Today I ran 10 miles.

Today I ran 10 miles. When I called home ecstatic and told my dad, his first response was "Why?" Well, that is an excellent question that I hadn't thought of before running the 10 miles.

I've never actually run 10 miles at one time. Ever. This was a big deal. Was it planned? No. Did I set out to run 10 miles this morning? No.

Don't get me wrong, this post isn't to brag about the fact that I can run 10 miles. (At the slow speed I was going, really bragging isn't even an option.) Anyway, this is more of an investigation as to how this miracle occurred. I honestly didn't think it was possible. After considering various possibilities, I've decided I owe this great feat to a book that I read yesterday entitled "The Non Runner's Marathon Guide for Women."

I picked up this little gem at Barnes and Noble yesterday after feeling discouraged with my running situation. After completing my 10K training, running has slowly morphed from stress-free escape to self-induced torture. Essentially, I started to dread running, a feeling I've been familiar with my entire life. So, of course, I turned to my trusty philosophy that a good book can fix almost anything. I was immediately attracted to this particular book, first because of the La-Z-Boy recliner on the cover, and second because of the amazing hatred of running and sarcasm dispersed on every page.

An author who writes a book about running that hates running- that is exactly my kind of book. Anyway, after reading well into the night, I woke up this morning and laced up the ole' running shoes. I decided to get back out there and drop the "I'm going to die" routine that typically plays on repeat in my head about 5 mins into my run. Oh, and obviously most importantly, I made myself a new running mix, entitled FLASH back, complete with Hanson, Backstreet Boys, Britney, and even a little TLC. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm guessing that this line up of musical talent was probably the primary reason I survived this morning. As I passed other people I was secretly laughing thinking how great it was that I could listen to MMMBop in my headphones and not be judged by these unknowing bystanders. Of course, now you are probably judging me since I've shared my secret enjoyment of ridiculously horrible pop, but I'll just tackle one issue at a time.

Anyway, as this could be a once in a lifetime accomplishment, I decided that I'd better write it down somewhere. This way instead of telling my future grand kids stories of my glory days, I can just send them to my blog.

In the Land of Hipsters

Culture shock victim: Me
Foreign country: VCU Brandcenter

My trusty resource Wikipedia describes culture shock as "the anxiety and feelings (of surprise, disorientation, uncertainty, confusion, etc.) felt when people have to operate within a different and unknown cultural or social environment, such as a foreign country."

You trying being me in a hipster environment. It isn't easy.

And while I can't fundamentally change some things about myself, such as my bedtime, my innocent nature, and my love of Gossip Girl- I've decided that there are some aspects of this culture worth adopting. These include:

1. The food. Hipsters eat the most ridiculous sounding, yet delicious, food combinations. Ex. Dark chocolate covered Edamame. However, whether or not these creations are tasty or not really isn't the point- it's more the shock factor. Dark chocolate Edamame probably wouldn't taste as good if people didn't react with an exclamation of: "DARK CHOCOLATE EDAMAME?!?!***?!!!?????!"

2. The clothes. Hipsters look cool. Intimidatingly cool. If I ever get on What Not to Wear, I've decided to tell Stacy and Clinton that I would like them to add hipster accents to my Ann Taylor look. I wonder if Ann Taylor makes a skinny jean.

3. The hangouts. I go to Starbucks. They go to Captain Buzzy's. I go to P.F. Chang's. They go to Sticky Rice. If they would post a sign outside these establishments to welcome in non-hipsters, I would really appreciate it. Sometimes us non-hipsters just require a little extra push.


Needless to say, I'm starting to really appreciate the unique characters that surround my daily life at Brandcenter. They definitely bring a different perspective to the table. Unfortunately they don't see the merit in things like the Jonas Brothers, waking up early, to-do lists, and lunch totes... but I have a feeling that one day they'll come around.

Me And My Gang

The 10K is on Saturday and I thought I'd post proof of the fact that I actually followed through on my goal. I somehow managed to survive the group training and even graduate to the intermediate group! Not to mention I've made it out of bed by 7AM every Saturday for the past 10 weeks. I wonder if my life will return to normal after all of this is over... or was this my cocoon transformation?

My 1st year book is done!

Who knew snow days existed after high school?

After abusively pushing the refresh button the the VCU Inclement Weather Alert page this morning, I realized that I haven't had a snow day since senior year of high school. That makes it FOUR years since I've experienced the anticipation, joy, and excitement that comes with a school cancellation due to the weather. At UVA, they like to tell you that Thomas Jefferson himself didn't believe in snow days. So UVA students are essentially as dependable as the mailman. We made it to class despite rain, sleet, or snow. In fact, I had the pleasure of venturing to a final exam in an ice storm and taking the entire test in the dark. But apparently, as a grad student, snow days are making a comeback- VCU you've restored my youthful spirit to its former glory.

Kinko's, I'm sorry I doubted you.

Today I learned why FedEx Kinko's is worth the price you pay. Unfortunately, I came upon this discovery too late to aid my cause. With internship book deadlines looming on Monday, this weekend was the final stage of the process: printing. After all the work that went into creating my book, this step seemed like the easy part. In fact so easy that it really only consisted of two steps:

1. Save book as PDF on thumb drive
2. Take thumb drive to Kinko's to print and bind

Leave it to me to mess up a simple two step process. I made it all the way to Kinko's to have them tell me that it would cost me $56 to print 2 copies. Well, I didn't stick around long enough to hear the final total once you added in the binding. I was out the door with the idea that I was young and resourceful. My determination sent adrenaline through my body as I went on a search for paper and print cartridges.

Of course when I got back to home base to examine the goods, I realized I purchased the wrong paper. Proceeding on despite this setback, I ventured into the joyous process of double sided printing manually. What I learned is that my printer is a feisty little beast. Each page was unpredictable. Would there be ink splatters? Would it get stuck? Was it upside down?

Friday night turned into "Printer and a Movie" as I sat patiently by my printer's side, anxiously awaiting its output... with The Wedding Planner playing softly in the background to balance out the negative energy in the room. When all was said and done around 2AM, I decided that $56 was a bargain.

"Who are you supposed to be, Drew Barrymore's sister?"

Yesterday afternoon I came to the conclusion that I must have some sort of weirdly generic face. Over the past few years, I have been told at least 10 times that "I look like someone familiar." Sometimes my looks garner celebrity status, sometimes its the more vague feeling of "I swear I know you from somewhere." I figure I should start keeping a list of my celebrity look-a-likes because the great thing is no one ever tells me I look like the same person twice. So far I've gotten: Keri Russell, Debra Messing, Alexis Bledel, and a few others that I didn't even recognize the names of... obviously they were B-list.

Anyway, my favorite encounter took place yesterday... at the meat counter at Kroger. As I'm ordering my wood smoked turkey, the guy behind the counter says to me, "So who are you supposed to be, Drew Barrymore's sister?"