DC Hot Chocolate Run

My apologies, but I'm going to do some complaining before I say anything positive on this one.

Now I've done a fair amount of races in my day, and it's normal to have a hitch or two in the race for whatever reason. But the DC Hot Chocolate Run was a total CF. Note: if you don't know what CF stands for, you are more pure of heart than me, and I'm not going to spoil you. Let's just say it isn't good.

My issues with the race planning started with waking up at 5 am to make the shuttle from Crystal City.
Well, that would have been okay, except the 7:30 start was delayed a solid hour. An hour!

That extra hour was worsened by the cold weather. I know they can't control the weather, but it accentuated the terrible effect of having to wait for so long after having already shed clothing and left it at the bag drop.

Once the race finally started, they goofed up on the route and had it doubling back at one point. Luckily it was sorted out by the time I reached that spot. But the correction didn't fix their course design and having the last half mile be a big hill. Brutal, uncalled for, and unnecessary.

Ok, I'm done being a negative Nelly.

Here's the happy stuff.

I didn't have to drive, and my shuttle was one of the earliest, so I arrived on time.

The race organizers provided plenty of port-a-johns, which some races sorely lack.

My Buddy the Elf costume made a lot of people (including myself) smile.

See? Here's "proof" I ran as Buddy the Elf

The views along the harbor were lovely, and the spectators cheered and made us feel loved.

I ran a decent race, considering I've got plantar fasciitis and how terribly out-of-shape I feel. Note: I'm not looking for sympathy. I know I'm still in decent shape, but I'm a long way from my Ironman conditioning of 18 months ago.

I vow to get my 5k time back under 22 mins by summer 2012

The post-race chocolate fondue and hot chocolate lived up to their billing. Delicious!

Many friends were there, from multiple friend-groups, which always makes a race more fun.

Fellow hashers

Colonial friends

 All in all, I had a good time. Just don't expect to see me at another RAM Racing event anytime soon.

An Expensive 48 Hours

Are you usually pretty good about saving, and then you'll just go on a quick spending spree?
I guess that's my style, and it's been an expensive last 48 hours.

Here's the rundown, in order of purchase.

100 die cut felt Movember mustaches - Etsy: $20

1 round-trip ticket to Utah for Christmas - kayak.com: $695
2 Nutcracker tickets - Kennedy Center: $240

1 Deco TV stand - Craigslist: $70
2 fancy massages - Groupon: $105

That's a grand total of $1,130, or almost $24 per hour.

Ouch.

Looks like my dinners will be based on tuna fish and Top Ramen for the next couple weeks.

Halloween Weekend

Halloween math: 3 parties, 2 costumes, 1 great weekend.

"Samhain" Running Group Party
My friend Anand hosted this shindig. Lots of fun costumes of all different types and genres. While there were a ton of great ones, here are some of my favorites.

Flo from Progressive & Eagle Scout

Calvin & Hobbes

All great, but especially loving the Nyan Cat & Barney Stinson on the far right

Celebrity Island Party
We all know Elvis and Tupac aren't dead. They and all their celebrity friends just leave public life to spend the remainder of their days on Celebrity Island. Check out how good they all look:

Bonnie & Clyde

Amber as Amelia Earhart

Allstate Mayhem Jogger

Such a great Lucille Ball impersonation

Crikey! It's the Crocodile Hunter!

Audrey's Birthday
This one wasn't a costume party. In fact, I went straight there from the Celebrity Island party, and I was the only person in costume. No worries. Sharing props and using camera effects gets everybody in on the act.

With the birthday girl

Kind of a gumshoe look, eh?

Showing Audrey some roomie love

These roomies are a hoot

 And that's why I love Halloween. 'Nuff said.

PS: I first shared the zombie love video for Valentines Day this year, but it seems appropriate for Halloween, too. My favorite lyrics? "I wanna steal your heart... and eat your brains." haha

The ABC (Anything But Clothes) Run

My running group can be pretty wacky, and we love our theme runs.

For the second year in a row, we had the ABC (Anything But Clothes) run.
Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like.

Find a trash bag, make a dress out of coffee filters or playing cards, whatever.

This year I cut head and arm holes in couch cushion covers for my friend Adam and me.

Yes, we get lots of funny looks from the Muggles when we run like this.

One big advantage that I hadn't planned on was the open airyness of the bottom with the heat-capturing of the top. Perfect for those chilly DC nights, plus you can bring the arms in and look like a potato!

Any suggestions for what I should wear / not wear for next year's ABC run?

A Great Pre-Halloween Fall Weekend [Haunted Forest, Pumpkin Party, Caramel Apples]

The weekend prior to Halloween was excellent this year. I was able to participate in several Fall/Halloween activities, which set the stage beautifully for the impending Halloween party blitzkrieg.

Markoff's Haunted Forest
I'm not usually a horror guy. In fact, I still hate clowns because of the nightmares that Stephen King's "It" gave me for several nights in a row when I was 12 years-old. But Markoff's Haunted Forest was a lot of fun. If you didn't make it this year, go next year. It's worth it. Even just for the carnival-type atmosphere and getting a cup of hot chocolate and standing by the bonfire.

Staying warm, prior to getting scared out of our wits

C1 Pumpkin Party
While not exactly a Halloween costume party, this shindig came close. The main focus was on pumpkin-carving, which was fine by me. Having pumpkin in most of the food was a delicious theme. Since I'm fairly new back in the Colonial 1st Ward, this was a great chance to re-connect with old friends and meet new folks. And what better way to break the ice than with a compliment about somebody's costume?

Great Civil War costumes, and Abe's beard is actually her hair. Isn't that hilarious/genius?!?

Caramel Apples
Mmm, just remembering this event makes me hungry. My friends Rachel and Devon put this together, and we all had a fun time. I could only handle one caramel apple, but spending the evening with great people and satisfying that sweet tooth at the same time is a deal I'll take any night.

Oh, and one question. Both are probably okay, but how do you pronounce the word "caramel"?

• Care-a-mel
• Car-mel

This is often a humorous and oddly-heated debate, and I'd love to hear what you think.

Does Your Halloween Self = Your Inner Self?

As a kid, Halloween was all about candy. You know that, and I know that.*     [* = note at end of post]
Our parents helped us pick out our costume (read: they led us to believe we were picking, when they made the real decisions), and then we went in search of the best houses to fill our pillowcase with candy.

But with the years, our focus changes.

We all still like a little candy, but now Halloween is fun because of the costumes.

Witty, macho, punny, gruesome, retro, and/or possibly even a bit risque.

My friend Marcus offered this gem of a quote on his blog:

"My cousin always told me that the way people dress on Halloween is the way they wish they could dress everyday of their lives.  Think about it, it's kinda true."

Any arguments on that? Though it maybe isn't true in all cases, I can see some truth to it.

So let's see how I want to dress every day, based on my past Halloween costumes.

ca 1992 - Indiana Jones

2004 - Andrei Kirilenko (NBA player)

2005 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle

2006 - 1950's Greaser

2006 - Robin Hood

2006 - Sherlock Holmes

2007 - James Bond

2007 - Newsie

2008 - Cowboy

2008 - Homestar Runner

2009 - Kermit the Frog

2010 - Mobster

Wow, I've been some awesome characters for Halloween over the years! Not sure exactly what they mean in terms of how I want to dress everyday... Any trends you noticed?

Besides the reappearance of the green spandex 4 years later? Yikes.

How do you want to dress everyday? Or rather, what are you going to be for Halloween this year?
I'm working on a couple ideas for various parties, and I'll share pics afterwards.

*Note: This comment reminded me of the hilarious stand-up comedy routine by Jerry Seinfeld. So funny!

Avast! Tis International Talk like a Pirate Day!

Ahoy mateys!

Every day is special.

But some arrr extra-special.

Like today, 'cause it's International Talk like a Pirate Day.

Fer starters, a pirate name's required.

Click [here] and find out what yers is.

I like mine because it reminds me of WWF wrestler Hacksaw Jim Duggan, who I just learned is from the same town as former BYU basketball and now NBA player Jimmer Fredette.

Glens Falls, NY, has been good to the USA.

Next ye'll need a sweet pirate catch-phrase.
Come up with yer own, or click [here] to get a random one.

Apparently pirate-me is not a sea tortoise fan.

If ye have a costume, t'would be a shame not to wear it.

Sadly, for most of corporate America (including me), that ain't an option.

Lastly, brush up on yer pirate lingo.

Here be a cheat sheet fer ye:

Basics
Ahoy! - "Hello!"
Avast! - Stop and give attention. It can be used in a sense of surprise, "Whoa! Get a load of that!" which today makes it more of a "Check it out" or "No way!" or "Get off!"
Aye! - "Why yes, I agree most heartily with everything you just said or did."
Aye aye! - "I'll get right on that sir, as soon as my break is over."
Arrr! - This one is often confused with arrrgh, which is of course the sound you make when you sit on a belaying pin. "Arrr!" can mean, variously, "yes," "I agree," "I'm happy," "I'm enjoying this beer," "My team is going to win it all," "I saw that television show, it sucked!" and "That was a clever remark you or I just made." And those are just a few of the myriad possibilities of Arrr!

Advanced
Beauty – The best possible pirate address for a woman. Always preceded by “me,” as in, “C’mere, me beauty,” or even, “me buxom beauty,” to one particularly well endowed. You’ll be surprised how effective this is.
Bilge rat – The bilge is the lowest level of the ship. It’s loaded with ballast and slimy, reeking water. A bilge rat, then, is a rat that lives in the worst place on the ship. On TLAP Day – A lot of guy humor involves insulting your buddies to prove your friendship. It’s important that everyone understand you are smarter, more powerful and much luckier with the wenches than they are. Since bilge rat is a pretty dirty thing to call someone, by all means use it on your friends.
Grog – An alcoholic drink, usually rum diluted with water, but in this context you could use it to refer to any alcoholic beverage other than beer, and we aren’t prepared to be picky about that, either. Call your beer grog if you want. We won’t stop you! Water aboard ship was stored for long periods in slimy wooden barrels, so you can see why rum was added to each sailor’s water ration – to kill the rancid taste.
Hornpipe – Both a single-reeded musical instrument sailors often had aboard ship, and a spirited dance that sailors do. On TLAP Day – We are not big fans of the capering, it’s not our favorite art form, if you will, so we don’t have a lot to say on the subject, other than to observe that the common term for being filled with lust is “horny,” and hornpipe then has some comical possibilities. “Is that a hornpipe in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me? Or both?”
Lubber – (or land lubber) This is the seaman’s version of land lover, mangled by typical pirate disregard for elocution. A lubber is someone who does not go to sea, who stays on the land. On TLAP Day – More likely than not, you are a lubber 364 days of the year. But not if you’re talking like a pirate! Then the word lubber becomes one of the more fierce weapons in your arsenal of piratical lingo. In a room where everyone is talking like pirates, lubber is ALWAYS an insult.
Smartly – Do something quickly. On TLAP Day – “Smartly, me lass,” you might say when sending the bar maid off for another round. She will be so impressed she might well spit in your beer.

And now yer prepared to fully enjoy International Talk like a Pirate Day, me mateys!

Best/Worst Halloween Costume?

If you haven't seen this video, it's about time you did.

Two questions:
1) If I acquired an alto sax and learned how to play "Careless Whisper", would it be the best Halloween costume of all time, or the worst? I kinda don't think there's any gray area.
2) If my friend Matt is already replicating this (not sure if for Halloween or just for fun), does that mean I can't?

Oh, and my apologies for getting this tune stuck in your head all day.