Just Call Me 'The Flash'

Now that the average daily temperatures have dropped to a merciful 97 degrees (anyone else a little chilly?), I have once again taken to jogging outdoors. I was glad to see that our apartment is located about half a mile from one of the city's many canals. The canals are an ideal running route because they usually have an unpaved dirt section on at least one side; thus you can run while admiring the distant mountain scenery, the beautiful desert sky, and the bums who have set up camp on the canal's edge - all while sparing your legs the torture of running on concrete!

Today while running through Little Mexico (the canal forms the barrier between posh Tempe and Scottsdale and the rather run-down, third-world-esque section of the city fondly known as 'Little Mexico'. I run on the Little Mexico side because it's the unpaved side) I noticed a rather large thunderstorm on the horizon. The gathering dark violet clouds made for a beautiful splash of color across the sky (Phoenix sunsets are, I kid you not, the most beautiful in the world). And so I ran along, admiring the sunset, dodging the occasional cockroach and nodding hello at the occasional bum setting up camp.

At the run's midpoint, stopping to stretch, I looked up and realized that the storm, which I thought was moving away, was actually moving in over the valley - straight for me. I could see the huge deluge of rain that the thundercloud was dumping, taking the shape of a rather mushy-looking gray plume extending from the sky down to the ground.

Then the lightning started.

For those of you unfamiliar with desert storms, they are not like storms in the Pacific Northwest. Unlike PNW storms, which are usually characterized by amorphous, pathetic flashes of lightning and loud thunder, desert storms wield often-silent lightning that has no problem reaching the ground in long, jagged bolts of white-hot electricity spread out like tree branches. Being that the terrain is so flat, it doesn't take much to become a lightning rod yourself.

Just to be safe, I decided it was time to start heading home. At a distance of three miles, it would take me some time to get back, so I started jogging along, not too concerned about the storm. I was tired anyway.

About a mile later I could tell I was exhausted and winded. I could also tell that the storm was nearly overhead, its purple mass moving ever closer. The lightning was growing more intense, visible now in the familiar branchlike tendrils, striking whatever it could reach. Still, I was a little unmotivated. No need to worry, I told myself - the chances of getting hit by lightning aren't that high anyway.

And then, as I crossed the railroad tracks near Apache, a bolt of lightning darted down from the sky not a quarter mile from where I stood and struck the ground. I looked up, and the rather uncomfortable realization set in that I was running along with a body of water on one side and a string of unending live power lines on the other - all while listening to an electronic device that was attached firmly to my head.

And suddenly I had all the motivation I needed to take off running again. There's nothing like the surge of adrenaline brought on by the seemingly real prospect of being struck by lightning to push you to set that personal best time.

"Fragile: This End Up!"

Report: Many U.S. Parents Outsourcing Child Care Overseas

The Break (and Bake?) Point

There comes a point when a man becomes, for lack of a better word, desperate.

That point, for me, was today at 4:30pm while sitting in my favorite coffee shop absently picking at the last bits of the grilled cheese sandwich and salad I had ordered, my thesis materials spread out in front of me.  My laptop sat silently on the table, proudly showing its blank screen to the world.  I was beyond concentration.  I couldn't sit still anymore.  I just couldn't sit and go through these stupid books and articles any longer.

It was time for desperate measures.

I bolted up, throwing my things into my backpack and slinging it over my shoulder.  Tossing it into the backseat of the car, I drove directly to the nearest Safeway and proceeded to buy every single comfort food I laid eyes on, darting up and down the aisles like a crazed person, eyes bulging, snickering with quiet, maniacal glee.

$31 and twenty minutes later, I sit here at my desk, materials spread out in front of me again, a storm rolling in on the horizon outside, and a small plate with what must be a quarter pound of unbaked cookie dough.  And a spoon.   I'm going for it.

Like I said.  Desperate.

Coffeeholic?

Coffee is very much like alcohol - you can never have as much of it at one time as you would like.

New Location

Hi Everyone,
Okay, the new blog is up if not yet running. Email me and I will send you the link. After that you can officially discard this bookmark, because I'm going to shut down this site completely once I've archived the entries I want to keep.

And So It Begins. Again.

Hi Everyone,

So here is my new home on the Internet. I've done some thinking about what I want this to be and I've decided that since my move back to the Pacific Northwest is imminent in a few months (and I won't be going anywhere for at least a couple years after that) this blog will center itself on life in the Seattle area. That includes my exploits in coffee houses, books I'm reading, bands I'm discovering, news I'm reading, etc etc etc.

I'm still debating on the level of personal stuff to include here, but rest assured that posts here in the future will be far more interesting and hopefully more well-written than you regular readers are used to. I'm going for a polished, well-constructed setup here. Another thing you'll all notice is that comment moderation is - for now, and against my better judgment - disabled.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll be making changes to this thing throughout the week as I get time. For now, go ahead and update your bookmarks.

Shuttin' er Down

The more that I think about it the less I want my life - personal or not - plastered on some corner of the Internet, regardless of how few people read it.

It's not that I want more attention on this thing - I've been blogging to an audience of probably about four for months now. I just see little point in maintaining a blog that basically only serves as one of those lets-stay-in-touch things when we already have facebook, which serves that purpose extremely well. Family has enough contact with me to not need a blog to read, and for those who only want to pop in and say hello, I see no reason why an email isn't a perfectly good (and far easier) alternative.

What I need is a way to exchange information with people - like links to interesting websites or articles, pictures, my comments on the goings-on in the world, etc - not broadcast my ho-hum do-nothings. Until I figure out how to do that, this blog is on official hiatus. If I do decide to continue anything resembling a blog, it will be under a new address with a completely different purpose and layout, and I will distribute the link to all interested via email. I just know that I am no longer comfortable with the fact that a Google search on me produces something that details my personal or current pursuits. Facebook is big-brother enough as it is.