We ran long, and then we stopped.

So Joy and I (and Becca, but it was old hat for her (congrats on finishing sub-2hr!!)) ran a half-marathon yesterday on Staten Island.

did you know that 13.1 miles is also 21.1 kilometers? I feel like the conversions between those two distances should be different, but what do I know?

Joy ran like a champ and apparently was happy and smiling as she flew across the finish line. I, on the other hand, saw Seppo and Josh at mile 12 and promptly started crying, which will really throw off your breathing pace, let me tell you. I did, however, sprint the last quarter mile, which felt great and made me forget about all the different pain centers in my body.

In the end, despite the pain and stiffness, I'm pretty happy about attempting and completing such a long race - not sure I'll do it again, but definitely glad I did it.

In official news, I finished below the 50% mark (41.8%, to be precise) in my gender group. I also tied a 70-year-old Brooklyn man, so that was exciting.

There will be pictures to follow, don't worry.

Thanks to the boys for coming and cheering us on. That was totally awesome.

Forty Eight in Oh Nine

So a few weeks ago, I went to see a new neurologist. This new neurologist (no names, I learned my lesson last time) suggested that what I had been having were not actually ocular migraines, but were perhaps, instead, occipital seizures. My first reaction was positive, but within a few seconds I realized he was talking about MY brain. not some brain in a journal article somewhere.

cut to today, when the installation of my ambulatory EEG happened.

This here is me waiting for the event to happen. See, this whole thing is still funny at this point.

soon, however, it became decidedly not funny.

notice the flammable liquids signs. yes. that's the glue they are using to attach these things to my head. THEY get to wear a mask. I do not.










Here we are getting towards the end. I am no longer amused.


The finished product was not as egg-heady as i was expecting, and the wrapping on the forehead is definitely not comfortable.

you'll notice the awesome bag i get to carry. the cat was sniffing at it and then leaped backwards as if shocked by something.

more in vivo photos to follow, never fear.

the email subject was "claire and the antler head"

I see no reason to mess with literary magic (thanks, lynne)

I met this little fellow on Saturday afternoon, 14th street at about 6th ave. Really, really, really wanted to pet his head. obviously.



the real fear, of course, was not that the guy would notice me running down the street after him, but that he'd stop walking, and I would go ahead and plow right into him. I relied on my sashay skills to keep my speed equal to his. I think, overall, the mission was a success.

New Year's Resolutions

So I have not posted on this thing in a while. Funnily, the thing that inspired me to start again was yet another mean comment someone wrote on that doctor post from 2006. Really, it just reminded me that yes, I did once have a blog, and maybe my life is interesting enough at this point to start writing in it. Although, I'm pretty sure every one of my readers (all 2 of them) have taken me off their RSS feeds. Oh well.

So here's my test.

Is anyone out there? and Commenter John, I don't want to hear from you. talk about someone wasting their time.

Red Hot is Dead. Long Live Red Hot.

Yes, my friends. It's true. Sad as it may seem, and on a Sunday when all I want is General Tsao's Tofu, it is VERY SAD. (Seth, stop smirking), Red Hot has left our world, and gone to a better place. I hope.

Now we must wait for its replacement - probably a Bank of America or a Starbucks.

And learn how to make a good hot and sour soup. Also scallion pancakes.

cloverfield - almost

Last night, Seth and I went to see Cloverfield (after a lovely dinner at BLT fish during which we downed many delicious oysters, some king crab, and a very salty burger).

I was pretty excited, as I hadn't seen it yet and you all know how I like monsters and unicorns and things that don't actually exist. Also the destruction of New York.

Anyway, I became less and less excited as the movie continued and, sadly, by the time we actually got to the good stuff of awesome monsterness (and the monster and destruction WAS awesome), I had to excuse myself so as not to vomit on Seth.

So that was about an hour in. And I just couldn't take any more of the handheld camera thing. I'm pretty disappointed with myself, to be honest. And I wish I had brought my anti-nausea bracelet things. Sorry Seth. I'll rent it for you on dvd when it comes out.

In other news, a book as escaped from our apartment, so if any of you see a copy of "The Long Embrace," which is about Raymond Chandler, running down the street would you please catch it and return it to us? thanks.

UPDATE: seth has informed me that I lasted through approximately 40 minutes of the movie. maybe less. the previews screw up my sense of timing.

UPDATE ALSO: the book was found in a pile of books. in a back corner. in a cave.

say it

So it has been quite some time since I posted on this here blog thing. For a while I was busy with my first semester of grad school, but toby, josh, and gil all manage to maintain their founts of funniness during grad school, so I suppose it's not much of an excuse.

Mostly I'd given up on my ability to write things a) that anyone would read, b) that anyone would actually enjoy reading, c) that didn't blow.

I'm still not too sure, but I'll give it a try this semester.

This past week I spent with my parents, mostly hanging out in their hotel room as first dad then mom came down with an evil flu/cold. luckily (knock wood) I have not been afflicted.

Then we traveled down to DC to see my sister's singing group perform (www.18thstreetsingers.com). as always, they blew me away. oh, we also went to visit Colbert's portrait in the National Portrait Gallery, which was really the only thing we had planned for the visit. It was a very nice week and a nice ending to my winter vacation. so now it's back to the old grind stone for me - one semester down, 9 semesters to go!!