Lately

Lots of exciting things have been occuring in October!

1. EMT class - making study guides and learning how to take a blood pressure.  Not to mention awaiting a pink stethoscope in the mail.

2. NSP 18 - No Seizure Party in California this year!  Lots of family, friends, food (COOKIES), and being thankful for the health of my mom (and everyone else too).

3.  Halloween package from Mom and Dad.  The candy and dried mango is almost gone.  I hope I don't get any trick or treaters this year.  I'll just turn off all the lights and sit in silence, hoping no one knocks on my door on Oct. 31.

4.  Audiobooks!  As the school year has begun for UCD, I find myself working alone, catching up on some repetitive easy tasks (I am SOOOOOOO not complaining I love it).  But to avoid listening to only the storage freezer for 8 hours in a row, I listened to some audiobooks, including 1984, The Metamorphosis, and Anna Karenina.

5.  Running with Erin!  I made a joke to my student assistant that I had to go "run errands" after work one Friday afternoon.  But that actually meant running with Erin.  We are getting in shape and justifying the consumption of our Halloween candy.  And Yoloberry frozen yogurt.  And Jamba Juice.  And probably some milkshakes in the future.

6.  Can these be my Halloween costume?  The two pictures on the left are a work of artistic genius by Robby, Samantha's bf.  The picture on the right is my new Cheshire Cat mug from Disneyland.

Mud Run Weekend

Eight days ago, I ran in the Mud Factor 5K in Sacramento with Jessica and Erin.  Other than my daily walk through the wild rice fields at work, I can't say that I did much training.  If it weren't for Erin, I doubt I would have gone for a single after-work run to prepare for this run/obstacle course.  But with three entire 3-4 mile training runs since the half marathon in JULY, I was not at all ready.

Jessica came over Friday night and stayed in my guest room (did I mention I now live in a house so big I have a guest room?), and then Erin arrived right before I started believing that she slept through her alarm and was never going to show up, with her friend Caroline who was visiting from the East Coast.  Our run started at 9:00 am and we had so much fun!  I thought I would have gotten muddier but mostly it just stayed on my shoes.  I liked the climbing obstacles the best, and my least favorite part was the slide i.e. trash bag with a tiny bit of water running down it.  At the finish line we were awarded with a Mud Factor medal that doubles as a bottle opener.

Ben and Caroline were excellent spectators as we tore up our knees and filled our shoes with mud that had an unbelievably high gravel content.  After changing our clothes, we rewarded ourselves with some brunch at Shady Lady (coffee, chicken sandwich, blueberry pancakes, toast, bacon, and a Paleo-ish veggie omelet in case you were wondering).

We then parted ways, and I crammed as much bonding time with Law and Order Ben as I could before I left for McArthur, CA for work on Sunday (see previous blog post for the highlights from that trip).

So this happened

I was traveling on a solo work trip today, and I had this conversation while trying to obtain a storage unit:

Me: Hi, I'm Corey from UC Davis.  I'm looking for Shirley because I am renting a storage unit from her.
Shirley's Husband: Are you married?
Me: No
Shirley's Husband: Do you want a boyfriend?
Me: I have one.
Shirley's Husband: What does he do?
Me: He's a musician.
Shirley's Husband: Oh, not looking for a cowboy, are you?
Me: Not currently, no.
Shirley's Husband:  That's too bad.  My grandson needs a wife.

Then I found Shirley.  Interesting though, that this man is willing to propose on behalf of his grandson to every young woman who knocks on the door and is covered in mud.