Running in the Rain

I renewed my commitment to run last week. It's easier these days, with my family being the crazy bunch of runners they are now, plus my Nike+ (which I love). Add in my sickening amount of free time and living in a fairly flat area, I have ideal conditions that I know won't last forever. With that in mind, I kind of see this as my chance to break into it, try and make it a habit while I have these advantages.

I've had short periods of time in the last 8 months where I've tried to run consistently, and last Saturday was a new Day 1. Armed with my new Nike+ wristband and an iPod, I bravely headed out the door to start being a runner. I was a block away from my apartment when the blue sky very suddenly disappeared and it started hailing. HAILING. I was being pelted in the face by ICE. It came down hard and fast and completely unexpectedly. But something weird happened. I smiled. My mother's voice came into my head saying "At a certain point, it's not like you're going to get any wetter." And so I embraced it. After a minute, the hail wore off and turned into a slushy heavy rain. And I was still smiling. As a matter of fact, the harder it rained, the happier I felt. I found the whole thing oddly exhilarating.

Different thoughts ran through my head. "How committed I must look!" "Well, I'm definitely not going to get over-heated." "I bet I'm really confusing people. Cool." Something in me loved that everyone else was scurrying to get out of the rain, angry they had chosen this particular window of time to venture out. No one else wanted the rain. But I did. The rain is familiar, like an old friend. And it was there to keep me company, pushing me to finish.

It finally let up when I came within a quarter mile of finishing, and then the novelty wore off. I realized I was freezing, my clothes were cold and heavy, and my feet were very squelchy in my shoes (I wrung out an impressive amount of water from my socks shortly after arriving home). I guess being thoroughly soaking wet is only fun when you're caught out in the rain. Once I was back home I had to start the process of wringing out and hanging up all my layers, drying out my shoes, making sure my iPod and Nike+ stuff were ok after so much water exposure, and getting myself back above hypothermic levels. So that was less fun. But I hope I can recapture that feeling I had running in the rain.

I hope I can keep myself running. I've never been good at it. I don't have much speed, I definitely don't have much stamina, but hopefully this is the time it sticks. I want to be in better shape. And I definitely want to sleep better. Perhaps above all I don't want to come in last on the 4th of July.





**It should be noted that rain is ok only if it starts AFTER you start running...

**Also, I wouldn't choose to run in such conditions every day

Casting Beauty and the Beast

My brother Logan recently blogged about his "dream cast" for the animated favorite, Swan Princess. And he did a really, really awesome job. So I thought it would be a lot of fun if we both came up with a Beauty and the Beast cast and then compare notes. I clicked on his blog and saw that he had posted his, but I didn't read it yet so I can write mine more objectively. So here goes...

Belle- Kate Beckinsale. Perhaps a little obvious, but Kate Beckinsale rocks, and I think she could play all the dynamics of Belle very genuinely. Belle has to have a dreamer side, a stern side, a compassionate side, a tough chick side, a brush-off-Gaston side, a look really good in a ball gown side, etc, etc, and KB can do it all. Keira Knightly would have done a wonderful job too, but my cast tended to lean a bit older.

Maurice- WIlliam H. Macy. I briefly considered Robin Williams, but thought it would be difficult arguing his sanity. William H. Macy is the perfect father figure in my story, and could give just the right amount of eccentricity without being too out there.

Gaston- Hugh Jackman. He can totally carry off the over the top attitude of Gaston, plus he's ripped, and if it were a musical version he could sing too. HJ was the first person I mentally cast, and I would love to be able to see him as Gaston.

Lafou- Giovanni Ribisi. Despite the in-charge role he had in Avatar, I think GR would play an ideal sidekick. A little snivelly, ready to continually boost Hugh Jackman's ego, and devious enough to go along with any dastardly plan his bff comes up with. As an added bonus, he's a full 7 inches shorter than HJ.

Lumiere- Hugh Laurie. I struggled with this one. First, I wanted Paul Bettany, and then I wanted Robert Downey Jr, both of which would have played a delightful and convincing Lumiere. But Hugh Laurie won out because of his superior chemistry with my Cogsworth, who is...

Cogsworth- Stephen Fry. British. Proper. And goes back with Hugh Laurie for so many decades, their relationship would be totally believable and their on screen banter would be priceless.

Mrs Potts- Emma Thompson. I can't believe how long I struggled with Mrs Potts simply due to the little flirtyness that happens with Maurice at the very end of the movie. I needed someone motherly, orderly, and that would fit well with William H. Macy as the other parental figure. Emma Thompson was my answer.

Beast- Wentworth Miller. Yes, that guy from Prison Break. Tell me he can't do bitter and angsty, while looking great with KB at the end of the movie.

Added bonus! Tim Curry as the creepy guy from the asylum. For obvious reasons.

So there you have it. I spent a lot of time worrying about the chemistry and all the different relationships between the characters, and now I realize now that Logan makes it look easy. But I feel pretty good about my choices. Now I get to go read his blog.

My issue with Walmart

Yes I shop there. Not often, but we're budget-conscious newly-weds and it's five minutes away, so sometimes necessity calls. I've found that having a list gives me a greater chance of holding on to more of my sanity, but most of the time I'm in a rush to leave within a few minutes of entering. Also, for the last time Guy In The Parking Lot, we do not want any tamales.

But my real issue with them comes from a commercial. I think their "family moments cost less at Walmart" campaign is a solid one, but one commercial in particular irked me.

They show a family playing Monopoly. Full of potential (although showing MY family playing Monopoly would likely do more harm than good for the wholesome family togetherness vibe). The "mom" narrator says something about the daughter being "competitive", but "then she did something nice", followed by "I pretended not to notice".

The "nice" thing the sister did? Give the little brother a hotel. Which he proceeded to put on Mediterranean, next to his one house on Baltic.

There are SO MANY problems here.

First off, if the sister character here was truly competitive, she would do no such thing. I am unclear as to whether or not it would be considered a legal move to purchase or hotel for someone else, but why would you want to? Then, the little brother puts it on Mediterranean with one house on Baltic already. You can't put one house on one and a hotel on the other- there can only be a one house difference on your monopoly, duh. Plus, if you could get away with breaking that rule, why would you put the hotel on Mediterranean? To make it a whopping $250? At least Baltic would be $450. And then probably my favorite part- the mom "pretends not to notice"?? How could you possibly pretend not to notice? And where is the dad in all this? Sigh....

It's a known policy in the Jones house that you play hard and honestly, no matter the age or status of your fellow competitors. Oh it's your first time playing? Too bad. Only three years old? Tough luck. That's how you learn. And when you do win, you know you've earned it. That's how WE do family moments.