Hello Friends
- OH, honey, I OVERPACK. It is like a disease. I swear I showed up for a three evening excursion looking like Mariah Cary about to head out on a world tour. Make up, hot rollers, 6 sports bras, two pairs of running shoes, three possible jacket options, I don't even want to know how many bathing suits, swim caps, goggles, cowboy pajamas. Athletic options, casual options, my peeper sleepers, my monogramed fleece blanket, a towel dress, a sleeping bag, two novels, the September issue of Vogue, a book of New York Times cross word puzzles, and the kitchen sink. You name it, I brought it, just in case. It is a sickness. I arrived to live in a minivan for 24 hours with 5 other people and that much luggage. I need an intervention and a lesson in basic human consideration. That's all there is to it. If you invite me on a trip, you sit me down and monitor my packing, lest you have to ride on the roof of our rented car like a teen wolf to accommodate my luggage.
- I am a sleeper. I like myself a good eight to nine hours each night. At Hood to Coast the idea is that you man up and stay up. You cheer on your teammates while they run at off hours of the night and you offer everyone the back seat to stretch out and catch some zzzzzs in shifts. You take turns, unless you are like me and you crawl into the back seat with your peeper sleepers and your monogrammed fleece blanket and your sleeping bag with the intention of a one hour cat nap only to wake up approximately 6 hours later as fresh as a daisy. I got better sleep in the back seat of that mini van than I did before I had a baby and my husband was out of town, and I had the whole king-sized bed to myself. I met the red rimmed eyes of my fellow team mates with guilt, yes, but also the realization that for me, it was officially the best Hood to Coast ever.
- Nerd Alert: I have a love affair with crossword puzzle books. I have a vision of myself winning the New York Times Crossword Puzzle contest. I can get sucked into a Will Shortz crossword puzzle and lose myself in a word like "curmudgeon" that has fallen out of vogue, or looking up obscure actors that are desperately placed when there is a need for low-frequency letters. Beware of me on a trip; I am the girl who will try to interest you in helping me with all the sports clues and try to entertain you with anecdotes from Wordplay, the brilliant documentary about New York Times crossword puzzling. I might hound you about finding out the monetary currency of Saudi Arabia (the Riyal!!!!). Back slowly away, when I begin speaking of my frustration with clues that do not specify one or two word answers, because at this point I have lost all social reference points.