My life of crime begins today

Remember how I said Johnny Depp was coming to The City on the Water?

Well he got here Friday night and began filming some scenes over at the airport. But today? Filming starts downtown. As in one block from my office. As in, for the past hour I've been looking out my office window at this huge, three-story fluorescent green screen they've erected in front of a building.

And in just a few minutes I'm going to start my Johnny Depp duty. Yes, three days this week my "assignment" is to cover the movie filming. Not to shabby of a gig. Especially since it's supposed to be nice this week, unlike last week.

But still. Yes, John Dillinger is cool. Yes, "Public Enemies" is a film all about notorious bank robbers. And as the girl who writes about crime and grime, that's cool. But if Johnny Depp had showed up in The City on the Water as Capt. Jack Sparrow? That would have been so much cooler.

Because if you pit a pirate against a bank robber? The pirate would win. Hands down.

Now it's time for me to go stalk a bank robber. And see if I can get on the other side of that green screen.

The wind made my decision for me

I didn't do it.

The alarm went off at 6:30 this morning. Then I heard the wind howling. And rattling my windows.

Yes, I turned on the TV to check the weather. The radar looked scary. A bunch of greens, whites, grays and some pink. But the wind? It continued to howl.

So I decided not to run.

And I snuggled back into my bed and went back to sleep until 10 a.m.

Maybe I'll sneak that 3 mile run in at some point this weekend. Maybe.

Will I put one foot in front of the other?

So I'm supposed to a run a 5K tomorrow.

But there's a chance I won't. Because the weather forecast? It doesn't look so pretty. Possible snow. Rain. And let's not talk about the temperatures in the 30s or the fact that it's going to be super windy.

Doesn't sound like weather I really want to run outside for 3 miles in.

And it doesn't help that since I was sick in December my immune system has gone to pot. Meaning I get sick really, really easy. Add the crappy weather and the chances that I get sick if I choose to run tomorrow are probably pretty high. And since I've gone most of the winter so far without getting sick, I'm tempted to stay snuggled in bed if there are raindrops pouring from the sky tomorrow morning.

So ask me around 7 a.m. and I'll be able to tell you if I'm going to line up at the starting line to run a 5K. Yes, I'll feel bad if I don't. Because I want to run and I have registered. But at least my company paid the registration fee, so it's not like I'm out the cash.

Scene 353: The bank robbery

The City on the Water has been crazy the past few weeks.

At first it was just rumblings.

"Did you hear, Johnny Depp's" coming to town to film a movie. At the same time, there were other rumors flying around the state that Johnny Depp was going to a different city to film a movie. But the days went by and slowly, the rumors started to be confirmed.

Yes, Johnny Depp was going to come to The City on the Water. And yes, he was going to be filming a movie here. The movie's called "Public Enemies" and it's about how the Feds try to take down notorious American gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd during a booming crime wave in the 1930s. Bank robberies people. Coming from a girl who writes about crime and grime for a living, that's pretty cool.

Well, the constructions crews have been in town for about two weeks now, transforming our downtown into a 1930s era Main Street. Storefronts have been revamped, signs have been erected and display windows have been created, complete with the items these stores are selling. There's even been a big wall built in the downtown park that resembles the outfield wall at a baseball diamond, complete with advertisements from the era.


And tomorrow's the day it's supposed to all start. Apparently that's the day Johnny Depp's coming to town and filming on "Public Enemies" will begin.

Being a reporter, I've had to do my share of taking pictures of what's happening downtown already, but last weekend I took some me time and wandered around, snapping pictures for myself. And while I have my fair share of assignments next week while filming is going on, I'm also planning a little me time again. Just a bit of time to go scope it out as a person rather than a reporter.

Because even though Johnny Depp isn't my favorite actor, (although I have to admit, if he was coming to The City on the Water as Capt. Jack Sparrow, that'd be pretty cool), what's happening here in town is still something pretty amazing and probably won't ever happen again.

So I'll make sure to get the full movie making experience while Johnny's in town. And once the movie actually comes out? I'll make sure to see it. Because I think it'll be a good movies. Who knows, I may even venture to a movie theater to see it.

The beds could have been a bit more comfy

Cardboard boxes can be useful.

They store stuff, which is helpful when you're moving. Or they can serve as a make shift table. And you can pile stuff on them. When you're unpacking and need a break? A closed cardboard box can serve as a nice footrest. There are a lot of uses for cardboard boxes.

Sleeping? Not one of them.

Yet that's what I was worried I was going to have to do. Either sleep in a cardboard box or in my car. The night before a triathlon. Which doesn't sound so appealing. And I don't think I'd get a very good night's rest. And my mom? She wouldn't be coming to watch me.

But I was worried that I'd be staying at the Cardboard Box Inn. Because all of the hotels in Pleasant Prairie and Kenosha area? Full. Not a single room available the night before the triathlon I'm doing in July.

So I broadened my search. Included places in Racine. And I was running into the same problem there. But tonight? I got lucky. I found a room. At the Ramada Limited. And it has a bed. And is non-smoking. And there's a pool and even a free breakfast in the morning.

And now there's a room with my name on it for July 12.

For those of you still looking for a place to stay that night, I hear there's still some vacancies at the Cardboard Box Inn. Classy place too, but sadly, no pool.

Race day's almost here?

A handful of days.

That's all the time I've got left before the Oshkosh 5K this weekend.

I'm not too worried. I know I can cover the 3 miles, heck I did it tonight at the YMCA with no problems. But at the same time, the race arrived so quickly. It doesn't seem like it should be here yet.

I'll be excited to line up with the other runners on Saturday morning, waiting for the starting gun to go off. But there will be a little piece of me that's disappointed. Because I was originally planning on running the half marathon. But that plan got left on the side of the road when my head almost made me die in December. So my half marathon plans have to wait until the fall.

But the 5K on Saturday? It will be fun. I won't be the fastest runner out there and I might not run it as quickly as I did last spring, but I'll finish. And I'll have a good time.

Are the 50s really coming?

I really hope the weathermen don't think this is some kind of funny joke. Because if it really is a joke, I'm not laughing.

At the moment, the weathermen are telling me temperatures may hover in the 50s at the end of the week. With sunshine. Warmness? I'm ready for that. I've been ready for warm temperatures for a long time.

And if it really does get into the 50s, I might finally be able to venture outside for a run. Meaning, I wouldn't have to drag my butt to the YMCA and put myself through the torture known as the treadmill. Because the treadmill and me? While we get along, I'd much rather log my miles on the sidewalks, where I can control my pace whenever I please and there's a lot more to look at instead of just staring out a second-story window.

Yes, yes. I know. I could have ventured outside already for a run. Because the 40s isn't so cold and the snow and ice have finally almost all melted. But call me a wuss. It was a bit chilly for me yet. And besides, I didn't want to get sick. Again. So I stuck with the treadmill.

Tonight I stuck with the treadmill though. I wanted to sneak in a 2.5 mile run before hitting the pool for some laps. And even though my calf had been a little sore all day, the run went fine. And so did the swim, all 700 yards of it.

Tomorrow night I'm venturing into something new. Since I'm crashing at my parents' house for the night, I'm going with my mom to a swim-robics class. She's been doing it for a bunch of years and really enjoys it. I've been meaning to try it with for a while now, but haven't been able to. Tomorrow night's the night though. I'm not sure what to expect exactly in terms of what I'll have to do, but it'll be something different. And it's always good to mix stuff up.

A recap of what I read

March wasn't too bad of a month in terms of reading. I'm still not quite sure when I managed to read, but obviously I did since I finished a few books.

There were four books that I finished in March for a total of 1,144 pages. That brings my yearly total to 13 books and 4,632 pages. Not too bad. So what books did I manage to finish during the month? Let's take a look.

Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Triathlon Training by Colin Barr & Steve Katai
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Astrid and Veronika by Linda Olsson