I am indeed tired, and my throat is indeed pretty raw right now.
Outside of that, I don't have a ton of complaints. Everything else seems to be going well in my life. It's just a lot of it.
The Illinois (Half) Marathon is now two months away. I'm up to 8 miles in my training. So far, fingers crossed, I have no major injuries. Just some tweaks in the knees.
Julia is good.
The cats are good.
In fact, Bonita is sleeping here on my lap as I type.
I have two major trips coming up in the next 6 months. Vegas, April 30-May 4. And Australia, June 25-July 6th. I can't tell you how excited I am for both of them.
I'm also going to include my 25 things list from Facebook here. Feel free to read and critique.
Here are 25 things you may or may not have known about me, in no particular order:
1. When I was 5 years old, I was beaten up by three Special Olympians. As a result, I do not associate myself with that charity, no matter how valuable their work.
2. I often have full conversations with my cats. Stinky, apparently, is racist, but a huge sports fan. Bonita is a British snob.
3. I announce for three sports full time at the University of Illinois, but have a massive fear of public speaking.
4. When I was younger, I would force myself to throw up before I would allow myself to board a plane.
5. I also forced myself to throw up when my stepmother tried to make me eat green beans, which I despise. I was a very talented vomiter.
6. I am gluten intolerant, and often crave the weirdest things that I can't eat anymore, like a Willie Wonka candy bar, which I have only seen in Indiana...or a McDonald's Filet-o-Fish.
7. The first concert I went to was Farm Aid, the original, followed within one year by Stevie Wonder and Tina Turner.
8. I look like both my mother and my father, and people used to believe that they were brother and sister.
9. Every year, for the Super Bowl, my friends and I participate in "The Grilling of the Meats." We try to consume as many meat dishes as possible. This year we hit a new record of 22.
10. I've been lucky enough to interview several celebrities in my time in radio, but I still absolutely pee my pants when I walk by Michael Jordan. It's embarrassing.
11. I enjoy napping more than I enjoy sleeping at night.
12. I think the thing I like most about facebook is that it's given me the opportunity to learn more about my cousins, especially on the Zimmerman side. Because of the distance, and the age difference, I think I've been a bit segregated from them. But I'm happy to be catching up.
13. My doctor told me when I was ten that I would likely need a hip replacement by the time I was 50. So every time that I run, I try to remember that, and think about the fact that you never know how many more times you can do it.
14. As much as Ali will hate me saying this, I think I learned more about how to be a professional and how to handle yourself from Craig Tiley than anyone else I've ever met.
Although...
15. I still get mad at Craig for not taking me to the White House like he promised me after the team won the National Championship in 2003.
16. In the worst time of my life, I was surrounded by 3 women who I barely knew who kept me propped up and functioning. Every single one of these 25 things lists mentions how people wish their friends were closer. For me, it's these three people. Although we are still holding strong on planning CrackMonkey trips.
17. All my sports teams are named "CrackMonkeys." When Glenn and I were in college, we ate a lot of Cocoa Krispies. One time, they put this crazy looking monkey on the box. His name was Coco. He got in to mischief. Therefore, he became Coco the CrackMonkey. And so it was born.
18. I am the worst ironer in the world. I can not do it. At all. When we go on trips, I PAY Glenn to iron my clothes.
19. The only way to win at craps is pass, come, come. I only wish I had the money to play out the strategy.
20. If I had to pick 5 albums to listen to on a desert island, they would be these: Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique; Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville; A Tribe Called Quest's Low End Theory; Miles Davis' Kind of Blue; and either Ben Folds Five or Charlie Parker for the last one. Still haven't decided there.
21. I do not function at my best unless there is chaos surrounding me. I function fine normally, but when things get nutty, I love it.
22. When I was in college, Ted and I had names for all of the different kinds of poop we would leave in the toilet. The carpet bomber, the one-wiper, toothpaste poop, etc. We also had a Sega Genesis/TV set up in our bathroom. Glenn and I, on the other hand, each took a while to get to a point where we would poop in the dorm. The benefits of going to college in your home town, I guess. I'm lucky that I still have good people around me who like talking about poop.
23. My favorite number is 22. Oops.
24. I would like to move in the next five years. If I have my choice, I would pick these three cities, in this order: Portland, Madison, Seattle.
25. The management of trimming armpit hair is very important to me. I'm not saying full on shaving, but you know what? I think long body hair is disgusting. It makes me feel a lot better when my armpit hair isn't showing when my arms are resting at my side.
