Gone to Carolina

AM: 37-38 mins.
5 miles
PM: 60 mins.
~8.5 miles

Well, this was a long day. It began with Jeffrey and I awaking to the freezing temperature in my house, which gives you an idea of how cold it was outside. We decided to go for a quick jog before loading clothes and miscellaneous items into his truck in hopes that the run would warm us up enough to make things tolerable. We were wrong.

The run itself was decent--and, more notably, Jeff's longest run in approximately four months--and we warmed up in the morning sun. I took him on a spin on the usual route that included such sights as the downtown Atlanta skyline, the Carter Presidential Library and the "My Dad Rocks: Father's Day '08" graffiti on the side of a warehouse in Inman Park.

Upon arriving back we commenced the loading of clothes. Remember how I said yesterday that I would be sore from yesterday's moving exploits? Yeah, well I am, and more of the same this morning certainly isn't helping matters. The culmination of our efforts came when we attempted to move the futon downstairs to Jeff's truck. Now, let me preface this by saying we weren't dealing with your run of the mill plastic/metal futon. This was actually a pretty legit couch/bed when I purchased it my sophomore year in college, and it has an actual spring mattress and a remarkably sturdy wooden frame. Point being, it's heavy. And, even worse, unwieldy. Only by the grace of God we made it down the stairs and cleared the 90-degree turn (thoughts of Ross from "Friends" screaming "PIVOT!" kept running through my head) with neither of us being maimed or killed. Unfortunately by that point I decided I no longer wanted said futon so we expeditiously dropped it off by the dumpster. Five minutes later it was followed by the aforementioned mattress, which Jeff literally threw over my balcony and onto the ground below to make quick work of things.


Peace out, futon. It's been real.

Anyhow, long story short (too late) I ended up arriving to Charlotte and taking my second run of the day with my new teammate and soon-to-be roommate Tanya, her friend Sean, and our other teammate Michael. Michael grew up in Palm Springs and since I've been there twice recently we chatted about the town and about how Jordan continuously refuses to take me on the tram even though that's the only thing I've ever wanted to do in Palm Springs. But I'm, like, totally over it. We took in the run at McAlpine Park, which is where I'll be spending most of my time for the next three semesters. It's a completely flat dirt path and seems like a decent place to put in a few miles. More importantly, it was great to finally meet some of the people on the team. I guess this is all finally happening.

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Everything Must Go

AM: 31 mins.
4 miles
PM: 46 mins.
6+ miles

I was out the door early this morning to put in a few minutes on my feet before the moving pod arrived. The company said I should expect it between 9am and 2pm, a time frame that was oh so helpful, but just in case they arrived at 9 on the dot I wanted to be ready. As it turns out, they came shortly after 10, and from there my day was thrown into a whirlwind. Pack a box, take it downstairs, put it by the pod, throw something in the dumpster, go back upstairs, repeat. I lost count of how many times I made the round trip, but I'm pretty sure my legs will remind me tomorrow.

At this point in my post, I need to offer a shout out to my wonderful friends who helped me out tremendously with moving today. I'm not sure how many of them read this, but many thanks to Web, Jim, Ezra and Jennie for all their help. The dudes did all the heavy lifting while Jennie packed up all my dishes and relieved me of some miscellaneous kitchen items that I neither wanted or needed (or, in one instance, could identify, although I think we ended up deciding it was a juicer). Were it not for their help I would probably be collapsed midway down my stairs underneath some dresser drawers or something.


Jilane's response to this pic: "Awww...Godspeed, MRN's shit."

As for today's runs, Jeff had scheduled a track workout for the afternoon but it just wasn't happening. By the time I finished packing, loading everything and cleaning my place it was almost dark and my legs were shot. I headed out for a short double that took me along a familiar route through the Highlands, Inman Park and Candler Park and turned around on the bike path where it meets Highland near Highland Bakery and my old apartment complex.

It's funny, I can vividly remember moving into that apartment three years ago this month. And, almost two years ago to the day, moving out of it. I remember coming to Atlanta last January to visit Brooke (who, incidentally, also lived within 400 yards of the spot where I turned around tonight) and feeling such nostalgia for this place, wondering if I would ever live here again. I had no idea I would end up coming and going again within such a short period of time. I'm not sure if I'll ever live here again--at this point, that's doubtful--and even though the sum total of time I've spent here has been less than two years, in many ways it feels like home. So many of my favorite places are here, and I am sad to leave.

Maybe I sound overly dramatic or emotional, but I think moving is an emotional experience. More often than not it signifies the closing of one chapter in one's life and the beginning of another. That's certainly the case for me this time. I know there are some fantastic experiences ahead for me, but tonight I am taking a few moments to pause and reflect on the people and places I am leaving behind.

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Manic Monday

AM: 59 mins.
~8 miles
PM: 38 mins. + strides, drills
5 miles

Today could be summed up as packing with a few bursts of running in between. Oh, and throwing things away. You would think that someone who moved a mere six months ago wouldn't have that much useless crap. You'd be wrong. At some point you lose sentimentality and realize you're never, ever going to wear that leather cross necklace you hand wove during 6th grade church camp and you move on with your life.

But I digress. The running today was fine. Legs were a bit fatigued, in equal parts from the longer jaunt yesterday and the aforementioned trips up and down stairs to the dumpster, but nothing too serious. It will be interesting to see if I can fit in tomorrow's workout amid the loading of boxes and furniture into my moving pod, but at this point I'll hope for the best.

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All By Myself

AM: 4 miles
PM: 57 mins + strides, drills
~8 miles

After a delayed flight and, consequently, late arrival back to the ATL last night I was understandably sluggish this morning. Add to that my burgeoning cold, which I first noticed Sunday and is now raging, and I was in a pretty sad state. Oh, and it was warm and muggy and drizzly and gross outside. Yucko bucko. All this meant I didn't get out the door until well after 10 for my morning run.

In the afternoon I was supposed to work out, but I was too runny/stuffy/sneezy to seriously consider it. On the one hand I know I need to improve my fitness and soon, but on the other hand the last thing I need right now is to push myself too hard and end up feeling worse for the next few weeks. So, with that in mind, I set out for an easy afternoon run around 4:30. I decided that if I felt decent toward the end I would throw in some strides and drills. I decided to stop along St. Charles Ave. around 53 minutes, as the street is mostly flat and wide and not too far from my house. I did all the familiar drills plus the hopping/calf hurting drill and a few strides, then finished up the run with a few easy minutes back home. Nothing much else to say about the run except that after running for 10 days with Jordan and a few days with my dad before that, this solo outing seemed quite boring.

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Leaving On a Jet Plane

60 mins.
8 miles

I got started just after 7am on this cold and windy run. It wasn't quite as windy as last Sunday at White Rock but it wasn't much better either. My legs felt decent and I would've liked to put in more than an hour, but instead I had to hurry back and get ready to leave for my 11am flight.

When I arrived at the Atlanta airport--which is widely known as being the world's busiest--I was greeted with more chaos and bedlam than I have ever seen in one place. I've flown in or out of here on Thanksgiving morning, on the morning before Thanksgiving, on Christmas Eve and on Easter, and I can honestly say things were crazier today than I've ever seen. In fact, I would use "frantic" as the word that most succinctly sums up the mood. Many of the people on my flight were flying standby after having been stranded or delayed at various other destinations and were none too happy with Delta this morning (and on that topic, neither was I, given that I had to pay a princely $40 to check both of my bags). When all is said and done, I arrived safely in Dallas just a few minutes later than my scheduled time, so I suppose I don't have much to complain about.

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Breakfast Run With the Girls

70 mins.
9-10 miles

This morning I had a run planned with Ashley and Jennie. We really just wanted to hit up the Flying Biscuit and figured we better burn a few calories first. Because I knew I wouldn't be doubling, I opted to jog over to Ashley's from my place so I could get in a few extra miles. I arrived just as the watch hit 15 minutes and then stretched on the curb until Jennie arrived.

A word about the weather today: it's disgusting. Like warm, muggy, drizzly, gross. It doesn't feel remotely like Christmas and I'm not happy about it at all. That said, the run was still enjoyable thanks to the company. Ashley and Jennie are pretty excited about me going back to school and running track this spring (although sad to see me leave). Both of them ran collegiately--Ashley was a 5k/10k girl at Georgia State and Jennie ran the 1500 at the University of Akron--and they're already making plans to come to one of my meets and paint my name on their stomachs or something.

Anyhow, the run passed quickly. I parted ways with them in the middle of Little Five Points and finished at my house just at 70 minutes. After that it was time to meet the girls at Flying Biscuit and really get the morning started.

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If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say...

AM: 6 miles
PM: 4 miles

Running by myself is boring.

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Monday Double

AM: 45 mins.
6 miles
PM: 4 miles

Despite my legs being pretty fatigued from my ambitious week last week, I had a couple of enjoyable runs today. The weather was absolutely beautiful this morning; even though the temperature was hovering at 30 degrees, the sun was shining and the air was still. Simply a great day to be outside. Actually, both of these runs passed pretty quickly, as I had plenty to think about. Things are about to get pretty real around here...but more on that later.

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Don't Call It a Comeback

56 mins.
8-8.5 miles

Before I detail this run, let me just say that I'm marking this date on the calendar as the first time I have felt good running hard since before MCM. Seriously. I finally felt like my old self today, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

But back to the beginning. The day started with a drive out to Braselton, Ga where I Brooks-ed up a local road race. If you think mid-20 degree weather feels cold while running, let me assure you it feels even worse when you're just standing around watching other people run. However, it was all worth it for the quote of the morning, spoken by a middle-aged man who was chatting me up before the race.

Dude: Hey, isn't that guy on your car the one who died?
Me: (Pausing while I realize he is thinking of Ryan Shay) Um, no.
Dude: Because if so you guys should really do something about that.
Me: Yeah, no, he's very much alive. Thanks for the heads up though.

Were he actually dead, as Jilane said, the flames would be viewed as most inappropriate. Anyway, so after standing around at this race for a few hours and gradually losing all feeling in my extremities, I went over to the sponsoring store, Runners Fit, to work the floor for a few hours. By the time I got home it was nearly 4pm and I wasn't feeling motivated to drive out to the river to run. I decided it might actually be better to run on the bike path in Candler Park and Inman Park. For starters, there's no mile markers (or at least not consistent ones), so compulsively checking the pace wouldn't be an option. Also this route is gently rolling throughout, aggressively so on the second half, so I knew I would constantly be working even if the pace dropped off.


My setup at the race, including the very much alive Brian Sell

Basically I just felt great on this run. I started dropping the pace almost immediately and kept up the intensity throughout. I would estimate I ran ~43-45 minutes at "tempo" effort, which I would put somewhere in the neighborhood of 6.5 miles. No way to know for sure, really, but that's not even the point. This run was reminiscent of a few months ago when I did a similar effort on almost the exact same route; I felt like I was continuously pressing yet remained fluid throughout. Definitely a confidence booster given how I've been feeling lately. I'm still going to fight Jilane for the short leg of the relay next weekend, but at least I know I'll be able to run respectably.

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Coldest Run Ever

52-53 mins.
7 miles

For the second week in a row, Jennie and I met at Ashley's apartment for a run. Today we were joined by a fourth, our friend Kate who works at Big Peach. It was markedly colder today than it has been on any run so far this year, and I (over)dressed like a hobo to compensate. I wore the shirt that earned me the famous Green Lightning moniker, a top that we at Brooks affectionately refer to as the "Old 98er" because it costs 98 bucks. I even committed to gloves and a headband around my ears, as the wind chill had temps in the low 20s.

Partly because it was cold and partly because we wanted to get to the crux of the morning (i.e. breakfast), we kept things at a pretty decent clip. I'm actually sore from running yesterday, which is more than a little embarrassing, and I was huffing and puffing toward the end of today's effort. Also, my face was frozen. I was pretty happy to pack it in just after 50 minutes and head over to Highland Bakery.

Also, I'm getting a space heater today. The insanity ends now.

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Frostbitten

AM: 50 mins.
6+ miles
PM: ~30 min. walk

After arriving home quite late from sales meeting last night, I was content to sit around in my pajamas until roughly noon this morning. At that point I decided to try out a little tester jog on my foot. It's definitely been feeling better with the time off, but I was nervous about how it would feel while running. I decided to set out for a "40 to 45, up to but not over 50" minute run (you Oklahomans will appreciate that reference) to see how things felt.

So, here's the good news: my foot felt fine. Actually, that's slightly misleading. For the first 15 minutes I could not feel either of my feet, as they've succumbed to frostbite. You see, I have a habit of turning off my thermostat when I leave town for long periods of time and then seeing how long I can hold out before turning it back on upon my return. Usually "how long I can hold out" ends up being until I am constantly sweating despite stripping down to my underwear (in the summer) or shivering like a wet cat until I can no longer feel my appendages (in the winter). To the best of my recollection, I turned off the thermostat when I left for Palm Springs on or around October 3rd and it has remained in the "off" position ever since. Usually at this point, when outside temperatures are hovering in the low to mid 30s at night, I would finally break down and turn it on. The problem this time, however, is that my heat runs on gas. And guess who hasn't even contacted the gas company since moving here in July? That's right. So, not only do I not currently have heat, I don't even have the option of heat. Which means when I woke up this morning and saw that the thermostat read, oh, somewhere in the neighborhood of 54 degrees, I had absolutely no recourse except layering on more clothing and staying in my bed.

But I digress. Point being, I couldn't feel my feet for quite some time on the run. However, once the blood did get circulating, I was pleased to note that my foot didn't feel half bad. The rest of my body, on the other hand, felt horrible. Well, not horrible, just slow and awkward and sluggish. Hopefully this is something that I will snap out of pretty quickly. Especially since rumor has it that I need to get my game face on for a race sometime soon...but more on that later.

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Coast to Coast

46 mins.
6 miles

So despite my better judgment, I went out for a wog today. To be honest I was just feeling lazy and gross and notso hotso about myself after the two days off. Stupid? Perhaps. Reality? Absolutely. At any rate, I wanted to get in a preemptive jaunt before heading off to Seattle for a solid week of excessive eating and drinking (and meetings too).

To be honest, this run was about as underwhelming as I expected. In an effort to not stress my foot, I somehow tweaked my calf muscle. So, pro: the foot felt decent. Con: I'm now limping due to my calf. Awesome.

The majority of the rest of the day was spent traveling. Turns out a flight from Atlanta to Seattle, which is lengthy enough when nonstop, actually takes about eight hours when it's broken up by a layover in Phoenix. Needless to say, by the time I arrived at 5pm Seattle time (which was 8pm in the ATL), I was starving and exhausted and a tad grumpy. Fortunately, I got to spend the evening with my friend Chelsea, a girl who I grew up with in East Texas. Over dinner we were marveling at how far each of us have come from our hometowns, both literally and figuratively, as we rejoiced in the recent Obama victory. We grew up in very small, very conservative, very Southern Baptist towns, and we're both pretty thrilled to have outgrown that insular environment (although, it should be said, we both agree that "East Texas is a great place to be from, if you know what I mean"). Chelsea and I have also followed somewhat similar paths after high school, as she went on to study at the University of Oklahoma and is now living and working in Seattle. The fact that I'm dating someone who goes to school (not so much "studies" per se) at OU and work for a company based in Seattle is kind of a quirky coincidence. At any rate, it was great to spend time with her and enjoy a bit of relaxation before the week's craziness begins.

Quote of the night: "I mean, it's great that all our high school friends have kids. But shouldn't we get a shower with lots of cool presents for, like, not getting pregnant? Kind of like 'Way to go, Tiger! Keep on keeping the population down.'"

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Will Run for Breakfast

56 mins.
~8 miles

So, after talking with Coach Jeff, we decided it would be advisable for me to take a few days completely off in hopes of healing up the foot. I'm pretty sure that was discussed with the implication that those days off would begin today. However, that was before I got an offer I could not refuse: a run AND breakfast with other people! And, even better, this run would occur within steps of my own neighborhood, meaning it wouldn't be necessary to leave thirty minutes early to drive up to the river.


Springvale Park, directly across the street from Ashley's place.
Apparently the swan who lives in the pond is not very nice.

Needless to say, I needed little convincing. I met Jennie, a cool girl who works at West Stride (actually it's owned by John McDonnell's niece, a former high school standout from Oklahoma and an All-American at Georgetown), and Ashley, the Adi tech rep, at Ashley's condo in Inman Park. While I used to live in Inman Park, I never really explored the back neighborhoods behind the main strip, and I am discovering I absolutely love the quaint parks and beautiful houses back there. At any rate, we embarked on a circuitous run (that unfortunately took place mostly on sidewalks and roads) through Candler Park to Decatur, flipped a U at the MARTA station, then headed back down Ponce and finished up through Little Five Points. The pace was respectable and the hills were challenging, so all in all my legs were quite fatigued by the time this jaunt was finished. Afterward we headed to Flying Biscuit for revelry, merriment and carbs. It was pretty much a perfect morning.


Woodruff House in Inman Park. This is where the founder of Coca-Cola
used to live. Now it's clearly owned by some family with a little brat who
likes to ruin this majestic house with his basketball goal.

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Vote and Run

59 mins.
8 miles

I woke up fairly early this morning after a restless evening (due in no small part to the complete lack of air flow through my nostrils) and was eager to get out the door before a morning of conference calls and other office work. I also planned on allotting most of the afternoon for standing in line at the polls, since I've read so many horror stories the past few days of people waiting hours in line to cast their ballot. In a flash of brilliance, I decided just before heading out the door to grab my ID and take a spin past my polling place to assess the line. If nothing else, I could at least make sure I knew where it was and where to park later in the day.

After meandering around on the Candler Park bike path, I hooked a left on Candler Park Drive near the golf course and headed uphill toward the elementary school that would serve as my polling place for the day. A cursory glance showed no one waiting outside the building, so I decided to stop my watch around 25 minutes and head inside. To my pleasant surprise, the line inside was almost nonexistent as well, so I decided to stick around. The entire experience took fifteen minutes and then I was back outside to complete my run. Now that's multitasking at its finest.


A fellow Democrat in Candler Park shows their support

For the rest of the jaunt I enjoyed the beautiful fall colors and cloudless sky of the November morning, running out and back on the bike path to Inman Park before heading home. The leaves are at their peak right now, all radiant reds and rich yellows, but I find myself almost saddened by it because I know in just a few days they will begin their inevitable fade to brown and then it will be time to segue to winter. I've never really thought of it that way before and I guess it's indicative of the doldrums I've been experiencing for the past week. Reminds me of the Robert Frost poem I had to memorize in ninth grade English class (which I am proud/embarrassed to say I still remember verbatim):

Nature's first green is gold.
Her hardest hue to hold
Her early leaf's a flower
But only so an hour
Then leaf subsides to leaf
So Eden sank to grief
So dawn goes down to day
Nothing gold can stay.

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Sick on Sunday

45 mins.
6 miles

I think it's safe to classify today as one of the most unproductive days of my entire life. I woke up around 7:30 to find that my cold was raging at an unprecedented level. After messing around on the computer for a few hours and trying unsuccessfully to load the NYC Marathon feed, I decided to settle in for a nap around 9:30. Yes, I took a nap at 9:30 in the morning. I didn't head out the door to run until after 3pm, which was actually perfect considering that there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the temps were in the mid 60s. There were tons of people out on the bike path, and I was reminded of how nice it is to live in such an active neighborhood. Unfortunately, my cold seems to be getting worse despite continuously pumping my body full of meds. Hopefully things will look up in the next few days.

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Friday Wog

61 mins.
8 miles

I woke up relatively early to put this run on the board before heading to the airport. My entire left side was tight and my right ankle was a bit stiff, all resulting from a near tumble I took in the trails yesterday morning. It wasn't a big deal at the time, but I'm definitely dealing with some delayed soreness today. I felt much better by the end of the run, but overall this one wasn't the highlight of the week.

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It's All Happening

AM: 47 mins.
6+ miles
PM: 58 mins.
8.5 miles

Well. Guess who slept right through her alarm and woke up an hour late? >>>this guy<<< So, my planned "10/4" structure to today's runs morphed in more like a "6/8," due to my need to get out the door and on with my life at a respectable hour this morning.

For whatever reason, I started off the evening run strong and then just decided to hammer. I haven't felt that fast on an "easy" run in...well ever, actually. Whether or not this will end up having been a good decision is pending how I feel tomorrow, but for now I'm quite pleased with it. I walked 20+ minutes to and from Figo to get dinner immediately afterwards, so hopefully that will help keep my legs loose.

On another positive note, the skies were overcast all day and the temps were quite nice, ranging from mid 60s to low 70s. While the humidity is still too high for me to deem this weather fall-like, I can see those days approaching sooner than later, and that makes me happy.

Tomorrow morning I have a taxi coming bright an early at 6:10 to take me to the airport. It is my sincerest hope and dream that my trip to Oklahoma will be less eventful than last time. Let's all take a moment to cross our fingers and send a few positive thoughts my way.

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Starting it all Over Again

AM: 77 mins.
10+ miles
PM: 30 mins.
4 miles

The way I felt on my runs today was largely dictated by their respective weather conditions. This morning I awoke from a beautiful 9-hour sleep and was in no hurry to start the run before 9 am or so. Unfortunately, around 8:30 it dawned on me that I had a conference call at 9:30 and another at 10, which meant I wouldn't be able to start until much later than I'd planned. Very poor strategery on my part. As a result, I didn't get out the door until after 11, and it was quite warm and humid outside. I ran the long way to Emory, through Lullwater Park, and then back home, which was a nice change of scenery. That said, the last 20 minutes or so was brutal and the midday sun was beating down intensely. Upon arriving home, I bumped into my new neighbor who was chain smoking on the stairwell and offered me a few words of advice: "Not exactly the time of day to be exercising, is it?"

In sharp contrast, I set out on this evening's run just as a storm was rolling in. The skies were overcast and a cool breeze was blowing through the air. About halfway through, the skies opened up and poured on me. It felt wonderful.

Tomorrow is 25x400. If you do not hear from me by this time tomorrow night, let it be known that I was beating Jordan in Facebook Scrabble at the time of my death.

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Tour Guide for the Day

AM: 60 mins.
8 miles
PM: 30 min. walk


Storefronts along McLendon Ave. in Candler Park

I had a great run this morning with Jim and Meredith, who ventured down to my neck of the woods for a change. They recently relocated to Atlanta from Florida and have never been to my 'hood before, so I was excited to show them the wonderfulness that is Highlands/Inman Park/Candler Park. Our jaunt was equal parts bike path and residential streets, and they seemed to really enjoy seeing all the sights. The best part about living around here is that you don't feel as though you're in the heart of a huge metropolis, and I think they were both surprised at how quaint and welcoming the area feels. Naturally, no trip into town would be complete without an authentic Atlanta breakfast, so I took them on their inaugural visit to the Flying Biscuit. I'm pretty sure they're coming back next week for another round.

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"Let's just say I'm on my way and I'm in a minivan."

63 mins.
8.5 miles run
~800 miles flown
~200 miles driven

When my alarm went off at the unholy hour of 5:35 this morning, my initial reaction was one of confusion. Why would I possibly be getting up so early on a Friday? Then I remembered, I was meeting my friends Colleen and Kristin for an early run before heading to the airport. Once I got out the door it wasn't too bad, and we actually had a group of about 7-8 people who met up at Inman Middle School and ran through Little Five Points, Inman Park and Candler Park.

After showering and packing up, I took a cab to the airport and arrived about an hour before my 9:50 scheduled flight. Aaand that's when things started going downhill. We boarded about twenty minutes late and seemed poised for an 11:30 or so arrival at DFW--my interim stop--which already made me nervous because my connector was scheduled to leave from Dallas at noon. Things went from bad to worse as we sat on the tarmac for over 30 minutes due to weather in Dallas. During this time, I decided to be my usual proactive self and call AA to see about changing my reservation to a later connection. They put me on the next available flight at 2:20 and I thought I was good to go. Our pilot hauled ass to Dallas, and a quick check on my crackberry revealed that my original connector had also been delayed and I had a chance of making the flight. So, I literally run through the airport to the skylink, rode to another terminal, and ran through the terminal to the gate in hopes of catching the flight before it left. My initial relief upon seeing that the plane was still there quickly turned to frustration when I found out that not only did my original reservation no longer exist (which I pretty much expected anyway), but I wouldn't be able to go standby because there were about 50 other standby passengers whose original flights had been displaced due to weather.

At this point, I weighed my options. A quick check of the flight status info indicated that my 2:20 flight was already being pushed back to a 3:30 departure, and would most likely be delayed further, and I was not jazzed about spending 4+ hours in the DFW airport just to take a 50 minute flight to OKC. My next thought was to take matters into my own hands and get a rental car. Because Jordan is not a normal gas-guzzling American and does not own an automobile, we had already reserved a rental car for the weekend to be picked up in OKC. Or, more specifically, I had reserved the car because he is too young and irresponsible to rent one and cannot be trusted. At this point in the ordeal, I thought it sounded logical to go ahead and rent the car in Dallas and just drive the freaking thing up to Oklahoma. I would end up getting in an hour or two before my flight and would feel much more productive in the process. So I took a bus to the rental car center, where I was informed that a) it would cost me $150 to rent a "one way" car to Oklahoma, and b) all they had available for one ways was a minivan. I think this is the point where I almost started crying. But what options did I have left?? I was already committed to this doomed mission.

Fast forward to twenty minutes later, when Jordan texted "So how did things go with the rental car people?" My response: "Let's just say I'm on my way and I'm in a minivan."

Needless to say, I did eventually arrive in Oklahoma, but in hindsight I probably should've done a few things differently. After all that, Jordan and I still had to drive to the OKC airport to swap out the van for a normal car AND retrieve my luggage. Clearly unaware that I was not in the mood for constructive criticism, Jordan was quick to point out that I should've followed his top two rules. Rule #1: Always wing it. Had I not been my usual responsible self and re-scheduled my connecting flight, I could've retained my seat on the original connector and gotten on in Dallas without a hitch. Rule #2: Never check a bag. And to that, I'll add my own Rule #3: Don't be so impatient. It cost me the equivalent of a new pair of shoes or half a handbag.

Life lessons all over the place today.

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