Not really running related post...

So I must thank my fellow Chicagoan (or Floridian...or New Englander, currently) for giving me an award. That's awfully spiffy of you, Angela :) Of course there are terms and conditions for this award, and I'm going to abide by most of them.

I'm such a rule breaker, aren't I?



Here are the rules:
"The HonestScrap award comes with a caveat or two. Firstly, you have to tell your readers ten things about you they may not know, but that are true. Secondly, you have to tag 10 people with the award. Thirdly, let all the people you've given the award to know that they've gotten it (comment on their blogs or something). And finally, make sure you link back to the person who awarded you." (Okay, so I personally added in #3 and #4, but really, that's just common courtesy when receiving/bestowing anything.)

I'll be following Rule #1. If you're bored and looking to blog about something, then consider yourself tagged...

So 10 things about me are:

1. I separate out my M&M's by colour and then eat them by number. For instance, if I have 6 Greens and only 2 Blues, I will eat four blues so that there are then two of each colour, and then eat those colours together.

2. It should come as no surprise then that it takes me a long time to get out the door in the morning for my runs and for work. I usually check my purse or shoe wallet two to three times to makes sure I haven't forgotten my key.

3. Cheese is probably one of my favourite food stuffs on the face of the earth. I eat a lot of it. I can include cheese with almost any meal. Sadly, there is no doubt in my mind that this has negatively affected my abdominals.

4. I have a really hard time saying "no" to people, whether they are strangers or friends or family. So generally, I try to avoid situations in which I'd be asked to commit to something.

5. When I don't have my music with me on a run, I like to conjugate verbs. In French, of course. Usually, I only conjugate in the present tense, but lately I've been conjugating in l'imparfait as well. Maybe I'll try out compound tenses sometime.

6. I may be a neat-freak but I can be a pretty dirty person in many ways. For instance, I'll wear the same pair of socks multiple days in a row. I also wear the same shirt and shorts when I'm running. I'll switch out two shirts each week. I know...it's really gross. My excuse is, I have to pay for laundry and never have any quarters (or funding in general) for the machines in our basement. So, laundry doesn't get done every week. Having said that, when I dohave money, I'll use what little I have to wash a load of, you guessed it, running clothes!

7. I don't like to bring up my political leanings until I've gotten to know a person pretty well. It makes me nervous. I don't enjoy being vilified for my opinions, and I'd never dream of doing the same to anyone else. Plus, I just don't like people to feel uncomfortable or put-out. I've felt that way before...judged, if you will, so I actively try to avoid putting other people in that position. I have a lot of respect for my friends who don't feel the same way that I do. But that doesn't mean that I won't or can't express my values and opinions. I'm a fairly educated person and I haven't arrived at any of my opinions in a careless way. So, I wait. Sadly, even in this case there are people out there who do pile on the judgment and gradually remove themselves from my life. I guess we weren't supposed to be friends anyway.

8. Dogs are the best. As soon as I can afford to take care of something other than myself, I am adopting a dog. It needs to be something that can run with me, of course.

9. I'm really proud of the relationship that I've had with my parents. I never take it for granted.

10. In high school, as part of that Presidential Physical Fitness Test, you had to be able to run the mile. Well, my P.E. teachers (you only had to take P.E. during your Freshman and Sophomore years) had a rule that if you could run the entire mile, no matter how fast, you didn't have to meet a qualifying time. However, if you walked for even a few steps, you had to be able to finish under 10 minutes. I could never do it. I'd almost always end up walking during lap 3 (four laps total) and then have to sprint the final meters of lap 4. I was always so embarrassed, but I just couldn't do it. And I never thought I ever would be able to do it.

Okay, so that's that! I think I have a 50 minute run on the books for tonight and judging by the wind during my lunch hour outside, it's going to a difficult one. I'm pretty sure I'll be okay though. Just grouchy ;)