Monday Misc

Happy Monday everyone! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I sure did. I have so much to talk about, but I am without my own computer today and I don't know about you guys, but when I am using a borrowed computer, it seems like I am much less organized. I mean, am I the only one who gets bothered by having to put my password into everything all over again? Or the history bar not auto populating when you go to check out your favorite blog? I know; it's not a big deal, but all my photos and downloads and everything are on my computer and it's just so much more convenient to use it! Now that I have rambled on about nothing for the last five minutes, lets get to it!

- I guess I am the snake woman, because yesterday during my run, I saw a snake...eating a mouse! I mean, the mouse was tail end in the snakes mouth and he was being devoured as I watched. Luckily (am I the only one who thinks this is lucky?) Mr. Lovely was biking with me and he had his big camera and he got some nice shots of the entire process. I think stuff like that is cool. If you are a vegetarian or a mouse lover, I apologize.

- I developed a bit of a cold this weekend. In order to try to alleviate it, I had one of these. I think it helped.

Pain Killer

- My little veggie plants are wilting. I haven't talked about them, because I wanted to be able to say: hey, I am growing plants and they are fabulous! But they are not. I think it's a combination of bad drainage and over watering. Or do those go hand in hand? I don't know. I started a bunch of seeds and they were doing so well...until I transplanted them and then? Saggy McSagster. Phooey. I may just have to buy whole (half grown) plants. Otherwise I won't have tomatoes until December at this rate (or never).

- Between the car breaking down and my moving, I have been without the Garmin for a couple of my runs. What I found out? My "comfortable", Garmin-less pace is around an 8:30-8:40, which is good because I am supposed to be doing my easy runs at about that pace! I don't mind running without the Garmin as far as the total run goes, but I do like having the data afterward to look at and analyze.

- Last but not least, Laura gave me the One Lovely Blog award! I am supposed to 1) Post the award logo and picture on your blog and link back to the person who nominated you. 2) Tell seven things about yourself. 3) Nominate up to 15 additional bloggers whom you think deserve the award. 4) Post a comment on the blog of each nominee to tell them they have been nominated! Since I already told you 4, here are three more little facts.

- I am 4th generation Scottish. My great, great grandparents came over via Canada. They lived near Banff (I can't remember if they lived in BC or Alberta) for a while before coming south to the US.

- I keep my fingernails very, very short. I don't bite them, but I can't stand having them as any more than a tiny sliver of white. I also do not paint them. The chipping drives me insane.

- I could eat a burrito any time of day. I love them.

- Speaking of burritos, yesterday I went for a burrito and decided to try the menudo, since they only serve it on the weekend. If you are not familiar, it's a soup made with intestine that is a very traditional Mexican dish. I have never tried it, not because the guts part grosses me out, but just because I like burritos, so I usually don't order other stuff. But I was hungry and I decided to give it a whirl. It wasn't bad, but it definitely has a distinct smell to it!

(apparently I can't count, because that was four more, but I am leaving it as is)

- As for the tags, I am going to give this award to a few lovely ladies: Lisa, Amber, Amber, Nilsa, Stephany, Robyn, Carrie, Elle, San, Suz, Vanessa and Nora. Ladies, if you already did it, great! Everyone else, if you want to participate as well, I encourage it!

Are you adventurous when it comes to trying new foods? Have you ever witnessed an animal eating another animal? If you could eat one thing only for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Running Related Tidbits (2)

The last week has been a bevy of running related experiences. I am going to share a few of them with you.

- I went to see my parents last weekend. My dad had a 5k race on Saturday so I ran with him. I am not going to write his recap for him (Dad -- I need your race report by noon tomorrow) but he did great. We started off at a "conversational" pace. He runs naked (sans Garmin) so he runs according to how he feels. He is also very modest. I think he thinks he runs a 9 minute mile, but we were clocking in between 7 and 8 minute miles the entire time. He ended up with a 23:xx and an average pace of 7:54 (or thereabouts). He also got 2nd in his age group. I am so proud of him. He has always been an inspiration to me and is the main reason I am as active as I am today!

- Last weekend I volunteered for a 50k race. I was at one of the aid stations, giving water and food to all the runners. To get to the aid station, I had to run to it, which was a ten mile run. I started at 7 a.m. and ran with the guys who do the course markings (flour and ribbons), which took about 2.5 hours. Then we handed out aid (with a group of boy scouts who were a kick in the pants -- how old are they? 50 or 15?) to the runners, which was SO inspiring. They were fast, slow, young, old, big and small! I think I am ready to follow their footsteps and try my own ultra! After the race, which was HOT, we ran the 10 miles back to the car. I made some new (great) friends and had a very good time!

- I am looking to buy a hydration pack/vest. I want something that is not too big, doesn't bounce around (naturally), holds about 2 liters and has pockets on the front straps/waist belt. Abbi suggested the Intensity and I also looked at the HPL#020. What do you guys think? Any suggestions?

- On Wednesday night I decided to go join up with a trail running group. I did it mostly because the Brooks rep was going to be there and so I got a chance to wear test the Pure Connect, which is a low drop shoe which is quite light. I actually wanted to try the trail running shoe, the Pure Grit, since I am thinking about buying a trail runner and wanted to test a couple out before buying. I generally wear Asics because I like to have a wider toe box, but would be open to trying something different! I want it to be fairly light and have a rock plate if possible (I like the Fuji Racer, but have heard negative reports about the holes in the bottom). Do you have a trail running shoe you can recommend?  

- As for the group run, the shoes were pretty good! And I am not sore at all: not feet, not legs, not sore! I have to admit, I tried the Brooks Glycerine and am not a fan. But maybe next time I need a new shoe, I will get the Connct. But for now, I will stick to my Asics. Other than the shoes, the run was okay. I still ran alone, which is what I prefer. And I've run in the area before, so it wasn't even like I found a fun new running trail. I really don't think I am a group running type person. I like to run at my own pace. I did notice a lot of folks running in little groups, so maybe it's great for them, but I don't think it's for me. It was nice to test out the shoes though.

- I signed up for race #6 of 12 in 2012: See Jane Run Half Marathon in Alameda on June 3rd. This will give me the opportunity to run a flatter (read: non trail) race to see how my road running fitness is going. After that though, I am back to the trails on June 23rd for this race, which I think I will do as a 30k. There is also a marathon and a 50k, which as John pointed out, would make me a Maniac (3 marathons or longer length in 90 days) if I did one of those instead.

Have you ever run as a pacer/bandit/friend with someone at their race? Are you a maniac? Do you like going on group runs (and if so, why)?

Don't forget to go to Jill's for other Fitness Friday posts!

Currently: May

Current Book - The Travel Writers Handbook - Jacqueline Butler

Current Celebrity Crush - McDreamy. What, he looks even better as he ages!

source

Current Drink - Smoothie made from: juice of 2 lemons, 1 splenda, 1/2 cup frozen strawberries (or mango), water, 1/2 banana, 1 tbsp yogurt

Current Excitement - Brunch with my mother and my "other mother" this weekend! 

Current fashion trend - I put pants on today, does that count?

Current Favorite Blog/Website - This Power Yoga Video

Current Favorite Film - The Princess Bride. Classic. If you haven't seen it yet, do it now. 

Curent Food - Pomegranate Pot Roast recommended by Lisa

Current Guilty Pleasure - Reading! I have been tearing it up this week! 

Current Indulgence - mini carrot cake muffins (mini = MANY)

Current Mood - productive = good! 

Current New Find - Planet Fresh fish burritos in Santa Cruz

Current Outfit - Nike tempo shorts, Champion tank, Asics Pheonix 3

Current Peeve - People who say "I blog for myself". No you don't. If you did, it would be called a JOURNAL. 

Current Song - Goyte - Somebody that I Used To Know

Current Triumph - I went for a run in my Kinvaras. So far, no calf tightness or pain! 

Current TV Show - Nothing. (See above re guilty pleasure)

Current Wish-List - Remote for my camera

Currently Delaying - Working on my recap for The Relay (hence this post)

What are you currently up to? What are your Mother's Day Plans? What is your current peeve?

Around the Hood

This post is a little random, but here are a few things I have seen around the hood in the last few days.

-Maybe you can't see this very well, but when I went running last weekend, I saw this (it's a guy running away from me, on the wrong side of the road). As we determined, he should be running toward traffic. I wanted to say something to him! And this is the perfect road I am talking about, because you pretty much have to run IN the road, since there is no sidewalk and barely a shoulder to run on.

- Temescal Park, where you can swim! In fresh water. Although I bet it's mighty chilly right now! But people were there, swimming laps. It made me re-think the fact that I should probably be going swimming, at least once a week. It was so nice! I have the goggles and suit; I just need to work up the motivation!

- Another one of those "gosh darn them" moments. This car, parked on the sidewalk, where I had to run around it. There were plenty of parallel parking spots on the street. Right next to this driveway, in fact.

- As seen in Safeway. You probably can't read it very well (click on photo to zoom) but it says: "Warning, the red wine vinegars and balsamic vinegars on these shelves contain lead, a chemical known to the state of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm." So why are they on the shelves? Anyway, no matter, I purchased the one on the right.

- As runners, we talk a lot of the taper, and "taper madness". Well, if you come on down to my hood, you can get "taper madness"...or "fade madness", "afro madness" or many other fun afflictions. Or a haircut. (I wonder if they do those little z's?)

- Gordon Biersch garlic fries and a ballgame. The only thing better is that and a beer (not shown).

What's going on in your neighborhood? Where is your closest place to swim outside? What do you indulge in when you go to the ball park?

Email 101

I normally work in an office. We have fancy email addresses with the company name dot com and we spend a lot of time sending emails back and forth to clients. So it never ceases to amaze me how badly people behave over email. 

I was looking for a house a while ago. I sent an email to a prospective landlord (via Craigslist) asking when a good time to see it would be. Here was her response (I italicized it for clarity): 

thanks for the response--i will be showing it next tues (but  remember, it is occupied)-- the dates sound good-- may be best to call me, _____, for a phone interview first-- weekend is good for this  ###-###-####   (or earlier of necessary)--- hope to hear from you

This one was even better (and I have not changed any of the punctuation or wording): 

sorry only for one person.

That is all she (he?) said. Maybe this sounds silly, but I don't really want to rent from someone who can't even treat me as a client. Is this how they write emails all the time? If they are looking for a job, do they write their cover letter like this? Then I thought, maybe I am just being picky and anal about things; I do have a tendency to do that from time to time. So I went (where else) online to find out: What are the proper rules for emailing, especially when it's a business or "professional" email?

I found a great website. It's called 101 Email Etiquette Tips. It is a series of 101 tips, pertaining to sending and formatting emails, email attachments, cc'ing, forwarding, IMs, Business emails, blogs and message boards. Some of them were a little silly, some of them seem self-explanatory, but a lot of them were pretty spot on! 

Here are some of my favorites (I added a couple of comments in blue): 

- Make sure your e-mail includes a courteous greeting and closing. Helps to make your e-mail not seem demanding or terse.

- Spell check - emails with typos are simply not taken as seriously.

- Are you using proper sentence structure? First word capitalized with appropriate punctuation? Multiple instances of !!! or ??? are perceived as rude or condescending. **see lady above

- Refrain from using the Reply to All feature to give your opinion to those who may not be interested. In most cases replying to the Sender alone is your best course of action.

- Type in complete sentences. To type random phrases or cryptic thoughts does not lend to clear communication. **also see lady above

- Always end your emails with "Thank you," "Sincerely," "Take it easy," "Best regards" - something!

- Do not type in all caps. That's yelling or reflects shouting emphasis.

- Typing your emails in all small case gives the perception of lack of education or laziness. **OH! What? See lady above!

- When forwarding email, if you cannot take the time to type a personal comment to the person you are forwarding to--then don't bother.

- If you must forward to more than one person, put your email address in the TO: field and all the others you are sending to in the BCc: field to protect their email address from being published to those they do not know. This is a serious privacy issue! **Do you know how many of my friend's friend's email address I needlessly have due to this issue? So many!

- Be very careful how you use Reply to All and Cc: in a business environment. Doing so for CYA or to subtlety tattle can backfire and have your viewed as petty or insecure. **Annoyingly, the CYA (aka. tattle) happens a lot in my office.

- IMing is not an excuse to forget your grade school education. 

- Don't fall for trolls. Trolls are folks who will post rude comments just to get a rise out of everyone.**Did you guys see THIS post? If you get a chance, read it and then check out the subsequent comments!

- If any email states to forward to all your friends, or just 5 people -- do everyone a favor and just hit delete!

Here is the PDF of all 101 Tips.

What is your biggest email pet peeve? What is the worst case of punctuation or grammar you have ever experienced? You don't have to say who it was sent from, but were they supposedly an intelligent business person?

Currently: April

Current Book - The Guy Not Taken by Jennifer Weiner

Current Celebrity Crush - Peter Krause (Adam Braverman in Parenthood)

source

Current Drink - Zico Coconut Water

Current Excitement - Trail Racing! I had such a fun race last weekend, but more on that later!

Current fashion trend - flip flops -- that's as fashionable as I get!

Current Favorite Blog/Website - Self's Nutrition Values

Current Favorite Film - none, really. I saw Hugo and the Artist on the plane. They were both pretty good, but I wouldn't say they are my favorite.

Current Food - Lots of quinoa and tons of veggies! 

Current Guilty Pleasure - reading in the sun on the back porch

Current Indulgence - Pizza from the Cheese Board

Current Mood - tired


Current New Find - Cafe Biere in Emeryville -- Sunday Brunch with bottomless mimosas!

Current Outfit - jeans / sweater


Current Peeve - People on the escalator who stand two abreast and don't move out of your way when you are walking up or down them.

Current Song - anything by the Black Keys

Current Triumph - making a new recipe each week (and liking them!)

Current TV Show - Jeopardy (it's an old favorite!)

Current Wish-List - a house on the beach

Currently Delaying - putting money in my ROTH IRA for last year! I have 3 days left to do it! 


What are you currently up to?

Monday Misc

My friend Laura is doing a Purposeful Running series, where people talk about why they run. I was lucky that she featured me yesterday! Go over and check it out! To read other people's stories as well, or to submit your story to Laura, go over here!

___

Mr. Lovely hails from the East Coast, and as you know, I am on the West Coast. So sometimes we find a place in between to meet. This time we headed south for the winter. And are spending some time here.

We are having fun and I will probably talk more about it when we get home! I did make him run a race with me. I ran the 10k and he ran the 5k. It was a good race and he was a good sport! See, here he is; isn't he cute?

Just kidding; that's not him. But isn't that such a cute old man? I have an old man fetish; I think they are the cutest thing ever, especially when they are wearing hats. For real.

____

Today, for the first time in a long time, I went to a buffet. I quickly remembered why I don't usually go to buffets. Actually, I was pretty proud of myself; I only went up three times: once for salad, once for an entree and once for dessert. I wanted some more ice cream really badly, but seeing Mr. Lovely rolling around in bed later, groaning and clutching his stomach, reminded me that I had made the right decision.

____

Have you ever seen "My Strange Addiction"? There was a girl on there who had an addiction to drinking gas. There was another who snorted baby powder. In the last 16 years, she has snorted almost 2000 pounds of baby powder. It kind of makes me feel like my need to have the milk on the top shelf of the fridge all the time is not that strange after all. 

____

My friend Sarah just posted a story about traveling to Africa on WRTR! Check it out if you get a chance! 

Why do you run? Have you ever been in a long distance relationship? Do you have any strange addictions?

Racing With the Stars

Hello and welcome to Random Saturday! I just wanted to thank everyone for their words of encouragement about my race today! It starts in about 3 hours; I am just having a coffee and have a bit of extra time and thought I would post a few tidbits.

{1} Yesterday I ran Running, Loving, Living's 3.5 mile birthday race! I got a 27:52. It was a good race, which I did on the Iron Horse Trail, which is flat. Also it was about 55 degrees! You can't beat that with a hat! It's fun to do virtual races to keep the motivation flowing.

{2} I am staying at my friend's house for the race. I normally don't watch any TV really, but last night I caught up on Top Chef on On Demand. OH Tom Colicchio! I think he is getting nicer! I like him; I don't know why. There is just something about that bald head of his!

{3} Have you popped over to Triptych lately? Our latest word is BOLD. If you have a fun photo which you think is BOLD, go over there and link up! 

{4} Last but not least, I often "star" people's posts in my Reader to come back to or recommend.I guess it's like olden day Pinterest! Ha. Ha. Here are a few goodies for your Saturday reading pleasure!

-- Pioneer Woman (you know I love her) makes Sausage Kale Breakfast Strata!

-- Karen's 52 week (52 goals for 2012) project! I need to finish making my list!

-- Using your iPhone for your 365 project is a great idea! Along with app suggestions!

-- This post on how to plan a good vacation makes me want to travel!

-- This girl talks about how it's okay to have off days.

-- Happy Birthday to her! 

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Today is my honey's birthday, so I am wishing him a great day from afar. Now I am going to go and run my little legs off!

What was your favorite post this week? If you could only watch ONE TV show, what would it be?

Twenty-One Things

Kathy at Just Keep Running tagged me in the 21 Random Things tag, and I have been working on it for over a month. Do you know how hard it is to think of 21 random things about yourself!? That you have not already shared over the last 6 years? Yeah. It's hard.

CHILDHOOD:

{1} My mother is from Back East. My father was born and raised in California about 8 miles from where they live now. This makes for an interesting "how they met" story. The first attempt was to hook my mom up with my Uncle, but she fell for my Dad instead. My Dad liked her, even though she made gummy noodles. They got pregnant right away. Along came me. The End.

{2} That's not really the end. I grew up in the mountains, near a river. I was pretty much allowed to run free. That's the good thing about living in the boonies. I also never had (and still don't have) cable TV.

A typical summer at home

{3} The bad thing is that sometimes random people who are not so great pick you up and accidentally drop you. Yes, I was dropped on my head as a child. And I turned out FINE! a;lktjpoigugh!!

{4} I also rode the short bus to school. Since we were so far from town, the big bus couldn't come all that way, so there was a separate smaller bus that picked up the people that were really far away and then took them to a main bus stop where we would meet the big bus.

{5} I played baseball, soccer and was on ski team in High School. Ski team was the best. We had meets on Mondays, so we got out of school!

All Stars Baseball 1990

{6} In High School we had a "nutrition break" from 10 o'clock to 10:15 or something like that. I don't think I ever ate anything nutritious during this time. It was just an excuse to hang out with friends, eat nutty buddies and drink cokes. Nutrition -- schmootrition.

{7} I didn't usually bring my lunch to school. My parents would give me $2/day and I would save it up until I could buy a lot of nutty buddies. I guess I've always been a saver. You have to prioritize, man!

TWENTIES:

{8} I went to school at Sac State, where my major was Pre-Physical Therapy. I then switched to San Francisco, where they called it "Kinesiology", which I think sounds much more professional. And people don't really know what the word means, so that must be good, right?

{9} I worked at Nordstrom for 8 years. First I sold coffee, then I sold shoes, then I managed people who sold shoes (and I BOUGHT a lot of shoes). As much as the corporate BS sometimes got to me, it was a great place to work when I was in school. They worked around my schedule and paid my way through college!

{10} My first trip abroad was to France, where I worked at a grocery store for two months during the summer. You should have seen me trying to get a "price check on register 3"! Speaking French was hard, and it was even harder over the phone! They had an acronym for me to remember at the register: SBAM: Sourire (smile), Bonjour, Au Revoir, Monsieur/Madam.

{11} My favorite thing to do on my day off was to hang out at Dolores Park with a book, looking at the skyline of the city and watching the gays rub banana oil on each other. No joke.

View from Dolores Park

{12} My first apartment in San Francisco was a sublet and was shared with three other people, none of whom I had met before. We had a house cleaning schedule. Only three of us actually followed it. The fourth, who was a boy, ended up being my closest friend.

{13} I was a pescatarian for about 15 years.

{14} I used to have over 20 houseplants, which I loved. I gave them away in order to travel to Europe and I never got them back. I don't have a place for them so it's okay. They are in a good place.

NOW:

{15} I can speak Spanish. Not very well, but I can get by. Especially if the subject is food, lodging or transportation. That is what traveling does; you only learn "traveling Spanish". Actually I am better at writing and reading it than I am at speaking it.

{16} I have never had braces.

{17} If I could eat one food for the rest of my life, it might be Mexican food.

Mexican food in...Missouri

{18} I have had surgery 4 times.

{19} In the past 7 years, I have been "home" about 8 months. The rest of the time I am working somewhere else or traveling for fun somewhere else.

{20} My go to outfit used to be black on black. I had to wear suits to work every day, so it was easier. Now I am starting to embrace colors, but I think it comes from being able to dress much more casually at work. If I had to wear a suit again, I would probably be back to black again.

{21} I can't stand having fingernails. I don't bite them, but I keep them cut VERY short. I hate having them hang over my fingers. I also never paint them becuase I start chipping the paint off after a while. I guess I have a fingernail fetish.

Whew! That's Twenty-One! So, if you are bored or need something to post about, feel free to join in or add some in the comments! If you are reading this, you are tagged!

Do you have any fetishes, fingernail or otherwise? Did you ever get dropped as a kid? Do you speak a foreign language?

Eleven * 3

Thanks to Lucy, I have something to talk about today. Otherwise, the brain is functioning very slowly these days!

11 things about me

1. Right now I am in a sorting mode. You probably already read about my sorting through my storage and throwing things away? Well I am also trying to sort through my computer and name all my photos and organize them and print some out etc. I need to do it more often, but traveling around a lot often causes me to just put them in a folder by month and date and then forget about them for a while. 

2. I signed up for my first 12 in 2012. But you will have to wait to hear more about it. I am excited! Finally got the ball rolling! 

3. I have a chapstick everywhere. One in my purse; one in my toiletry bag; one in my pocket; one in my running bag. I have to have it everywhere I go. I need some right now actually!

4. I don't like dogs. Sorry dog lovers. They smell and are hairy and slobbery and they pee and poop and you have to feed them and walk them and stuff. Just not my cup of tea. 

5. I love playing games. Cards. Board games. Wii. Word games. Quizzes. Whatever! Bring it on! I challenge you to a game of charades!

6. I have only read one book this year. See #1 above. Due to this, I have NOT been reading. At all. Also, I have 3 magazine subscriptions that I am way behind on, like 3 months. So I have several books and about a 8 magazines that I need to read. AFTER I sort all my photos. 

7. I barely ever wear socks except when I go running. When I lived in San Francisco (or Florida, or NOLA) I wore flip flops 90% of the time. Except when I was working. But then I often wore open toed shoes or flats, with no socks. And sometimes even at work, I wore "nice" flip flops, even though I am not sure I was allowed. Nobody said anything. :)

8. I have one brother. He makes wine. And beer. He is a very nice brother. VERY NICE.

9. I rarely wear makeup. When I need to, I put on mascara. And chapstick!

10. I haven't gotten my hair cut in about 8 months. The time before that was when I chopped it all off in Thailand. I need a haircut but I am TRYING to grow it out. Also, the last time I went to the local hairdresser, and she took about 7 minutes and didn't cut it any better than my Dad could have! What a waste of money!

11. I am dreaming of lying on the beach in Mexico. Anybody want to join me?

11 questions for me

1. If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be? 

I guess Abe Lincoln would be an interesting fellow to have a little chat with over coffee. 

2. What's your favorite smell? 

Cinnamon, the first smell of rain, a nice clean soapy man smell

3. If you had to choose 3 bands to listen to for the rest of your life, who would they be? 

Pearl Jam, Led Zeppelin, Kings of Leon

4. Chocolate Frosty or Vanilla Frosty? 

Neither

5. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A Vet

6. Ice or no ice in your drink? 

Depends on the drink, but probably ICE. 

7. If they were to make a movie of your life, who would play you? 

Gweneth Paltrow

8. Guilty pleasure food? 

Cheeze-itz

9. If you had to choose between having perfect health for the rest of your life or having an unlimited supply of money, which would you choose?

Health BY FAR! 

10. How would you describe yourself in 3 words. 

Reliable

Organized

Stubborn 

11. Most important accomplishment you have done thus far in life. 

Wow, this is a hard one. I guess graduating from college was a very proud moment. Also traveling the world, but that is more fun than responsible! 

11 Questions for You: 

1. What kind of toothpaste do you use?

2. Name your dream vacation.

3. How many siblings do you have?

4. What blog do you read (almost) every day?

5. What would you do if you won 1 million dollars?

6. Do you like animals?

7. What's your favorite book?

8. What's better: having a housekeeper or having a chef?

9. What's worse: snakes or spiders?

10. Where is the farthest you have been from home?

11. Who is the most inspirational person in your life?

I tag

You

The Rules

1. Post the rules.

2. Post 11 things about you.

3. Answer the questions the tagger asked you.

4. Write 11 new questions for those you tag.

You can do this on your own blog or answer some of the questions in the comments!

Mayhem in The Airport

Instead of grabbing a beer (inspired by Kim) and checking out my week, I am going to interrupt this regularly scheduled program with a little something different. You may know already that I spend a lot of time in airports. This week was an especially airport / airplane filled one! So, instead of looking what I did this week, we are going to do List Sunday, where I let you in on a few of my Travelers Peeves, Airport Style.

Air Force One - in SFO on Tuesday!

- People in the waiting area who sit in one seat, have a bag in another and their feet (or purse or food or...) in another. Especially when the airport is really busy. There is no need to take up more than one seat. The ones who lie down on the seats are equally as annoying. Common courtesy people!

- That guy who talks back to the flight attendant when she tells him that he cannot have three carry-on bags.

- People who have three carry on bags. Or people who, since you can only have two, have two of the biggest bags ever. And when the bags don't fit into the overhead, the people try over and over and over (while holding up the whole plane) to stuff the too big bag into the bin.

- People who take up a whole bin to themselves, whether or not they have three bags. They put their coat, their hat, their purse, shopping bag, suitcase and travel pillow into the bin so that it fills up the entire thing. Or they put their roller-board sideways, even though the attendants keep telling them, "wheels facing out!"

- That guy (and there always is one) at security who forgets to take his laptop out of the case (a no-no), who puts his case on top of the laptop (a no-no), who forgets to take his change out of his pockets, forgets to take his watch off, forgets that he has to take his coat and shoes off (annoying). I ALWAYS get behind that guy. Is this his first time flying? If it is, I forgive him. If it's not, get with the program. We are all trying to go someplace. Literally.

- The people in zone 4 who stand up right in front of the podium as soon as the flight crew says, "we are going to begin by boarding people with small children..." and then continue to stand there throughout the boarding process, even though they are NOT people with small children, nor are they in Zone 1, 2 or 3.

- The people who are in Zone 4 who get IN LINE when Zone 1 is called. Then when the attendant says, "sir, we are only boarding zone 1 now", he looks at her stupidly, and stands there for a while before finally getting out of line (and then getting back in once Zone 2 is called).

- The lady behind me when boarding who keeps touching (pushing) me / my back, as if by doing that, the ENTIRE LINE will move faster.

- The guy who keeps talking on the phone after the flight attendants say to turn the phones off. And then once they ask him again to please get off the phone, he looks at them disgustingly and keeps talking. (I love the campy gay attendants who give them attitude and say - Get Off The Phone, "SIR"!)

- People who stand two abreast on the moving walkway. "WALK-way" people! One of you needs to walk or both of you need to stand aside.

- People who are sitting behind me who put their feet on my armrest. It has happened!

- People sitting beside me who are kind of oozing over into my seat. I even had one guy snuggle up to me with his back towards me and his butt over the line. Too close for comfort.

- People who try to talk to you when you clearly (earphones, book, flat black stare) don't feel like talking.

- People at baggage claim who stand right up next to the conveyor, so then I can't see my bag and when I do see it at the last minute I have to lunge in and try to get it. I admit to "accidentally" knocking my bag into these people if they are inconveniently in the way of my bag extraction. (I like the places where they put the yellow line around the conveyor and you have to stand behind it and then you can step in and get your bag once you see it heading your way.)

- People who make out on the plane. Right next to me. Really? Are we 12?

Well, that was fun. I am sure there are many more, and maybe next time I should stop being so negative and make a list of things I LIKE about airports and airplanes. But this is more fun.

What are your airport and airplane pet peeves? If you don't travel a lot, what are your "crowded places" pet peeves (bar / restaurant / train station / elevator)??