The Run-Down

it's moving day, it's moving day...hey, baby hey.

So in poking around on B's other blog on wordpress, I was impressed with the functionality and options that worpress gives you as compared to blogger. Among them being the ability to add a flickr widget and not being signed out of my gmail account every time I sign into Blogger. So! That being said, I've moved all of my posts and comments over to wordpress, and now all I need to do is to move you fine people, my loyal readers (all 3 of you). :)

My "new" site (or location) is: http://rundown.wordpress.com/

I know I just started this site a very short time ago, but I really think I'll like wordpress better. So...please update your links / blogrolls accordingly! Thanks!

Posted in: on Saturday, September 1, 2007 at at 10:49 AM 0 comments

battle wounds.

I'm not going to show you pictures of my actual wound (gross!) but here's my leg, all dressed up, and lots of places to go:

This post has been brought to you by the letters "B" (for Band-Aid"), "C" (For Curad), and the number 3 (the number of bandages on my leg).

Posted in: on Friday, August 31, 2007 at at 12:53 PM 0 comments

...but if your mind's neglected, stumble you might fall...

This morning I was running along, listening to The Bravery on my iPod, when all of a sudden, I felt it catch. My toe, that is. On a crack in the pavement. Now, I'm normally kind of clumsy, so early on when I started running I had sort of mapped out all of the large cracks in the sidewalk in my mind. Potential hazards, things to avoid. I know there's one on my home stretch to my apartment, and another down one of my favorite hills. I even know which puddles to avoid because they make the pavement slippery and hazardous. But this particular crack was not on my list.

As I felt my toe catch all I remember was thinking "ohhhhh #*%^" (expletives deleted). I tried to aim my fall -- which was pretty pointless -- over towards the grass and off of the sidewalk. I landed pretty hard on the heel of my left hand, my right knee and my right shin/calf. And after landing? I may have skidded a bit. I don't exactly remember. All I know was thinking "well...there goes wearing a skirt tonight to the game."

I surveyed the damage, and saw that my hand was in pretty good shape, as was my knee -- both were bleeding a bit, but not too badly. Nothing felt broken, so that was also good. My shin, however, was a completely different story. It had already started to turn a lovely shade of pinkish purple, and I could tell most of the skin was rubbed off. It didn't hurt too badly (endorphins, much?) but I thought, "I have to get home to clean this up." My thought progression naturally went from "get home and clean up" to "running will get me there faster." So I ran the rest of the way home (albeit a shorter course than normal). Along the way, I passed an older gentleman who made some sort of comment, but I didn't hear him because of my iPod. It could have been something along the lines of "yuck" or even "get thee to a hospital" but I didn't care. I got home and cleaned up my wounds, and although they still hurt (a bit more than I thought they would) I'd say I'm in pretty good shape. My leg isn't the prettiest thing to look at, but I digress.

Note to self: look for more cracks in pavement / be more alert when running. Kissing the sidewalk is not fun.

Posted in: on at at 9:08 AM 0 comments

uncooperative.

So, I've accepted that I run more slowly in the morning than I do in the evening. That's fine, I accept it -- for right now. It's something I'll work on in the future.

But this morning? this morning? On top of my already slower running, my legs were completely uncooperative. I couldn't find a rhythm for the first mile, and felt as disjointed as a marionette running down the street. Eventually they began to get their act together, but the last 1/2 mile it was back to the same story. Puppet legs.

Despite this, however, my calves have been feeling a lot better both right after my runs and after stretching, so yay for that. I will say, however, that they're looking quite muscular these days -- and while that's not exactly "girly," it's kinda cool. :)

In other news, my mom found the old Merlin game (see previous post regarding the awesome 80's toy). It was fun, but we couldn't remember how to play a few of the games. I'll have to try to look up the instructions / manual online. Everything is online these days, right?

Posted in: on Thursday, August 30, 2007 at at 9:46 AM 0 comments

So...uhm...

...does anyone else remember Merlin? Because in one of those moments when someone says a word and it triggers a memory from the deepest parts of the cortex of your brain, I now remember Merlin. And how great Merlin is. Or was. All it took was someone saying "...what do I look like? Like I'm playing Merlin?" (don't ask about the situation in which this phrase was uttered...it's really quite boring.) I heard this and then -- blamo! -- I remembered Merlin.

For those of you who don't remember, or for those of you who didn't have the pleasure of owning this toy in the 80's, Merlin is one of the first ever handheld games...and was quite primitve. But also possibly the most awesome. Game Boy, Sega Game Gear, and whatever it is that kids play with now that probably has a fancy graphics card and digital sound....they all pale in comparison to Merlin.

So....what is it? Well, according to the vast knowledge base that is Wikipedia, Merlin played 6 games:

Tic Tac Toe
Music Machine
Echo (a game similar to Simon)
Blackjack 13
Magic Square (a pattern game)
Mindbender (a game similar to Mastermind)

All of which I remember, and all of which were so.much.fun. I may or may not have also used Merlin as a pretend phone (obviously foreshadowing to my future). Wikipedia says that it was one of the most popular handheld games in the 80's...so I know I'm not the only one out there that remembers Merlin. Anyone? ....Anyone?

I'm going to see if my parents still have the one I had -- and if so, I'm bringing it back.