of course going with other track people we practically ran up the mountain, but it was nice...and there was still snow in some places so we went sledding in our windpants in july!!
I love camping :)

OH!! and tonight I'm going to see Batman at the IMAX theater!! Woo!!

~Kaz

i ran through a bamboo forest today :)

oh, and yesterday i bought a purse! it's a girl one haha. leather, and it cost more than the rest of my purchases combined. okay so it was only $25 at ross. but that's over $50 anywhere else. which, for me. for a purse. worth mentioning, i think.

-jen

life of a runner...

So after reading everyones posts we are all pretty much doing the same things. Working, running, working out. yep....ive come to realize i have more spare time during the school year, not the summer like most people. I have had previous injuries with my paraneal tendons. My junior year in high school it was my left one and my first year of community college is was my left. i went to physical therapy and though it was painful it really helped. My tendons are stronger than ever so i went into the summer ready to kick some butt training wise. well bam! so my knee. well it was twisted about a year ago and idk if that has anything to do with the pain i am having but yep...it hurts. so i have been taking it easy, not running as far but still keeping it in motion. im doing the stationary bike which helps so im getting back up there again, hopefully i will be able to keep up at camp. well we all have our little injuries and let me tell ya they are not fun.
i went running the other day with my old high school girls and they said i looked skinny...ugh! lol but they said it was more toned....so im guess all those core workouts are really starting to show. haha, maybe.
im too excited to go to camp. will coach send us a list of things we will need or is it just whatever? i cleaned out my closet yesterday and wow...i had alot of stuff. but im just waiting to know where im living before i go shopping. im slowing beginning to pack but i dont really know what ill need. anyways....hope you are all loving summer and excited about school. i know i sure am, nervous but ready to get away from small town drama! see you all soon
-baleigh :)

oh the pain!

so i have been off the radar for a bit...pretty much just working and going to the gym...rinse and repeat...i started physical therapy for my gluteus tendonitis (my mother still laughs at me every time i say it), and it was the most painful experience of my life! the therapist found that my problems arise from the fact that my hips are ridiculously tight/inflexible; so he did this stretch where he puts a strap around my leg, and then it goes around his back and as he leans it totally feels like he is pulling my leg out of the socket (like fire going through my hip). despite nearly crying it did feel better afterward, so i can't complain too much.

sadly there has been little excitement in my life...i've been prepping this major presentation for the Architecture Working Group Meeting coming up in August. Basically it is my job to put together a summary of the changes and progress of the satellite post-launch timeline and present it to one of the working groups. kinda scary since it's a "real" presentation that will be put in the project archives. and in another two weeks i get to visit Vandenberg AirForce Base and checkout all the launchpads...so i'm pretty excited about that.

i hope everyone else is doing fine and dandy.

hasta luego

-salinas

life! (and the kangaroo song)

i'm going to see batman tonight!!! hahah we're getting dressed up and going to dinner first, so it should be a good time.

last night we had dinner with the co-workers in china town at a cool resteraunt where they ordered tons of food i didn't like. haha but i did end up finding something yummy, so that was cool. Afterwards we went to this jazz bar called the dragon upstairs i think. it was awesome. there was live music, and it was amazingly rediculous. the main 2 musicians were a woman on the congas and vocals and this funny old french guy on the: piano, trumpet, and bass. all at the same time... it was incredible. and then they just started calling up people from the room to join them. i guess they do this often because the people they called up were fantastic. and then this random guy in the crowd started playing the harmonica out of nowhere, and they just jammed for like 20 minutes of improv. it was incredible. i don't even like that type of music, but as a musician i was seriously impressed.

i did decide to go on the long run tomorrow. though i will say my feet have been acting up lately, so i'm kind of nervous (and it had nothing to do with the heels i wore yesterday.. not at all). ive seen too many good runners get sidelined with plantars to take it lightly. not that i have plantars... but whatever i have aggrevates it, and i'm terrified it's actually going to become a problem one day. so i took today off, and i plan on doing lots of calf massaging.

this week was pretty low key training except for tuesday. the group was going 2 minutes round temp0-5k race pace, 1 minute easy, and it sounded like fun, so i joined them for an excellent workout. i wish we did that more back home. it was jovial. hahah

i am going absolutely crazy for pre-season to start... it is completely and utterly rediculous. i've never been this excited before... i dont' know what's gotten into me, but i am thoroughly and hopelessly stoked.
haha i decided it's partially becuase i have no boy to obsess over this year, so you chicas are my re-kindled love! teehee
though i'm not gonna lie, i can't wait to see nick and russell too! (among others)
lol. i just watched "the plunge" videos from nationals... and i died laughing. again.

-jen

catching up

Alright what has happened since I last posted?
I ran a couples run at the local airport... 2.5 mile race where you add your times together and yeah you get the picture. My boyfriend and I got third overall so that was cool. Only thing was I went out WAY too fast, especially because 2.5 miles seems so short!
I've taken my motor boat out a few times, got EXTREMELY sunburned and got stranded at 8:30 at night while panicking of course, but made it out alive haha. I got my hair cut about 7 or 8 inches off today, shortest I have had since I was about 8.
Today I found out one of my best friend's grandmother died so I will be at the wake tomorrow AND there was a boat accident in our local harbour. My two old sailing coaches were on the boat that was hit by a 52 ft powerboat, it split into two and one died, the other in the hospital. Just so happens that the coach who lived is the grandfather of one of the girls I babysit so I hung out with her pretty late today until they came home to tell her what happened, scary.
I'm getting really nervous about camp, well more so this time trial, but really excited. I've been organizing my closets and stuff ready to pack :). Oh, we have a meet at Disney?!

Kira

Pre-camp

Sooo, who wants to let me live with them before we leave for camp and before I can move into Apollo? :)

<3Erika

need opinions! yikes!

so i made some friends that i've been running with out here, which is great becuase they're all mid 19's runners, just my speed! (i hope!) haha
anyways, they invited me to go on this 12 mile long run which involves 5 miles straight up, not including the rolling hills on the way to the climb in the first place. it'll be at an easy pace, but the terrain will make it pretty rough, even for the veterans... now, my longest run this summer was this weekend, when i went 82 minutes for about 10 miles, 5 of which were uphill, but broken up into segments, so it was easy. This run should be about 20 minutes longer, which is kind of a lot, but i really want to do it because i think it would be a great challenge, and somethign i can look back and say "if i did this, i can do anything". but i'm pretty fragile, so there's a chance it could be too much of a jump for me... what do you think? i usually don't add more than 10% at a time, but this would be adding 25%, so i'm a bit wary of throwing the rulebook out the window.
i know i can do it, and i'd love to go... it's just a matter of... is this a good idea? haha maybe i'll call coach and make him feel important ;) in the meantime, opinions are greatly appreciated

-jen

Running/Walking/Yelling

I went for a run in the hills today. They are situated just below the large mountain by my house and have some wonderful single track trails. Taking off at a lovely pace (which quickly turned into a relatively fast pace, lol) I climbed up to the top of this ridge and looked out over the valley, it was beautiful. My mom's dog came with me and once we reached the top of the ridge I had chosen to climb I decided to head back and find my mother for the rest of the run, mind you this is at 22:10. So, turning back we made it to 23:30 when I realize the dog isn't right behind me anymore. She walked for a few feet and then plopped down in the shade, panting and completely exhausted. (So, much for my run) We had to walk the rest of the way back, which ended up taking forever, and at one point I was certain I would have to carry her. So that was interesting. I ended up getting yelled at by my mother for trying to kill her Dog (Oz, anyone? anyone? Great book, everyone should read it). I promptly said that it was not my fault the dog was out of shape. Anyway, my run was really good for the first part, not so great after that, lol. I can't wait until we head out tomorrow for a run in the morning and a bike ride in the afternoon (YEAH!) I'm excited.

Yesterday we rode up the mountain and I pretended I was riding next to Cadel Evans, if you know who I'm talking about then YEAH, if not oh well.

Anyway, I'm suppose to get ready for some family function... joy. Have a great day!! Happy trails!

Lori

asdflkj

I got a care package from evil lady in the mail today...
haha it was, if nothing else, humorous to say the least
no joke, this is what was in my box:
2 cases of decorative ribbon (which are lovely, but what in the world am i going to do with them in hawaii??), annies macaroni in individual packets (i love annies, but really? why?), a richard gere war movie from 1982, Teen Vogue and Cosmo Girl magazines (which prompted a "she has met you, right?" from my uncle), cheese and peanut butter crackers (it's pretty common knowledge i don't eat peanut butter), a bag of discusting popcorn, a can of soup (does she think they're not feeding me? or was she emptying her pantry?), and i'll give her credit, she did get me milano cookies and a plain tee from target that i like.
ahh the joys of mail!

on tuesday i did 1,000m repeats with the hawaii state high shcool girls xc champion. which is funny i guess becuase i can now say i've kept up with both the guys and girls champion (some of you remember Mac...) haha!

ahhhhh! i hate being a girl!! alex!! i want just to sit in my room cryyyyyy!! and i know you understand!! :(
boo! so emotional!
hah. well at least we can laugh at ourselves and how rediculous we get sometimes...

oh. ignore the password email you've probably been getting from this site... beth and i are trying to figure out why she can't access her account... she's been reading, she jsut can't write :(
she's doing well by the way... last week she did a 12 mile run in 1:37 i think.. something rediculous anyway... where she'd have to do like an 8 minute mile for the last bit to hit A standard for the half marathon. she likes her new house much better than her last one, and she doens't feel like harry potter living under the stairs anymore. she's currently working on a plan to save the word using satellites, but it's slow going. she had a really good idea a while ago, it was just 10 years or so too late... it was a nice thought though... lol she called me this morning while she was doing a long run on the trails.. i asked her why she had her phone on a run and she said "well in case i roll an ankle or get eaten by a wild animal"

on that note....

-j

p.s. i recommend DLing Jason Mraz's I'm yours from his We Sing.We dance. We steal things. album

NorCAL!!

So, I was supposed to come home on wednesday but I found out that I have been transfered to another project and the one I have been working on has been put on hold. The new project requires that I just read all week so I said screw it, I'm going home, lol. Anyway, I'm home right now. When I first arrived on saturday the sky was so smoky but about an hour later it cleared up very nicely I went running at 3 because I could lol. The hills are great, I flew through them yesterday and today I'm taking my moms bike up the mountain, I'm really excited.

My baby brother is HUGE!! I can't get over it, he's not a baby anymore, but a child, it's so wierd. The kid is extremely smart, my older brother used the handle on the door to go outside and my baby brother tried to copy him. He pays attention to everything, so if you move something he knows where it is and goes after it. The kid will be walking soon, its crazy and he's always smiling and watching. So smart.

Oh my, it seems we are heading out soon for the bike ride. Take care everyone, be careful and make sure to stretch, lol. Can't wait to see everyone!!

Lori

If you could have any super power, what would it be? I would love to fly!! Though anything that would help me save the world would be very nice.

s/n, and do you use it? no, not really, I used to, maybe I will again.

favorite disney princess? I think it would have to be Mulan, she saves everyone and that was kind of refreshing to see a girl, oh wait, she isn't a princess is she? Oh, well I like her best.

If you could live anywhere....? I would live in Stans Switzerland (oh wait, I plan on living there, lol) I would also like to live in Japan.

favorite class in school? My favorite class so far has to have been Jets and Rockets. I loved that class and Dr. Swami is amazing.

what kind of car do you drive? An 05 Equinox, it doesn't have a name but that doesn't mean that I don't talk to it.

describe your favorite racing underwears!

what do you think about when you race? if its a good race or a short race, then I don't think about anything, if its a longer race then I try and remind myself that I am racing, lol.

do you text much? Quite a bit, depends though, sometimes I get annoyed and just call people, but I do text quite often.

describe your prom experience

which side of the brain do you use the most? creative right brain (geometry) or logic/order left brain (algebra)lol. I guess I'm one of those annomylies and use both, I love working with numbers and using logic to solve everything, however, I do love to write. I have a very large imagination which I'm sure you will figure out soon enough if you haven't already.

Well, I guess that's me

Lori

gotta love the survey =)

If you could have any super power, what would it be? Being able to fly : )

s/n, and do you use it? AIM - bayleg4.....dont really use it. im not really on the computer much, just to check my myspace or do my homework...and when i do my homework if i have it on i get distracted.

favorite disney princess? Arielle....i sing along evertime!

If you could live anywhere....? I love Florida, couldn't imagine myself living anywhere else. I want to live in a small town where everyone knows everyonek. On a street covered with trees, wherever that is.

favorite class in school? Latin...it was definitely something different, but I had an amazing teacher and I learned sooo much.

what kind of car do you drive? Mazda 626...his name is Snuffalufagus ( i name everything btw )

describe your favorite racing underwears! i love bright colors too, i think i have ever color except for orange. i got yellow last weekend!

what do you think about when you race? Well i think about the girl in front of me and how im going to pass her, lol...and i usually sing a song in my head while im running. I listen to my Mp3 player before I run to get in the zone. But really i dont think that much, i just run my ass off.

do you text much? i am addicted to texting, i used over 6,000 last month...and im not kidding. my girlfriend lives in cape canaveral so its our way to keep in touch. unlimited text and picture messages are a wonderful thing. when i heard we dont have cell phone reception in SC i just laughed.

describe your prom experience.- well junior year was fun went with a big group of friends, senior year had a date, he made it fun on the dance floor =) but our school is dumb we cant really dance the way we want to. teachers walk around with flashlights and sometimes turn the lights on...its annoying.

which side of the brain do you use the most? i more of a right sided girl myself. always use alot of creativity.

..............................SO an update~
well my mom swung open the door at 3:30 in the morning and said they had found my sisters car. yep, it was in a police car chase...haha ironic isnt it. but the front right tire was messed up b/c the driver jumped over a wall and broke the axle. fun fun! so was again the car is in the shop and under criminal investigation. the people somehow got away from the cops, how? i have NO IDEA!! so now im kinda paranoid, kinda feel like im always being watched ya know. so running by myself is kinda scary, i just blast my music and go :)

Survey :)

If you could have any super power, what would it be? - Breathing underwater!!

s/n, and do you use it? AIM - halfeatencheerio, i'm always on but almost always away, and when I am on I usually leave the away message up anyways talking to only a few people haha

favorite disney princess? Mulan. definitely

If you could live anywhere....? Don't worry I hate MA and New England weather, haha I like warm even though I burn so something like California or a European country only because I love Europe

favorite class in school? Physics, by far. Then most math classes or math based sciences like Chem and such. I despise english and history

what kind of car do you drive? A honda civic coupe or subaru outback. I don't technically have a car but my mom does home daycare so I get the car all day to myself and then my dad's on weekends.

describe your favorite racing underwears! haha who thought of this question? anything brightly coloured, I hate boring colours for sports bras or undies and refuse to wear them.

what do you think about when you race? Hmm. how much I love the feeling of running, and that if its not fun it doesn't matter. Sounds really corny but if I get bored or annoyed with it I suck that day.

do you text much? a lot, unfortunately. It's easy I think to stay in touch with some people via text, even cousins in England. Though phone calls are still more personal. My boyfriend isn't a huge fan of just babbling on the phone so we text here and there throughout the day. Even my parents text me!

describe your prom experience. the first year I went to my junior and friend's senior. Junior was fun, nothing amazing. Senior was good until my friend got in a massive fight with another really close friend and you can imagine it sucked. This year I went to junior (boyfriend was a junior this year) and it was so much more fun than last year. My senior prom was drama filled trying to figure out the limo and everything but Amazing. Only thing was one of the "party buses" got busted and two superstars of the school were arrested and 42 kids sent home drunk.

which side of the brain do you use the most? creative right brain (geometry) or logic/order left brain (algebra)
I hate geometry so I am definitely a left brainer

Being 19 is nothing different than 18 yet haha. I skipped the workout on my birthday, not on purpose but only because I got surprised. But since then running has been really good. I have the worst sunburn on the back on my thighs and in like blotches all over the rest of me haha. It looks awful and like it's a rash not a burn. oy vey.

Kira

the long anticipated... survey #4!

If you could have any super power, what would it be? I think i'd like to hear other people's thoughts. Either that or fly.

s/n, and do you use it? AIM - zoomzoomlegacy, i'm always online, though i am only there maybe 1/3 of the time. but probably more than most :)

favorite disney princess? Giselle! haha but if we're talking classic (disney defines them as Ariel, Mulan, Cinderella, Snow white, Jasmine, sleeping beauty, belle, and pocahontas), i'm definitely gonna have to go with Mulan. She's got the coolest soundtrack lol

If you could live anywhere....? I don't think i have too much of a preference besides NOT the city (but within an hour of one), and NOT the northeast (no offense to you massachusettians lol). It needs to have hills/mountains and big trees and wildflowers and cold streams and wildlife and no negative temperatures in the winter haha

favorite class in school? If we're talking general subjects, Math and English. Specifically though, my favorite classes (uninfluenced by the teacher) have been Differential Equations, Dynamics, Structures, Structural Dynamics. I suppose it would have been simpler to say Structural Dynamics though, since it's basically a combination of the first 3.

what kind of car do you drive? Now that i have it back from Jay... lol. I drive a 96? 2 Door Ford Ranger with power nothing, lovingly named 'Tiny Tim"

describe your favorite racing underwears! lol well. it depends on if i'm wearing spandex. If that's the case, i've really only got one choice, and it's quite boring. If i'm wearing floppy shorts though, i have a blue pair of unders with bubbles on them that make me happy. hahah

what do you think about when you race? Hmm. that's changing as i get better at it lol. I used to try to think about nothing at all, since the more i think the worse i used to do... But now i've decided that i do better when i think. i suppose what i think about depends on how long i'm running for, but since this is xc i'll go with the 5k... usually i think about making sure i'm relaxed for the first mile, having fun, staying close enough to the people i want to beat... then the 2nd mile i start looking up and pack hopping to make sure i'm still working hard enough, thinking about how all i need to do is go hard for 10 more minutes and then i can fall on the ground and be done, then the 3rd mile i start fixing my form, surging, imagining myself telling people my new PR and how i wanted to give up but didn't.

do you text much? About average i'd say. much less now that i'm not with jay and i don't feel the need to be in constant communication.

describe your prom experience. hahaha the first year i skipped prom and went with the BF to a Blink 182 concert, which was amazing. then the next year we had broken up right before hand and i was still feeling sorry for myself, so i went with my best friends brother... haha he was an alright date, but i was only half there and it was sooo not my thing in the first place, so it pretty much sucked. the after party was better (we hadn't discovered alchohol, so it was a completely sober experience), but i'd pick the concert over prom any day.

which side of the brain do you use the most? creative right brain (geometry) or logic/order left brain (algebra)
lol. i used to be a very right brained musician/writer, but stupid engineering school has balanced me out lol.


love, Me!

Go see Wall-E!!!

that is all.

-Jen

so its been a while....

hey yall!!
i know its been a long time since my last post. alot has happened in my house since the last. i had this HUGE and i mean HUGE deadline at work June 30th and i made it with 10 minutes to spare...no joke. it was crazy crazy...id work, run, eat, and then passout. yep that was my life for about 3 weeks. and in the middle of all that my sisters car got stolen out of my driveway. then my dad found it...crazy i know! it went to the shop for a week or so, we got it back and 4 days later got stolen again. yep, and we still dont have it. so we are short a car, and then today my mom's just bout died. haha ironic isnt it? but anyways........
i learned how to surf! yep like really surf. i mean ive stood up before but now i stand up more than i fall. but i do fall alot though...ugh, i got sea lice. it is horrible! it burned sooo bad. they put meat stuff on it and it stopped for a little bit, but then it hit me again so i got sprayed down with burn relief...that bubbly stuff was amazing! I went to Busch Gardens too....i rode Sheikra! ok i love rollercoasters but man was i scared! we sat on top of the 90 degree drop for 6 seconds...yes we counted. i screamed so loud, but the big guy next to me was louder, and more high pitched :)

Im excited to go to camp!! where exactly are we going? some lake, mountain?
So my parents are freaking about the whole housing situation...they first told us we would know something the first of July. And we didnt hear anything so of course my mom called, and they said the last week or so in July. I sure hope I get a place to live : /

well hope you are all doing well....see you soon ya!

-b

hello there

sooooo i'm a little behind on this blogging-journal-thingymobob so i figured i'd catch up a little bit...but just a little lol.
I did survey #1...but that's it soo now i'm just gonna jump to #3 before #4 comes out :)

Initials: KLK

Age, birthday: 8/27/89

Introvert or extrovert? it really depends on the people around me...i wouldnt call myself an introvert, but i dont think i'm outgoing enough to be an extrovert either...but i'm usually happy and silly and like to make other people cheerful too

Are you a girly girl? Nope...i'm too lazy for makeup...don't really enjoy shopping...and well i'm glad i'm going to a school where the majority is guys cuz they're generally more laid back
BUT runner-girls are usually an exception...they're always fun to hang out with

Do you believe in God?why/why not? Well, I wouldn't say I believe in any one God...but some higher power. I studied different religions and philosophies a little bit on my own and am really drawn to Taoism...it's interesting and has helped me be able to enjoy life as it comes and live with no regrets, which = happiness :)

Can you cook and what do you like to cook? I like to cook when it's for myself...because then I can customize whatever it is to my liking and not worry about other people's opinions...but if i have a recipe and ingredients and some method of cooking...well it usually comes out edible anyway

favorite actor, actress: will smith (I just saw Hancock and it was really good)

Running shoe brand: Asics alllllll the way...except for spikes...then i go Nike, but that's all i'll wear Nike for

How do you feel about facebook? It's good for communicating with other people and making plans

What makes you tick? (it's a hard one, interpret it freely) Staying active and wondering what kind of excitement will come my way next

hah!

Don't get offended, I just saw this and about died laughing.

THE
SPORT
OF
CROSS
COUNTRY
ENDURANCE
RUNNING
IS
ESSENTIAL_&
VITAL
IN
LIFE

A little bit of Florida

Hello!

Well, let me see, work is going well, we still haven't flight tested yet so that is getting a bit old, but I have been offered a position for after the completion of this project, so thats nice.

Running is going well, I raced in a 5K on the 4th, but I was so concerned with going out too hard again, I went out too slow, lol. Oh well, I ran faster then my last race, but it was still rather slow. I did hit my 'you have gone too hard for too many days' the day before the race, so I figured it wasn't that bad then, and I felt fine after the race was done.

I was very nervous about yesterday, I was on the verge of getting a migraine when I started my workout, though I was happy to find out, however, that the faster I went the the better I felt, so that was nice. My workout ended up turning out very well, I did my favorite cross country workout, and that was my AT/something I'm not suppose to be doing/AT/something I'm not suppose to be doing/cool down. Coach ended up catching my cool down and asked my if I was doing my AT miles, lol. I might have picked up the pace a little bit. I did also get in trouble for the rest of the workout, but that's another story.

So, as for everything else, it's going well. Just working and running, lol, with the occasional bike ride. OH the TOUR DE FRANCE started the other day, and that consumes my life too!! Everyone should watch, it's going to be a great tour this year, lol. The Olympic Trials are good too, but I always seem to miss the events I want to watch, at least with the tour I can catch it 6 other times during the day if I miss it the first time, lol.

Take care everyone!! Run Safe!!

Lori

P.S. I'm getting a new bike!! Alex knows about it, the one I want is actually in her town, lol. But I don't think I'm going to get that one, I don't like leather, lol.

happy almost birthday Kira :)

haha take this with a grain of salt... i got a little carried away...

Ahh! I can't believe it's here already... my last season ever as a cross country runner! Man, it sneaks up on you! i think i might seem like some nazi obsessive runner at the moment... and maybe it's true hehe. But I won't lie, i've got a lot of wasted/injured time to make up for... There have been times i'm sure where i'm sure everyone wanted to punch me in the face for being so slow and retarded LOL. but right now I've got so much excitement built up, i just can't keep it locked up anymore!

oh, while i remember to say this: i hope you all find my random stories encouraging and not bragging, etc. it occurred to me recently that it might appear that way. but the real reason why i get so fanatical about running over the summer is because it's the only time of year where I have no stress, and I can be patient and not fret about a bad week or two of training. It's my time to build up confidence and excitement so when school starts and everything in my life gets turned upseide down, running can be my constant. If I do everything right over the summer, fall becomes just a matter of following through. Not to be confused with going through the motions -It's more like all the hard work has been done, all the decisions have been made already, all the planning is finished, so now i can have some fun, go crazy, etc. My goal is to spend the summer gathering momentum so that in the fall all i have to do is strap myself in and enjoy the ride.


More than anything though, i'm just super excited about what we can do this season. Last year's xc team made the transition from having a goal of winning regionals to having an expectation of destroying it. But this summer i've been spending a lot of time trying to figure out how to get us to make another big leap. Our all american 5x8 during track season put Riddle on the map, but this fall, I really want to make people look. I want to show them who we are and what we stand for, and let them know we're not going anywhere. In the past, we've had a goal of "making a strong appearance at nationals". But I don't see that mentality getting us where we have the potential to go.

I guess though, It's easy for us to sit here and say we want to accomplish "x" goal. But it's quite another to have 10 girls wake up every morning for the next month and think about how each day will help make or break that goal. Since i struggle with this myself, i'm going to assume other people do as well. So I put a youtube video of the nationals course on the side panel. I'm hoping to use it not only for visualization purposes, but as a way to keep everything in perspective, knowing that nationals isn't this big scary thing, and it's not some abstract goal. it's real, it's tangible, and it's there for the taking. When we get there, we're going to be capable of doing some serious dammage. But then again, so are 30 other teams. And all of them training right now, all of them preparing for the same 20 minutues of the same exact day. The question is, when we get to that day, are we going to know deep down that we worked just a little bit harder, wanted it just a little bit more?

As far as I can tell, that remains to be seen.
We can kid ourselves all summer about our training, about our expectations. But once you hit the line at nationals, you either want it or you don't. And trust me, that's not a decision that can be made in november.

i broke my nalga

so, for those of you who don't recall, this past track season i started having issues with my hip. and so i started doing some IT band stuff to try and fix it, and it seemed to be working for a while. and then the pain kinda went away. so in the last month that i've been at home, i've noticed that the pain has started to come back (pretty badly at times, which worried me). yesterday was my appointment with my orthopedic, and he concluded that i have glutenous mediorous (sp) tendinitis. and so, to answer jen's question, "how do you get tendinitis in you're but?"...like any form of tendinitis it is over use of the tendon b/c the muscle is fatigued. and b/c of my plantars problems on my right side i'm over compensating on the left side (which is the hip that hurts), and so my "nalga grande" basically is tired, and so the tendons along the "side butt" are what are being overused, and i feel pain in my hip (the side, not the joint). in regards to training, i am still allowed to run (only until it hurts) and then i can always bike, swim, elliptical, and do w/e other cardio that doesn't put crazy stress on it.

sadly i can't say that my weekday workouts have been as productive as some others that i'm reading about...jen i am jealous...i go to the YMCA after dinner (b/c i'm scared to run in the dark by myself) and so that way i can lift afterward and use med balls for core and stuff like that. and then it starts the next morning at 5am for a short run before work. and i'm one of those people who has a really hard time functioning w/o 8 hours of sleep. so lately i've found myself sacrificing sleep for training and vice versa. work is great, but it is work nonetheless.

and on a more girly note...i was in san francisco last weekend w/ the sibling and the madre (sibling had to register for school)...and it is just not possible for me to go the city w/o doing some good shopping. my shoes were regularly $48, and i got them for $15...my jeans were regularly $50, and i got them for $20...and on haight st, i scored some nannette lepore for 20 bucks...it was exciting.

i wish you all a very happy 4th of July!

just another day in paradise

man.
these past few days have been pretty fantastic as far as running goes. i'm finally starting to incorporate some speedwork, which is exciting!

• monday i swam the beach channel in the picture, which was my first open water experience. it was nice not to have to turn around every 10 seconds, but the salt water definitely made up for it... i had a good time though.. it took me a little over a half an hour to make it down and back. i jogged for a mile on the sand when i was done, just to get my legs moving, but it wasn't a very pleasant experience.
• tuesday was the first day in a while i really felt up for a double. ended up doing 35 minutes moving pretty good in the morning and 40 in the evening including 2x5 min @ V02-ish. i also ran into a trainign group that meets on tuesdays, so i'll be joining them next week :)
• wednesday was 45 minutes with striders at the end. haha i guess i was moving pretty good becuase a guy started clapping when i was done and said "nice windsprints", which made me feel good about myself since i definitely wasn't sprinting. lol.
• today was just plain rediculous. i knew i wanted to do some sort of speed, but i couldn't bring myself to make up a pre-defined distance or pace. so i did a warmup for once, and just got back out there and started running... and next thing i knew i was hauling.... waaaay faster than i'd ever gone before for a non-interval workout. probably around 6:30 pace or so, maybe a bit over... either way, it would have been wise to slow down... after all, i already did my v02 for the week, and 6:30 isn't exactly AT, even on my best days... but i decided hey, i'll go with it for a while... it's summer, what's the worst that could happen? i figured it would probably last a mile or so and then i'd be toast anyways, so i'd learn my lesson and be done with it. for some reason though, it was a one pace day, and - despite my protests - it was gonna be 6:30's, take it or leave it... so i took it, lol.... for at least two and a half miles... closer to three i'm guessing by the timing of it.... yum! i did get a bit of help though, seeing as it started raining smack in the middle of my run, right when i wanted to call it quits... and of course that extra bit of adrenaline hit me hard and next thing i knew, vroom vroom! here we go again... lol

i have 3 weeks before my next real test. i'm running another 5k, and hopefully it will go better than the pie one did. this one's for mango's - much healthier lol. last year i got 3rd overall and they gave me a box made of mango tree wood that i now use as a whiteboard marker holder, hehe. hopefully i'll get another useful trinket this year :) who knows, maybe i'll win! that could be cool....

-jen

p.s. alex if you read this before you post next, what exactly is tendonitis of the nalga, and how in the world do you get it? isn't the butt pretty much muscle and fat? where does the tendon part come in to the picture? lol i'm impressed.

for those of us who aren't D1

"It's not about getting a scholarship, getting drafted, or making Sports Center. It's a deep need in us that comes from the heart. We need to practice, to play, to lift, to hustle, to sweat. We do it all for our teammates, and for that student in our calculus class we don't even know. We don't practice with a future major league first baseman; we practice with a future sports agent. We don't lift weights with a future Olympic wrestler; we lift with a future doctor. We don't run with a future Wimbledon champion; we run with a future CEO. It's a bigger part of us than our friends and family can understand. Sometimes we play for 2,000 fans; sometimes 25. But we still play hard. You cheer for us because you know us. You know more than just our names. Like all of you, we are students first. We don't sign autographs. But we do sign graduate school applications, MCAT exams, and student body petitions. When we miss a kick or strike out, we don't let down an entire state. We only let down our teammates, coaches, and fans. But the hurt is still the same. We train hard, lift, throw, run, kick, tackle, shoot, dribble, and lift some more, and then we go to class. And in that class we are nothing more than students. It's about pride--in ourselves, in our school. It's about our love and passion for the game. And when it's over, when we walk off that court or field for the last time, our hearts crumble. Those tears are real. But deep down inside, we are very proud of ourselves. "

canuck

Not being an American, the 4th of July is not that exciting except for the fact that I get the day off. I am going to see fireworks tonight at the college close by but thats the extent of my excitement for I am babysitting tomorrow night, double pay! Other annoying thing is both my parents and my boyfriend are away for the week and just about all of my friends too, so my dogs are my running buddies for the mean time. I don't know why I didn't decide to go anywhere, hah!

Running has been good, since they're away I am kinda awful at avoiding crappy for you food but whatever, a few days won't kill me right?
I got a bonus at work (sorta) so I went out and bought new running shorts/shirts/etc which always inspires me to run more haha. I want to get new shoes even though I don't need them for another 3 weeks or so.

just over a month before we go to camp, uh oh. haha

Kira

island tales

..................................i guess it's about that time to give a training log update...
running has been going much better, though i stopped keeping track of what i've been doing since i haven't been home much. thanks to my crater loop, i'm sore almost constantly... it doens't have very good footing, so i'm requiring quite a bit from my stability muscles. of course, using my quads more has been helpful and i'm sure it will help me in the long run, but for now i'm definitely struggling to build strength. 70 minutes was about all i could manage this morning, though i was pleased to have made it that far, considering the terrain. I ran to the beach and around the park there, then back up to the crater loop and did that twice. The second time around definitely went more smoothly than the first though, as usual. typically the first time i hit the loop, everything goes into shock - muscles screaming and it feels like i'm never going to get to the top - but by the second time around i get used to it, or at least calm myself down enough to focus on thigns like footing, swinging my arms, breathing properly, and pushing off with the right muscle groups. I like to think of it kinda like a boxing match or something, where the crater usually wins round one, but i've got round two wrapped around my finger :)

in other news the company threw us a party yesterday to celebrate us interns. we're called chris's minions, and we are sparta, the army. hahah To explain that, "bossman" chris is 25 and the lowest engineer at the company. ironically, he's the only one who gets interns... hence the amusion on the part of the other engineers, and our resulting nickname. Plus the way the office is arranged, you have to pass between our cubicles to get to the main engineers, thus we are the armed forces. lol good times.
i think i'm going to go to the beach now? strange, but i feel like that's the right thing to do in hawaii on a sunday
love, me!

physical schtuff

hey, where do we send our physical paperwork?
is this the right address?

Embry-Riddle Sports Medicine
ICI, RM 109
600 S Clyde Morris Blvd
Daytona Beach, FL 32114

i probably missed something that said exactly where to send it, but i'm retarded. it's summer :)
thanks,
erika

An update from beth

So i got a call from bethie poo today, who is doing quite well.
At the APL she is writing a bunch of programs that work with atmospheric data, and says that most of the time they don't work, but luckily the people she works with are smart! hahah
She is currently spending time with her cousins in PA, hanging out in the pool, and trail running.
Her running seems to be going about how mine is... running hard alot, but no real long runs to speak of.
She has decided that she likes to run because it is like an adventure, and when you put on your running clothes it's like preparing for battle. and when you race you get to be the hero and that's why it's exciting.
I think most of beth's updates will be done this way, since she can't figure out how to get on the website by herself. So it seems Saturdays will be beth days, since that's the only day we ever have a crossover of time when we're both free and awake! That's all the news i have for today though, so bye bye for now!
-jen

HELLO!!

I have decided to make use of my lunch breaks and get in either weights or a second workout while I'm working. I think it actually works out better. So, deciding this last tuesday, I lifted rather hard which slightly shocked me. I lifted more then I ever have, of course later I realized that I normally lift after hard work outs, aka, when I'm dead. Anyway, I went for a run later that afternoon and because there was lightning over the hill I decided to push off my hill day and head out to the track. (I know much safer right?) I had the best workout!! I did 20 minutes of AT then jumped on the track and did an 800, I won't say how fast because I'm not suppose to be doing it. Continuing, I went out for another 20 minute run, I was trying to hit AT, but I think my 800 might have been a bit fast, although i was definitely putting in AT effort. Then I did another 800 that was about a second slower then the first, and then I went out again for another 20 minutes, this much slower though. After that I ran on the mat for about 15 minutes. It was great. I was so dead and the next day the secretary at work was making fun of me as I hobbled around the hanger, lol.

Wednesday I tried to swim for an hour, and ended up nearly drowning and then almost getting struck my lightning, again. I swear if I don't get struck I'm going to shocked. (HAHAHA) I really didn't mean to do that. This one of those times I'm laughing out loud and people are just staring at me. I did actually get struck by lightning the other night in my dream, well I'm not really sure what happened, it was a terrible feeling, we all knew it was going to strike right where I was, I couldn't hear anything and I barely got out of the way. I can't even explain the feeling I had, it woke me up, not because I was afraid but because the feeling was so intense, it was weird. Oh, I was practicing saving the world before that happened, we were on brake and I told Jen that I wouldn't run through the storm to set a good example, lol, and then I nearly get struck.

So, work is rather depressing right now, we're waiting for the plane to come back and NO ONE is here. I'm having trouble finding things to do. I might leave early today. I was offered a paid position to research for a masters here, I was also told that I probably have a job at Gulfstream if I want it, so I don't know what I should do about that. Suggestions would be nice.

Let's see, I guess that's about it. I should have taken off this week since work has been so slow and gone up to camp but by the time I realized it a two day trip up there would have been way too long, and I would have had to go camping by myself again. I really didn't mind it last year, but I don't know keen I am on doing it again, it was rather depressing, and I was slightly bored. Had it not of been for my books, my bikes, and my running shoes I would have turned around once I had gotten there, lol.

Well, I guess that I have taken up enough of your time for today. Happy running everyone, steer clear of those storms! :)

Lori

p.s. jordan's in hawaii for the summer too! haha he's on the big island but we're gonna try and work something out! i haven't been over there yet, so we'll see how that goes!

happy almost birthday air eee kah!
hope it's lovely!

in other news, i'm getting my first paycheck soon! $1,000= yay!! haha minus taxes = boo!! but still enough to go put on a cute dress and get some moo cow to eat at a nice resteraunt lol

my friend and co-worker lives out in the burbs by a lovely botanical garden that i've been running in. it has a trail that's a mile straight up and then it winds its way down, and it's absolutely gorgeous, so of course i'll be over there as often as i can. my friend lives with his parents which is kinda wierd, but they're great people and they like me, so they said i'm welcome to stay in their guest room as often as i'd like. yay! and they have a gigantic movie collection, so we can be friends lol.
i'm sooo happy! i'm over my jet lag, so i can finally go on decent runs again! i accidentally went 55 minutes yesterday, and it was so much fun! haha i about fell down the stairs though... my crater climbing muscles are out of practice! i can't wait till tomorrow to do it again!

in general though, i'm totally a happy camper at the moment. everythign i was trying so unsuccessfully to get over back home has all dissapeared and i'm finally happy with myself and my life! the past few days i've just had this overwhelming feeling to just burst out in giggles.. like, all the time. and for no reason.. jsut being happy. and for once it isn't becuase of someone else, or a boy, or a good race, or anything at all.. just being happy to be me! a new me! a better one! and that is a fantastic feeling.

i've been fighting with riddle to give me credit for all sorts of thigns and it's a pain in the butt.. but that's why this journal is called the riddle runaround! heehee

i love you all!
-jen

Hola chicas!! so it has been forever and a day since i shared the excitement that is my life...b/c i kno you're all eager to hear about it. jk. jk. lol.
i am currently in san francisco w/ the sibling and madre. the sibling has to register for school, and i just got paid, so i need to do some good shopping. yay! the unfortunate part is that this weekend has a high of like 68 degrees and low in the 50's...so not looking forward to that.
work is going fairly well...my mentor is pretty hot, so that always makes the day better. lol.

and another thanks to jen for our semi-regular survey's...they make me happy.


Initials: ALS

Birthday: 08/29/1988...no longer going to be a teenager...

Introver or Extrovert: i'm not entirely sure...i like to spend time with people, and like to think that i am fairly outgoing...but sometimes i like to spend time just with myself and a good book

Are you a girly girl? yes...i love clothes and fashion and shoes and makeup and getting glammed up for whatever event it may be.

Do you believe in god? Why/why not? i believe in a higher being of sorts...God? i can't really say for sure...much like lori, we;ll end up having this conversation at some point

Can you cook? What do you like to cook? I like to think that i can...although the problem is that i always compare myself to my mom...and she is amazing! i can cook most anything, but it definately has to be mexican (that was almost a given)

Favorite Actor: James McAvoy (sp?), Johnny Depp,

Running shoe brand: Asics (for training) and Nike (for style and racing shoes)

How do you feel about facebook? I think it is a pretty cool tool (rhyme!) for getting in touch with people i haven't seen in forever. true story: our next door neighbor from when we used to live in australia (i was 5 at the time. she was like 13) found me and my sister on it, she was such a great chica and we haven't talked to her i like 5 years...so that was nice...kinda long anecdote there. sorry.

What makes you tick? Life, and the fact that you never know what can be thrown your way, and the diverse people you meet along the way. kinda broad i know, but to have an intelligent conversation with someone is something that just makes my day. i love thought provocking scenarios.

well i'm off to bed...hasta luego

-salinas

oy vey

So i ran my evening run with an old boyfriend who I haven't talked to since hmm, December? It was random but he knows how I run so he helped/pushed me. He is the current boyfriends pretty good friend so it is kind of weird but whatever. I ran in a private subdivision about 5 miles from my house and had to wait until a car was driving in in front of me so I could sneak in to park somewhere inside haha. It was a really good run, but I left my shirt on the side of the road and couldn't find it. Oy vey that sounds bad but ignore all that. haha. I have a slight runners high and there is nothing going on in Dartmouth tonight so it's kind of disappointing. My parents are supposed to leave for England for my cousin's wedding this Saturday, and only today did my mom realize her passport expired so I am not sure if they will be going or not, which would totally suck haha.
Anyways, what do you guys listen to when you run (in terms of music, if you actually do)? I need something new to keep me going. haha

-kira

HI! :D

Haven’t posted in a while because I forgot my password and was too lazy to get a new one…but here I am now :) Running is going well. I’ve always liked two-a-days, but I find that the florida weather makes it rather difficult! I try to wake up around 7 every morning to get my run or bike ride in before it gets too hot…but then it thunderstorms almost every evening, so I never know if I’m actually going to be able to get my full second run in or not. Talk about frustrating! It’s thunder storming right now & I still have to get my hills in today! At least my brother is coming with me tonight, and he’s about half a foot taller, so at least he’ll get hit by the lightning first! :P Just kidding, I’m really not that evil. 0:)

I had been job hunting for a looong time…filled out about 20 applications, had several interviews that went well…until they asked if I could commute to Daytona for school in the fall and work there throughout the year. Once I explained that I couldn’t, the interviews would end. So I ended up asking for my old job back at good old Tropical Smoothie Café, which was the last thing I wanted to do…but it’s easy, and I’m good at it, and they gave me a raise! Woo hoo :) Definitely not a glamorous job, but hey, it’s just good to be making some cash. I can’t stand spending money over the summer if I’m not making any! Haha. I’m also baby-sitting every now and then and taking care of my neighbor’s dog and month old kitties for a week! Never really been a cat fan, but these 2 are cuties for sure :)

Just started my online class at the local community college. I’m taking ‘renaissance and baroque humanities’… so far so good. I’m keeping pretty busy these days, and that’s just the way I like my life :) No time for boredom! Hehe.

Now for the survey...
Initials: EAL

Age, birthday: almost 19 eek! 06-27-1989

Introvert or extrovert? i can be either depending on the situation i'm in at the time.

Are you a girly girl? most definitely! i love dresses, pink, getting fancy, etc :) it doesn't mean i'm not tough though!

Do you believe in God? sure do.

Can you cook and what do you like to cook? yep! i'm no alex salinas, but i've learned a few tricks of the trade throughout my life. i prefer baking desserts to cooking a meal, though. you can probably tell by my belly, lol.

favorite actor, actress: hugh grant, hugh jackman, ryan reynolds, rachel mcadams, abigail breslin, & just about any that make me laughhhhhh!

Running shoe brand: have almost always loved asics. saucony's are pretty cushiony rides too :)

How do you feel about facebook? it's great for finding long lost friends from back in the day, but it makes me feel stalkerish, i'm kind of over it for the time being.

What makes you tick? this one guy in canada :) that probably sounds like i’m not very independent, but really i just miss the guy a lot right now :| he’s my best friend and he's so far away for so long!

Camp is approaching fast! Can't wait to see you girls! & hope everyone's having a wonderful summer :)
-Erika

Erika!!

Haha, Erika, I just got an email from your boyfriend asking me about summer internships and registering him for his at career services. Don't worry I gave him a few email addresses that might work out better for him.
That was funny, it made my day, lol.

-lori

my first survey

Finally I did one of these things.

Initials: KJB

Birthday: 7-10-89

Introver or Extrovert: depends. if i know absolutely no one or everyone i am a major extrovert, otherwise not. weird i know

Are you a girly girl? umm sometimes definitely but mostly a trackie

Do you believe in god? Why/why not? no comment.

Can you cook? What do you like to cook? small things, yes. cheesecake is my best thing i make.

Favorite Actor, actress: Jake Gyllenhaal (for looks not so much acting). Tom Hanks. Cameron Diaz.

Running shoe brand: Asics. or anything just not Nike

How do you feel about facebook? It is addicting though I feel stupid spending so much time on it sometimes.

What makes you tick? smells. yes, i am obsessed with smelling things, if i can connect a smell of something new to something old it helps me love it.

Third round, Go SURVEY

That was a fast week, well as far as this blog is concerned lol.

Initials: LAC (Anne is the middle name)

Birthday: 2-27- 86 (I know I'm old)

Introver or Extrovert: It really depends on my mood. Most of the time I'm pretty loud, but I need my alone time at home, you can tell if I don't get it too lol.

Are you a girly girl? Lol, I don't really know what to say, I think I'm a woman, lol.

Do you believe in god? Why/why not? We'll have this conversation, if we haven't already, some other time when I know you better if I don't already know you.

Can you cook? What do you like to cook? Well, considering Alex had to cook dinner on her recruiting trip I would say, no. I don't really like to cook because, well, I don't really like food, lol.

Favorite Actor, actress: Johnny Depp, Will Smith, Christian Bale, too man others.

Running shoe brand: BROOKS!! though you should be prepared to like Asics, lol.

How do you feel about facebook? I like that it keeps me in touch with people from highschool. It's also a great way to get pictures of myself and friends from other people.

What makes you tick? The beauty I find in the world and the kindness I see in others.

Survey #3!!

It's close enough to being monday for most of you, so here ya go!

Initials: JEH

Age, birthday: 10-22-87, 4 months till 21!

Introvert or extrovert? pretty extreme introvert. which means i'm quiet till i find somethign i'm passionate about and then you can't shut me up! :)

Are you a girly girl? hells no. lol i pretty much suck at it. though i'm getting better some would say

Do you believe in God?why/why not? yes. because as humans we constantly crave "more". and even when we have "everything" we still aren't satisfied. you can set up an analogy for where i'm going with this. The fact that we as humans get thirsty reflects the fact that we naturally require water to live satisfactorily. this implies there is a substance which fulfills that need. The same could be said for our spiritual needs as well. Humans cannot know to yearn for something which does not exist.Yet we continually seek more than this world has to offer. Why else?
Plus, if all else fails, I'd rather live today like god exists and die to find out he doesn't, than to live as if he doesn't exist and die to find he does.

Can you cook and what do you like to cook? I can cook what i like to eat. In other words i can cook basic foods with less than 5 ingredients lol. But i like to think i can cook them well

favorite actor, actress: will smith (plus anyone cute!), keira knightley

Running shoe brand: i used to be a die hard saucony fan, but since they stopped making my shoe i've stopped being so picky. mizuno, saucony, and asics are fine with me. NOT NIKE! haha unless we're talking spikes, and then it's the only way to fly.

How do you feel about facebook? I love it for purposes of keeping in touch with people and sharing memories, but i hate how i'm on it every 10 seconds, and i hate how it makes me compare myself to other people

What makes you tick? (it's a hard one, interpret it freely) Actually that's kind of changing for me right now. i wasn't happy with myself before, so i changed things up, and now I think what keeps me going is the idea that life isn't about finding yourself but creating yourself. it's that constant striving to stay active instead of passive that gives me motivation.

this is my first ever blog post!

Well, summer training has been going okay, i suppose. I'm just having a hard time with motivation, motivating myself to run the workouts, with intensity, that coach rosalino sent. I'm going to start practicing with my high school team this week, so i can run with people. I like to run with a group of girls rather than running alone and trying to do whatever the workout is that day. Having other people running with you is sooo much easier, to me at least. So my motivational issues are bound to improve! But i've been doing what i'm supposed to. It's rough. I'm good with the hills though. I'm from Spartanburg, South Carolina and we are at the foothills. Everywhere our team runs is hilly, so hill workout are no problem! haha The only other thing i'm worried about is fitting in (time wise) on the team. I don't consider myself that fast or anything. But i will try my best to improve my times from my high school years. I'm really going to work this summer so i can be prepared for the season. I hope i haven't already done the best i can do! These are a few running-related things that have been on my mind lately and it's nice to get them out there. That's about it on the running front.

Well I don't know that I know all of you, but here is a little bit about me...I am 18, my birthday is March 12, 1990. I'm a pisces. I have a facebook...friend me if you already haven't! A lot of random facts about me are on my page. I love to meet new people. I LOVE to talk...and i talk quickly! I can be shy at first when meeting new people, but after i get over it, i think i'm rather outgoing. I love laughing. I do if often. I'm pretty excited about college, though i have some fears. I get along with just about everyone. Oh, i'm going to be an aeronautical science major. I'm pretty pumped about that. I just got a new laptop for graduation and i'm using it now. That's some random stuff...i will write more later. That seems sufficient to be right now. haha

I saw that jen wrote about 3 things: running, relationships, work. Well i've gotten the first one taken care of. I am single, so there is not much on the relationship front. I was in a 3 year realtionship with a guy, but that ended last school year...badly. He was my first love. We are still friends I guess, but I think it would be best to distance myself from him. I don't think he is the best guy for me. I haven't dated anyone since, but I am looking. Hopefully there will be some better guys for me at Embry-Riddle. I don't feel a huge need to always have a boyfriend, though. But they are nice to have. I'll be looking. haha

There isn't much to say about work. I don't have a job, but i've looked the last 2 summers, but no such luck, especially this year since i'm leaving for college soon. Oh well. Maybe next summer...I just never had time between school and cross country and track seasons during the school year.

Well the weather has been pretty nice in upstate south carolina. It's cooled off a lot. It was upper 90's for a few weeks, but since about last week it has been nice. Much cooler. Like 80's, which is decent for June in the South i guess. haha

I think it's apparent that i like to type. And has anyone else noticed my strange capitalizations? I capitalize i's sometimes, but not all of the time, like they should be. I'm not dumb, I know they're supposed to be, but sometimes i just like the way the lowercase i's look. ahh whatever, no one should care. This is an informal blog.

Well i look forward to meeting you all! I know i've met some of the team already and all of you were very sweet! Thanks to jen who kept reminding me to write. I enjoyed it. I will blog again soon!

-alison

Um, Life?

Alright lets see where to begin; oh yes well running is going very well. Hopfe and I tweaked my workouts to tailor me a bit better so that's good. Oh, and I ran on the treadmill the other day since the weather was really bad. Yes, I do run in lightning storms on occasion, it has happened about four times in the last three weeks, but I do stay clear of tornados lol. Anyway, I have decided that that was my last run on a treadmill, it was rather boring. I looked at myself in the mirror for far too long. To be honest I think I can actually picture what I look like in my head now, purely from that experience. As for my other workouts they are going well. I have decided to do short bikerides before 7:30 work, it's early but it makes me feel so much better. So, I guess technically I'm doing two-a-days almost every day, though the mornings before work are easy.
Work is going well, I'm flustered with it because I spend hours getting something ready only for the plans to change and everything that I did suddenly means nothing. We still haven't flight tested though the plane did fly thursday and friday. It was exciting to see the plane come back each time, but I stressed out way too much both days so now I'm pretty tired. To be honest the last few weeks have been tough as far as work and non-running things are concerned. My boyfriend was ignoring me for the couple of weeks after Nationals, ie. I would only see him when he was drunk and that was once a week. Anyway I confronted him about it and we broke up. We are still friends and I don't mind spending time with him but sometimes its hard when he doesn't look at me the same way he used to. I don't know why this keeps happening but I guess it was bound to, none of my relationships ever work out too well so I have decided to just have close friends, granted that was kind of what my ex-boyfriend and I were, lol.
On a lighter note, my bridesmaid dress came in!! lol. It's orangy, peachy, something oddy colored, but my cousin likes them and its her day. I told her she could dress me in anything and I would be there so long as it was something, lol. I fly out ot California for her wedding and then the next weekend I have to go to Chicago for another wedding (I'm not in that one, lol). It's weird people my age, people I have known for a few years now are getting married.
Anyway, hope everyone is doing well, after wednesday NO one is going to be in town, I don't know what I'm going to do with myself. Oh well, I'm sure I'll survive, I can always make friends with vacationers lol. Well, take care everyone!!

Lori

And JEN post your name on the bottom of your letter!!! :)

a real update

let's see-
My life is really only about 3 things right now: running, work, relationships. So i guess i'll write about all three of them!

Running
This week has been awful! I've had a really rough week following run for the pies... i never really bounced back... haha i've run every day (except for the day i was at the airport from 5:45Am daytona time to 10:00PM hawaii time.. that's a whole different story), but they've all been pretty short and slow runs. I've run a few times since i've been here, but i think i'm quite jet lagged becuase they weren't too fun. I can't wait to get back into things.. i'm trying hard, but my body is jsut not wanting to train. booooooo jet lag! i think it should be gone soon though, so i'm super excited about training in a new environment, minus the tourists. I've been on 3 busses already! haha i'm trying to be adventurous and just get on, ride around, and get off wherever it looks like a cool place to run. So far it's just been annoying, but once i figure out the regular routes, i think it will be much better.

Work
Is halarious! I get paid $15 an hour to screw up electronic systems! how fun! haha the company i work for makes hospital bed covers that measure the patients vitals, and my job is to find bugs and try to make it break down and start beeping and flashing lights and saying "for your own safety please get back in bed". lol. Also, they want to make me a test subject becuase my heartrate is low and i don't weigh anything, and apparently that's a difficult demographic. So next week i'll be getting paid to take naps on a massage bed. Sweetness. Lol in all seriousness though it's pretty cool. I've only been there a day and my office is already covered in wires and cords and machines and things to play with!

Relationships
I've spent this week learning to stand on my own two feet again, which was really rough at first, but is getting much easier. In fact, i've been talking to an old friend from high school, and that's going pretty well, so who knows what'll happen there! He's a really good guy regardless, and he's been teaching me alot about being happy to be me and what it means to really live life to the fullest. All in all i feel spiriturally rejouvenated and ready to take on the world again, so yay! I can just tell, this year is going to be a blast.

I also have a shoutout to my roomie! Happy 21st Bethie Poo!
(I've been bugging her to post on here, but she's not exactly computer/litterate so i'll update for her lol. She's in Annappolis working with the John Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, and seems to be enjoying herself. She moved out of Cody's house, and is now living closer to work. Her post-nationals races were a good experience, but didnt result in a sub 2:09 performance, so now she's getting back into base training. That's all i know, but i'll check in with her tomorrow after her 21st celebrations have died down and keep ya posted)

minus the whole alchoholic part, this song describes my life really well right now:
"We had a dog named Bocephus livin in the front yard
He liked sleeping out on top of the car
He drank beer out of a mason jar
And he'd climb up on everyone in bed
White frame house in a college town
A bunch of people always hanging around
No real problems we needed to drown
But we'd try our best anyway
...
We had a keg in the closet, Pizza on the floor
Left over from the night before
Where we were going we didn't really care
We had all we ever wanted..."

-jen

last day of spring

I wish I was in Hawaii currently. babysitting two 11 year old girls five days a week is more exhausting than you think, and makes it really hard to run doubles haha. I ran last night and felt really good so I picked it up sort of not knowing it so I don't know how good that was but it felt good. I really need to start finding some new scenery because all the loops around my house and high school are getting old. haha
-kira

aloha :)

Hi hi from hawaii
I got here last night around 10, and so far all i've done is go to starbucks with a friend, go to sleep, and get up and run... i'm about to have some waffles, which is super exciting to me.
haha i'll update more later when i'm not getting ready for my first day of work!
-jen

FINALLY survey#1

OOOoook, well I have been quite busy lately. I'll catchya up on running.
I went to the State Meet a little while back in the 2mile and 4x8...and did not-so-well, considering prom was the night before and I'm not yet used to running in 96 degree weather, but it was a good experience as usual.
BUT! yesterday I ran in a 5k road race that has become quite popular in the area and came in 2nd place! woo! It was the Louise Rosetti, an all woman event in honor of Louise, who is turning 87 tomorrow I think, and started running after her daughter was killed by a car to help her cope, and she still runs the race every year (she's such a happy cute old lady). I also had a pretty decent time for the course, about 19:40, so I was happy.
Hmm, OH YA! I had a question about the hill workout.... How long are the hills coach wants us to do the repeats on? Or, how hard should we push up the hill and for how many seconds? There's a pretty big hill down the street from my house that the track team used to do workouts on, and we'd push hard for about 45sec, but we only did about 5-8...so i did that 15 times and then the next day my bum and thighs deeply regretted it lol.
Oh!! But about a week before I did a 10 mile distance run and at the end found 10 bucks! That was fun.
K, well I guess I should get on with the first survey...so I can finally get to #2!


Full Name: Kassandra Leigh Kluge

Nicknames: Kasey, Kaz, Kass, Kassie, KK, Kluge, Sandra, Wheaties, Bunny...there's others too...I basically respond to anything

Hometown: Beverly, MA

Nationality: Polish (and yes I do carry out the stereotype quite well sadly), german, french, irish, italian..the list goes on

Favorite Race Distance: 10k...its fast but you need endurance too

Least Favorite Race Distance: probably something under a 400..I wouldn't mind it since I'd be done so quick...but I'd just completely lose

Why do you run? I LOVE RUNNING!! I seriously think I am addicted

Describe your pre-race: Get a good long warmup and generally stretch by myself. Unless if you're a teammate or a competitor in the same race as me, i wouldn't approach me before a race...because I kinda get upset if someone distracts me or takes my focus away from the race...generally that was my dad or my (now ex) boyfriend. I also wish everyone on the line good luck

Fast-twitch or slow? uhhhhmm, medium. I used to be fast...when I did the low hurdles and sprints freshman year...but then i did distance, and I guess I turned into a not-fast-twitch

Favorite kind of workout: Spiveys!! I'm sure many people have no idea what I'm talking about..but first you run a tempo mile on the track...then you do a hill workout..then you do 300 repeats...then like a 5mile run....its exhausting but you get a sense of accomplishment after and at least you dont get bored with it.

Favorite Athlete: Shalane Flanagan...She went to the olympics and has the American 3k, 5k (14:44), and 10k records...AND she grew up in the next town over from me and raced on the same courses I did!!!

Something other people wouldn't know: I have only dated guys that are at least a year younger than me...which is weird because I'd normally find someone older than me more attractive...but for some reason I date younger...but I'm not dating anyone now, which is good. More time to concentrate on me:)

Non-Running Activities: Having run! well a lot of my fun revolves around running actually...but going to the beach, reading, spontaneously breaking out in dance in public with my friends, because public humiliation can be quite amusing...riding my bike, hiking...I like to be active...I also really like sleep...but I don't really get any

Describe yourself in 7 words: Silly, Runner, Dedicated, Daring, Hedonist, Caring, Wise (when I choose to be)

Momma's or Daddy's girl? Daddy's Girl

Describe your crazy uncle (or other family member): Oh dear...My "Uncle Johny"...he means well, but he's pretty much a 7 year old trapped in a tubby 60-something year old man's body...He still chases me around the beach with a bucket of water and tries to tell my sister and I stories as if he were talking to 5 year olds, but at least he's entertaining if not somewhat annoying.

hey hey hey...time for another survey!

Name: Baleigh

Major: Communications : )

Future Occupation: Anything involving interation with people, hopefully...something to do with advertising/marketing....involving the media in some way.

Favorite Food: cookies..mm good!

Favorite Movie(s): the Goonies, Stick it, Without Limits, Sandlot...

Prep/Punk/Jock/Nerd/Gothic: nerd, jock, prep

Favorite Color: Hot pink, purple, organge, yellow, red...i can never decide :)

What kind of socks do you wear: pink and white ones...im not quite sure what they are called...

Describe your ideal guy: ideal guy/girl (i have a girlfriend btw)....someone who respects me for me. doesnt want me to change for anything. Smart, honest, funny, and knows how to have a good time.

Siblings: 20 yr old sister shannon...and 16 yr old brother sean.

Favorite clothing store: kohls...or aeropostale

What is the meaning of life(and don’t’ say 42): to go out there...have fun, but mainly to change other people's lives for the better. teach others the lessons you have learned and share with those who need you the most.

[Do you believe in love at first sight.What is love.Is love really all you need]: nah...i dont believe in love at first sight....thats more of lust at first sight. I do believe in love though...i think its accepting someone for their good side and their flaws. Knowing that that one person will always be there for you no matter what. Is love all you need? no, love isnt everything but it is something i hope everyone experiences at least once.

SURVEY!!!!

Name: Lori

Major: Aerospace Engineering

Future Occupation: Flight testing company, or working for a racing bike (bicycle) design team

Favorite Food: Eww

Favorite Movie(s): V for Vendetta, Harry Potter (All of them), Ever After

Prep/Punk/Jock/Nerd/Gothic: Nerd/Prep, Jock

Favorite Color: Crimson red (I really enjoy the color combination Crimson Red, Black, and Silver)

What kind of socks do you wear: Low socks, usually mismatched ones

Describe your ideal guy: He views the world the same way I do, crystal blue eyes, smart, funny, very athletic, willing to have lengthy discussions about intriguing subject matters, stands up for what he believes in and it is something I believe in

Siblings: a 20 year old brother, and an 8 month old brother (I can't believe I actually remembered about him, lol, i usually forget)

Favorite clothing store: my mother's closet

What is the meaning of life(and don’t’ say 42): To determine what your definition of happiness is

[Do you believe in love at first sight
What is love
Is love really all you need]: i do not believe in "love" at first sight, this would be considered an attraction to the appearances of another person, if it so happens that you do fall in "love" with this individual then this would be based upon the characteristics of the individual and not the mere sight of him.

Survey #2!!

Name: Jen

Major: Civil Engineering (started off EP, but realized i didn't care about space or airplanes)

Future Occupation: Structural Engineer for a while and then an AP Calc Teacher / Cross Coutnry Coach

Favorite Food: Biscuits or anything sort of like biscuits... muffins, cookies, cake, bread, etc.

Favorite Movie(s) : Stick it! haha and pretty much any chick flick with a happy ending, or anything that makes you think

Prep/Punk/Jock/Nerd/Gothic: Jock->Nerd/Prep->Punk->Gothic

Favorite Color: navy blue, but i like all the colors in the crayola bold markers pack

What kind of socks do you wear- In high school i wore all sorts of crazy knee high socks, but i've calmed down since then... now i don't really wear them at all unless i have to

Describe your ideal guy: A disciple of Jesus Christ!!, challenging intellectually, athlete, musician, medium-tall, sandy brown hair, tan, thin but not skinny

Siblings: 14 year old sister, and some more siblings that i don't know too much about.

Favorite clothing store: Hollister, though i can't afford it and never shop there. i'm more of a target/ross/tj maxx/marshalls kind of girl

What is the meaning of life(and don’t’ say 42): The great command and the great commision :)
But i like to say it is to know christ and make him known!

Pick 1 of the next three (but i like to write, so i will write about all 3)

[
Do you believe in love at first sight? Only rarely, and i mean rarely... and by sight i mean along the lines of "you had me from hello... "

Is love really all you need? Again, it's a rare thing to come across a situation where the love between two people matters more than the world around them.

What is love? Love is patient, Love is kind,It does not envy, it does not boast,It is not proud, It is not rude,It is not self-seeking,It is not easily angered,It keeps no record of wrongs.Love does not delight in evil,but rejoices with the truth.Love always protects, always trusts,always hopes, always perseveres.Love bears all things, believes all things,hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends.
]

random

Yesterday's distance run was the first since I started training that felt good. So now I'm actually excited about training hard, haha
Should I be doing road races at all? I'm assuming not but I was thinking about it since yesterday was the father's day 5/10k.


Kira

yikes!

6am is a terrible time to come home if you have had too much to drink and have church in 3 hours. I do not reccommend it -- at all. Although, now that I think about it, last night/this morning was probably my makeshift 21st, since my birthday is mid-season, and we all know what that means :( no drinks for me! Boo. As for last night though, I think it was an excellent celebration, and actually quite like the 21st I hoped i'd have, so i'll accept it as a proper substitute. Woulda been good with one less shot, but hey... that's what 21st are for!...dancing, crawling around on the floor, throwing ping pong balls and shooting at people with squirt guns.... lol :)
oh summer.
by the way... for the record (and please learn from my mistake), that was a seriously bad idea. haha never ever drink right after a race. it makes the recovery process that much more rediculous.

As for the race, don't ask! No one got shoes... and i didn't even get a pie. haha I had to steal lori's :) I suppose i can say PR'ed in the two mile (okay so i've only run it twice) with a 12:35ish... but then i got confused and kicked one loop short of the finish,so that was a disaster lol .... haha but i suppose it was slightly less disasterous than Lori's race after a 5:43 first mile. As you can guess the rest of both of our races was pretty ugly.
ooh well. gotta start somewhere! now the only way to go is up!

-Jen