Flip-Cup Master

It's official, I did NOT have swine flu.  I finally heard back from the lady I nanny for, and although she was in the hospital until Thursday last week, and will be taking this coming week off work due to the illness, there was no mention of her being the only confirmed case of swine flu in Pierce county.  This is a bit of a let down, since I was starting to honestly believe that I had conquered the notorious disease.  My claim to fame lies elsewhere I guess.  

As proof of no swine flu/recovery I was able to keep up with the TNTers yesterday during a 17 mile run, which went even better than I could have expected.  We ran out in Orting, which was sunny and green, with cows, emus and multiple river crossings (on bridges mind you).  8:35 miles--and that even included stops for water, gu, and a few chats with mentees!  I finally feel like all the time I put in on the streets is translating.  I'm used to being a mediocre athlete, but if I could keep that pace up for a marathon I'd qualify for Boston!  Not gonna lie, it's a goal.  As I was stretching post-run, I realized my right arm/back was more painful than anything.....as I racked my brain to figure out why running would cause such soreness, it dawned on me that I'd played Wii bowling the day before. One game, but I swear I am the most spastic virtual bowler, and as a result it gets me every time!  

To prevent running-induced soreness, and because I have been known to develop temporary fevers post-long runs, I followed my coach's advice and took an ice-bath when I got home. Yikes!  Even while eating soup and distracting myself with an episode of Prisonbreak it was still quite painful.  I think I may prefer tight muscles, but it did feel hardcore....

In other news, I made it up to Seattle yesterday for combination early evening Dylan's b-day BBQ and a later-night "Toto we're not in SpoKansas anymore" (aka Spokane/Wizard of Oz) themed TNT fundraising BBQ my friend Andrew was hosting.  I was hesitant going into the evening, mainly because Andrew is the only one I knew, but it was quite refreshing to hang out with a new crowd.  As was the fact that Andrew has a new girlfriend, which means I didnt have to deal with the usual set of unsolicited advances.  The night was great for social-skill maintenance, aka the "seeing as how I have to drive home and cant rely solely on getting wasted to become integrated into this scene, how many friends can I make this evening?" game.  Quite a few, as it turns out.  Thanks to the magical game of flip-cup, I soon had many friends, became officially in charge of flip-cup recruitment/refereeing (even though I was probably the worst player there....),  encouraged two people to do keg stands, helped hold the legs of those two individuals during said keg stands--which I learned is much more difficult than it looks, initiated the usage of a funnel that had previously been part of a tin-man's hat costume as a giant keg cup, and made three new facebook friends--one of which I had previously met and be-friended on facebook per his request, but upon seeing me he confessed that he had recently downsized his facebook page to include only his 200+ true friends, of which I apparently was not.  The nerve.  I'm pleased to report that as of today our friendship is officially back on.  Thank goodness.  

Finals tomorrow, and the fact that midnight is quickly advancing means it is time for this post to end, but before it does I would like to point out that I left every window in my car rolled down a bit (there was a campfire last night and I dont think the clothes I was wearing or my car will ever be the same) and it is raining and I am choosing laziness over responsibility and not doing anything about it. Poor Honda.