Upheaval Update

So, if you’re one of the 8 people who regularly stops by here to check in on the musings of my mind, you’ll have noticed that I’m a little short on interest in blogging lately.

I must say, it’s not for lack of time sitting in front of this damn computer.  Now that I work from home, I spend roughly 12 hours seated here (oy, but if I hadn’t gotten a good chair I’d be irritated now), but for some reason everything is more interesting to me than blogging or reading my Google Reader.

But you know, as they say, every day is a new day, so here I am…

The past few weeks  have been good, interesting, boring, exciting, great, exhausting, exhilarating.

Visiting with an old, um, friend.

Just after I moved, I got a Facebook message from someone I used to know… 10 years ago… saying he was at Deville’s did I want to have a drink.  After some back and forth, I told him I was living in CO and discovered that he had recently moved away from Denver, but was coming back for a visit.  We decided that 10 years was long enough, it was time for a beverage.

On the designated evening, at 7p, I picked him up at the friend’s house where he was staying, and we headed into town. Within minutes, I discovered that he:

1. Didn’t have any money because he lost his wallet.
2. Is in recovery from a number of illicit substances. Notably crack. Awesome.
3. Has returned to Denver to take care of 2 outstanding warrants, both for FTA – failure to appear in court.  What were the original charges? Possession.  Now, if you know me, you know that I’m very much a live your own life kind of person.  In my former incarnation as an HIV prevention professional, I worked with folks who used substances, and really don’t care what other people do.  But I am so not interested in being involved in any way, shape or form.  Oh, and there’s the little issue of Megan’s choice of employ.
4. He likes to drink. A lot. I don’t. And I don’t much care to hang around drunk people.
5. Probably was not so in active recovery as he claimed.  Maybe he was in the relapse-is-part-of-working-your-program part of his program.  I don’t know.   But he couldn’t hold a thought, couldn’t track a sentence through to the end, couldn’t remember what I did for a living. Oy.
6. Going out in downtown Denver (where he used to live and use) probably wasn’t a great idea (I must say, though, it wasn’t mine.)  He went on and on about how hard it was for him, and I should just let him out and go play with my friends at the tHERe.  Um, buddy, I don’t have any friends here.
7. Eventually (at around 8:30pm…) it was time to take him home.  This was getting to a not good place. He made me swear that I’d let him take me out to dinner to repay me for the drinks I’d bought.  I smiled and nodded, with no intention of making good on the implied agreement.

I’m not thrilled that this was my first foray into socializing out here, but I do suppose it was bound to happen… everything has been smooth sailing… it stands to reason that there will be bumps in the road every now and then.

Couch to 5K.

I hate running, but have always secretly wanted to  be able to be a runner.  Makes no sense, I know. I was chatting with an old friend from high school who told me she was starting a Couch to 5K program. Having had a bit of success with the diet since I’ve been here, and having a general, all-around, way better sense of well being, I thought it was probably time to get back on the running horse.  Or something.

The idea is to get my fat ass in gear, without actually having a heart attack or passing out.  The series is 9 weeks (you can do 7 if you’re really inspired) and you work up from running 60 seconds/walking 90 seconds to running a full 5K. I should be able to do this, right? I mean, I used to be a jock…

Anyway… if you Google Couch to 5K, you get about a million results, notably this awesome set of verbal cues that you can mix with your own music using Garage Band.

The first day, I tried it without the mixed set of music, using my iPod and watch.  What a pain in the ass.  And I only made it 5 out of 8 rounds before I literally wanted to lie down and die.

With a little advice from Megan (it’s a good idea to actually breathe), and motivation from my newly made Garage Band mix, I made it the full 8 rounds the next day (you’re supposed to take a day off in-between, but I was feeling inspired.) I only did about 1.75 miles in the 28 minutes, but I didn’t want to die, or hyperventilate, or lie down in the middle of the track.  All good signs. Today is week 1, day 3.  We’ll see how it goes.

I’ve already made mixes for weeks 2 and 3… and my high school friend is pleased as punch that I did it and sent them to her and she didn’t have to, so at minimum, I’ve generated good karma in the world. I’ll share them with you, too, if you ask nicely.

SAME Cafe

This Saturday marks my first day volunteering for the SAME Cafe, in Denver.  Shev sent me the link when I moved out here, having seen them on TV, and then Jess sent me another link… it’s like fate that I volunteer there. It’s a cool concept (from their website):

It is the intent of SAME Cafe to build a healthy community by providing a basic need of food in a respectful and dignified manner to anyone who walks through the door.

SAME Cafe is unique in the lack of a set menu as well as set prices. Daily selections are made using fresh, organic ingredients, and funded by the donations of patrons. Instead of a cash register, a donation box is available for one to pay what they felt their meal was worth, or to leave a little more and help out someone less fortunate. If a diner does not have sufficient money to leave, they are encouraged to exchange an hour of service. Our philosophy is that everyone, regardless of economic status, deserves the chance to eat healthy food while being treated with dignity.

I worked for my mom in the pastry shop for about a million years, and waited tables in college for a while.  So I think it will be fun for me, and I’ll have some tangible skills to put to use there.  They post their menu every week on their blog.  I LOVE green chili…

Could it get any more exciting?