The Secret to Life

In other news: I finally found the perfect apartment on Capitol Hill. (My grand plan is to move into the city, and rent out my condo in Bethesda). I've been looking pretty much every Sunday afternoon.

So I finally found the perfect place: a gorgeous one-bedroom basement apartment with a fireplace (working!) and loads of light, on a much sought-after block.

See? Who would ever guess this is the basement??!

Silly me, I figured that owning my own place and working at the same company for 12 years would make me a shoo-in for any apartment I wanted. The world was my oyster! (Within a certain price range.)

Not so much.

I got turned down.

Yep, REJECTED.

It's not enough to get rejections from match.com, now I'm not good enough to RENT TO?

Sigh.

I don't think the owners even checked my credit, because they said they'd charge $35 to do so, and I never heard from them.

I'm so naive.

Apparently, they just did not like me. (I know, it boggles the mind.)

Some days I wander around thinking that I'm the only one who doesn't know what the answer is.

I wish someone would spill the beans.

Feel free to leave it in the comments.

We used to have to get up at six in the morning, clean the paper bag, eat a crust of stale bread, go to work down t' mill, fourteen hours a day, week-in week-out, for sixpence a week, and when we got home our Dad would thrash us to sleep wi' his belt.

It's a D.C. Fourth!

It's the annual July 4 Autism Speaks 5k:

2005: F48 566/709 28/34 34:41 11:10

2006: F49 474/728 21/37 32:42 10:31

2007: F50 614/883 14/26 32:18 10:23

2008: F51 936/1393 21/42 32:33 10:28

I'm amazingly consistent, I'll give me that.

This July 4 began the same as the last three: me shaking Number One Daughter out of a deep and restful sleep to go run a hilly 5k in 90F heat and 99 percent humidity.

I had no hopes this year for any sort of record, except maybe a PW. (Not true. Secretly I hoped I could place. It's fun being me!) I told NOD I was hoping for "under 36 minutes." How's that for setting the bar?

Last year D.C. Spinster paced me to a course PR. This year I was on my own. I wish I could say what it is about this miserable, hot, hilly race that compels me to tackle it each year. Cuz NOD would really like to know.

NOD and I started out together and she tried talking to me, but soon realized that talking is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. She took off and I didn't see her 'til the finish.

The race starts with an uphill, but there are surprisingly more downhills than I remember. It weaves through the wide streets of chi-chi Potomac where there's a new McMansion every other house. The millionaires come out to watch, and some even turn on their sprinklers for us. There's a nice neighborhood feeling to this race, with lots of walkers in this race, and also lots of kids, which can be disheartening--if you're me. For a while I was behind one elderly gentleman who grunted loudly with every footfall. Which is SO AGAINST THE RULES. No sounds of misery allowed.

Well, I did set a record. I set a record for the most walking. I don't know why I can't remember that if I would just keep running, I might actually beat myself. I made 2 miles in 20 minutes flat, but then, as usual, the course started winning. Until the homestretch which is a nice long downhill, where I let it rip, and passed a few people. I have a nice finishing kick, if I do say so myself.

It was HOT.

After discovering that YET AGAIN I failed to win a medal (how OLD do I have to be?!?!), we went home and took naps.

Around 2 p.m. I was abruptly awakened by the phone and found myself talking to David who was in town for work. Too bad for the first 5 minutes of the conversation I thought he was another David.

We made plans to meet, and I ended up taking him to a VIP block party on Capitol Hill. You know, that place where all the movers and shakers live and work.
Capitol Hill: The seat of world power.

Poor guy has such a hard time fitting in.

We'd hadn't been there five minutes and he already had a job. Nice.

David and two chicks.

Later we trekked to the Iwo Jima Memorial and watched the fireworks through the rain while everyone screamed at the people in front to sit down, and the people in front screamed back, so then everyone had to stand. The land of the free!
My two BFFs!

Fireworks over the Washington Monument.

Another perfect fourth of July.

I Know a Secret

So, when last we left out heroines they were planning on visiting Hain's Point early Saturday morning for a 4.8 mile run. Turns out that NOD's idea of early is a little different from my idea of early, so we got there at 8:45, or in other words, practically the middle of the day.

We had planned on parking next to the Awakening, but were thwarted by heavy duty plywood gates blocking our way. No admittance for us! Seriously, I could have breached these defenses with, well, with nothing!

NOD marched right up to a park ranger and asked "what up?" He said, "Oh, we store the fireworks for the 4th of July back here." Um, thanks. Speak up, cuz I don't think the the terrorists caught that. (P.S. This is the secret to which the title alludes. However, as of tonight, it's now OK to tell secrets in this town!)

This town. It make-a me crazy!

I figured I would just run the other way, around the tidal basin for 25 minutes and back, since my instructions were to run 4.8 miles in around 55 min. Close enough.

So out I trudged, NOD trudging behind me. Her goal was 15 min out and back. I started circling the basin when an old familiar urge starting making itself known.

Yes, again.

But no problem, there were about 10,000 portapotties set up in preparation for the fourth of July festivities. I dashed to the first set. Locked. Second set. Locked.

WHAT IS IT WITH THIS TOWN?!? Tell any yahoo who asks where the explosives are stored, but lock all the portapotties. That'll teach 'em. Teach us. Teach somebody.

I had no choice, found a clump of bushes and some very large leaves and ... etc.

NOD later remarked that she thought it was a bit odd that I think everyone should wear gloves and I hate touching the escalator railing in Metro for fear of germs, but have no problem dropping trou and using leaves in the middle of busy Ohio Drive in downtown D.C.

I don't see any inconsistency, do you??

Anywho, I ran some distance equalling 50 minutes but it felt slow and sluggish. NOD and I topped off the morning people watching from our favorite Capitol Hill coffeeshop, and wandering around the remains of Eastern Market.

All in all, a fine fine day.

Sunday was a rest day and I managed to go out and overeat with some friends Sunday night, including drinking a real drink and having insomnia all night because I slept all day because I didn't sleep Saturday night because the new tenant who lives below me threw an animal house party until 3 a.m. Complete with live barfing over the balcony railing.

My life is very complicated.

So this morning, Monday, I "awoke" (can you awake if you never slept?) at 5:40 in a deep dark black mood.

But, as Ms. Susie taught me waaay back at the start of this running odyssey, if it wasn't for the bad runs we'd never appreciate the good ones, right?

I went into automrunmode and did this:
10:30
10:40
10:22

I don't pretend to understand. I just hope I haven't peaked too soon. Cuz I got me a race to run!