Ahhhhh...

One of my clients sent a thank you email naming me and one of my colleagues as some of the things for which he is thankful on this holiday.

That feels good.

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Giving Thanks

I am thankful for:

1. My soulmate, E, and having him in my life.
2. My family.
3. My friends.
4. My health.
5. The gorgeous weather of the bay area.
6. Food.
7. The fact that I rarely get sinus infections, so that even though I have a horrid one right now, and I'm spitting blood, I can comfort myself with the knowledge that it's probably been 8 years since I last had one, and hopefully will be 8 more before I have to do this again.
8. The fact that I truly enjoy doing a job that most people hate.
9. The invitation to C&J's house for Thanksgiving dinner so I can relax until the big meal.

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Changes

Having Brother home is good -- he is funny, fun, and a pleasure to be around. My life is different in many ways, but one of them reminds me of a long time ago.

It turns out -- moving Brother around, helping him transition from the bed to the chair, from the chair to the car, etc -- it's a big workout. And, it's a type of workout I haven't had in years: Quick, explosive use of large muscle groups in unison to cause a large change in momentum.

For the last couple of nights, I've gone to bed sore. I've taken the time to stretch in bed before I fell asleep because my muscles were so tight, which is something I rarely felt the need to do as a result of my workout regime for the more than the last 10 years or so.

This morning I woke to a body that reminded me of being a gymnast, diver, or want-to-be martial artist: creaky, sore, swollen lower back muscles, hamstrings, biceps, shoulders, elbows, and chest that define each movement, even sitting at my desk.

I didn't run a single step last week, which is quite a rarity for me. Re-working running into my life is on the todo list, and I'll get to it once we have a schedule and things at home are more regular. But, based on how I feel, even without a dedicated commitment to working out, I think I'm going to be in a different kind of shape, and much stronger, in a very short time.

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Big Day

Brother comes home to stay with us tomorrow.

I'm very excited. Yes, I'm also scared. Our lives will be very different. But it feels so good to be committed and to know that we are approaching some semblance of normality without hospitals.

The last three months have been very good at teaching me lessons I thought I already understood:

1. You are *never* in control of your life.

2. Even though #1 is true, you have to do your best in the chaos to assume some level of momentum in the direction you think you'd like to go or you won't end up anywhere you want to be. This is often frustrating.

3. People are what they do. Saying you believe in something is easy. Acting in parallel with what you believe is often much more difficult and complicated. This is true of all important things in life: family relationships, non-familial personal relationships, work, taking care of yourself, seeking happiness, and tons of other things I probably haven't had the opportunity to consider. In short, "It's the moment. Stupid." Every moment is a gift. Every moment is finite and you cannot use it to do everything. Every opportunity you have to interact with others is a gift. How you choose to use those gifts is your life. And life is often not easy, but damn is it a gloriously beautiful story.

I am grateful. And Excited! Yay Brother Coming Home!

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They Do Not Lie

The Big Sur Half Marathon was the most gorgeous race course I have ever run.

By a long shot.

It was well-run, organized, and breathtakingly scenic. From downtown Monterey, under the bridge, through Cannery Row, along the edges of Pacific Grove and out to Pebble Beach and back, we ran on closed roads, primarily along the coast with crashing waves and varied musical performances galore (drum circles, bagpipes, jazz, a grand piano version of "chariots of fire", rock, taiko drummers, and more).

The day started at a cool 42F and we finished to a pleasant mid-50s and it was a gorgeous clear blue. It was cold at the start and E2 and I hugged our coffee cups while walking to our start corral, but after a mile or so of fast feet slapping in unison, we found ourselves pleasantly warm -- enjoying the crisp air and watching the steamy exhales of our fellow runners.

At multiple points along the course, when I wasn't wondering what the hell kind of hare E2 got up her butt with the initial pacing she selected, I turned a corner with a spare thought to view the scenery and think really? really? is this where I get to run today?

AWESOME!

It's enough to make me consider the full Big Sur International Marathon, despite its horrific hilly reputation.

And I say this despite the fact that I'm in the worst running shape I've been in for several years.

Today is a perfect example of why I'm a fan of signing up for races. Because, if you are like me, the fact that you paid that entrance fee means you'll find a way to finish no matter what else is going on in your life (unless, of course, you can't, but that's understandable).

If you are lucky, that silly monetary commitment to the event will keep you working out and committed to long runs on the weekends (albeit not enough if you are me this time around) so you may be lucky enough to enjoy a gorgeous day, with beautiful California scenery, running with one of your best friends for 13.1 painful too fast (oh *shit* we aren't in good enough shape for this pace) miles, to be met at the finish line by your soul-mate, and followed up by a leisurely dip in the hot tub and entirely too much authentic Mexican food.

Today was one of those days when I couldn't help but feel that my very existence was a big celebration of life.

Yay!

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Lunchtime Conversation

Coworker1: I really want an El Camino.

Coworker2: Of course you do. It's the mullet of cars. Business in the front, party in the back.

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Wisdom From People Magazine

I refuse to pay for People, but thanks to Active.com's policy of giving you up to 3 free trial subscriptions every time you register for a race, I regularly receive it in the mail (sometimes two copies at a time).

Anyways, it's totally my guilty pleasure -- staring at the gorgeous and the well-put-together and reading about their personal lives.

This week, I enjoyed reading all about Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr.'s new baby, Charlotte. They are two of the more down-to-earth stars who've done baby interviews with People. (Trust me. I know. I've been reading every People baby story that's come out for years -- there have been too many to count).

In particular, I liked SMG's comment about her hopes for her daughter's future:

I want her to know that there is no such thing as an entertainment emergency, even though out here, people seem to think we have them every day.

Here! Here!

Entertainment emergencies don't really exist, despite many people's beliefs to the contrary.

And while we're on the topic, legal emergencies are actually pretty few and far between, especially if you're not dealing with criminal matters (or civil matters that are threatening to become criminal).

In fact, emergencies outside of the life-or-death context are difficult to come by.

Problems? Common.

Emergencies? Rare.

Any questions?

[Now if only I could get my law firm to agree...]

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Never Seen Before

Work is blowing up. If my experience is any indication, the economy should be starting to recover.

Tonight after a ridiculously long day at work when I was staffed on a new emergency fast track deal at 1:30 AM, I came home for a quick dinner before making myself available for additional document review and disclosure, if necessary.

E asked for Sushi. I obliged, because I'm trying to be a good wife (especially when I know I've been slipping on that front lately).

Our local Sushi joint is close. Good. Relatively reasonably priced. And tonight, there was a female sushi chef dressed in a red tunic with wide black color trim behind the sushi boat "U".

It really shocked me.

I don't think I've ever seen a female sushi chef before (but I can't be sure).

Anyone else? Am I just forgetting other encounters I must have had, or is this one of those things that doesn't usually happen?

Regardless, I like this place just a little bit more for bucking what is at a minimum a cultural norm, and may be, for all I know, a sexist prohibition.

E, of course, got no end of enjoyment out of accusing me of being sexist for liking the place more simply because it had a female chef...

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A day for running

Today was a glorious day for running on both coasts of the US!

First, Meb was the first U.S. Citizen to win the New York Marathon since 1982.

He cried.

Reading about it, I got teary.

In much less intense news, I did my 5th annual participation in my favorite local race. I have let training fall very much by the wayside, lately.

So my goal was simple: Finish in less than 2h30.

I am happy to say that despite a day prior's waking at 5 AM to go to a full day at the hospital followed by a couple of glasses of wine with dinner while enjoying Halloween with good friends, I was able to meet my goal and even surprise myself a little bit with how I was able to attack the hills.

Daylight savings gets much of this credit. We left the halloween festivities "early" at 11:20, but as far as the AM was concerned it was 10:20, so I was asleep in bed before 11. Man, I love fall-back. [Spring-forward? Not so much.]

So, yes. I'm proud that I've kept up this tradition for 5 years. I showed up at the hospital with a medal that I put on brother, because his attitude inspired me. There were a couple of points where I really wanted to walk and I thought, "you can run...you like running...you should because you can, even if it hurts" (I didn't have these thoughts on the steep uphills -- I walked those without regret).

I look forward to keeping up this tradition in years to come. I think the only thing that could make me want to break it is if I managed to get a slot at the NY marathon...

Yay USA. Yay Running. Yay, brother concocting a story that explained that the blue ribbon on the medal meant "First Place" and that he wheeled the whole thing both ways across the golden gate bridge, fog on the way out, clear on the way back...

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