Helloooo....

I know that it has been a few days since my last blog… sorry for those of you who follow! The last few days I have been very busy tracking one of my crashpad roommates….

It all started a few weeks ago when our little secret of a crashpad all of the sudden was no longer a secret. I know that it was only a matter of time before our little gem was discovered. Amanda and I share a room and a large bathroom with 3 other ladies. It had been so nice since hardly any of the other ladies were there. Eventually two of the ladies we were living with left. The third one is like a phantom of the night. I do not think I have ever seen her face…. She comes in at night and leaves early in the morning. So pretty much Amanda and I had the place to ourselves… lots of room for activities! Across the hall there are 3 other bedrooms and one bathroom with a total of 8 women and 2 men sharing it.

Then it happened… overnight, the pad was full, completely full. All of the new tenants are very nice, OLDER women. They chit chat for hours, watch the weirdest things on tv at loud volumes, make a ton of noise and……

About three days ago was the first occurance that raised an eyebrow. Amanda and I were peacefully sleeping and it was probably one of the first nights that I had actually fallen asleep, so I was thoroughly enjoying it. All the sudden we both hear someone come into our room. I look up and see a flash of pink… I am so out of it I just fall back to sleep. Not sure how much time passed but was woken again by a toilet flushing and again saw a streak of pink and the door shutting. Amanda looked at me and we both said who is using our bathroom and what the hell?

So that evening I start my reconnaissance work, maybe feeling a little James Bondish... Pretty quickly I figure out who the flash of pink was that snuck into our room. That night in the common room sitting on the couch, she was wearing a bright pink shirt and matching pair of pajama bottoms…. That was not so hard. Now just to figure out what she is really up to.

Night two, I am the only one in the room. Around 7 am I am woken again by someone opening the door. I pretend that it does not wake me and I stay awake trying to figure out what in the world is going on. She tip toes in this time and goes right into the bathroom. It takes a little time but I hear the toilet flush, the sink and then the door open and close. Hmmmm….. my wheels start spinning. She has a bathroom over on her side of the wing. Why is she coming in at crazy early times to use ours?

Night three, I am getting to the bottom of this and I have a plan. I think that I have a hunch on what she is up to. Again around 6 am I hear the door open and I watch her tip toe into our bathroom… this woman is like clockwork. I hear the toilet flush, I get out of bed, hair everywhere looking extra dazed...

Me: “ Helloooooo? Is someone in the bathroom?” 

She opens the door and I am standing right there. 

Pinky: “ Does the toilet always run?” 

I look at her completely puzzled dying to say I don’t know you are the only one that uses it at this awful hour of the morning…. But that would give my whole cover away.  

Me: “ Is someone using your bathroom or something? You really scared me. I didn’t know who had just come into my room.”

She immediately started stuttering. 

Spa spa spit it out junior, you are busted! She put her head down and scurried out.

Conclusion: This woman dressed in all pink would try to sneak into our room in the mornings to DROP IT LIKE ITS HOT! What the hell lady? I do not appreciate you waking me up every morning and using my bathroom to take your morning poo. 

Needless to say I was not woken this morning! Mission accomplished!

Simply,

Meg

Gusty Winds...

This morning I was on my way back up to NY to start my 5 days of reserve, 8am-8pm... It was a very early morning and after yet another sleepless night I could not wait to get to my seat on the plane and pass out. For those of you who know me, know that I could fall into a dreamy slumber sitting straight up on a bumpy log. Also that I could sleep right through a hurricane, tornado and earthquake all happening at once. I got to my seat and was dreaming away within minutes of sitting down. I slept through everything. Until... we landed.  I was quickly brought back to reality when we touched, well slammed, on to the runway. It felt like we were landing on the USS Ronald Reagan (aircraft carrier). I looked at my watch, 8:20 am. I had started my reserve period 20 min ago. I had no idea how late we were and quickly began freaking out. While I was in that deep sleep, little did I know that we had sat in what is called the "penalty box", where planes sit on the side of a taxiway waiting to be released to takeoff, for over 30 min and we also had to hold for another 20 min. What in the world had happened?....."Gusty Winds"

My mind began to race....What if work had called? Obviously there were delays into and out of LGA.... What if I was needed? I couldn't turn my phone on quick enough. For the first time I found myself staring at it praying there were no messages! Whew...... I was safe!

I got to my crashpad and finished my nap. When I woke up I decided that I needed to do something today. So like every other day I got ready to head to the gym. To get there I usually run or ride the "crashpad bike" and since the roads were finally clear of all snow and ice I  hopped on the bike and rode away. It is about 2 1/2 miles to get to the gym. When I run there are sidewalks the whole way so I do not fear for my life as much as I do when I am riding. If I go at an early age I am convinced it will be dodging the crazy drivers of NY. But today that was not my only problem, those gusty winds were not finisihed with me!

I was almost to the gym, climbing up the last hill, when this huge gust of wind came out of nowhere... It all happened so fast. I think I screamed, got the wobbles and the next thing I knew, I had toppled over.... of course there were tons of people around and most just walked by and laughed, I couldn't stop laughing myself. A very nice older gentleman finally helped me up.....

Lesson of the day, leave the bike at home on gusty days!

I made it to the gym in one piece, finished my workout and headed back to the pad... I walked into the room and told one of my roommates the story. Her advice was simple. "Eat a hamburger".....

Thanks Amanda!!!!

Simply,
Meg

Like a horse heading to the barn....

 I have decided that this will be the year that I run and finish a marathon. Today was a great day to start my training. The sun was out and not a cloud in the sky. I have been running the dirt road that I live on my whole  life, Hawlin Road. My relationship with that road has been like any other relationship.... it has had its ups, downs, breakups and makeups. There have been days when I have not wanted to leave it and others when I just can't wait to get away. Lately I have not loved my time on the road like I have in the past. I think I am ready to fall back in love....

Thanks to Allison Bowersock I have a little inspiration and a plan to get myself into fighting shape again. Along with that I have decided that Hannah, our golden retriever, will be by my side most of the way. She is not happy about it one bit. 

I have been trying to run with Hannah whenever I am home. I have to keep her on a leash until we get to our turning point or she just will not go. On the way back I will let her off the leash so she can run at her own pace, stopping to sniff if she wants. Surprisingly she keeps up, in fact she sets the pace.  For some reason I thought that today maybe she will want to go and kept her off the leash on the way out.... BIG mistake. I was not even 2 mins down the road and I had already stopped 3 times to beg her to keep up. She was at a pace a little faster than a walk. Right then I made the decision that today was not the day. As soon as she saw that I had turned and was heading home, she suddenly had a little more pep in her step. She was at a full sprint back home..... Reminded me of that old horse you get that is stubborn, lazy and terribly slow. You think how did I end up with this one. You can kick and cluck, he just will not go. As soon as you turn to head back to the barn that lazy horse you were on is at a full gallop home.... Poor Hannah, little does she know, she has many days of hitting that road and now ALWAYS on a leash!

After taking Hannah back I started my run and I "slayed" it! It felt so good to be out there again. I am definitely ready to rebuild my relationship. When I am out there it is my time. It's just the road and me. It allows me to really think about things, release emotion..... Looking forward to my date tomorrow!

Simply,
Meg