Things were going pretty well on the running front and then they stopped going well. I ran a mile on Sunday in the rain, because I didn't bother to look outside before heading out/even though it should've been a rest day I wanted to be tired for what was to come that day. On Monday, I woke up at 6:30 and ran a route I had mapped out around the neighborhood. I was pretty damn fatigued and sore afterwards, but otherwise alright. I took Tuesday off, as it was a planned rest day. I improved my neighborhood route for Wednesday. I started running on Wednesday and my ankle was bothering me immediately. I probably should've stopped, but I trooped on after tightening my right shoe, which didn't help.
Anyway, I ran 2.3 miles on a bum ankle. I shouldn't have run on it. I've self diagnosed it as a sprain. It hurts like a sprain and reacts the way a sprain would to exertion and rest. The only thing that makes me question it is the lack of any significant swelling. Of course, that is kind of typical for me. I don't really swell very much with most injuries.
I haven't run since Wednesday. I don't have to limp most of the time anymore which is progress. It hurts to put my weight on my right leg and I've tried little bits of running, but the ankle doesn't agree with that. I think it has regressed though, because it felt better yesterday morning than it does now. I had to do a lot of walking on stairs yesterday, which is probably why.
Yesterday, I also succeeded in fucking up my other ankle. It has a nice contusion and bruise on it from being rammed into a step by a mattress*. I really thought it was going to be bad enough to require x-rays yesterday, which I can't afford, but it seems to be alright today.
Okay, enough with the bitching about my injuries and such. I'm disappointed that I had to stop. With the exception of my ankle, I felt great after running on Wednesday. My legs didn't ache terribly. I didn't need to use my inhaler.
So, my goal for this week is to start again, if my ankle permits. I'll probably start with some shorter runs to get back into it and make sure not to reinjure it. I also am going to really ramp up my look for a second job. Another job means that I can move out, which something I need to do for my sanity.
Spreadsheet to document the runs:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmSgPfh9Do1zdC1PbTktalhCUFdmdTFTa205dkNDcEE
Thanks for reading
-Michael
*It is dumb to move shit on a sprained ankle, but it is far preferable to having to listen to my Dad bitch about his pain or some shit.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Michael's Self-improvment Project Day #1
This morning, I did something that I haven't done in a very long time. I exercised. I went to Blacklick Wood Metro Part and ran. So, the reasons for this change are as follow:
I am horribly out of shape.
I know I am ridiculously skinny, but I am acutely aware of a developing belly.
It should help with my anxiety
Also, I'm hoping the health benefits will somewhat counteract the years being taken off my life caused by the stress of living at home.
So, I ran about 2.4 miles, if I trust the listed trail distances. I didn't think I could make it that far. My initial plan was to run to the end of the trail and then walk back as a cool down. However, I got to the end of the trail and still felt like I could keep going. So, I started running the other direction and ran the whole path back.
I was very winded by the end and my legs hurt badly. I cooled down by walking another trail, which I think was probably a mile. I saw two does and a fawn while walking there. After wandering around in Washington, our trees are unimpressive. They're just small and not dense.
Back to the topic, My plan is to run every other day. I'll just run around my house on weekday mornings and go to a park on Weekends. Then, I'll increase the number of days depending on how it goes from there.
So, I have an Socially Awkward Penguin moment from this morning's run to share. So, early on in my run, I was running and a girl was coming the opposite direction. So at the moment where brief eye contact is acceptable, my right ear bud popped out. I had to make the call whether or not to put it back in or just it dangle until she passed, but ended up doing neither, so I ended up just sort of holding it.
Anyway, I'll update how this is going on Monday's from now on. Next time, I'll also talk about my attempts to get a second job.
Thanks for reading
-Michael
I am horribly out of shape.
I know I am ridiculously skinny, but I am acutely aware of a developing belly.
It should help with my anxiety
Also, I'm hoping the health benefits will somewhat counteract the years being taken off my life caused by the stress of living at home.
So, I ran about 2.4 miles, if I trust the listed trail distances. I didn't think I could make it that far. My initial plan was to run to the end of the trail and then walk back as a cool down. However, I got to the end of the trail and still felt like I could keep going. So, I started running the other direction and ran the whole path back.
I was very winded by the end and my legs hurt badly. I cooled down by walking another trail, which I think was probably a mile. I saw two does and a fawn while walking there. After wandering around in Washington, our trees are unimpressive. They're just small and not dense.
Back to the topic, My plan is to run every other day. I'll just run around my house on weekday mornings and go to a park on Weekends. Then, I'll increase the number of days depending on how it goes from there.
So, I have an Socially Awkward Penguin moment from this morning's run to share. So, early on in my run, I was running and a girl was coming the opposite direction. So at the moment where brief eye contact is acceptable, my right ear bud popped out. I had to make the call whether or not to put it back in or just it dangle until she passed, but ended up doing neither, so I ended up just sort of holding it.
Anyway, I'll update how this is going on Monday's from now on. Next time, I'll also talk about my attempts to get a second job.
Thanks for reading
-Michael
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Spontaneous Trip to Bellingham/Visit Emma (Part 3)
In the last part, the President sends me to Madison, Wisconsin. Hopefully this will be shorter than the others:
I had called on Friday morning for a Taxi to pick me up at 3:00 am on Saturday morning. So, I set my alarm for 2:30 am. I put the few things I hadn't packed the night before into my backpack. My cab driver called a few minutes before 3:00, so I went down to checkout of the hotel and got into the cab. I didn't get the driver who had picked me up*, but had an English guy. I had to give my, "I'm from Columbus and came to visit a friend" story a final time.
He got me to the airport without incident and I gave him the same generous I had given the lady who had picked me (mostly out of fear of being a terrible sexist.) I checked-in and got my boarding passes and couldn't figure out why I couldn't find security, which I had to sheepishly ask where it was. I was told it wasn't open yet, so I got to wait for that. There were several other people waiting though.
Anyway security opened and I got through that without incident. I sat around waiting for boarding. When I did get to board, I again had to walk out onto the tarmac and into the planes back door. I don't know what type of plane it was. I think it had jet engines, but it also had propellers. Anyway, time to introduce visual aid #2:
The crew was actually pretty goofy on this flight. Notably the flight attendant who greeted me used his best Cookie Monster voice when he saw my Cookie Monster shirt. Then when we were seated, they said we could change seats since there were some openings, if we wanted to sit next to someone more attractive. Anyway, they said the flight to Seattle would be quite turbulent. I didn't really notice any turbulence though.
So, we landed in Seattle and I don't think this plane was tall enough to use a regular gate, so again I had to get off onto the tarmac and then follow a covered path into the terminal. I found a screen, figured out which gate I needed to be at for my flight and started towards it. It was actually pretty far away, but it was a 3-hour layover, so there was no risk other than boredom.
I sat around for a while once I got there. Then I got up and bought a Sudoku puzzle book and a pencil that said, "Seattle" and tried my best to kill time. My plan was to sleep on the flight from Seattle to Chicago and I gave a little nudge to my tired with medication right before boarding.
Unfortunately, sleep was not gonna happen for me on that flight. Actually, it was probably pretty fortunate in terms of avoiding horrible jet-lag. I was too tall to be able to rest my head against the seat comfortably and then I tried to put my head down on the tray table, but that wasn't really comfortable either, so I gave up and started reading.
So, after several hours, the pilot comes on and says that we had made great time to Chicago, but we're stuck in holding pattern due to V.I.P. movement. So, we circled for a while and then he said we may have to divert to Madison, Wisconsin. Then we circled some more and then he said since we were low on fuel we had to divert to Madison.
So, I got to spend some time parked on a runway in Madison, because the President was flying into Chicago at the time we were supposed to land. Being trapped in Economy Class isn't exactly pleasant, but I wasn't in a rush because my layover was pretty damn long in Chicago. I did have to explain to the guy next to me who woke up to the knowledge that we were in Wisconsin what was going on.
We had touched down in Madison just about the time we were supposed to land in Chicago and about 40 minutes and a fueling later we took off again for Chicago. We landed in Chicago a little over a hour after we were scheduled, but it was no big deal for me. I still had plenty of time.
I started making my way towards the gate looking for a place to eat. I found a food court and bought some deep dish pizza at a place called "Reggio's." I sat at a mostly empty table and ate it.
The gate I was flying out felt sort of like the reject table. It wasn't part of the main concourse, but was downstairs. There were no windows and the board down there wasn't working. No one from the airline seemed bothered to show up at it until after we were supposed to have been boarding.
The flight was mostly empty, so the delay in boarding wasn't an issue though. However, we got delayed twice. First, we were waiting for an airline employee who needed to be back in Columbus, but he or she never showed up. Then Then we got caught in a line to use our runway.
Anyway this flight was cool. No one was sitting near me. Also, there were storm clouds to look at, which I thought looked amazing from above.
After a short flight, we landed in Columbus and even with the delays were on time. I walked out of the terminal and Mom was waiting in her car to pick me up and I was tired. That's about it.
That's my story even if I'm not all that good of a story teller.
Thanks for reading
-Michael
*Which was mildly disappointing
I had called on Friday morning for a Taxi to pick me up at 3:00 am on Saturday morning. So, I set my alarm for 2:30 am. I put the few things I hadn't packed the night before into my backpack. My cab driver called a few minutes before 3:00, so I went down to checkout of the hotel and got into the cab. I didn't get the driver who had picked me up*, but had an English guy. I had to give my, "I'm from Columbus and came to visit a friend" story a final time.
He got me to the airport without incident and I gave him the same generous I had given the lady who had picked me (mostly out of fear of being a terrible sexist.) I checked-in and got my boarding passes and couldn't figure out why I couldn't find security, which I had to sheepishly ask where it was. I was told it wasn't open yet, so I got to wait for that. There were several other people waiting though.
Anyway security opened and I got through that without incident. I sat around waiting for boarding. When I did get to board, I again had to walk out onto the tarmac and into the planes back door. I don't know what type of plane it was. I think it had jet engines, but it also had propellers. Anyway, time to introduce visual aid #2:
The crew was actually pretty goofy on this flight. Notably the flight attendant who greeted me used his best Cookie Monster voice when he saw my Cookie Monster shirt. Then when we were seated, they said we could change seats since there were some openings, if we wanted to sit next to someone more attractive. Anyway, they said the flight to Seattle would be quite turbulent. I didn't really notice any turbulence though.
So, we landed in Seattle and I don't think this plane was tall enough to use a regular gate, so again I had to get off onto the tarmac and then follow a covered path into the terminal. I found a screen, figured out which gate I needed to be at for my flight and started towards it. It was actually pretty far away, but it was a 3-hour layover, so there was no risk other than boredom.
I sat around for a while once I got there. Then I got up and bought a Sudoku puzzle book and a pencil that said, "Seattle" and tried my best to kill time. My plan was to sleep on the flight from Seattle to Chicago and I gave a little nudge to my tired with medication right before boarding.
Unfortunately, sleep was not gonna happen for me on that flight. Actually, it was probably pretty fortunate in terms of avoiding horrible jet-lag. I was too tall to be able to rest my head against the seat comfortably and then I tried to put my head down on the tray table, but that wasn't really comfortable either, so I gave up and started reading.
So, after several hours, the pilot comes on and says that we had made great time to Chicago, but we're stuck in holding pattern due to V.I.P. movement. So, we circled for a while and then he said we may have to divert to Madison, Wisconsin. Then we circled some more and then he said since we were low on fuel we had to divert to Madison.
So, I got to spend some time parked on a runway in Madison, because the President was flying into Chicago at the time we were supposed to land. Being trapped in Economy Class isn't exactly pleasant, but I wasn't in a rush because my layover was pretty damn long in Chicago. I did have to explain to the guy next to me who woke up to the knowledge that we were in Wisconsin what was going on.
We had touched down in Madison just about the time we were supposed to land in Chicago and about 40 minutes and a fueling later we took off again for Chicago. We landed in Chicago a little over a hour after we were scheduled, but it was no big deal for me. I still had plenty of time.
I started making my way towards the gate looking for a place to eat. I found a food court and bought some deep dish pizza at a place called "Reggio's." I sat at a mostly empty table and ate it.
The gate I was flying out felt sort of like the reject table. It wasn't part of the main concourse, but was downstairs. There were no windows and the board down there wasn't working. No one from the airline seemed bothered to show up at it until after we were supposed to have been boarding.
The flight was mostly empty, so the delay in boarding wasn't an issue though. However, we got delayed twice. First, we were waiting for an airline employee who needed to be back in Columbus, but he or she never showed up. Then Then we got caught in a line to use our runway.
Anyway this flight was cool. No one was sitting near me. Also, there were storm clouds to look at, which I thought looked amazing from above.
After a short flight, we landed in Columbus and even with the delays were on time. I walked out of the terminal and Mom was waiting in her car to pick me up and I was tired. That's about it.
That's my story even if I'm not all that good of a story teller.
Thanks for reading
-Michael
*Which was mildly disappointing
Monday, June 4, 2012
Spontaneous Trip to Bellingham/Visit Emma (Part 2)
May 30th, 2012 is the day that Emma Burbank and I met in person. Future historians will point to that date and ponder it's significance. People may look back at it and wish we'd been stopped. Okay, probably not, but it still was awesome. To pick up where I left off:
I go up to my hotel room and set my bags down. Emma and I exchanged texts and managed to set up a meeting. I called my Mom and Sister to let them know I was there and safe in the meantime. Then I fired up the interwebz to figure out how to best way to get to campus. I determined that there were two ways to walk there: One through the park and another slightly longer way by sticking to the streets. I decided against the buses since they didn't run very late.
I decided on just walking the street route because it seemed like the easier/less likely to get lost way. However, Google Maps lied to me as would became a mild theme on this trip. The street I walked on ended before it go to the intersection I wanted to get to. However, where it did end was just a block from the entrance from the path in the park (or Arboretum). Fortunately, the path ended where I was led to believe it would by the internet.
I walked down some steps and I then I was on the sidewalk, which I was pretty sure was near where we had agreed to meet. Of course, I really didn't know, because I had no idea which way was which, or where the fuck I was. However, I spotted her pretty quickly. At least I thought it was her as it was a girl sitting on a bench with a laptop with the right hair color and length. And I was right. She spotted me when I got near enough and we hugged the most wonderful of hugs. And there it was, Emma and I in person finally. (It is really hard to quantify with words how awesome this was.)
She took me to the library and when my jet lagged brain decided it was time to eat she took to a place where food was. And where we ate was perfectly normal for that it had a fucking view of the ocean. Also, the trash cans had like 1,000 options; it was intimidating.
After I ate and Emma had juice we wandered all around campus. There were various pieces of sculpture (most notably "Man Humping Bear" [Unofficial Title].) So, we walked and talked for quite a while and it isn't all that interesting to anyone who wasn't involved (or maybe anyone who isn't me.)
Unbeknownst to me, we ended up back near where I had come out at when I suggest we start back that way. Emma didn't know about the way I had came so she ended up leading me up the steps and we ended up looking some sort of memorial and Emma compared the inscription to Sisyphus and it was brilliant. We said goodbye there and I walked back up the trail.
I walked past my hotel and to the nearby grocery store. It started to rain a little harder as I got closer to the grocery store, but it never really rained all that hard by Ohio standards. I mean, I was wet, but I've been wetter before*. I grabbed a basket and wandered around looking for stuff. I looked for snacks and ended up getting Pretzels and Oreos (this decision was mostly because their packing wouldn't be affected by the rain.) Then, I looked for travel size tooth paste and things and found them after some searching**. Finally, I grabbed a six pack of water and 3 bottles of Powerade and went to check out.
I told the cashier that I didn't want whatever that store's card is called, because I wasn't from around there***. I had to tell the, "I'm from Columbus and I'm visiting a friend" story again. I'm pretty sure the Columbus to Bellingham trek is a fairly rare one.
The rain hadn't really let up when I went back outside. Backtracking a little, something that was odd to me about that store was that there was just an open main entrance. There were no doors, automatic or otherwise, for that entrance. I made the briefish walk back to the hotel and made an unfortunate mistake. I set my bags down outside the door to let myself in. I then proceeded to set my keycard and wallet down before going back for the bags and I forgot the hotel doors don't stay open by themselves. So, the door closed and I couldn't get back in my room.
I picked up the bags and rather sheepishly walked back down the the lobby and told them my predicament. Fortunately the girl who checked me in was still there and they let me slide without showing ID. Anyway I got a new key and got into my room with grocery bags without further incident****. I went to get ice for a drink after setting some in the mini-fridge.
The glasses in my room felt like they deserved to have something more classy than green Powerade drank out of them. However, that's what I used them for. That's pretty much it for Wednesday. I laid in the bed and listened to the RT Podcast and did my usual internet thing before settling in for bed.
I was tired enough when I finally shut everything down, that I fell asleep despite the person in a room near me who had their T.V. at a ridiculously high volume.
I woke up at about 5:30 am PDT the following day. I wasn't going to get back to sleep for two reasons. First, my brain was like, "it's 8:30 by my watch you're up around 8:00 every day no more sleep for you." Second, The ridiculously loud T.V. was still going and I was no longer so tired that it wasn't an issue.
Thursday, itself was the emptiest day of my brief trip. However, it was the day that anxiety decided to hit me hardest, which isn't all that surprising. It tends to happen when I have the least to worry about. Anyway, I basically laid around for a while and did shit on the computer before taking a shower and heading out to lunch.
I went to a Mexican Place called "El Egave" at around a quarter after 11:00. I decided to get a Margarita with my food and managed to puzzle the waiter with my Ohio Driver's License. I was the only person eating in the restaurant the who time I was there, so service was quick and I was done by 11:45. I walked back to the hotel and hung out for a bit and again made certain that I knew how to get to where the recital was from my hotel.
I walked to the recital (and saw a fucking black squirrel) and after a brief delay in getting into the hall, I took my seat. Emma was first to perform and she did very well. I'm biased, but I liked her performance best. All the other cellists did well, but they were no Emmas*****.
I got to see Emma briefly afterwards before heading back to hotel where I ended up taking a 5-hour nap.
I woke up at about 8:00 pm and wandered out to find some dinner. I turned right out from my hotel and went to the first place that looked good, which ended up being Quizno's, which I was really happy to see, because all the one's around where I live have closed down******. I got to have some Black Angus goodness that had been so missing from my life. Anyway, I fell asleep around 11:00 that night.
I woke up at 6:30 the next morning. I hung out in the room for a while and looked at a trail map for the Arboretum and went off exploring. I took a path that was supposed to take my by a reservoir, which wasn't what I really had imagined. I really just seemed like a fenced in area with some wildflowers Anyway, there were only four places that were specially marched so I hiked up the where the next one was supposed to be. It's called the Quiet Rocks Area. It wasn't really marked, but there was a place where rock was exposed, so I assume that's what that was. Then there was a landslide that happened in 1935 on the map and there was one area where there seemed to be an abundance of downed trees, so I think that's the evidence of that.
The last place marked on the map was the observation tower. I wandered to it and climbed the stairs to the top to get a fantastic view. I walked around for two hours and loved it. It was really pretty and the sun almost came out for a bit. I got to see lots of stuff I'd never seen before. Most of the pictures I took on this trip. There aren't too terribly many, because 1) I didn't want to spend all my time looking through a digital camera and 2) I didn't realize that my camera had the resolution set ridiculously high, so not many pictures could fit on the S/D card. Any here are some of the highlights:
From the Observation Tower
Quiet Rocks Area (I think). Also ferns, which my Mom found fascinating
Landslide maybe?
Reservoir(I think)
Anyway, I found my way out by a very narrow and slippery path on which I nearly fell countless times, but I managed to stay upright******* until I got out of the park. I walked back to the hotel again (here's what it looked like). I only stayed there briefly before going to grab lunch at the most exciting of places: Wendy's********.
After lunch, I showered and shaved (managing to give myself matching cuts on each side of my upper lip) and waited for Emma to come pick me up. She pulled up in her boyfriend's Lexus and we were off. First, we went to Blouevard Park or at least attempted to go there. We had been led astray by Google Maps, so we had to back track to her apartment to correct the directions and then we were at the park.
It was right on the ocean or bay or whatever. We walked the boardwalk back and forth and then chilled on a tiny beach for a bit. I thought the beach looked friggin awesome. Once I'd had my fill of beach sitting and ocean staring we went to get drinks. Emma very kindly bought me a hot chocolate and she got some fancy variety of tea. We sat on a bench and drank and spent a lot of time looking at all the dogs that had shown up.
After that she took me or tried to take me to Whatcom Falls Park. Again we were led astray by Google Maps, but Emma (being baller) managed to find her way to where we needed to be. We ended up making quite the hike in that park. Seeing falls and ending up wandering around a graveyard. It was interesting. Lots of very old graves in various stages of repair. It is the sort of thing that makes one ponder about a lot of things.
We turned around and walked back to the car. We skipped dinner (I hope Emma did eventually eat something) and went back to her apartment to meet her roommate to go to a show. She graciously offered me something to eat there and I ended up having a bagel. We sat around for a bit waiting for Emma's roommate Emily to get home.
Emily drove us to the Upfront Theatre for an improv show. So, I got to go to a show accompained by probably the two most awesome people in the Northwest*********. The show was very funny and I had a fantastic time. Afterwards, Emily drove me back to the hotel and Emma and I had to say our goodbyes. I was definitely bummed, but it was nicely balanced by how glad I was that I had come to that place. Also, this exists now:
Emma and I
We had one final hug and then I went back into the hotel. My flight was at 5:00 the next morning, which meant I would need to be up very early the next morning. I made the call to try to get some sleep rather than try to stay up all night and ordering a pizza. It ended up being the right call.
Okay, I'll end Part 2 here. That's the story of Michael in Bellingham. Part three will be about the trip home, but you don't have to read that because well that will be more boring than this part was.
Thanks for reading
-Michael
*Context is everything.
**I had a harder time finding these than I should've, but I feared that eco-friendly Northwest might not allow such tiny bottles.
***I don't buy travel size stuff just for kicks. I shouldn't be mean she was very nice.
****I would like to say my fatigue and jet-lag were the reason, but I'm sure that fully rested and aware Michael could've made the same mistake
*****I'll stop with the flattery now
******I actually found one in the Columbus Airport. Quizno's is good, but not really worth a boarding pass just to get some.
*******And avoid becoming Mountain Lion/Bear bait.
********It is the duty of all citizens of Columbus to test the quality of Wendy's outside of our fair city and report back to the ghost of Dave Thomas.
*********I lied about stopping the flattery
I go up to my hotel room and set my bags down. Emma and I exchanged texts and managed to set up a meeting. I called my Mom and Sister to let them know I was there and safe in the meantime. Then I fired up the interwebz to figure out how to best way to get to campus. I determined that there were two ways to walk there: One through the park and another slightly longer way by sticking to the streets. I decided against the buses since they didn't run very late.
I decided on just walking the street route because it seemed like the easier/less likely to get lost way. However, Google Maps lied to me as would became a mild theme on this trip. The street I walked on ended before it go to the intersection I wanted to get to. However, where it did end was just a block from the entrance from the path in the park (or Arboretum). Fortunately, the path ended where I was led to believe it would by the internet.
I walked down some steps and I then I was on the sidewalk, which I was pretty sure was near where we had agreed to meet. Of course, I really didn't know, because I had no idea which way was which, or where the fuck I was. However, I spotted her pretty quickly. At least I thought it was her as it was a girl sitting on a bench with a laptop with the right hair color and length. And I was right. She spotted me when I got near enough and we hugged the most wonderful of hugs. And there it was, Emma and I in person finally. (It is really hard to quantify with words how awesome this was.)
She took me to the library and when my jet lagged brain decided it was time to eat she took to a place where food was. And where we ate was perfectly normal for that it had a fucking view of the ocean. Also, the trash cans had like 1,000 options; it was intimidating.
After I ate and Emma had juice we wandered all around campus. There were various pieces of sculpture (most notably "Man Humping Bear" [Unofficial Title].) So, we walked and talked for quite a while and it isn't all that interesting to anyone who wasn't involved (or maybe anyone who isn't me.)
Unbeknownst to me, we ended up back near where I had come out at when I suggest we start back that way. Emma didn't know about the way I had came so she ended up leading me up the steps and we ended up looking some sort of memorial and Emma compared the inscription to Sisyphus and it was brilliant. We said goodbye there and I walked back up the trail.
I walked past my hotel and to the nearby grocery store. It started to rain a little harder as I got closer to the grocery store, but it never really rained all that hard by Ohio standards. I mean, I was wet, but I've been wetter before*. I grabbed a basket and wandered around looking for stuff. I looked for snacks and ended up getting Pretzels and Oreos (this decision was mostly because their packing wouldn't be affected by the rain.) Then, I looked for travel size tooth paste and things and found them after some searching**. Finally, I grabbed a six pack of water and 3 bottles of Powerade and went to check out.
I told the cashier that I didn't want whatever that store's card is called, because I wasn't from around there***. I had to tell the, "I'm from Columbus and I'm visiting a friend" story again. I'm pretty sure the Columbus to Bellingham trek is a fairly rare one.
The rain hadn't really let up when I went back outside. Backtracking a little, something that was odd to me about that store was that there was just an open main entrance. There were no doors, automatic or otherwise, for that entrance. I made the briefish walk back to the hotel and made an unfortunate mistake. I set my bags down outside the door to let myself in. I then proceeded to set my keycard and wallet down before going back for the bags and I forgot the hotel doors don't stay open by themselves. So, the door closed and I couldn't get back in my room.
I picked up the bags and rather sheepishly walked back down the the lobby and told them my predicament. Fortunately the girl who checked me in was still there and they let me slide without showing ID. Anyway I got a new key and got into my room with grocery bags without further incident****. I went to get ice for a drink after setting some in the mini-fridge.
The glasses in my room felt like they deserved to have something more classy than green Powerade drank out of them. However, that's what I used them for. That's pretty much it for Wednesday. I laid in the bed and listened to the RT Podcast and did my usual internet thing before settling in for bed.
I was tired enough when I finally shut everything down, that I fell asleep despite the person in a room near me who had their T.V. at a ridiculously high volume.
I woke up at about 5:30 am PDT the following day. I wasn't going to get back to sleep for two reasons. First, my brain was like, "it's 8:30 by my watch you're up around 8:00 every day no more sleep for you." Second, The ridiculously loud T.V. was still going and I was no longer so tired that it wasn't an issue.
Thursday, itself was the emptiest day of my brief trip. However, it was the day that anxiety decided to hit me hardest, which isn't all that surprising. It tends to happen when I have the least to worry about. Anyway, I basically laid around for a while and did shit on the computer before taking a shower and heading out to lunch.
I went to a Mexican Place called "El Egave" at around a quarter after 11:00. I decided to get a Margarita with my food and managed to puzzle the waiter with my Ohio Driver's License. I was the only person eating in the restaurant the who time I was there, so service was quick and I was done by 11:45. I walked back to the hotel and hung out for a bit and again made certain that I knew how to get to where the recital was from my hotel.
I walked to the recital (and saw a fucking black squirrel) and after a brief delay in getting into the hall, I took my seat. Emma was first to perform and she did very well. I'm biased, but I liked her performance best. All the other cellists did well, but they were no Emmas*****.
I got to see Emma briefly afterwards before heading back to hotel where I ended up taking a 5-hour nap.
I woke up at about 8:00 pm and wandered out to find some dinner. I turned right out from my hotel and went to the first place that looked good, which ended up being Quizno's, which I was really happy to see, because all the one's around where I live have closed down******. I got to have some Black Angus goodness that had been so missing from my life. Anyway, I fell asleep around 11:00 that night.
I woke up at 6:30 the next morning. I hung out in the room for a while and looked at a trail map for the Arboretum and went off exploring. I took a path that was supposed to take my by a reservoir, which wasn't what I really had imagined. I really just seemed like a fenced in area with some wildflowers Anyway, there were only four places that were specially marched so I hiked up the where the next one was supposed to be. It's called the Quiet Rocks Area. It wasn't really marked, but there was a place where rock was exposed, so I assume that's what that was. Then there was a landslide that happened in 1935 on the map and there was one area where there seemed to be an abundance of downed trees, so I think that's the evidence of that.
The last place marked on the map was the observation tower. I wandered to it and climbed the stairs to the top to get a fantastic view. I walked around for two hours and loved it. It was really pretty and the sun almost came out for a bit. I got to see lots of stuff I'd never seen before. Most of the pictures I took on this trip. There aren't too terribly many, because 1) I didn't want to spend all my time looking through a digital camera and 2) I didn't realize that my camera had the resolution set ridiculously high, so not many pictures could fit on the S/D card. Any here are some of the highlights:
From the Observation Tower
Quiet Rocks Area (I think). Also ferns, which my Mom found fascinating
Landslide maybe?
Reservoir(I think)
Anyway, I found my way out by a very narrow and slippery path on which I nearly fell countless times, but I managed to stay upright******* until I got out of the park. I walked back to the hotel again (here's what it looked like). I only stayed there briefly before going to grab lunch at the most exciting of places: Wendy's********.
After lunch, I showered and shaved (managing to give myself matching cuts on each side of my upper lip) and waited for Emma to come pick me up. She pulled up in her boyfriend's Lexus and we were off. First, we went to Blouevard Park or at least attempted to go there. We had been led astray by Google Maps, so we had to back track to her apartment to correct the directions and then we were at the park.
It was right on the ocean or bay or whatever. We walked the boardwalk back and forth and then chilled on a tiny beach for a bit. I thought the beach looked friggin awesome. Once I'd had my fill of beach sitting and ocean staring we went to get drinks. Emma very kindly bought me a hot chocolate and she got some fancy variety of tea. We sat on a bench and drank and spent a lot of time looking at all the dogs that had shown up.
After that she took me or tried to take me to Whatcom Falls Park. Again we were led astray by Google Maps, but Emma (being baller) managed to find her way to where we needed to be. We ended up making quite the hike in that park. Seeing falls and ending up wandering around a graveyard. It was interesting. Lots of very old graves in various stages of repair. It is the sort of thing that makes one ponder about a lot of things.
We turned around and walked back to the car. We skipped dinner (I hope Emma did eventually eat something) and went back to her apartment to meet her roommate to go to a show. She graciously offered me something to eat there and I ended up having a bagel. We sat around for a bit waiting for Emma's roommate Emily to get home.
Emily drove us to the Upfront Theatre for an improv show. So, I got to go to a show accompained by probably the two most awesome people in the Northwest*********. The show was very funny and I had a fantastic time. Afterwards, Emily drove me back to the hotel and Emma and I had to say our goodbyes. I was definitely bummed, but it was nicely balanced by how glad I was that I had come to that place. Also, this exists now:
Emma and I
We had one final hug and then I went back into the hotel. My flight was at 5:00 the next morning, which meant I would need to be up very early the next morning. I made the call to try to get some sleep rather than try to stay up all night and ordering a pizza. It ended up being the right call.
Okay, I'll end Part 2 here. That's the story of Michael in Bellingham. Part three will be about the trip home, but you don't have to read that because well that will be more boring than this part was.
Thanks for reading
-Michael
*Context is everything.
**I had a harder time finding these than I should've, but I feared that eco-friendly Northwest might not allow such tiny bottles.
***I don't buy travel size stuff just for kicks. I shouldn't be mean she was very nice.
****I would like to say my fatigue and jet-lag were the reason, but I'm sure that fully rested and aware Michael could've made the same mistake
*****I'll stop with the flattery now
******I actually found one in the Columbus Airport. Quizno's is good, but not really worth a boarding pass just to get some.
*******And avoid becoming Mountain Lion/Bear bait.
********It is the duty of all citizens of Columbus to test the quality of Wendy's outside of our fair city and report back to the ghost of Dave Thomas.
*********I lied about stopping the flattery
Spontaneous Trip to Bellingham/Visit Emma (Part 1)
Last Wednesday, I left the confines of Ohio and flew to a corner of the United States. I landed in Bellingham, Washington that afternoon and this is the story of that trip:
There isn't a lot of lead up to this trip. Through our secret means* I found that my dear friend, Emma had a cello recital on May 31st and wanted to go; It was the morning of May 19th. I had really wanted to visit her and to a lesser extent see the Northwest and to a lesser extent than that get further away from Columbus that I had ever been before. In my head, this recital became a pretense to do all of those things, so I started looking for a plane tickets.
In recent months, it hasn't been entirely uncommon for me to look for plane tickets. I have been bitten by the wanderlust bug recently, so I sometimes would just look. However, I usually had little intention of actually booking anything. I don't think I started out that morning with the intention of actually booking; it was just an idea. It definitely was the sort of thing that you should run by the person you're going to visit first.
However, in a fit of spontaneity (or insanity), I saw a fare that was quite reasonable and booked myself for the trip. Shortly after that I reserved a hotel room in Bellingham. So, in an instant months of "save now. travel later" rational was out the window, but I was excited and not really remorseful about the spending. In fact my main worry was that I was being an inconsiderate asshole to suddenly just drop in on Emma. I told myself that I would think it over and decided whether or not to just cancel it.
The next day, I woke up and I was still excited. I didn't have the buyer's remorse. In fact I had come up with a new rationalization to justify the spending: I've gotten through two years of college and am about to get an Associates Degree and haven't taken on any debt, so taking on a little debt for this trip is alright. So, I was planning on going through with it unless I got a, "no" from Emma, which she didn't give.
When, I first booked the trip I must confess my plan was to show up as a surprise at the recital. However, as I considered that more I realized how bad of an idea it was. One, That would probably cross a serious line in terms of appropriate interaction with an internet friend. Secondly, it is probably more creepy than sweet. Finally, in not giving someone fair warning you're kind of making a douchy/passive-aggressive move by basically forcing the person to either drop his or her plans or neglect you.
So, fast forward past all the planning stuff** and jump to May 30th, which was my departure date. I'd packed the night before, but I was certain I had forgotten something and there were things that couldn't be packed the night before (namely Deodorant.) I woke up at 5:00 am and packed the stuff that still needed packing and checked over and over to make certain I wasn't forgetting something important.
So, the thing about leaving on May 30th is that it is my Mom's birthday. So, as she drove me to the airport I wished her a happy birthday repeatedly. I felt bad ditching her on that day***. Still, I was so excited where I was going and who was going to be there and how I was going somewhere far away on my own.
I really went to security in Columbus as a novice. I'd only flown once before. I knew about the shoe thing. I knew about the empty pockets thing. I knew that I should bother with a belt. I knew no liquids. So, I wasn't completely hopeless, but still I made a few flubs. The TSA lady reminded me to take off my jacket. Then, had to take the laptop out of the case to go under the scanner. I didn't get a full body scan instead they directed me through a metal detector.
So, getting through security went smoothly and before long I had my shoes back on, my shit back in my pockets, and the laptop back in the case. I grabbed my bags and headed to the gate. It was about 6:45 when I got to the gate. The plane didn't leave until 7:40, so I had to kill a little time before boarding, which I mostly did by looking out the window of the airport. There wasn't much to see except the plane I was about to get into.
Ok, now I'm going to introduce a visual aid:
This my trip to Bellingham in a neat(ish) format. Of course planes don't fly in straight lines; they tend to kind of arc to the north in the northern hemisphere, because for some weird math reason that is less distance on a sphere. Anyway, still I think it does its job.
So, the plane took off pretty close to on time at 7:40 EDT. The flight to Chicago is as I remember from when I took it the one time before. It's really quick. As, I looked out the window it never really looked like I left Central Ohio until we flew over Lake Michigan. So, the plane landed at about 7:40 CDT; I just find it so interesting that I traveled 277 miles, but didn't travel through time.
By the time I got to the gate I needed to be at in O'Hare I had about 90 minutes left in the layover. I tried reading, but I just confirmed that I am way too much of a people-watcher to have any luck reading in public, because I can't concentrate when there are people moving around me and can be looked at. So, I just put my iPod on and creeped on strangers walking past until boarding time.
On this plane, I unfortunately had the middle seat. On the aisle side of me was a rather large gentlemen and on the window side was a person I can only assume was named, "Douchebag McGee." Anyway, Douchebag was trying his best to hide his annoying cellphone conversation from the flight attendants after he was supposed to have put it away.
Anyway, I had planned to use the laptop on this flight since the plane had wi-fi, but there wasn't really room and getting the wi-fi required buying a movie or some shit. So, I just read. The book I chose to take with me was "Paper Towns" for a reread. I didn't really want to start something new given the nature of this trip. I read for quite a while until I saw mountains out the window. It was the first time I had seen mountains with snow on top of them, because the mountains in the east are pretty lame. I watched out the window until things turned to just flat desert and then got back to reading. We landed in Las Vegas pretty soon after the land turned to desert.
I learned something after spending a little time in Las Vegas. I had assumed that Vegas was in the Mountain Timezone, but it isn't; It is Pacific. It didn't make much a difference in terms of catching flights, but it did explain why 11:30 there didn't quite feel like 1:30 EDT. Also, why I was so damn hungry. The terminal in Vegas is filled with slot-machines. I wasn't interested in playing them though. If there had been a Poker or Blackjack table I probably would've played, but that isn't exactly reasonable to have in an airport.
It took me a bit until I found a screen to figure out which gate I needed to get to. Once I did, it was time to do something about my not having eaten a meal in 18 hours. I started walking to towards the gate and settled on a Chili's-to-go. I got mozzarella sticks and they were delicious. Then I went to sit by my gate to wait for boarding.
I took the risk of connecting to an unsecured wi-fi network to check news and sure up some details for arrival in Bellingham. I made sure not to use any passwords though and hoped I wasn't killing the laptop. Anyway, I didn't stay connected for too long. I put the lap top away and watched as people got off a plane from Seattle****.
An old lady from Bellingham talked to me, because she was confused as to which gate the flight was going to be at exactly as all the announcements were being made from the gate next to ours. She asked whether or not I was from Bellingham and I told her I wasn't and was from Columbus, Ohio and she stopped talking to me and then wandered off in a few minutes.
This flight probably took the longest to board, but it was without question the best flight of the trip. The plane had a pretty decent amount of legroom and the seat next to me was empty. Also, one of the flight attendants was really pretty, which helps. Oh, and I got a snack. I tried to sleep on this flight and almost made it before the pilot made an announcement that startled me awake. He was just telling us where to look to see the 3 Sisters. I looked out the window for a while and then it clouded over. I read for a bit before we began our descent.
On the decent, my right ear didn't pop. It hurt badly. I was chewing gum and just hoped it would pop as the plane got lower and lower. It never did happen though. It stopped hurting so badly once we were on the ground, but I couldn't hear very well out of it.
When we reached the terminal at Bellingham International Airport, we got off the plane and on to the tarmac, which I didn't really think was allowed anymore, but apparently it is. I walked out of the terminal and then outside of the airport and realized a serious mistake in my plan to get to my hotel. While I knew there was a bus stop around the airport I hadn't really figured out which direction I needed to go get to said bus stop. I tried one direction and it wasn't right. Also, my plane was early and the bus I needed to be on wouldn't be around for a hour (presuming it was on time.) So I walked back to where there were walk-up taxis in front of the airport.
The taxi I got into was a Prius driven by a good-looking woman. I had to give my, "I'm from Columbus and I'm visiting a friend" story to the driver. Although, I was sort of guessing at what she was asking because I couldn't hear very well given the state of my right ear. I got to the hotel and paid her with a generous tip and checked in.
So, I'm splitting this into parts, because this is already quite long. I apologize for the boring nature of this post*****.
tl;dr I went to visit Emma. I recommend Alaska Airlines.
Thanks for reading
-Michael
*=D
**Like how I was going to get around once I got there and stuff.
***Not too bad because I did have to pick her up from the airport on my Birthday and turnabout is fair play xD
****Which I must say seemed to have had a who can show the most cleavage contest on-board. It sounds more pleasant than it actually was.
*****Not that the other parts will be much more exciting.
There isn't a lot of lead up to this trip. Through our secret means* I found that my dear friend, Emma had a cello recital on May 31st and wanted to go; It was the morning of May 19th. I had really wanted to visit her and to a lesser extent see the Northwest and to a lesser extent than that get further away from Columbus that I had ever been before. In my head, this recital became a pretense to do all of those things, so I started looking for a plane tickets.
In recent months, it hasn't been entirely uncommon for me to look for plane tickets. I have been bitten by the wanderlust bug recently, so I sometimes would just look. However, I usually had little intention of actually booking anything. I don't think I started out that morning with the intention of actually booking; it was just an idea. It definitely was the sort of thing that you should run by the person you're going to visit first.
However, in a fit of spontaneity (or insanity), I saw a fare that was quite reasonable and booked myself for the trip. Shortly after that I reserved a hotel room in Bellingham. So, in an instant months of "save now. travel later" rational was out the window, but I was excited and not really remorseful about the spending. In fact my main worry was that I was being an inconsiderate asshole to suddenly just drop in on Emma. I told myself that I would think it over and decided whether or not to just cancel it.
The next day, I woke up and I was still excited. I didn't have the buyer's remorse. In fact I had come up with a new rationalization to justify the spending: I've gotten through two years of college and am about to get an Associates Degree and haven't taken on any debt, so taking on a little debt for this trip is alright. So, I was planning on going through with it unless I got a, "no" from Emma, which she didn't give.
When, I first booked the trip I must confess my plan was to show up as a surprise at the recital. However, as I considered that more I realized how bad of an idea it was. One, That would probably cross a serious line in terms of appropriate interaction with an internet friend. Secondly, it is probably more creepy than sweet. Finally, in not giving someone fair warning you're kind of making a douchy/passive-aggressive move by basically forcing the person to either drop his or her plans or neglect you.
So, fast forward past all the planning stuff** and jump to May 30th, which was my departure date. I'd packed the night before, but I was certain I had forgotten something and there were things that couldn't be packed the night before (namely Deodorant.) I woke up at 5:00 am and packed the stuff that still needed packing and checked over and over to make certain I wasn't forgetting something important.
So, the thing about leaving on May 30th is that it is my Mom's birthday. So, as she drove me to the airport I wished her a happy birthday repeatedly. I felt bad ditching her on that day***. Still, I was so excited where I was going and who was going to be there and how I was going somewhere far away on my own.
I really went to security in Columbus as a novice. I'd only flown once before. I knew about the shoe thing. I knew about the empty pockets thing. I knew that I should bother with a belt. I knew no liquids. So, I wasn't completely hopeless, but still I made a few flubs. The TSA lady reminded me to take off my jacket. Then, had to take the laptop out of the case to go under the scanner. I didn't get a full body scan instead they directed me through a metal detector.
So, getting through security went smoothly and before long I had my shoes back on, my shit back in my pockets, and the laptop back in the case. I grabbed my bags and headed to the gate. It was about 6:45 when I got to the gate. The plane didn't leave until 7:40, so I had to kill a little time before boarding, which I mostly did by looking out the window of the airport. There wasn't much to see except the plane I was about to get into.
Ok, now I'm going to introduce a visual aid:
This my trip to Bellingham in a neat(ish) format. Of course planes don't fly in straight lines; they tend to kind of arc to the north in the northern hemisphere, because for some weird math reason that is less distance on a sphere. Anyway, still I think it does its job.
So, the plane took off pretty close to on time at 7:40 EDT. The flight to Chicago is as I remember from when I took it the one time before. It's really quick. As, I looked out the window it never really looked like I left Central Ohio until we flew over Lake Michigan. So, the plane landed at about 7:40 CDT; I just find it so interesting that I traveled 277 miles, but didn't travel through time.
By the time I got to the gate I needed to be at in O'Hare I had about 90 minutes left in the layover. I tried reading, but I just confirmed that I am way too much of a people-watcher to have any luck reading in public, because I can't concentrate when there are people moving around me and can be looked at. So, I just put my iPod on and creeped on strangers walking past until boarding time.
On this plane, I unfortunately had the middle seat. On the aisle side of me was a rather large gentlemen and on the window side was a person I can only assume was named, "Douchebag McGee." Anyway, Douchebag was trying his best to hide his annoying cellphone conversation from the flight attendants after he was supposed to have put it away.
Anyway, I had planned to use the laptop on this flight since the plane had wi-fi, but there wasn't really room and getting the wi-fi required buying a movie or some shit. So, I just read. The book I chose to take with me was "Paper Towns" for a reread. I didn't really want to start something new given the nature of this trip. I read for quite a while until I saw mountains out the window. It was the first time I had seen mountains with snow on top of them, because the mountains in the east are pretty lame. I watched out the window until things turned to just flat desert and then got back to reading. We landed in Las Vegas pretty soon after the land turned to desert.
I learned something after spending a little time in Las Vegas. I had assumed that Vegas was in the Mountain Timezone, but it isn't; It is Pacific. It didn't make much a difference in terms of catching flights, but it did explain why 11:30 there didn't quite feel like 1:30 EDT. Also, why I was so damn hungry. The terminal in Vegas is filled with slot-machines. I wasn't interested in playing them though. If there had been a Poker or Blackjack table I probably would've played, but that isn't exactly reasonable to have in an airport.
It took me a bit until I found a screen to figure out which gate I needed to get to. Once I did, it was time to do something about my not having eaten a meal in 18 hours. I started walking to towards the gate and settled on a Chili's-to-go. I got mozzarella sticks and they were delicious. Then I went to sit by my gate to wait for boarding.
I took the risk of connecting to an unsecured wi-fi network to check news and sure up some details for arrival in Bellingham. I made sure not to use any passwords though and hoped I wasn't killing the laptop. Anyway, I didn't stay connected for too long. I put the lap top away and watched as people got off a plane from Seattle****.
An old lady from Bellingham talked to me, because she was confused as to which gate the flight was going to be at exactly as all the announcements were being made from the gate next to ours. She asked whether or not I was from Bellingham and I told her I wasn't and was from Columbus, Ohio and she stopped talking to me and then wandered off in a few minutes.
This flight probably took the longest to board, but it was without question the best flight of the trip. The plane had a pretty decent amount of legroom and the seat next to me was empty. Also, one of the flight attendants was really pretty, which helps. Oh, and I got a snack. I tried to sleep on this flight and almost made it before the pilot made an announcement that startled me awake. He was just telling us where to look to see the 3 Sisters. I looked out the window for a while and then it clouded over. I read for a bit before we began our descent.
On the decent, my right ear didn't pop. It hurt badly. I was chewing gum and just hoped it would pop as the plane got lower and lower. It never did happen though. It stopped hurting so badly once we were on the ground, but I couldn't hear very well out of it.
When we reached the terminal at Bellingham International Airport, we got off the plane and on to the tarmac, which I didn't really think was allowed anymore, but apparently it is. I walked out of the terminal and then outside of the airport and realized a serious mistake in my plan to get to my hotel. While I knew there was a bus stop around the airport I hadn't really figured out which direction I needed to go get to said bus stop. I tried one direction and it wasn't right. Also, my plane was early and the bus I needed to be on wouldn't be around for a hour (presuming it was on time.) So I walked back to where there were walk-up taxis in front of the airport.
The taxi I got into was a Prius driven by a good-looking woman. I had to give my, "I'm from Columbus and I'm visiting a friend" story to the driver. Although, I was sort of guessing at what she was asking because I couldn't hear very well given the state of my right ear. I got to the hotel and paid her with a generous tip and checked in.
So, I'm splitting this into parts, because this is already quite long. I apologize for the boring nature of this post*****.
tl;dr I went to visit Emma. I recommend Alaska Airlines.
Thanks for reading
-Michael
*=D
**Like how I was going to get around once I got there and stuff.
***Not too bad because I did have to pick her up from the airport on my Birthday and turnabout is fair play xD
****Which I must say seemed to have had a who can show the most cleavage contest on-board. It sounds more pleasant than it actually was.
*****Not that the other parts will be much more exciting.
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