Wake me up when it's all over

I have to say, I miss the days of Michael Phelps winning gold medals left and right because things have just snowballed. Back in early August, we were one nation of spectators engrossed in the spirit of competition that brought us pride in the athletes' hardwork, determination, and ability to overcome adversity. Back then, seemed like simpler times. Each day would end with a medal count, then we'd go to bed.

Today, my stomach aches with thoughts of my shrinking 401K and the many, many years of work I have ahead of me. And this very horrible and very possible scenario of me couch surfing or moving back to my parents. What's worse is those poor people that are currently in or so close to retirement. What a mess to be in during the twilight of their lives. So what better time to complain, than the present?

Ok, so where do I begin? I'll start with Me. I blame Me for buying a place at the height of the housing boom - probably paying too much - and getting an interest-only loan. [Note to self...throw more money at the principal]. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Next, Alan Greenspan. You were the one that bubbled that bubble!! Bad, baaad Alan!
Oh and W - well, I have an earful to blame you but I'll just give you Iraq for now. I don't know why I'm letting you off easy.
Then there's Greed on Wall Street, but I will let you off easy too because I think I was an enabler of you and you're probably debating the most painless ways to self end your life, perhaps? I suggest OD-ing on something.
American People - for calling up your congresspeople telling them to vote against the bailout during an election year. It's really the only time they'll pay attention. And, American People, I would just like to say right now, stay in school. The mind is a terrible thing to waste. Stop with these visceral voting strategies you have.
Pelosi - yup. You're getting blamed for an untimely, partisan speech made right before the vote. Bad, bad timing.
And last but not least, Elected Congresspeople - for not practicing the power of influence bestowed upon you. Yesterday would've been a good time to be wise and think of the good of the whole.

Ok - I shall stay tuned with this and hope I don't have to sell my dog on eBay. [How much do you think I can make off of him?]

I heart my pitches.

This may be hard to believe but not only am I an athlete, but I am a part of the reigning championship softball team in the Corporate Co-Ed Wednesday Night 5:30 Summer Season league at Twin Creeks. I know! Get out, huh!

We started another season about 3 weeks ago, and won AGAIN, tonight. The pressure is really on, but I think we are used to it because we've been playing for, like, 7 years or so and make it to play-offs every single time. We actually went thru a change in management this season as our former coach, Keith, decided to move on to coach his daughter's team in a different league. Weak. And traitor.

So with new management, Michelle and Farnetti, comes name change. We are now, Where's My Pitches? And given we are now at a record-breaking 3-0, I think: new name, new game. Here are my Top 10 observations on why I think our pitches look especially promising this season:

1) We pretty much have rights to say "Move, Pitch. Get out the way" anytime someone takes our table back at the clubhouse. We earned it. That's called confidence.

2) Churn. Got rid of Wes, couple seasons ago. Now Keith. They may think they are the Dara Torres of softball. But that's just it. They are the Dara Torres of softball. (how do you pluralize Dara Torres?)

3) Our bench is deep. I can put my feet up when I lean back.

4) Babies. The more children the men have, the more likely they will actually show up for the games. I believe that's geniune team loyalty, which frankly, brings a tear to my eye.

5) Sawicki pitching. He only lets maybe 3-4 people walk per game.

6) Cleats. I guess most my team wears them - I don't personally because I am holding out for pink ones - and I hear they work.

7) Boston Red Sox. I don't think anyone on the team likes them.

8) We're dang smart. And the reason why I say that is because I don't think anyone on the team, except maybe Angie, would try #1 (above).

9) We have two Koreans, directly impacting #8.

10) Ok, Dara Torres was actually really good. We now want Wes back and aren't to proud to admit it! Come back, come to the light!

Leading by fear

I remember shortly after the towers went down, I was walking down the streets of Manhattan with that eerie cloud that hung over the city from 9/12 to probably 9/15 or so. Loud sirens going off now and again, the smell of burnt plastic, and that presence of absence of the hustle and bustle of rushing cars and people that is quitessential NYC.

I was still recovering from the day before, when I had to walk upstream through the crowds of frantic professionals trying to hightail it as far away from downtown as possible. The fear I felt was almost palpable. My body still sort of shaky and my mind wandered like crazy. I couldn't really think straight. The fear was mostly of "what's next?" Both in the very literal sense - what was next when I turned the corner? Another downed building? Car bomb? And also the bigger question, what's next for our country and the world as we knew it?

There was also that very creepy fear of knowing who was at the helm of this ship. A newly elected, former frat boy that somehow got away with the presidency. At the time, he wasn't as well-disliked as he is today, but we were definitely questioning #1 where was he? and #2 can he actually do this? He was the guy that would now be responsible for pulling together the nation and the world. Forging alliances. Making decisions on foreign policy. Helping us make sense of this all and setting a clear execution plan and vision for us to move forward. Ok. Deep breath.

Can't believe it's been 7 years since that horribly tragic day. It feels particularly strange this year given we will soon have a change in leadership for the first time since 2001. Will there be more fearful days to come and how will we handle them differently?

Looking back, I can see that first type of fear really got the best of us. That fear of being attacked at any moment and not being able to think clearly for ourselves. Even more, the fear of people that looked different from us. Basically this fear of the unknown that is so unfamiliar to us as Americans. We shouldn't have to ever feel that kind of fear. But we certainly felt it. And that really set us up on this course that we have let our leadership take us on and that we are still on today. Granted, we did have a very motivating set of cowboy speeches that made us feel like we were all holding torches in our hands ready to hunt the bad guy - any bad guy.

Will 9/11/09 be a better day than 9/11/08? Will we let fear get the best of us again or will we try to get ahead of the fear instead?

Is 30 the new 70?

I am on Day 6 of walking like a gimp and being super knowledgeable of the benefits of prescription Motrin vs. regular Advil vs. Vicadin vs. Aleve. I threw out my back yet again last Thurs, which is starting to turn into an annual thing with me. It's up there with writing new years resolutions and purging my closet, and I may even say alphabetizing my sock drawer. This time it happened because I was docking my very heavy laptop into my very heavy docking station(!?). I believe last time was because I sneezed. And prior to that, I actually collapsed in the hallway of my parents' house and laid there for 3 hours until they came home and threw a blanket on top of me. I was in the same position for 3 days. I wore the same clothes, couldn't turn over, had to hold my pee. Seriously pathetic.

I also constantly run into issues with regularity of the digestive system and literally ran out of Citracel a couple of times. I don't think I need to go into further explanation on this topic.

Now I know I am no longer a spring chicken. Maybe more like an autumn hen. But, I would like to continue to brag that I got carded twice an A's game in a single day and I still fit into my highschool clothes. Ok, maybe when I make statements like that, I am actually being punished by the humility gods. Truth be told, I fit into the same socks, ok?

Why can my mom go hiking at 6 in the morning and watch, entertain and cook homemade baby food for two 1-year-olds and a 3-year-old full-time, 4 days a week? Since when did 65 become the new 35 and 35 become the new 70? [Yes, all these numbers are meant to promote ambiguity of my real age] Perhaps it's all this time I spend simultaneously blogging and procrastinating real work. Or is it excess amounts of Cheetos I ate in early childhood or Chinese contortionist class I took back in the day. Hmmm...craving more coffee...gotta go.

Unplugged at the Lost Coast

Kara, Lisa, Lynda, Dan, Paul and I spent the last 4 days with heavy packs on our backs, hiking 25+ miles down a secluded stretch of dramatic northern California coastline called The Lost Coast. The trip began before we even left our homes on Friday with meticulous portioning of food, and planning for "worst-case scenarios." There were also the last-minute trips to REI, obsessing over biodegradable soaps and the shelf life of raw cheese. It's been awhile since I've backpacked so, it was a great exercise in learning exactly what I can live without - fresh clean undergarments everyday, moisturizer, hair brush. And of course, learning what I absolutely cannot live without...water, earplugs, a warm place to sleep. On the trail, the hiker with fewer essentials is rewarded with a lighter pack. Hmm...not exactly "this american life."

Getting up there (north of Mendicino - and that is about as much as I can tell you) was quite a haul, with even a few pull-overs in the car needed due to my car sickness (puker). The situation was like this: we parked our cars, got someone to drive us to the trailhead, then hiked down the coast for 4 days to the car we just parked like an hour ago.

The hike consisted of tredging through soft sand, hard sand, wet sand, some trail, lots of rocks, lots of wind and angry/happy/calm beautiful ocean to our right at all times. Not too much uphill (thankfully). Throughout the four days, we walked endless stretches of beach, then rock, turned the corner, and there was more endless stretch of beach then rock. We sang songs, complained of aches and pains, discussed mileage, told stories. It no doubt challenged us - but got easier as we ate our way thru our packs and adapted to the pack actually morphing to our bodies, leaving our hips bruised, necks burned, and muscles tight. We encountered friendly sea lions, dead birds, spectacular sunsets and starry nights (stunning). And, like with all trips, lots of agreeing and disagreeing, sucking it up and letting it out, dirty fingernails and congratulating those achieving successful bowel movements. It was just us, the coast, the elements and the next campsite and meal for four straight days.

As we worried about whether our tent would fly away or if we picked the right spot to camp, the thought of what could possibly be happening in the world crossed our minds. On occassion. How were our families? What transpired with McCain's "hardly known" running mate? Perhaps something earth-shattering has happened, and here we are creekside, pumping water into our Nalgenes. Our usual lives are constantly bombarded with voices/stresses work, our families, the media - not to mention, managed by smartphones. Carrying our trail mix and a bag of 2-day old trash was actually quite liberating, if not humbling. The opportunity to escape from the crazies of work and life and presidential elections was respite despite the sunburns and blisters.

As our dreams of taking hot showers soon became a reality, we thought, or I guess I thought, maybe a few more days carrying that heavy pack, with only my essentials, on my back walking endless stretch of beach is actually more refreshing and cleansing for my life than clean hair and nails.