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nofxhoar

kitten

Aug. 11, 2009 | 06:49 pm
posted by: nofxhoar

I will post a real entry eventually, but to assuage my father, here is a nominal update regarding my new kitten Fry.  I have had Fry for one month.  This week I am bringing him to the vet to be neutered.  Poor little guy!

Things Fry likes to play with more than the toys I bought him:
  • a leaf that comes in off my shoe
  • a bug
  • dirt from my plants
  • plastic bags
  • popsicle stick
  • ring/tab off the milk jug
  • a shoelace (any shoe lace)
  • my flip flops if they are left out
  • my feet
  • my hair
  • his tail
  • his reflection in the mirror
  • electric cords (trying to stop this one)
  • the shower curtain
  • magazine subscription paper inserts
  • the litter in his litter box
  • his own feces
I'm sure I could continue but that's enough for now. 

In short... I absolutely love living alone in my new apartment.  I am training for a marathon and it is quite challenging in the heat & humidity of summer.  And I'm trying to work on socializing with new people in an attempt to make new friends.  You can't meet people if you don't talk to them.

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nofxhoar

nomad

Apr. 16, 2009 | 11:34 pm
feeling: stressed stressed
posted by: nofxhoar

I want so, so badly to get my own apartment.  Space of my own.  A semblance of independence.  To take out and use all these homegoods I've been stockpiling over the last year.  To stop being a nomad and just settle.  I want to hang the bevy of framed photos that I have stashed under things.

But... apartments are expensive.

And it won't make my job or social life any more satisfying.  There is no magic fix for that.

But where & how do I distinguish between what I want & think will make me happy, versus the wise choice that doesn't hurt my friend and strain my wallet?

What if the apartment is loud?  What if my neighbors are terrible?  What if my computer/car/phone dies and I have to replace it?  What if somehow I lose my job?  What if none of those things break?

What if I don't like it after all?  What if I don't get over my fears of being alone?  What if I love it?



"I can't live my life always worried about "what if"
because what if I die tomorrow, then I never even lived"

-plain white t's

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nofxhoar

Apr. 11, 2009 | 01:24 pm
posted by: nofxhoar

I am registered to run the Marine Corps Marathon on October 25. 

Twenty-six point two miles.

This'll be wild!

I am however the laziest runner ever.  Running hurts so much I'm scared to do it because I know I'll be limping for days afterwards.  I'm getting fit for custom orthotics (shoe inserts) next week so hopefully that'll balance out my legs and allow me to run with less pain.  Because I am doing this marathon.

Hopefully I can lose another 10-15 pounds training for this.  That would help greatly in other areas of my life.

Off to go for a short painful run around the neighborhood with my roommate now.

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nofxhoar

half marathon!

Mar. 23, 2009 | 09:33 pm
feeling: excited excited
posted by: nofxhoar

Let me just say I loved my half marathon!  It was so fun.

I want to do another.

Oh and I also want to run a full marathon.  Need to decide: September, October or November.  Perhaps a full marathon in September and a half in November.

Got to keep loose and stretch and stay healthy and run run run!

I ran the entire 13.1 miles in Virginia Beach yesterday, and finished with a time of 2:12:43.  My goal was 2:15 so I am very proud of my accomplishment.  Only imagine what I could do with the proper training!

Once my post-race jubilation wears off, I may regret my enthusiasm for further distance races... I'm not registering for anything yet, but keeping confident and resting my legs a bit to get back into training mode.

Go me!! 

p.s. I chose this icon because finishers get medals.  My first medal!

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nofxhoar

feast or famine

Mar. 16, 2009 | 11:01 pm
feeling: sleepy sleepy
hearing: country
posted by: nofxhoar

I hurt my leg (IT band for those "in the know") and for about 6 weeks wasn't able to run more than 1.5 miles without severe sharp pains in my knee which forced me to stop.  I finally went to the sports med doctor last Monday and he told me about the IT band and how to stretch and strengthen it.  Yesterday I was able to run 4 miles with little-to-no pain.  It was awesome!  However my cardio has really gotten poor, so the 4 miles wore me out. 

My half marathon is this weekend and I am still participating, though I will not be able to run the whole way.  Unfortunately this means that I won't make my goal time as outlined in my new years resolution, and thus will have to run another half later in the year (Outer Banks in November perhaps).  Hopefully with my leg problems under control I'll be able to get back in shape.  I may also buy a bike and do a triathlon. 

Speaking of my resolutions, I'm doing quite well.  Surprisingly so, considering it is mid-March!  Guess I didn't set the bar high enough.

I'm getting drowsy now...

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nofxhoar

Jan. 18, 2009 | 09:43 pm
posted by: nofxhoar

Bullet points of my recent life.
  • I will be running the Shamrock half marathon in Virginia Beach on March 22. I am doing decently on my training; ran 8 miles today at Salem Lake. It was interesting to see the freeze patterns in the water.
  • Looking back at my training log, my first step in this new running phase, was 1.7 miles on March 1, 2008.  I've come a long way since then!  I was planning on the 5K being the longest distance I'd run, and the thought of participating in a race seemed far-fetched as it was.  Then I ran four 5Ks and a 10K in 2008.  Oh and I also lost approximately 15 pounds.  I'm happy and proud of myself on all counts!
  • I have lost 1.5 toenails to the running.  Apparently this is relatively common for runners.  2 of my super fitness frenzy friends applauded me when I mentioned it, because it means I'm working hard!
  • After enjoying kickball so much last summer, I have joined a dodgeball league in town.  It's a lot of fun so far.  Makes me want to watch Dodgeball the movie!  I'm meeting some new people through it as well, which is key.
  • Wake Forest is the last undefeated men's basketball team in the country and should be #1 in the national polls tomorrow.  This has been a very exciting season thus far.  I've been trying to avoid high expectations and getting too excited about the team, but it's getting hard not to.  Now I don't expect to be #1 for the rest of the season by any stretch of the imagination, but this team is good.  And SO fun to watch.  Go Deacs!!
  • On December 20 (well, early morning the 21st truly), the first day I was home in Maryland for a whole week for Christmas (don't know how I swung getting all those days off!), a deer ran right into my car.  BAM.  My worst driving fear realized.  Well actually there are 2 equal fears, but one of them I'd see coming (emergency vehicle speeding down wrong side of road to avoid traffic and hitting me head-on) and one I would not (deer), so the deer is sort of number one.  I was okay, the deer was not killed immediately so she may have been okay, but my car was worse for it.  Main damage was losing the driver's side view mirror and a large dent above the front left tire.  Had to leave my car in the shop for like three weeks while I took a rental back to NC with me after the holidays.  Then I had to drive back to Maryland to pick it up, and it's still not entirely fixed.  So I need to find someone in Winston to repair the glass in the window for me.  It rattles something wicked.
  • I've been watching "How I Met Your Mother" in the current season with Rebeka, and have now decided to watch from the beginning.  Thank you random Chinese video website for allowing this!  I have watched the first 18 episodes of season 1.  It is sort of sad I have the time for this undertaking.

I'm being cautious with 2009 Resolutions.
1. Run a half-marathon
       (1a. run the half marathon in under 2 hours, 15 minutes.  If not at the Shamrock, run another.)
2. Go on 2 first dates
       (2a. unless one of the dates results in a situation where I don't need a second date)
3. Go on one promising job interview
       (got to keep options open in a tough economy)


I can't think of anything else too exciting that happened since my last entry a few months ago.  I'm still reading the friends page often!

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nofxhoar

Vote.

Oct. 27, 2008 | 08:30 pm
posted by: nofxhoar

North Carolina allows early voting. I stood in line for almost 2 hours tonight but darn it I voted!

I hope that everyone who can will get out and vote, however they need to.

Vote!


Oh and I guess I never mentioned that Iceland was beautiful, so different than any place I've ever been, very cold, and the economy collapsed the day I left. But it was amazing.

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nofxhoar

New Shoes

Sep. 21, 2008 | 03:24 pm
feeling: cheerful cheerful
posted by: nofxhoar

Well, new shoes soon. Not sure if they'll arrive before I leave for Iceland but it doesn't matter because I wouldn't be bringing brand new shoes on my trip anyway. I just bought these for myself as a birthday present! Yay me!




I also need to look at my running shoes again. I spent almost $200 a couple months ago on my new running shoes and fancy insoles for better support, but now my feet are hurting a lot after I run. I had a 10K race yesterday morning and the pain afterward was just awful. I did ice my foot for a couple hours in the afternoon though and it has helped a lot. I should probably go put some more ice on now actually. The 10K went well though, it was my first race at that distance and I ran it in 59:13, under my goal time of 1 hour. It's about 6.2 miles so that is a good pace for me. And being below the big round number of an hour is nice as well.

After I look into my foot pain and try to solve that, I may register for a half marathon. Ah!

Oh and I went to a Silpada jewelry party this morning and bought myself a pretty necklace and earrings. I'm definitely spoiling myself for my birthday week.

We leave for Iceland in 8 days, HOORAY!

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nofxhoar

Hurricanes

Sep. 04, 2008 | 07:34 pm
feeling: hungry hungry
posted by: nofxhoar

The hurricanes are coming!

Hanna is supposed to hit Friday night and Saturday morning.  It's actually still a tropical storm but is headed over warmer water now so it should pick up speed and probably turn into a Category 1 hurricane.  I think it should mostly hug the coastline after it hits the Carolina coast, so hopefully it doesn't dump too much rain on Winston-Salem. 

Saturday is the first home football game with a 3:30 kickoff, and I'm also running a 5K at 8:30 am, so I'd really prefer the rain not to bother me too much.  Tailgating in the rain just isn't as fun.

But then there is Hurricane Ike.  It's following a similar path as Hanna is taking right now, but the difference is, it looks like one hell of a big storm.  It is a Category 4 (5 is the highest) hurricane right now, but will probably slow down a bit.  I think that'll hit around Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, and if it follows the same path where Hanna has caused damage already, it could be really messy.

Then Josephine is out there too, but she is also just a tropical storm at this point and hopefully will dissipate or just bring some calm rain instead of a raging storm.

Anyway, keep the coast of the Carolinas in your thoughts as they buckle down for the storms!


p.s. it really bothers me that the storm is named Hanna and not Hannah.  That name should be a palindrome.
p.p.s. if you don't know where Winston-Salem is, I am like 4 hours from the coast so it's not going to be so bad for me.

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nofxhoar

football

Aug. 28, 2008 | 05:18 pm
feeling: excited excited
posted by: nofxhoar

football football football

that's all I can think about.

football football football. 

GO DEACS!


oh and Iceland I'm thinking about that too.  Iceland and football.  Football and iceland.

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nofxhoar

Iceland

Aug. 18, 2008 | 11:33 pm
feeling: excited excited
posted by: nofxhoar

I just bought plane tickets to Reykjavik, Iceland.  I'm going with my sister in the beginning of October.

Wow I am so excited.

ICELAND!

btw, the pig with all the medals in my icon must be Chinese because that's the only team who could get medals like that.  Except Phelps of course.

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nofxhoar

running

Aug. 11, 2008 | 06:53 pm
feeling: cheerful cheerful
hearing: Lloyd Dobler Effect
posted by: nofxhoar

So I've been running since March. I mentioned the 5Ks. I'm going to run a 10K next month and may work toward a half-marathon in the spring (if not before). I can't believe it!

I can't believe I ran 6.94 miles (posted trail distance) around a lake yesterday... and I can't believe I didn't even know the lake was there, only 20 minutes from where I live. That is about 2.5 miles more than my previous long run of ~4.5 miles. I feel good too, wasn't too exhausted afterwards. Guess I need to run faster then.  And I've lost about 10 lbs since starting running which is a nice bonus, except for the fact that some of my clothes are unattractively loose now. Better than too tight!

And how about the Olympics? GO USA! There are so many events to keep up with, I keep finding out about things after the fact.

I watched "Batman Begins" last night with my roommate and we're going to go see "The Dark Knight" soon. I'm looking forward to it - have heard ever so much about it and need to make sure I see it before it leaves the theaters. A coworker who has already seen it 3 times mentioned she might be going to Raleigh (90 min away) to see it in the IMAX theater which would be cool, but I don't want to go all the way to Raleigh for a movie.

Football season is just around the corner, I even went to a Wake scrimmage on Saturday evening.  I'm so pumped.

Life is good my friends.

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nofxhoar

meme

Jun. 13, 2008 | 08:46 pm
posted by: nofxhoar

Time passes and you know what, I realize I'm okay.  Well "more than just okay" to quote Switchfoot.
It was a fun way to spend a couple years and aside from still having the house/mortgage in my name, now it's just part of my past.  I can deal with that.

Moving on.
 
And now, a music survey meme thing from Kristen:
(I bet this is going to be silly ridiculous.)

We all know how these surveys work. Put your music player on shuffle, and whichever songs come up are your answers for the questions. Don't skip songs just because they don't fit! That's part of the fun.

And as my own twist, I'm going to try and choose a lyric in the song that makes it semi-appropriate for the category or else post a lyric that shows just how wrong the song is for the category.

Tags:

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nofxhoar

over, so very over.

May. 05, 2008 | 06:06 pm
posted by: nofxhoar

Well it is definitely a "break up" and not a break.  He has a new girlfriend, not sure if they are "official" or what but he's spending a lot of time with her as far as I can tell.  I think it likely he was seeing her before I was moved out of the house.  I live with a friend now. 

Sharing the same group of friends in the same (small) city is hard.  He's bringing her, the new girl, to a party we're both going to tonight.  I'll have to get used to seeing them together.  I need to meet some new people and widen my social circle but I don't even know where to start. 
I'm trying to reconcile myself with the fact that I very well might be alone for the rest of my life.  Isn't it nice to have nothing to look forward to?  All my friends say that if he wasn't right, then my real Mr. Right will be so much better...

No I shouldn't write the rest of what I want to.  This self-loathing is best kept to myself.  That way people don't think I'm insane.

I guess I need to start dating again.  Ugh does anything sound more awful than that?  No.  The answer is no.

note to self:
Be strong.
You can be alone.
You've done it for a long time.
(even though it has been a while)
And you'll have a long time to work on it.
Like, forever.


Oh but I did successfully finish my first 5K race over the weekend.  Ran it in 28:58.  Not bad.  Got to get better though.

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nofxhoar

Life.

Mar. 22, 2008 | 10:45 am
feeling: okay okay
posted by: nofxhoar

Remember me? I still read my friends page pretty much every day, but never update.

I pre-ordered this camera on a special deal from Sony where I get $130 credit for using their credit card. So $130 off! That's nearly half price. I've been wanting a nice new camera ever since I broke mine a year ago St. Patrick's Day.

Sony Cyber-shot W170 DSC-170b

This one doesn't come out until "on or about" April 24 but I can wait. I'm psyched.

I've been running lately. I decided I should run a 5K; never run a race before. I haven't scheduled one yet but I will need to soon. This week I sort of felt crappy so I didn't run every other day like I should. I ran 2 miles last Saturday then 2.25 yesterday (Friday) and nothing in between - definitely not the way to get into shape. Fortunately I did the 2.25 yesterday without stopping and didn't feel too awful afterwards so I think I am still doing okay. I've been upping the run by 0.25 each week, so it won't take me too much longer to get to 3.1 miles = 5 kilometers. Then if I enjoy my first race enough maybe I'll run another to try to improve my time. But I'm just concentrating on getting it done for now.

Positive side effect, I've lost a few pounds, yay! I've been trying to watch what I eat a little more, and eat more slowly. The average day at work, I bring a lunch: sandwich, bag of baby carrots, apple, 3-4 fat free fig newtons and a granola bar. I stopped bringing the granola bar a couple weeks ago and just eating more carefully and I haven't missed it! And I'm taking better care not eating the same portion size as Wes does when we make dinner, because he is trying so hard to gain weight and I'm not exactly "trying hard" to lose, but I want to at least stay the same.

Also I gave up candy for Lent which I ate too much of at work - everyone including myself has a bowl of candy on the desk. Of course tomorrow is Easter so I will be able to have candy, and I am so looking forward to the Reese's Peanut Butter Egg and Cadbury Caramel Egg I bought for the occasion. I will not eat both tomorrow though, that'd be too much. After I don't eat much candy or sugary foods for a while, my mouth rebels when I finally do and just hurts. But I love holiday Reese's so that is my first candy. I will try not to eat candy at the office anymore anyway, but sometimes a little handful of m&ms is such a nice pick-me-up.

I donated 3 pairs of jeans to Goodwill last week along with some other stuff from my closet that I just don't wear anymore. I had such hope that the jeans which I've worn for like 5 years, would get longer suddenly, but they haven't. I don't think I am getting taller but who knows, within the past 6-8 months they just seemed too short. I'd put them on and then put on anything but the lowest ballet flats (finally caved and fell for the trend) or flip-flops and they were too short. So I finally gave up (this is really hard for me) and decided they had to go. I have $50 gift card to Gap, so I think I will go get a new pair of jeans there today. I've had good luck with their jeans in the past. I also got a pair of "Curvy Boot" jeans from Ann Taylor Loft in January and like those too. But I don't have a gift card there, so I'll check Gap first and see if they have something I like.

We planted ~250 bulbs a few months ago and the daffodils and crocus are blooming now! I was worried they wouldn't bloom but they are and it is lovely:

"I see you there" crop 2

That's all for now. I won't lie and say I'll try to update more because that's not going to happen.

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nofxhoar

Jan. 01, 2008 | 05:31 pm
hearing: watching the Rose Bowl
posted by: nofxhoar

Happy New Year!



I wish you all a fabulous New Year. For those who had a good 2007, I hope 08 is everything and more! For those looking forward to the new start I hope that 08 blows 07 out of the water.

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nofxhoar

Merry Christmas!

Dec. 25, 2007 | 11:45 pm
location: Winston-Salem, NC
feeling: loved loved
hearing: Batman cartoons
posted by: nofxhoar

Merry Christmas!

yes it is almost midnight. But Merry Christmas nonetheless! I hope you all had a fantastic holiday and are doing well.

hey, remember me!? I haven't posted in months.

Cliffs Notes on my life... house is good (lots of work), lots of gardening, football season and tailgating is awesome, Wake men's soccer won the national championship and I was there, basketball season is underway, Wake football bowl game is in Charlotte this coming Saturday 12/29 and of course I am going, weather is not "wintery" at all down here, things with Wes are great, Christmas was fantastic (though a lot of travel involved)... Don't know if there has been anything terribly exciting.


Our tree!


Our house all decorated for Christmas. That is a second tree in the upper window.

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nofxhoar

Sep. 23, 2007 | 04:25 pm
feeling: happy happy
posted by: nofxhoar

The amazing Wake Forest football victory yesterday made one of the most amazing birthday parties ever. The Wake marching band came by our tailgate and played/sang "Happy Birthday" to me, which was great! The come from behind overtime football win was one of the best I have ever seen. So fun.

Happy Birthday to me! GO DEACS!!!

So far for my birthday I have gotten:
-a nice black computer bag/purse for the office (or whenever)
-Ann Taylor gift card
-Gap gift card
-crock pot
-crock pot cookbook
-mortar & pestle
-silly picture frame
-new watch (I am picking it out now)

...and my birthday isn't over yet :)

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nofxhoar

What Do You Have To Say? - Music: My First Favorite Band

Sep. 11, 2007 | 06:25 pm
posted by: nofxhoar

What was the first band you became a fan of?

Brought to you by HP | Contest | Vote for Winners!


View 500 Answers



My first band was Green Day. I was straight up obsessed with them from about 1996-1999.

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nofxhoar

Aug. 24, 2007 | 06:24 pm
posted by: nofxhoar

Okay I have not posted since May. Hi there friends!

-The house is going well. We have had 1 month of drought, then one month of rain, now we've just had another month of drought. The garden is not happy with the weather (neither am I when I have to water the yard in 100 degree temperatures). We've gotten a lot of work done around the house but it still needs more work, as I am sure it will continue to for a long while.

-It has been an amazingly busy summer. I feel like we have gone somewhere every weekend. Visiting our families, going to weddings, weekend excursions, helping friends move, etc. At the end of July we went to San Francisco, Yosemite National Park and back to Las Vegas. What a whirlwind adventure! Our vacations are always jam-packed with things to do, that's the way we like it. Football season starts next weekend, so that keeps me busy almost every weekend through December!

-Next weekend - Wake Forest football game 1 at Boston College. I am taking Friday off from work (well actually as a bonus for a job well done the office is getting a FREE vacation day; so awesome) and flying up to Boston, going to the Red Sox vs. Orioles game at Fenway on Friday night, the Wake Forest at Boston College football game on Saturday afternoon then spending Sat night and Sunday in Rhode Island with friends. We have Monday off for Labor Day so that will be spent exploring RI a bit more and then flying back home to NC.

-Some friends got married 2 weeks ago and there is another friends' wedding tomorrow. Weddings are so much fun. I am looking forward to the one tomorrow. Both the bride and the groom are friends of ours and I am expecting to know a lot more people than I did at the wedding 2 weeks ago (which was still a blast).

-Work has been going okay, this past week has been insanely busy. I am picking up oodles of new responsibilities and assignments, which is nice for the experience and the fact they show my value to the bosses but it's not like I am not busy enough! I am so glad to help with new and different things though.

-Last night there was a weird knocking sound outside, we couldn't figure out what it was... then we looked out on the back deck and there was a raccoon eating out of my new birdfeeder, and the knocking was it hitting against the deck. Stupid animal, eating all of my birdseed! I wanted to throw something at it, but we couldn't get out the door quickly enough. When we turned the deck light on, it looked over at us, and I totally flicked the stupid creature off - I know you saw me raccoon - get out of here and stop eating my birdseed!

Well even months later I can't think of much else to post.

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