What's the Deal?

Ever since my near mugging incident 2 weeks ago I have been reluctant to run in the mornings. I have relegated my training to Insanity DVD's and running sprints with my soccer team, but today I decided (with the Tough Mudder less the 2 weeks away) that I was going to endure a painfully hot distance run post work. I left out at 5 pm and felt horrible, every painstaking step was met with a reason to turn around and go home. I convinced myself that I would run 2 miles, gauge my O2 levels and adjust my run accordingly. ( I was planning to run 6) At the two mile mark it was confirmed, I was going back, but first I was going to run around this track (1.1 mile per lap) twice then go home. Somehow, not quite sure, I looked down and I was at mile 6.5, I had run the track 3.5 times and hadn't realized it, completely lost in thought, shaking off the bad juju of the day (not that there was much) and had lost all concept of time, I looked at my watch 50 minutes had gone by, I was moving. The weird part is I felt sluggish, lethargic, apathetic, lazy, hot, miserable and dull the entire time. I had let my psychology take me over, but I wouldn't let it win. With this time and distance under my belt, all bets were off, I was on to run and run I did. I felt great after that, I made peace  with the running gods and gods of weather and streets and finished with pain in my legs and peace in my mind. I was hurting but smiling, I realize only now as I type this, I still haven't looked at my watch to see what my final time was, I suppose it doesn't matter, I finished and I feel great. 

It Feels Quite Nice to be Back

It's been a while, too long in fact, since I have been able to post to my blog via my personal computer, and since my last encounter with online activity much has changed, most note worthy, I have a job. Upon my termination July 12, 2011 I knew I would have to make sacrifices, and fast, the first to go was internet and cable, saving $250.00 per month immediately, the second was eating out and then it was just a matter of watching our spending habits until further notice. So the race was on, and the interviews were countless, some great some not so good. I think I went on approximately 11 interviews with 8 different companies. It was the last and final company to contact me that was to be woo me in to employment.

Noble Plastics is a custom plastic mold injection manufacturer in Grand Coteau, La. We are in a vast array of businesses' and markets. We work with indivual inventors, developers and entrepenuers, to the elite members of the US Military. We operate in a 30,000 sq. ft. facility off of Hwy 49 at exit 11. We presently have an Industrial Designer, 3 Mechanical Engineers (2 with PE's), a Process Analyst with a Ph.D, and now, for the very first time, a Marketing and Sales Specialist (me). Our facility is incredibly hi tech and incredibly advanced. We are currently running 6 Six Sigma Axis Robots:



I have attached a short video to show what our robots do, I cannot show what products we are currently producing nor can I show photos from the back of the shop as I am bound by law to keep all that private, at any rate, the video of the robot is pretty much what we have, we have 6, 3 of which operate on a 24 hr scale. Employing Robots has created some moral and ethical questions about putting people out of work, but our robots work so diligently that we have been fortunate to employ more people and we are still in need of personnel. Our robots are creating jobs, which is really exciting.

I have been with the company now for 2 weeks and I have a really great thing going. My bosses are amazing and the people I work with are wonderful. Recently it was a young girls birthday, that morning the owners of the company cooked a 3 course breakfast just for her, everyone was invited, but it was in honor of her birthday. Last Thursday I was out back working in a non air conditioned portion of the warehouse for about 8 hours (I had come in really early), I was pulled from the warehouse at 3 to find a huge bowl of ice cream had been fixed for me! I think I have found my family with this company, I start traveling for them next week and I am ecstatic. I hope to be able to grow the company as well as grow with the company.

Well, I finally have internet again and just at the right time, Cox was running some new customer discount stuff and I have Fox Soccer Channel, super pumped about that. No more missing games! Although I am glad I missed that Man Utd. Chelsea game last week.

How You Know Your Phone is Soccer Based

I've played the sport since my youth, its been a constant in my life, surpassing all other hobbies I've ever taken on. In that, my "smart phone" has adopted my general conversation with producing words soccer related in the midst of a non soccer conversation. The words are as follows:

Of = PK
Check = Chelsea
Shit = Man Utd.
In = JB
Crap = Man Utd.
Ass = Arsenal
Post = Pass (suggested)
Go = GK
English = EPL
Most = MLS

These are the ones I see the most, I'm sure there are more, but they elude me at the present moment. Found it funny what I choose to overwrite to my phones dictionary. 

The Tough Mudder Approaches

I am embarking on a very big event here soon, my Tough Mudder. My good friend Jeremy Zenon tuned me in to this last year after the 2011 Houston Half Marathon. The course that we are attempting has been published here. According to the race reports and data, there is only a 68% completion rate of all participants, and the top 5% of finishers are invited to Tough Mudder World Event which is an endurance event. I think I am in good enough physical and psychological condition to compete in a 24 or 48 hour endurance event, but can I finish in the top 5% of the Tough Mudder? I certainly hope so! The event is October 8, our heat starts at 11:00 a.m. (hoping for some reasonable temperatures). We registered almost 6 months in advance and this is the earliest start time we can get, the next one we will register 1 year out, I want an 8:00 a.m. start so the course is fresh and the mud is unscathed. As the terrain gets abused it will be harder and harder to wade through. I have 1 month to finalize my training, my running is strong, my physicality is descent, I haven't lifted weights but between P90X and Insanity, I am thinking I should be good. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous as a cat, but I am prepared and that's all I can be at this point. Any particulars beyond this I am just circumcising mosquito's!

Conversation

A really close friend of mine is a school teacher at a local private school, she teaches the 4 year olds. In her class she has a young boy from Vietnam who is just learning English. This confabulation ensued yesterday during arts and crafts.

The kids were playing with Styrofoam shapes:

Kid 1: Look, stickura, stickura!
Kid 2: Ms. D... what is he saying?
Teacher: he's saying sticker.
Kid 1: Wead, Wead, herre.
Kid 2: What does it say?
Teacher: It says, "Made In China"
Kid 2: WOW, JUST LIKE YOU HUH? YOU WERE MADE IN CHINA TOO HUH MS. D...?

Thought of the Day

So this morning on my run I made a deal with my wife, she was at home sleeping. I established her argument, then I developed mine, found a common ground and went through with the plan. When she discovered my grand scheme upon waking up she was so impressed that she got mad at me. If that ain't love.

The dilemma was, she hates when I come in the house after a run and walk my sweaty feet on the floor, and she also hates when I wear shoes in the house... so... the deal was I would leave a towel at the front door wear flip flops from door to bathroom while drying on the way. It was full proof.

You know you're a runner when...