And that made me feel stupid

A co-worker asked me today if I was a Jeopardy! nut.

I admit, I don't watch the show much anymore. But there was a time when I couldn't miss it. And let's not even talk about the times when I felt I was much more deserving to be a contestant than some of the fools they let stand behind the podiums and control the buzzer.

Hearing this, the co-worker got a look in his eye and told me I should take the Jeopardy! online contestant challenge test that was being administered tonight. It's the first step you have to take if you hope to join Alex Trebeck on the stage and try your luck at stumbling upon a double jeopardy.

So I did it. I registered to take the challenge tonight. It was 50 questions and I had 15 seconds to read the question and come up with an answer. It didn't take long, about 15 minutes.

And I've never felt so dumb in my life.

I know I didn't do well. I won't be getting a callback to advance to the second round of contestant screenings. Why do I say that? Well for starters I left a good chunk of the questions blank. Probably about 15 or so. And there was a good number of questions that I filled in an answer for, but wasn't sure if it was the right answer. In fact, there were very few questions that I was absolutely sure I was answering correctly.

I guess I should probably stick to watching Jeopardy! and feeling like I'm better than the folks who actually get to be contestants. And then I'll remember tonight and realize that they probably didn't leave any answers blank or just fill in words to avoid seeing "pass" come up as her answer.

So many books, so little time

I have a small dilemma.

Earlier this week I started reading "The Cider House Rules" for an online book club I belong to. Granted, it was the title that was assigned in December, so I'm a bit behind, especially considering everybody else in the club has been finished with the book for weeks.

I'm not far into the book yet, about 170 pages or so. And while that seems like a good chunk of reading material, it's deceiving. The book? It clocks in at 550 pages of really, really small type. So it's going to take me a while to finish the book.

But today? I got a second e-mail from the fine folks at the public library. And they told me that this time, the copy of "Eclipse" that I had requested was really in. Last week they tried to tell me it waiting for me on a shelf. But I went in twice and it was nowhere to be found. But today when I stopped in the library after work, there was "Eclipse" just waiting for me to get my hands on it.

I've been waiting to read "Eclipse" for what seems like forever. This is the third time it's been in my possession, almost. The first time I had it it came in before I was done reading "New Moon," the second book in the three book series. And you can't read number three before you finish number two. So I had to return it. Then I got a second chance. But the book never even made it to my apartment since it was December and I spent most of the month curled up in a fetal position with a throbbing headache.

So needless to say, I've been waiting forever to read this book.

Now here's where the dilemma comes in. Do I stop reading "The Cider House Rules" so that I can jump into "Eclipse?" Because honestly, I don't think it's going to take me that long to finish off this book. Whereas, if I decide to finish reading "The Cider House Rules" first, it could be a few days, or weeks, before I get to the vampires in "Eclipse." And that could be bad, since the library is telling me I only get to keep this book for two weeks. I wouldn't feel too awful if I stopped reading "The Cider House Rules" at the moment, because honestly? I'm not completely into the book yet. I'm not sure what to think about it and the story isn't making me feel like I.cannot.put.the.book.down.no.matter.what. I'm just not feeling it. Yet.

There's always the option of reading them both at the same time, but I'm a one book kind of girl. It's hard to keep things straight. And I don't read any faster, or more, when I've got more than one going at a time.

And this doesn't even touch on the fact that there's another book that's patiently waiting for me to read it, "Water for Elephants," for a second online book club that I'd like to participate in. All these books. So little time!

Any suggestions? What should I do?

It took a really long time, but it's back to normal now

Remember how my computer died back in December? And the Best Buy people fixed it? But it was still semi-broken because I had to reload my operating system?

Well after three days of work I can finally say my computer is back to normal.

The Coach reinstalled the operating system for me on Sunday. Because he knows how to do that kind of stuff and I don't. So as he sat at my desk and putzed with discs and mice and a keyboard, I sat on my futon and watched.

Then it came time to uninstall all the crappy software that came loaded on the computer that I didn't want bugging me. That took a bit of time. But it's gone now and I've replaced it with the stuff I like.

And tonight? While the wind was howling and snow was blowing, I put all of the documents back on my computer that I've been collecting since college.

Which means my computer's back to normal. And it's functional. And, most importantly, it works again. Badgergirl's a happy girl. And since my computer, which The Coach took the opportunity to name Madtownrunner, is in a friendly mood, I wouldn't feel so bad about possibly purchasing a new iPod, the electronic that I've been coveting since the fall.

But for now, I'll just be happy my computer's back in working shape. And I can do stuff on it again without worrying that it's going to blow up.

I stepped back on the treadmill tonight

It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but still. That run tonight on the treadmill to nowhere? It wasn't easy.

While I have run a handful of times this month, it's still been since Nov. 1 when I did any running of note. The two runs I snuck in at the beginning of the month weren't so impressive. Remember I almost died after a mile the first outing and the second one was only marginally better.

And it's been three weeks since I stepped foot on the treadmill. So I basically consider myself starting over.

But remember how I was thinking the past few days and it gave me ideas? Well, those ideas called for me to get my butt back to the YMCA and step foot on the treadmill. And tonight, for run number 1? I was supposed to log 2 miles.

Doesn't sound like a lot, but it was kind of hard. I managed the first mile OK. But then I stopped for a brief walk, about a quarter mile. I was hoping to finish off my run by running the entire last mile straight through and winding up my time on the treadmill with a brief uphill walk.

Yeah, that didn't happen.

After my first brief walk break, I snuck in another half mile before having to walk for a couple of minutes again. And then I finished my last half mile for the grand total of 2 miles. In all, it talk me 30 minutes. Not pretty. But still, I finished and didn't die.

And I think that's what I have to remember. It's been a long time since I logged decent miles on a consistent basis. And I was pretty sick. So I know it's going to take me some time to build my strength and endurance back up. I just wish it would come a bit faster. Because tonight, although it felt good to run, it was a little discouraging that it was as difficult as it was.

Baby steps, Badgergirl. Baby steps.

Hopefully run number two later this week goes better. I'm crossing my fingers it does. Because I really want to do that run through Lambeau Field in May. That would be cool. And make all of this worth it.

This is what happens when I think

I haven't been to the gym in over two weeks. And that means I've had extra time on my hands.

That's not a good thing.

Because when I have extra time, I start to think. And thinking? It leads to plans and goals. And sometimes those goals and plans are hard. And require work. Lots of it.

But I've been thinking about what I want to do this year.

A few months ago, that plan included a half marathon here in the City on the Water in April. But after not running for more than 2 months and getting kind of sick, I decided that wasn't a feasible goal. There wasn't time for me to be ready. So I'm opting for a 5K that day instead. One that I'll run with one of my good friends.

But I might still have hope for that spring half marathon.

See last week I got this flyer in the mail for the Green Bay half marathon. OK, so the brochure had also had information about the weekend's marathon and 5K races too, but running 26.2 miles? That's just crazy. And it sparked my interest. Because the Green Bay race? It's May 18, more than a month after the half marathon I originally wanted to run. And you get to run through Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers. And how cool would that be? So I got to thinking. Even if I didn't start running again until the end of January, I'd still have time and with the race being in May, it might be warmer and I'd be able to do a good chunk of my longer training runs outside. It's tempting. And at this moment, I think I'm going to try it.

And of course there's the Fox Cities half marathon in September again. As my first half marathon, it's a race that's near to my heart. And I need to do it again.

But there's something else I've been thinking about as well. A triathlon. I think it would be fun. I mean, I like to run. And I like to bike. And although I don't swim much anymore, that's always fun too. And there's one that's kind of sparked my interest the past few years, but I've never gotten up enough courage to do it. It's one of the Danskin women's triathlons, aimed for women and apparently is a good option for first timers. The one I'm looking at is the Chicagoland one in July. While I haven't made a decision yet, I need to figure it out soon. Because if I do end up committing myself to doing it, I'm going to enroll myself in a triathlon class at the YMCA in order to help me prepare. The only downside to the YMCA commitment? It's a 5:30 a.m. class. Yes folks. 5:30 in the morning. That's early. Very early.

So that's what I've been thinking about.

The only thing I've really decided on for sure is that starting tomorrow, it's back to the YMCA for me and I'm putting one foot in front of the other to start running again. Because I miss it.

But since today's Sunday, I'm going to enjoy being completely lazy. Because that's what Sundays are for.

She probably didn't have a valid license or insurance

Dear woman driving the silver car on the frontage road,

The next time you decide to rear end a driver who's sitting at a red light, it'd be nice if you pulled off of the busy road and at least spoke to the driver you rear ended.

Because I tried. After you hit me, I pointed at you to move off the busy street. But little did I know you'd just keep going straight. Oh wait, I forgot, the light was no longer red. It was now green and OK for you to just drive through.

Except here's my problem. I don't have your license plate number. Heck, I'm not even sure what kind of car you were driving. It could have been a Saturn. Or a Cavalier. Or even a Sunfire. All I know is that it was silver. And you were a woman. And you rear ended me.

So now I get to look forward to making sure my car isn't super messed up tomorrow. And I'll probably have to talk to the cops, even though I don't have a lot of information. Because if my car is messed up? I bet my insurance company will still want some type of police report.

All I ask is that the next time you decide not to pay attention to red lights and other vehicles that are stopped for them that you at least pull off and talk to the driver whose car you hit.

Not a happy driver,
The woman you hit

The snow means I get to read and watch pirates

I swear it wasn't snowing an hour ago. But now the flakes are coming down at a steady clip.

Kind of makes me glad I didn't have much planned for tonight. Just a quick trip to the library to pick up two books that have come in for me. And public library officials, this time I promise I will read "Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer. I know I've had it in my possession on two other occasions. But it's hard to read the third book in a series when you still haven't read the second one and then there was the time it came in and I never even went to get it because I was curled up in fetal position with a throbbing head.

So tonight's plan involves the library, going home and then sacking out in my recliner to watch the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Because I love Capt. Jack Sparrow. And the pirate monkey.

And afterwards, I just might read. Because I have lots of good pages to get through.

A different way of looking at it

While we're on the topic of birthdays...

I've never quite thought about them like this until I received this e-card from Krista today.