Dispatches

• This one falls under the “what was I thinking?!” category: why did I say I would run a 10K on Saturday? Just a tip: when you tell a friend who is having his own Michael Scott-like fun run that you will run in it and also run the farthest distance you’ve ever set out to complete, it might—might!—be a good idea to actually train. I’m just saying. Saturday is going to be disastrous. (In other running news, my friend Brandy is thinking of doing a half-marathon in California next year. She said I should, too. I am thinking on it. This would mean getting off of my couch.)

• My mother gives strange dating advice that would only make for awkward moments. Like Toby and Pam awkward moments on “The Office.”

• Also, when you live 4+ hours away from your parents, it’s probably a good idea to call and check in every 3 days or so. If you don’t call for like 5 days, they assume you’re dead. BUT instead of calling you to see if you are dead, maimed, or missing, they just wait for you to call then tell you that you should call more often.

• I apparently thought today was Halloween, because my outfit could totally be construed as a Catholic school girl outfit. Plaid skirt. Tights. Yeah, I should have thought more about this before I left the house. Oh, well. It didn’t require ironing. UPDATE: The infamous outfit has been photographed in its low quality, bad lighting cell phone glory. Two things of note in this picture, well, three: 1. The utter concentration expression on my face; 2. This is a weird angle that makes me look like I’m in a fun house mirror; 3. The shoes, people! The shoes!

• I think my office chair somehow mysteriously gets shorter every night when I leave work. I’m always having to raise it first thing when I get to work. That or the cleaning crew does something to it. Get out of my chair! (Speaking of said cleaning crew, another game they like to play is what-crazy-place-can-we-put-the-trash can-this time. The way they figure it, it makes coming to work on Thursdays so much more fun for me when I have to find the trash can and put it back in the right place.

• Despite Blog Friend Scott’s hatred for my favorite candy of fall, candy corn is AMAZING. You should try it with peanuts. Sorta like a PayDay. The candy bar, not the actual day.

• I made it into the women’s ensemble I tried out for at church by some miracle. I had completely forgotten the list would be posted last night (yes, what are we, trying out for cheerleading?) until I read my friend Mindy’s blog yesterday. Then I remembered. And realized that either way, I would be OK with the results. At first, I just saw Mindy’s name and was ecstatic for her. Later, I saw my name. (And, guys, it’s not like they were randomly placed on the page. The names were arranged in alphabetical order.)

• No nephew . . . yet. I think he’ll arrive sometime next week. Probably when I’m in Pittsburgh. (Yep, I get to travel AGAIN! October 30-November 3. Pittsburgh just better be worth it, because I’m beginning to hate packing!