3 posts tagged “arlington”

I spent most of today figuring out how to get some work done while my access was limited and Outlook was giving me many issues. Seems my services were terminated, or so sayeth IT. And no, that doesn't mean I'm fired...just that I'm coming up in their system as term'd. I'm not the only one with issues though. Had a co-worker denied VPN access (which I still have for some reason) on Monday morning and he called in first thing to be told he was terminated on Christmas Eve. Can you say heart attack? Anyway, it all appears to be some sort of automated snafu that no one has been able to identify, but the fix is having two levels of managers reinstate access. Give you 3 guesses how many managers aren't on vacay right now. Alright, true they do work hard, blah, blah, blah, but terribly inconvenient to all be gone right now. They are checking email in the evenings, however, so hopefully all will be fixed manana.

Other than playing dueling laptops today, I also finished the paperwork to refi my mortgage. Always a fun time, and hard to swallow those damn closing costs, the refi will nevertheless make a difference in my monthly cashflow, which in turn means the ability to pay down my credit card debt (owing about half to Evita's med bills) in the next few months while not incurring anymore, and still being able to make my reduced student loan payments. I won't be in the position to save, beyond what already goes to my retirement and health care spending plans, but zero credit card debt will save me the cost of interest and that alone makes me feel hopeful.

Today was day 2 of week 1 of my targeted training for the Austin Half-Marathon. I've modified a first-timer's 10 week start-up from Runners magazine to get me there in 7 weeks. The type-A side of my personality was inclined to go balls-out and modify the experienced marathoner program, but I'm trying to hold that psycho beast at bay. Taking it slow with just 2 mile runs yesterday and today. Despite some soreness, I felt stronger today and pushed my minutes-per-mile to 10.5. I probably could have pushed it to between 9 and 10, but that's not what the program calls for and I'm going to do my best to stick to a set regimen. I don't want to burn out or injure myself like some daffy weekend warrior who doesn't know any better. Besides, every Saturday calls for serious distance--beginning with 8 miles this weekend--albeit with breaks, and I want to save my knees for those hauls.

I'll be in Arlington again this weekend. The boy is going to add me to his gym membership, which is very kind of him and will make my gym dues well below what they would be otherwise, and I'll be able to do that 8 miler at the River Legacy park that I love. (Just pray the unseasonably warm Texas weather continues. I despise running in the cold.) I'm uber excited to see him and celebrate the new year, watch his Huskers battle it out in the Gator Bowl, and generally have another wonderful time. The twist is that this time I'll be bringing the Cheese, also known as Evita/Velveeta with me. She traveled so well to and from El Paso that I'm not too worried about her on such a short trip. I just hope his cats aren't too startled by her. She won't mind them, but I'd hate for them to hide all weekend because of her.

As for actual New Year's Eve, I will be walking over to a neighbor's house to hang out with them, their little boy, and another pair of good friends and their 2 daughters who also live just down the street from me. It will be quiet and laid back, but sure to have good food and laughs and, really, I prefer that to just about anything else--especially the club scene. Blech! [Side note: my sister was groped repeatedly at a 'nice' club back home and finally had to make a scene to get one drunken a-hole to back off. If I were her, well, let me just say that I can take care of myself. And if I had been with her...well, that's another story. She's much too 'nice' in my opinion, at least to strangers.] Then I shall wake early, refreshed and rested, to pack the car, pick up some menudo, and hit the road.

All for now I suppose. I'm going to do some quick ab work, then make dinner and try to write. Hoping to get back on schedule soon. Oh, one more thing--a major milestone was reached today when I did my first unaided pull-up since high school. True it was with a close-in, underhand grip, and from a standing position and not a dead-hang, but it shows progress since I started with my over the door pull-up bar. I know it probably doesn't sound like much, but it's a big deal to me. I dislike feeling weak. And it's not about size, either. I don't mind body weight as long as I can carry it, as long as it's useful. It's much more a mental/physical sense of being capable...being able to run if I need to, lift if I have to, knock the wind out of some douche-bag at a club if he dares touch my little sister...you get the point.

I leave for another sure-to-be-wonderful visit to Arlington on Wednesday. Unfortunately, I am verra nervous about one thing.

I need to drive his brand new--and I mean new as in 5 days old--car. It's a manual transmission. I drive an automatic.

I thought I had it down, this driving a stick, months ago. But it seems my nervousness over the new car is getting the better of me.

My friend and neighbor was kind enough to let me drive his manual Yaris around tonight. I stalled out half a dozen times. He assured me I did fine, told me not to let myself get frustrated, so I walked home with a brave face...but on the inside I felt like a silly little girl on the verge of tears.

I've already lost my nerve, I'm afraid, and now what to do?

My birthday is technically a week away, however, I have decided to adopt July 13 as my new birthday since the weekend in general and yesterday in particular was sooooooooo wonderful. I mean...stars aligning, mystical, magical, FUN wonderful.

First off, despite the rocky start on Friday evening and the near dashing of hopes, Saturday was a great day. I went running at River Legacy Park in Arlington which has some very well maintained, mostly paved (from what I saw) trails running through lots of greenspace. I then trekked through crappy traffic to downtown Dallas to meet up with my friend Carlos at the Nasher Sculpture Center. I've wanted to go since I saw a class presentation on the space a couple of years ago and I'm pleased to say it didn't disappoint. I have a hundred plus pictures I'm going to post to Flickr and then a separate post to Vox when I have a chance. I walked the Arts District for a while too and took some photos of the Dallas Bar Association's headquarters/mansion. Anyhow, the BIG event of the evening was still looming uncertainly at that point, so I went back to decompress for a bit at the hotel, took a nap, and then started getting ready.

With heart pounding in my ears, and still uncertain whether the previous night's fiasco had ruined everything, I forced myself into the car and back out to Arlington. What had taken an hour plus earlier in the day took only 25 minutes on the way back and so I'd little time to worry. Details of the meeting will be posted elsewhere in my world, but I will summarize by saying that I was unnervingly timid at first. Really. Thanks to kitties and such, however, I was able to look around and chitchat for a few minutes until, realizing how ridiculous I was being, I just stated the obvious.

"Sorry...I'm...a little, um, shy right now."

"I can tell. It's ok."

And then...he walked over and turned me into his arms...and we just held eachother for a while. It was...very nice, and I think, kind of electric. *Sigh.* And that, dear friends and neighbors, is all the kissing and telling you shall see from me. This could well be nine very long posts on just the boy, but there are some things a lady doesn't discuss. (Except perhaps with her gay best friend.) Just know that I am very, very glad that I made my announcement a while back.

And I am also extremely glad that I had the excuse of the George Michael concert to bring me up to Dallas in the first place. The concert was last night at the American Airlines Center (which is a beautiful venue--I'm surprised to say I think it really does transcend its status as a sports arena). Let me just say...ahem...George...George...George...sigh...oh, George!

George Michael is one hell of a performer, singer, and dancer (with all his own moves) and he put on an amazing show. The sound was incredible! The staging was slick and innovative and made excellent use of old video footage and club like pulsating animation. He had a great band backing him and he featured them well throughout the performance. And, oh yeah, he played without an opening act from about 8:50 to 11:40 with just a 20 minute intermission, and he played EVERYTHING. Some old Wham! tunes, songs from the Faith album and so many more from his later solo work where he really shines...sharing his life experience and love of music. I would have to say, hands down, that it is the best concert I've been to so far.

Seriously, I haven't had such a great concert experience in a long time, if ever. The crowd was clearly made of hopeless romantic fools like me who have loved and followed George for years, and who damn near passed out when they heard he was touring the States. Everyone seemed to know every song, even those that George himself thought would be a bit obscure for his American audience.  The whole arena swayed, danced, and squealed appropriately and the energy was high throughout, even during the ballads and covers. (George said a number of times that he "never thought [he]'d hear that sound in America" and that the Dallas audience had been the best of the tour so far--of course, he could be saying that in every city, but the energy was definitely running high in there last night.) I'll post a set list later, but oh, my it just won't translate. I went from chills up and down my spine to holding hands clasped rapt under my chin, teary eyed and sighing, and then dancing and singing out at the top of my lungs. And when he came out for encores...shivers I tell you....still getting them now as a matter of fact...coinciding with other recent memories...well, let's just say I've been glowing brighter and brighter all weekend. 

And then, to end on an even higher note, I drove home after the concert as fast as I could to spend one last night snuggling with the boy.

Yup, it's been a great birthday weekend.