The anti-Thanksgiving

In a spirit contrary to the wonderful gratitude of Thanksgiving, here is a list of things for which I am not grateful:

1.) People who cut in line at Starbucks. Seriously folks, it only takes 15.7 seconds for them to concoct your non-fat double pump hazelnut latte with no whip, so chill out while I get my little innocent cup of coffee! Just send another text message while you are waiting, that will take up the spare time. And I promise, I won't accidentally spill my drink on your Ugg boots or Northface jacket.
2.) Movies with plot lines where old wrinkly men hook up with hot big-boobed women. You never see wrinkly women making out with young guys in the movies, just doesn't happen. This plot line ruined an otherwise perfectly good movie I was watching over Thanksgiving break.
3.) People who like to tell me that running is not really a sport. Why don't you go tell a tiger that his teeth are not really that sharp?
4.) Cell phone companies, no explanation needed
5.) Ungrateful people, so I'll stop this list right here now that I've vented my current frustrations!

Top Thanksgiving Day Quotes

The below are direct quotes from a festive Gall/Egolf/Karpick family get-together...

Aunt Beeba - "Why did he get so old?" Steve - "Because he didn't die when he was twenty."

"Why is everyone looking at me?" - Me, right before getting whip cream sprayed all over my face.

"Lola, come here!" - My dad after getting sprayed with whip cream when he fell asleep on the floor, but he didn't feel like getting up to wipe it off so he figured the dog could just lick it off his face. Luckily, the dog was asleep too and didn't catch on.

"You know, the elderly are the fastest growing population infected with sexually transmitted diseases." - Christine

"Okay, I have to go out and buy one of these now." - Grandma Dottie after trying, and failing, to figure out what Uncle Dick's iTouch is and how it works.

"He told me he didn't love her anymore and I sad 'Get over it!'" - Aunt Beeba describing her eldest son's divorce.

"You've been coasting for the last 40 years of your life!" - Cathy to her brother Pat

Cathy - "Do you talk to your dad before and after sex?"

Me, after the above quote: "Ok, this is officially the weirdest Thanksgiving ever!"

NCAA's from a differnt view

"Running to him was real, the way he did it the realest thing he knew. It was all joy and woe, hard as diamond; it made him weary beyond comprehension. But it also made him free."
~John L. Parker, Once a Runner

I have watched, and not run in, the NCAA Cross Country Championship before, fall of 2003 when I red-shirted to be exact. But this was the first time I had watched from outside the white lines since completing my eligibility and it was almost surreal. Ever since I started running competitively, I've had this reoccurring nightmare that I am at a race yet someone convinces me I have plenty of time before the start and I always end up missing the start. That is what I felt like today, as if I was supposed to be racing when the gun went off, yet I was standing there in my corduroy khakis and night-life Brooks officials jacket manning gate number 35. My heart pounded and I felt the adrenaline surge during the eerie silence right before Lee Aldridge shot his starter's gun, just as it had the past four NCAA Championships at Terre Haute.

Besides the ghosts of races past constantly filtering through my thoughts, the races were great to watch. The pure guts battle between Rupp of Oregon and McDougal of Liberty, with McDougal squeaking out the victory with one final surge, made me get booty-lock just by watching. On the women's side, Kipyego handily beat a good field, yet I couldn't help thinking that I would've been top 5 in that race. I also found myself wondering what it would have been like to be on an NCAA Championship team. Katie Harrington is from Indiana, just like me, and she has multiple championship rings. Alas, there is no way to change the past and there are too many good things that have happened to me, and good lessons learned, at Indiana to ever wish I would have gone somewhere else. So the trick for me is to not wallow in the shortcomings of the past and instead live in the moment.

This evening I encountered the opposite mental dilemma while finishing my run in the dark. Instead of watching my steps like I should have been to avoid possibly breaking an ankle, I was blissfully planning the vagaries of my distant future. No one will argue that planning is a bad idea; however, I think I too often get caught up on what will be and don't spend enough time enjoying what is. Today was a good reminder to not vacillate between the past and future as much as make the most of the present. Many people say that, and many people have said it to me, but it really does take forceful thought to not wallow in the "woulda shoulda coulda" and "gonna" that can be an easy escape from today's realities.

Good to be a Hoosier

This was a very good weekend to be a Hoosier. I admit, I am a convert. My dad claims my first word was "Purdue," (I remain skeptical about the veracity of that) and I grew up in West Lafayette. When people ask me why I came to IU I usually reply with the cliche "I saw the light." Nonetheless, my background gives me a unique perspective on this rivalry and I often feel sympathetic to both sides.

I started Saturday started off by wandering around various tailgates, first stopping by an IU one to say hi to Blake, then off to meet my dad and his Purdue friends. As these particular people always do, they begged me to go eat something because they think I'm too thin, and then shoved a beer in my hand because they think I don't drink enough. In my humble opinion, I believe when they look at me they realize they are a bit on the heavy side and should perhaps lay off the liquor every once in awhile. They also tried to get me to drink this liquor out of a paper bag called "Hot Damn." It wasn't that I was adverse to drinking the liquor, it was the fact that everyone at that tailgate had drank out of the exact same bottle, gross! At least with Sink-the Biz things kind of get "washed off" in the bucket of beer, but straight from the same bottle is just too much for this germaphobe to handle.

After my mandatory meal and drink, we threw the football around for awhile, which prompted my dad to apologize to the others, "yeah, she may be fast, but her sister's the one with the coordination." Thanks Pops. Whenever Purdue fans would walk by they would exchange greetings of "Boiler up!" I got sick of this and finally offered my own rebuttal, "Boiler up yours!" Ah, good old fashioned trash talking! Since I'm too chicken to do it in my own sport, I thoroughly enjoy doing it during other ones.

Finally it was game time and Dad and I made it to our seats in the very left hand corner of the first row of the South end zone that I bought at the last minute Friday morning before the game sold out. Although we couldn't really tell what was going on at the other end of the field or how many yards till the first down, it was actually a neat perspective on the game. It gave me a better appreciation for how the sport moves from the players' point-of-view. In the second half, Eric Gordon (IU basketball freshman phenom) sat behind us, and graciously signed various items for the fans that recognized him. The worse part of the game was that once the sun went down I had to constantly jump around and breath into my sleeves to stay warm; I was definitely not as prepared as I should have been.

The Hoosiers built a big lead in the first half then struggled in the second. It came down to an IU field goal, which kicker Austin Starr gave just enough umph to get it over the cross bar into our end zone. As I often do, I got overly excited and nearly fell off the bleachers jumping up and down in celebration, but it was just so exciting! Once the clock finally ran out, students stormed the field and everyone in the stadium, Hoosier or Boiler, could tell that Terry Hoeppner was smiling from up above. My dad gave me a high five and was unusually optimistic; clearly, my conversion has softened him a little. He even revealed that he was wearing an IU Track & Field t-shirt below his multiple layers of Purdue gear. Alas, his lucky Mike Alstott-signed hat was not enough as IU won it's first Old Oaken Bucket game in 6 years and paved its way to "Play 13," Coach Hep's old rally cry.

Things got even better in the IU-Purdue rivalry for me on Sunday. Earlier my dad had been bragging that he was going to Texas in two weeks to visit his girlfriend and watch the Purdue women's soccer team play in the NCAA Final Four at Texas A & M. I reminded him that they had to play IU first, but he pretty much ignored that comment. Well, IU won in penalty kicks to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in school history! The IU men's basketball team also demolished no-name Longwood Sunday afternoon, and I saw Eric Gordon at the Applebee's by the mall, apparently going to celebratory meal with his family. Two times in two days I was in close proximity with someone who will likely be a pro star this time next year, maybe some of his magic will rub off on me and my pick-up game will improve a little, ha...

For a kid who grew up selling programs at Purdue games and alternating different Purdue t-shirts to wear to school, occasionally my Hoosier pride seems a bit unnatural. After this weekend, though, I know for sure I have fully converted; "Our Indiana" is also my Indiana.

Hello

I was laying in bed last night trying to fall asleep, but, as usual, random thoughts kept preempting my dreams. It is as if when I am in a horizontal position gravity no longer prevents such thoughts from flowing into my brain. While I doubt many people will ever read any of my ramblings here, I figured writing out these musings of mine might help get them out of my system. This blog is a sort of intellectual exorcism that I hope will let me sleep a little easier at night. So, here goes nothing...