Sunday, August 18, 2013

Am I A Fat, Balding Man?

Weekly round-up:

Monday: 4 miles, treadmill
Tuesday: hike fail
Wednesday/Thursday: nothing
Friday: 3 miles, treadmill
Saturday: hike win!
Sunday: TBD (probably a few treadmill miles)

I think we can all agree that treadmill miles are the worst miles, but most of the time they're better than no miles. I haven't dared to run outside yet since I know the treadmill doesn't hurt and although my knee hasn't hurt in a couple of weeks, I'm still worried about it. Cutting my run short a few weeks ago (last month? How long has it been since my marathon? Ten years?) was significantly more traumatizing than a non-event like that should be, so I'm eager to avoid a repeat.

This past week I increased my activity level by infinity. That's true of any increase from zero, right? I'm pretty impressed with myself. Of course, I only made it outside twice, which absolutely needs to be remedied this coming week, but it was nice to move again. I'd almost forgotten how.

Yesterday's hike was a real beauty. I managed to convince my dad to return to the site of my awesome banner photo (and the inspiration for this blog's rebirth). It looked like it was going to be a drizzly day, but we really lucked out and were treated to pretty great weather.

I have to admit, I think this area is prettier when there's snow on the ground. Maybe that's my inner Ice Queen talking, but there was something so magical about last fall's hike. Yesterday was awesome, but it didn't knock me off my feet. I think what I'm saying is, I miss snow. YES, I'M CRAZY, THANK YOU. And now I'm sad I'm not going to see snow this winter.

Photo dump!



Towards Anchorage


That light green is all moss lichen! Pretty cool, right?





That cloud was not black. This photo is deceiving. 


Looking towards Powerline Pass, a place I vowed to run to sometime this year. Looks like I was lying.

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I got sucked into an internet black hole yesterday and am now obsessed with the story of Emily Dirr. Have you guys heard of this lady? She started impersonating an older Canadian Mountie (!!!) when she was 14 years old, which turned into her impersonating an entire family (WITH 11 CHILDREN) for, like, 8 years, and then killing them off when one of the Flickr accounts she stole pictures from to use as her character's "cancer-afflicted child" became private. This family experienced tragedy after tragedy and yet no one ever suspected a thing, probably because she never asked for any money. Oh, and because she created something like 81 Facebook accounts to make the whole thing more believable. To me, the craziest thing of all is that Emily Dirr was a med school student. When did she have time for this shit?!

Of course, Emily Dirr's story got me to thinking about all the blogs that I read. Are you guys real people? Am I real? Am I a fat, balding man sitting in his basement? The world may never know. The internet's a crazy place, y'all.

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In life news, my dad dug up his passport and discovered it expired two years ago. He's working on renewing it ASAP, but since there aren't any "regional passport agencies" in Anchorage (where you can go to really expedite the process), it seems my road trip to Eugene may turn into a solo effort. Oh, Canada, do you REALLY need passports from Alaskan citizens?! But actually, this may not be the worst thing ever, since in my (admittedly limited) experience, solo road tripping is actually pretty fun. Oh, and I have housing in Eugene now! Temporary housing, but still.

Note: it was a busy week at JJ-o headquarters so although I read all your blogs like the diligent blog-reader I am, I didn't comment on many. My apologies!

16 comments:

  1. Yooooo! That story is crazy! She seemed to have been really good at multi-tasking though-- that's a lot of shit to manage. 81 Facebook accounts? I hope she had the same password for all of them. I'm a real person...you can confirm that with Holly! ;-)

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    1. Yesssssssss. We'll vouch for each other.

      Plus, I don't have enough money to pay someone to take bad selfies three or four times a week for inclusion on the blog.

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  2. I love how instead of claiming Wednesday and Thursday as rest days, you just said "nothing."

    Haha I had not heard of Emily Dirr. But I can assure you that I am a real person and the photos I claim to be of myself are of me. Ironically, my dad likes to make jokes that some of my blog friends are probably a fat, balding man named Gary that lives in his mother's basement. Sooo..... are you Gary??

    Sorry to hear about your dad's passport expiring. I never thought about the fact that you would need a passport to drive from Alaska to another U.S. state. But at least you have found (temporary) housing! I hope you didn't go with that construction worker dude.

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    1. And after reading Allee's comment I feel the need to state that you can confirm I am real person with Deb. We met in person earlier this year :)

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  3. Beautiful photos. Definitely making me jealous.

    I have totally met two other bloggers and confirmed both that they really exist and that I really exist. BAM.

    That is an IMPRESSIVE scam. It also makes me feel really shitty about myself when I feel like I am "busy." Maybe since she was crazy, she also didn't sleep.

    So glad you finally have housing!! Sometimes temporary housing (while annoying) works out better because now you will have time to find a place and roommates you really like!

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  4. OK, I am so tempted to look this up, but I do not want to waste time reading about it. I will take your word :)

    Yay for having a temporary place to live! Temporary is the best when you are moving to a new place. You can explore and meet your next room mates in person!

    Boo for needing a passport to go through Canada! I am also a fan of long solo drives. Good podcasts help the time fly by as well, as we discussed earlier this summer :) Have you driven from Alaska down here before? Please take plenty of photos!

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  5. Yikes! Totally freaky story. SO glad to know that you are not a fat bald dude writing a running blog in your basement :) Phew!

    I guess because I know not a single person from Alaska, and I've never been there myself, I never thought about the whole passport/Canada thing. Bummer! But a solo road trip actually sounds super fun.

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  6. But...wait... Allee and I can vouch for each other, Deb and Meagan can vouch, I think that Brennan (who might not read here) can vouch for Amy, but...ummm.... Jeano? If anyone is suspicious, it's Ms. "No One I Know, Know That I Blog...Or Run" Hmmmmm.... ;-)

    Seriously, I've never heard of Emily Dirr, but have heard of people inventing families and/or friends - especially sick ones - in order to take part in "Illness Support Groups" on the internet. Ugh. Whiny Holly wants to know why we can't live in a perfect world where people are generally honest and upfront about who they are. Blergh.

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    1. Although, in a perfect world, I guess there wouldn't need to be support groups for sick people.

      And I would proofread my comments. "No One I Know, Knows That I Blog". And Deb & Meagan are vouching for each other, not just generally and randomly vouching.

      And yes, I can vouch for Grace. If she's not who she says she is, I'm in for a big surprise this weekend in Perth...

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    2. Holly makes a very good point, JJ-o.

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    3. Didn't I just call my existence into question? ;) Muahahaha. But really, someday one of you may just shame me into meeting up with you, and boy will you be surprised!

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  7. Ok that's a creepy story. Wowza. In real, but that's all the proof you get!!!! Hehehehe!

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  8. I'll vouch for Holly, too. But we'll need to come visit to check if you are real.

    I will, however, provide some book recommendations. Amazon, at your service. ;) Boris Akunin for Russian crime fiction; Robert Neuwirth's 'Stealth of Nations'; and I want to but have not got around to reading Vivien Stewart on education. I'm a very hungry and catholic bookworm. :)

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  9. I was really hoping to see a photo of you with a balding skin cap on your head, and a stomach insert.. I am kinda sad now.

    And as always, i LOVE the photos. You should get one of those go cams or whatever they are to wear while you run! Would be awesome!

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  10. Dude, isn't that in Chugach (sp?) Forest? I have totally gone by there on a boat! As I recall, it was very pretty, but our views were not quite this good. :)

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  11. Beautiful hike, I love me some mountains. Anchorage is so spoiled with the Chugach nearby. You'll love Eugene though, I'm sure. It is a different kind of beautiful, but I liked my visit there in June. It is such a strong running community and has paths everywhere.

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